Written by Lumi (Changyi Li), Visionary Artist & Healer
Lumi (Changyi Li) is an art healer and intuitive known by her visionary art and embodied spiritual practices on the journey of self-healing and personal growth. She created Illumina Free Soul Art, an online platform to heal and empower the world through authentic and heartfelt expression.
We are born to be intuitive and connected, and we all have our unique way of expression. We don’t necessarily need professional skills to become an artist, as the willingness to express ourselves and creativity are more of the key to unlocking our artistic potential. Sometimes we need a bit more listening and to allow our intuition to lead the way. When art is created intuitively, it is healing medicine – empowering, bringing us joy, and supporting our growth journey.
What is intuitive art?
It can be any art expression guided and led by intuition without much conscious planning or thought process involved. It often bypasses the mind and flows into its form, just like being alive and having a unique character. Usually, it gets channeled straight away without us considering the outcome.
So, being different from the mainstream art production process, intuitive art doesn’t have a linear working process but more of an instant record of the feelings, emotions, or energies the artist is in, and so carries psychic energy in a more pristine form without much conscious interference. Intuitive art allows more energy to flow through our system than other forms of art that involve thought and planning processes. So it can make you feel lighter and more relieved after expression.
Intuitive expression as the gateway to the soul
Humanity has had a long-lasting association with intuitive expression since the beginning of civilization. It manifests our close and everlasting connection with the unseen. The expression acts as the gateway for people to access higher wisdom, revelation, and guidance. It is often channeled and delivered by wisdom holders in the collective, such as shamans, sages, and philosophers in the past. Examples are pagan sigils, Sumi-ink Zen art, and Sufi calligraphic writings, to name a few. The images or writings are often shown as implicit and metaphoric, holding healing energies and symbolic meanings to inspire and support one's journey, and shall never be taken in or interpreted superficially. Through the study of ancient ways, therapists and healers nowadays can follow similar practices to benefit our mental and spiritual well-being.
How does intuitive art benefit our mental and spiritual well-being?
Modern art therapy practices involve intuitive expression. Participants are asked to express without pre-planning or thinking to discover unconscious motifs and repressed emotions to achieve healing. Sometimes during the process, emotions can surface and result in a cathartic release of mental energy. So intuitive art is a great way of self-exploration to help rebalance mental status and release emotional blockages, which we can practice on our own for mental adjustment, rebalance, and relaxation.
The more we practice regularly, the more we can know ourselves. The expression is a passage to delve into the unconscious part of the psyche to discover the limiting beliefs, false beliefs, and mental programming behind our thoughts and actions that hinder us from reaching our highest potential. This awareness is vital to one’s healing and growth. It is the driving force for making conscious decisions about any changes and adjustments you need to evolve and progress.
Intuitive expression can be a great reminder and ally on our growth journey and helps us stay introspective and reflective, especially during tumultuous times in life.
Intuition also empowers you. It is like our spiritual food when caught up in daily trivialities. It brings light and colours to life, just like what might manifest in your intuitive paintings. There is a nourishing inner fulfillment after intuitive expression with little to do with achievements or purposes. This inner contentment is almost irreplaceable by the target-meeting affairs in life.
After becoming familiar with working with intuition, people easily find joy and feel more connected after intuitive art. When this intuitive flow is allowed, it resets your energy system and connects you to your depth – your inner voice, or soul self. It anchors you to your roots and your center. This reconnection naturally brings healing and gradually bridges the gap between the mind and the soul. Intuitive expression makes you feel more reconciled and whole.
How to practice intuitive art?
Intuition has no limitations or boundaries and can flow in any form. It will grow and flourish into an idiosyncrasy of your own if you allow it to. That is your expression. You will find the way if you keep on calling it, or we shall say, the way naturally finds you as you move along. The steps listed below are the general guidance for an everyday exercise to get you started, especially if this is new to you. If you are familiar with intuitive art, you may choose not to follow the steps. The more important thing is to follow your feelings, your heart, and your intuition, and find your way.
Choose your media
It can be any art media you are familiar with, so see how you feel and what draws you. For beginners, it is better to start simple, for example, just using plain pencils, coloured pencils, or crayon. It is better to do it on paper rather than on electronic devices.
Different media certainly lead to different visual outcomes. But don’t worry too much about which one to choose. You may shift from one medium to another as you practice as a natural process, and you will find the one that suits you best.
Find the right ambiance
Find somewhere you feel relaxed and comfortable. Make sure you are alone and won't be disturbed. Nature can be a great option if the weather permits.
You might want to clear the energy of the space you are in, such as ventilating the room, smudging, or burning incense. Adjust the indoor conditions if needed such as lighting, to ensure that they best serve your working process. Make sure that you are comfortable in the space you are in.
Prepare your heart
Settle into a calm and meditative state, and lightly watch any thoughts and emotions rising and falling. You may wish to meditate for a while or play some background music e.g. Tibetan singing bowl and handpan, to get into the mood. You may also feel like carrying out some simple ceremonies to invite your intuition to come through and lead your expression. If ceremonies are not for you, then say this mantra with your heart:
“With my heart open, I invite my intuition and allow it to lead my expression and to bring me the messages I need today.”
This is a way to consciously call upon your intuition. You may wish to rephrase the mantra in your way, and it is better to say it out. There is always this ask-and-receive reciprocity going on when connecting to the unseen or the unconscious. If you genuinely call, then intuition will answer.
You might have some particular themes you wish to express or questions you wish for answers. Ask for support from your intuition if this is the case, combine it with the mantra above and say it out.
When you feel ready, grab your art tools and start
Try not to worry about the layout, placement, use of colours, etc. as well as the outcome of the art. Just draw/paint what you instantly feel. Don’t worry about how well you do or the external judgment on your work as the intention is not to assess the outcome. And don’t worry about the reasons behind your expression either.
If you find yourself caught up in your mind’s regular thinking and judging pattern, gently let it go and carry on expressing. It is very normal to pause and then resume or to have a sudden shift in the way you express especially when you wrestle with your mind. Notice the mind, allow it, and carry on if you feel unfinished. Spontaneous, bizarre, and feisty expressions are no problem because there is no right or wrong in this. This can also be a practice of self-acceptance, especially the acceptance of the mind being an integral part of yourself to be seen, heard, and cared for, instead of being rejected, repressed, and judged.
Be mindful of any thoughts, emotions, feelings, or visions that arise. Gently observe them and try not to get involved. If you notice yourself being taken away, then take a step out from it. This is also a practice of pure observation without involvement, which is similar to the practice of Zen meditation.
Keep checking with how you feel. If you find yourself caught up in rising surges of emotions that become overwhelming and hard to let go, then stop whenever you feel like so and have a release. Don’t be hard on yourself. Let your true feelings be the top guideline you follow.
Remember, it is normal for emotions to surface especially when you are new to this exercise or new to exploring the unconscious self. You might experience discomfort, so if you feel like leaving intuitive art for some time then that is fine. Resume until you feel ready to. Intuitive flow shifts your energy little by little as you keep going. And it will find you more when you are truly allowing it. So allow your growth and healing, and trust that the time will come for things to come around and reconcile. Your intuition will not abandon you. It will wait till you are ready to face the healing and will always send messages to support you for your highest good.
Record & reflect
How do you feel during the process? Do you feel differently before and after expression? Record your observations.
What do you feel your art means? Can you spot any repeating signs and symbols which are of personal significance to you? How do you feel about the images when you examine them afterward? Anything special or peculiar in your art that gets your attention? This list of questions can go on as a series of self-reflection and self-analysis. Of course, having a bit more knowledge on interpretation can be helpful for instance, you might wish to look into Carl Jung’s work Man and His Symbols and Memories, Dreams, Reflections as a reference, or research from reliable sources on signs and symbols in ancient traditions. But always align with what you feel about the images, as it is about you. These images hold different meanings and guidance with different people at their different life stages and are never to be taken as definite.
It is normal if you can’t work out what your art means, especially from the start, so don’t wrestle with it as you don’t need to work everything out. As long as you notice “the unknown” and keep it in mind, then there will be a time for the answer to surface. You often will see a pattern coming out as you progress. So take note of that also. Sometimes certain pieces hold long-term meanings or premonitions on your growth rather than just reflecting your current status. There is no right or wrong in interpreting intuitive art, as the meanings and understanding change as we evolve. So keep looking back at your older pieces of work, as you might see something completely new in them that you have never noticed before.
File your art with the reflections so you will see the growth and the way your inner journey unfolds. This is like keeping a visual diary.
Other ways of practice
If you become familiar with the practice, you can explore various ways that enhance your experience. You may try to combine art with other forms of expression such as dance and music. Play a piece of music and express intuitively alongside. Or do some free-form dancing to get the energy moving in your body and see what flows out on paper afterward.
Try expressing yourself when you feel deeply touched and see what comes out when your heart is filled with joy, love, and gratitude. And try when strong emotions find you. How do your feelings want to show up, and what messages do they carry for you?
Express whenever you feel needed or inspired, as intuition will nudge you to get it down. The world of intuitive expression is limitless, so there are endless possibilities.
Art is just a medium for intuition to manifest. Intuitive art is about art, but at its core, it is about the relationship between you and yourself – different parts of yourself. How do you treat yourself? Do you know yourself? Do you love and take care of every facet of yourself? There are deep wisdom and insightful messages passed on through intuitive expression for us to listen to. But this will feel unfamiliar and abstract until you experience it by yourself. Your real experience will tell. So if you feel the call, try it out and find your unique expression. Or look at some examples of intuitive art to be inspired.
Lumi (Changyi Li), Visionary Artist & Healer
Lumi is a visionary and intuitive with the mission to serve as a healer through art. Her expression springs from her growth and self-healing journey and centers around themes on personal development, self-empowerment, re-connection to ancient wisdom and nature. Lumi shares her heartfelt expression on social media and website. Her art has been showcased in various UK-based exhibitions and magazines. Being passionate about inspiring and connecting to those who walk on similar journeys, Lumi is open to commission and collaboration which aligns to her mission. Her core value: to heal others one needs to commit to ones own growth journey; in the end it is love that heals it all.
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