The new scientific paradigm based on the primacy of consciousness is here and the question in everybodys mind is how we access quantum consciousness and its causal power. The artist/author Susan Bello gives us a wonderful and powerful method: spontaneous painting. It is really very enjoyable and is a suitable vehicle for all people who are young at heart and like to play. I recommend this method and this book very highly. Amit Goswami, quantum physicist and author of The Self-Aware Universe; God Is Not Dead; and the upcoming Quantum Creativity: Think Quantum, Be Creative This is a truly brilliant and significant book - merits joyful reading and treasuring. Prof. Dr. Ervin Lszl, Founder of Club Budapest; Chancellor-Designate of the newly formed GlobalShift University; author of over 80 books, including The Creative Cosmos: A Unified Science of Matter, Life and Mind. The symbol is a universal resource which nature has bestowed upon us to evolve human consciousness. It embodies energy of pure potentiality that lives in a dormant state in our Unconscious. The process of Spontaneous Painting unleashes this powerful life force within. Each persons unique potential, Authentic and Higher Self, life direction and Innate Authentic Multiple Intelligences flow forth through the brushstroke onto the paper. No artistic training is necessary. Once our symbols are expressed, a transformative process is activated that initiates behavioral change. Our symbols begin to direct us from within. Our Authentic Self is a core energetic configuration that is like no one elses. Each one of us is a unique individual with special gifts, passions and a life purpose. Our Higher Self embodies such states as love, inner wisdom, centeredness, joy and compassion. The key to creating a new paradigm is to develop these constructive expressions of consciousness in each planetary citizen for personal and social transformation. Symbols express in the form of images. Why are images used to transmit this energy? Images are the primal universal language of humankind. The fact that the ability to make images has been with us since the beginning of time suggests it may possess an important survival function of which we are not yet aware. The name The I.am.I TM Method of Spontaneous Painting was chosen to honor our Innate Authentic Multiple Intelligences, hence the acronym I.am.ITM. These intelligences include our: emotional, creative, intuitive, imaginative, symbolic, spiritual, visual and kinesthetic ways of knowing. All of these intelligences are developed during The I.am.I Method. Although we are born with these intelligences and the ability to paint spontaneously, education has focused mainly on the rational intellect and on how to paint the external and not the internal landscape, a vast resource of inner wisdom. Part One of this book is an autobiographical summary of the experiences that led the author to develop The I.am.ITM Method of Spontaneous Painting. The paintings in Part Two document her empirical experimentation with Spontaneous Painting, sourced from the authority of her soul. Part Three is an academic exploration and a theoretical and scholarly documentation of the psychological and quantum states of mind that can be experienced during the Spontaneous Painting Process.

A deeply original exploration of the power of spontaneity—an ancient Chinese ideal that cognitive scientists are only now beginning to understand—and why it is so essential to our well-being Why is it always hard to fall asleep the night before an important meeting? Or be charming and relaxed on a first date? What is it about a politician who seems wooden or a comedian whose jokes fall flat or an athlete who chokes? In all of these cases, striving seems to backfire. In Trying Not To Try, Edward Slingerland explains why we find spontaneity so elusive, and shows how early Chinese thought points the way to happier, more authentic lives. We’ve long been told that the way to achieve our goals is through careful reasoning and conscious effort. But recent research suggests that many aspects of a satisfying life, like happiness and spontaneity, are best pursued indirectly. The early Chinese philosophers knew this, and they wrote extensively about an effortless way of being in the world, which they called wu-wei (ooo-way). They believed it was the source of all success in life, and they developed various strategies for getting it and hanging on to it. With clarity and wit, Slingerland introduces us to these thinkers and the marvelous characters in their texts, from the butcher whose blade glides effortlessly through an ox to the wood carver who sees his sculpture simply emerge from a solid block. Slingerland uncovers a direct line from wu-wei to the Force in Star Wars, explains why wu-wei is more powerful than flow, and tells us what it all means for getting a date. He also shows how new research reveals what’s happening in the brain when we’re in a state of wu-wei—why it makes us happy and effective and trustworthy, and how it might have even made civilization possible. Through stories of mythical creatures and drunken cart riders, jazz musicians and Japanese motorcycle gangs, Slingerland effortlessly blends Eastern thought and cutting-edge science to show us how we can live more fulfilling lives. Trying Not To Try is mind-expanding and deeply pleasurable, the perfect antidote to our striving modern culture.

Presents new ideas in the theory and practice of art therapy, incorporating them into more established art therapy and pointing to future developments. The book concludes with an examination of the training of art therapists and a look at the future direction of research in the field.