Anavami Center for Mastering the Art of Life

In our present Painting Circle, PAINTING into the TREE of LIFE Circle we have been using Ritual Postures from the work of Felicitas Goodman. She is an anthropologist who collected over 60 Ritual Postures throughout the world from pictographs and artifacts and began the Cuymunque Institute outside of Albuquerque, NM. Through experimentation she has showed that there is a congruency in people’s experiences within various categories of the postures such as; healing metamorphosis, death and rebirth and divination. Although there is no particular believe system that is connected to this kind of journeying, it represents the pre-agricultural shamanic practice.
Through brain wave analysis and other ways of monitoring body changes it has been demonstrated that the state that the Ritual Postures induced with rattling at 210 shakes per minute are different from hypnosis, meditation or channeling. Scientists found that the brain lights up in a way that is simliarto ecstatic trance.

In our Painting Circle we have used the Spirit Bear Posture, which is to initiate healing. We have noticed that it is a more physical, more kinesetic engagement in the painting process. Also the bear imagery from the journey has found its way into our paintings. It takes practice to get comfortable with the fifteen minute of this standing posture. Participants experiences have varied widely. The discipline is to maintain the posture with focus and perceive whatever happens as the journey. We have had couple instances of ecstatic states.

It is different from the metaphor work that we do with the paintings in that we receive what happens in the Ritual Trance Posture as the experience in itself. There are modalities of dream work that take a similar approach, in which the experience of Grandfather Bear has more value than what it symbolizes. We have found in the metaphoric work with our paintings that whatever, including trance experience, lends to the bodily “ah ha” of personal meaning and truth. I am talking with Elsa Etcheverrys, who studied with Goodman at the Cuyamungue Institute outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico about doing some event together in the fall. Contact me if you have interest or contact Elsa directly, her information is in the SPONSOR section.

Our Quest for Vision workshop in New Mexico miraculously found its way from the college campus into to the studio of Jaye Buros and Bill Page. Their adobe home with several gardens, including a Zen stone garden, overlooks the Chama River and is minutes from a spiritual touch stone of Plaza Blanca. Both Jaye and Bill are painters who recently showed at Abiquiu Inn. Several locals told me t

hat their talk was very moving as they spoke from the heart about their art process and journey. Many artists are drawn to that area, there attitude is usual. It was an honor to be hosted by such a lovely couple in such a beautiful and timeless place.

The workshop was powerful and invited all six of us to a more expansive vision of how we interact with the world. We painted for four days, cutting, rolling, sewing and manipulating cotton duck canvas until it found the appropriate format, which differed for each one of us.

Some words directly from a participant in PAINTING as QUEST for VISION whose is shown below:

“Art reflects life and informs it. I believe that this work is a contribution to the healing and transforming of the planet itself. Consciousness grows out of our abilities to more honestly “see” ourselves and to heal and be encouraged from that newfound awareness. It is always exciting for me to watch what happens with the dialog between myself and the paintbrush. Magical, really, as most of what appears is not thought out ahead of time. Often it is surprising in its manifestations in my life, always nurturing in its expression.” JW, Santa Cruz