Expressive Arts Makeover

by Raven Nalika Rose

Many people believe they are not creative. Are you one of those people?

Would you like to be more creative? Would you like to experiment with creativity? Would you like to feel more confident and inspired and alive? Rediscover the one-of-a-kind person—You.

Hi, I’m Raven Nalika Rose. Creativity had always saved me. It gave me a way to play and express my joys, sorrows, hopes and visions. However, several years ago, I realized I had lost the joy I felt when acting/writing/painting/singing. I had become so focused on developing my career. I compared my ‘successes’ or ‘failures’ and life to other people’s lives. In making such comparisons, I also realized that I was placing all my value as a human being upon whether or not I had ‘success’, notoriety, and material possessions.

Fortunately, this was going to change, as I felt drawn to learn and understand why I felt such a huge void and loneliness. What was I missing? There was a great opportunity in this darkness. Though I studied Hindu philosophy as a teenager and learned to meditate from a Buddhist priest when I was nineteen, spirituality had not been the central pillar of my life. I began revisiting meditation. I read more books on every spiritual practice—Buddhism, paganism and shamanism. I felt a strong resonance with the Divine Feminine, which seemed to be missing from my life and so many spiritual philosophies I had encountered. I discovered the power in reclaiming my receptivity and intuition as strengths which could guide and ground my life in the here and now. While reading a magazine, I came across a training program in Expressive Arts therapy. I was intrigued. It took me a year to apply and enroll, but I followed this calling to study and experience art and community. I wanted sisterhood! I wanted joy! I wanted freedom! This merging of my spirituality and arts was to be the foundation of Sacred Play™. Over the years, in my spirituality classes and during my expressive arts training, I saw women come out of their shells of insecurity, doubt and shame. I noticed that I felt more vibrant and I engaged with people and situations with greater calm and less fear. I no longer feared being my true self. I reclaimed the artistself, the spontaneous, loving, and passionate girl I had forgotten. She was and is with me now!

I tell my story, as an invitation to you. I invite you to meet your self, your inner self, your child self. What are your soul’s longings? Don’t have any idea? Feel as though you don’t even know yourself? The Arts, visual and performing, are for everyone, not just the professionals on stage or screen or in museums. In many cultures, art is part of everyone’s daily life.

Combining painting, collage, movement, voice work, journaling, and meditation you relax and open to your self. Enter into sacred space. Take a respite from your routine. Leave your ‘to-do’ list and goals at the door. This is an invitation to meet and express your self! Become empowered! In Sacred Play™ you encounter and express your authentic self. With each session you go deeper and return refreshed, ready to give the gift that is only yours to give, your presence

Raven Nalika Rose offers Sacred Play™ workshops for the individual or group. Ms. Rose is an Expressive Arts Practitioner certified by the Expressive Arts Training Institute, under the instruction and direction of Jane Goldberg, Ph.D. Ms. Rose is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and University of California, Santa Cruz where she majored in Women’s Studies and minored in the Creative Process. She is an actress/writer/dancer and a life-long student of many spiritual practices including but not limited to Tantric Buddhism, Bhakti Yoga, Native American Shamanism and Goddess Spirituality.