Mystery Painting
Mystery Painting is a form of healing ritual and ritual painting developed by the artist Paul Hogan, the creative director and co-founder of the Butterfly Peace Garden in Sri Lanka. Mystery Painting is a form of imaginative induction by which a problem is turned into a symbol. Through silent contemplation, images, stories, maps and dreams are being created which show a transformative way to move by 'being moved' (motivated) from the depths of our souls. It is a relaxation method which uses silence, art and contemplation to directly access personal imagination in the interest of healing. In order for a children's garden to succeed, it helps if the animators connect with their own imagination in a transformative way. They must become again as little children. Mystery Painting may or may not be art. It is a Heartwork practice of the Garden Path: a process of emptying the mind and heart so that space opens for inspiration, imagination, and healing energy to flow from adult to child and from child to community.
Mystery painting has three stages, also called 'Cloud Watching'. The stages are:
Mystery painting has three stages, also called 'Cloud Watching'. The stages are:
1: Imprinting;
2: Divination or discovery of form;
3: Coloring and reflection of the narrative.
After 'Cloud Watching' there is a process called 'Cloud Riding'. It is when you tell the story of your Mystery Painting to the group. Others in the circle may question you, the narrator. Cloud Riding is both to listen and to tell. You tell from listening to the source. The source is the silence, the space between words.
For more information on Mystery Painting, please visit the website of the Butterfly Peace Garden.
For more information on Mystery Painting, please visit the website of the Butterfly Peace Garden.