The Art and Healing of Heidi Darr-Hope

Art and Healing.  Powerful passionate works for me.  I’ve been teaching art and healing for over 20 years.  I’ve been making art for over 40.  But not until this year, did I personally feel the terror associated with a serious health scare.  2017 was a tough year, but I was able to forge a deeper relationship…

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Creating Brave Retreat at 1440 Multiversity

1440: Stunning New Retreat Center. Join us for Creating Brave

I am thrilled to be offering this Creating Brave Retreat  at 1440 Multiversity, a stunning new center nestled in a magnificent forest of of redwoods just outside Santa Cruz, California.  This campus is carefully crafted to nurture, educate and inspire! Bring 2017 to a Close by Gifting Yourself Time Step Outside Your Life Pause to…

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Starting a Mindful Creativity Practice

Ongoing Mindful Creativity Mandala

Developing a Mindful Creativity Practice assists us in navigating through the uncharted territories of life. When life presents us with unexpected twists and turns, many times we get knocked off our center.  Having access to restorative resources keeps us afloat and helps us find our way home. Mindful creativity is one of those avenues, allowing us…

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Unity in Sharing Art: Amulets and Talismans

Sharing with you a closer look of my Kitchen Altar.

Sharing Art – A Courageous Act   Sharing art is a act of trust. It is an act of bravery. Because our creations are tender, innocent newborns, they need protection and nurturing care. Thus, it is anxiety-producing to place our creations in the spotlight for other eyes to see. Yet by sharing our creations in a safe…

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Harvest Despacho Giveaway Contest

despacho ceremony: sacred creations

What is a harvest despacho? Despacho is an Andean amulet-making ceremony, in which the despacho-maker brings various elements into an object and then ritually sends it off. They are traditionally made by Andean shamans for a variety of (often transitional) occasions, from birth rituals to rituals honoring the dead. In a sense, a harvest despacho…

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Despacho Ceremony: Sacred Creations

A Despacho Ceremony

A despacho ceremony is an ancient indigenous ritual of the Andean people of Peru. Despacho literally means to ship or dispatch something.  Creating a despacho is an intentional, focused sacred ceremony in which an amulet-like bundle is filled with natural, biodegradable ingredients. These ingredients hold symbolic elements that represent the prayerful intentions of the despacho-maker.…

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Mindful Nature Mandalas: A Restorative Practice

Nature Mandala

Not familiar with Mindful Mandalas, read more about them here – Mindful Mandalas     Mindful Nature Mandalas Whether you create mindful nature mandalas by yourself or within community, it is a restorative practice.  With nature as our guide, we step into a quiet, nurturing world where time moves at a different pace.  By slowing…

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Mindful Mandalas: A Self-Paced eCourse

Mindful Mandalas

  Mindful Mandalas: an Eight week Self-Paced eCourse is a visual drawing practice that calms and anchors you into quiet stillness. Who doesn’t need a little bit of that? By getting lost in the process of mindful mandala-making, your stress and worries melt away. We use very simple materials. All you need is some quiet time…

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Art as Healing eCourse: Behind the Scenes

Creating Brave: Mindful Mandalas, an art as healing eCourse

In January, it was a glimmer of an idea: Art as Healing: Beginning an eCourse.  Creating an art as healing eCourse was an overwhelmingly daunting experience for me but with the help of some talented people, the process was actually invigorating.   I want you to meet some of the ones who bolstered my confidence and encouraged this…

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Amulets and Talismans: Mindful Healing

Amulets and Talismans Created our of all sorts of things. Offerings to the soul.

Four Simple Words Amulets and Talismans:  Lucky charms, protective totems – tangible symbols that focus our thoughts on a specific idea or intention Mindful: focused attention on the present moment Healing: to restore, to make whole   The creation of amulets and talismans has the power to lead us into a mindful approach to healing. Amulets and talismans…

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