Therapeutic art

Badal Suchak explains how art can heal us from within and take us to a higher level of consciousness

- Badal Suchak

Being an Art and Design professional, I have innately been aware of the impact that an image has on the viewer’s mind. The subconscious mind is designed to understand visuals. Also, among all five senses, the sense of sight gathers maximum impressions from the environment and feeds it to the mind. It has been scientifically proven that eighty per cent of the impressions that our mind receives is through the sense of sight. Therefore, the visual aspect of our environment is of immense importance.

Visual creativity can be utilised in various ways. A graphics designer utilises it to respond to the commercial interests of a brand. A product designer, while designing, would predominantly focus on the functional aspect. A cartoonist creating daily strips on current affairs for a newspaper is tapping into the political angle of art. A fashion designer could be utilising visual creativity for pure pleasure. A digital UX designer would tap into the psychological aspect of the user. All the angles are valid and have their own significance.

The most important aspect of art, as per my understanding, is to utilise it to raise consciousness and to heal the human heart and mind. Light travels through the eyes into the human system and touches the core. Art touches the soul. This is the inward journey of art. The soul expresses itself creatively, flowing through the hands that create a work of art. This is the outward journey of art. Both, the inward journey and the outward journey, can be a spiritual experience and facilitate deep healing. This is the aspect I like to utilise in my Therapeutic Art sessions with my clients.