Can I Learn to be Abundant?
In last week’s blog, I referred to Betty Edwards, “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain”. It opened a whole can of thoughts!
I learned how to draw from Edwards book of neoroligical explanations and exercises. But I would like to make a very important distinction here: It was not that I learned how to draw – I learned how to SEE!
Access Your Brain
And it all depended on how I accessed my brain hemispheres. The Left brain wants to categorize and logically name each part of what you are drawing. For example, it has a name and a shape already registered for the forehead, nose, eyes, lips. It is very controlling about this. And that is why a first try at drawing a face looks so immature and undeveloped.
Quieting the Left Brain
So, Edwards developed a way to make the Left brain be “quiet”. She offers exercises that the Left brain does not want to do. The first exercise is Drawing upside-Down. You place a complicated drawing of Stravinsky upside-down in front of you and draw it. Oh no! The Left brain does not like it! The frustrated Left brain lets go!
Right Brain Process
This leaves the intuitive, creative Right Brain to do its thing, which it loves!
Edwards presents one Left brain “No-No” after another:
- drawing edges (too slow);
- looking at empty spaces (Left Brain does not deal with ‘nothing’);
- finding perspective and distance (Left brain does not like vanishing points and paradoxical angles);
- contrasting Light and Shadow (too complicated – no distinct lines!)
… and so on and on!
But the Right brain is patient, persevering, and enjoys the complex and paradoxical changes in perceptions.
Edwards Website
On her website Edwards presents a menu with a few of these exercises you can try. They are fun and challenging and rewarding.
Also, check out the student artists’ Before and After Pictures. You will easily SEE what I mean about how we can train our brains to SEE so clearly.
Drawing and Praying
In her step-by-step exercises, Edwards teaches how to get the brain to work to your advantage. Because the Left brain is so bossy, you have to learn to turn it down and access the Right brain.
It is very similar to prayer and meditation! You are very still. Silent. Slow. Using lots of repetition… and lots of practice.
As she says clearly, “Learning to draw turns out to be something more than learning to draw.”
I believe that learning to pray and meditate means learning more than simply going through the motions.
If you are looking to connect with Abundance, you have to know that Abundance is not just your Left brain logically THINKing it into place. It’s not your Right brain simply and intuitively creating your abundance.
Mental Shift
Just like drawing successfully, it means being able to make that mental shift into your Right brain. As I said in last week’s blog, it is your quiet, still brain. It is you, practicing, believing and trusting in the Abundance of the Divine Universe. Just like prayer and meditation!
You can learn and practice this ability… and you will See the world – your world – differently.
With your…
Light On!
