The self care series of illustrations is inspired by my own wellness practices. They feature Bear – The bearer of wisdom, a bear who lives in Bern by the Aare river, he is a rescued bear, now living in captivity. Life forced him to learn how to manage stress, practice self-care and let go of the things he cannot control.
He loves a good mud facial and a sunny day by his private pool.
By sitting in silence with whatever arises in your spirit, you learn to be aware of the jungle in your mind and turn it in a beautiful orderly garden. When you sit with fear, anxiety, despair, fatigue or any other uncomfortable feeling, without looking for an external fix, they don’t necessarily go away, but you learn how to tame them and you get your power back…the power you have surrendered by fear or cultural conditioning.
The same goes for positive, uplifting feelings. When you meditate you learn that you are the source and the master of your joy or your pain. You shift your perspective from external to internal, which is the only way to live a joyful life irrespective of your external conditions.
I think the best way to make friends with your inner tiger is by observing how it behaves and triggers your external behavior, which happens when your are silent with yourself.
Sitting in silence every day is the best gift you can give yourself…and it’s for free.
While the loom might be somewhat a niche purchase ?, I am sure many people have bought something in their lifetime that they never got to use.
Yes I do own a loom, it is the size of a room and I never used it ?, and pants that I wore in highschool…and a belly full of strechmarks that will never fit in those pants again.
When you get rid of what you don’t use, on a subtler level you make space for more clarity and novelty in your mind…and allow yourself to also let go of unhealthy attachments.
By letting go of possessions you become aware of these attachments, more present to yourself and less afraid of losing them.
You are not your possessions.
The more you focus on something the more energy and power you are giving it, it doesn’t matter if it’s love or hate…it will keep growing. So don’t water the weeds in your mind, instead put your energy on those thoughts that are worth growing…because whatever you will cultivate in your inner world will show up in your outer world. This is the basic law of attraction, you attract what you send out.
Self-care is a collection of illustrations inspired by my own journey towards wellness in mind, body and spirit. Art prints will be available at the beginning of september.
I hope it will inspire you to practice more self care and healthy self love, so that you can light up the rest of your world.
This year has been particularly tough for anyone experiencing solitude or isolation. Those of you who were quarantined by yourselves, the extroverts who had to work from home, the parents who lost their support group and anyone else struggling with loneliness…I feel you, you are not alone.
Working as an independent artist has taught me how to shift my perception from merely coping with solitude, to appreciating it.
I think there is great wisdom and opportunity for growth in learning to enjoy your own company… moving from the sense of lack, incompleteness and even depression that comes with solitude, to the aliveness, sense of presence, completeness and joy of being in your own company, of experiencing aloneness. You are complete, you are enough. Aloneness gives you the space to do self-work, free of family and society conditioning. And this is a chance and a gift.
For children it is also important to learn to play by themselves and love their alone time and not always look for outside stimulation. This will set them up for a healthier relationship with themselves.
Thoughts are like moving clouds in the sky of your consciousness. If you allow them to come and go instead of getting attached and reacting on impulse, you have become the master and creator of your reality.
