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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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 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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Creating Brave eCourses: Survivorship

Mindful Survivorship Mandalas

  Survivorship: to endure to live through to live beyond in spite of a danger, adversity or hardship Frankly, haven’t we all dealt with survivorship in some form or another? Although the word is usually associated with cancer survivorship issues, the residue from a life altering event can cling to us, becoming chronic if not addressed. Underlying issues…

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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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