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Neurographic Art: Can psychotechnology help rewire our brains?

Peek into a cathartic fusion of brain and artistry

With the month of May dedicated to raising awareness on the importance of mental health and self-care, it is encouraging to see how the world is becoming more and more open to newer ways of healing and grounding. Art therapy being one of them.

From the beginning of the recorded history of various cultures, art has been used as a powerful catalyst in the healing process. It has served as a transformative tool, enabling people to explore, express and integrate experiences, give them shape and meaning, and a pathway to release and heal stored emotions. Recognised for its psychological and physiological benefits, art therapy has now become a formalised field, utilised in several forms.

In recent days, art has emerged as a modern-day counterpart to traditional meditation, with adult colouring books and mandala creations becoming increasingly popular. The beauty lies in its accessibility — no mastery of artistry is required, only a willingness to let yourself draw outside the lines and liberate yourself from constraint.

Drawing from research and personal experience, playing with paper and pencils can have some incredible perks:

Reduced Stress: Simply sitting down with paper and art supplies can be so liberating and cathartic. And there is scientific evidence to back this up. According to the American Journal of Public Health, engaging in creative activities like drawing, painting, and music can help reduce stress and promote positive mental health. The study involved over 6,000 adults, and the researchers found that engaging in creative activities was associated with lower levels of stress, anxiety, and depression.

Boosting Self Esteem and Inspiration: Creating art — even simple, untrained pieces of work — can provide immense satisfaction, pride and confidence.

Encouraging Mindfulness: In Buddhism, the mandala is created to help transform ordinary minds into enlightened ones, and to assist with healing. In many cultures, art therapy is deeply rooted in traditions such as mandala drawing and calligraphy. Monks have been meditating on the sacred mandala for decades. These practices were traditionally believed to promote mindfulness, reduce stress, facilitate emotional healing, elevate your prana and your vibration, and still continue to do so.

A more modern manifestation of this ancient practice is a modality called neuro art, a psychological technique of the 21st century that claims to be the most potent psycho-technology. Essentially, this modality provides a simple and accessible way to connect with the subconscious mind through drawing.

The term "neuro" immediately evokes thoughts of neurons, the nerve cells facilitating communication between the brain and body. Pioneered by Russian psychologist and creativity advocate Pavel Piskarev in 2014, neuro art represents a creative conduit to transform one's perception of the world. By bridging conscious and subconscious worlds through drawing, neuro art fosters profound awareness and mindfulness, anchoring the mind in the present moment.

What's beautiful about neuro art is its democratic nature — it seeks no prerequisite drawing skills or meditative experience; and its benefits are immediate, with studies indicating stress reduction and heightened focus as direct outcomes.

Brenda Ganwani, co-founder of B&C Miracle Method, shares her transformative journey with neuro art, recounting how it revitalised her energy and creativity during one of her lowest phases. Inspired by her experience, Brenda now integrates neuro art into her professional healing practice, and has witnessed remarkable results with clients. She merges neuro art with meditation to delve into clients' subconscious minds, addressing issues ranging from trapped emotions to ancestral healing and limiting beliefs.

The essence of neuro art lies in its liberating process of drawing free-form lines, later refined through a specific algorithm to craft delightful works of vibrant art.

Whether used for relaxation or therapeutic purposes, neuro art can be easily practised at home as well. All you need is a felt tip pen, a blank piece of paper, a felt pen and some colour pencils.

Use the felt tip pen to draw lines that do not follow any pattern. Start at one end of the page and finish at the other. These can be horizontal or vertical lines across the page.

If you are using it as therapy, think of a problem or issue you would like to have a solution for, as you draw the line.

Let these just be lines, do not create a specific drawing shape at this stage

Find any sharp corners where lines cross each other or turn — and round them off, filling in the gap with ink.

You can also add shapes that overlap the lines if you want.

Add a splash of colour if you wish

Draw smaller lines that overlap and round corners again.

You can turn some of the lines into something recognisable or keep it abstract. Go with your intuition and just have fun.

Following your creative instinct while making art is a beautiful meditative process, rooted deeply in the practice of mindfulness. It goes beyond the logical mind and deep-dives straight into hidden layers of one’s psyche. The unconscious, which is otherwise inaccessible, is given an opportunity to open up and new neural networks can be formed in the brain.

Whether you are struggling with a mental health concern or just looking to cope with everyday stress, consider adding some creative arts into your day, and watch your vibration elevate.

wknd@khaleejtimes.com