The Nine Magical Butterflies

Book excerpt: The Nine Magical Butterflies: A Creative Journey to Transformation Have you ever suffered from crippling fear and anxiety because the thought of an imperfect outcome was unacceptable? Do you believe that you're deserving of something more, but don't know how to begin the process of change? Is the idea of putting paintbrush to paper intimidating? Paint your way through fears, creative blocks, and personal trauma. Within the heart of happiness lies the ability to believe in yourself. In order to do that, you must trust the process, both on the page and in life. After a traumatic experience that shattered her notion of what life was supposed to look like for a mid-thirties woman, Marina Billinghurst turned to the one thing she's always been able to count on: watercolor painting, in all of its imperfections, that's where she practiced letting go. She learned to face her fears. Giving in to the transformative process, it helped her heal. This is when she painted The 9 Magical Butterflies. This symbolic representation of change is what Marina wants to share with you. A non-scientific approach to art therapy as a way of exploring emotions, no artistic talent required! It's simply about you, your brush, and what flows through it. Imperfect art is such only if we believe it to be so, and moving past that block can help free you in other aspects of life. It's in the creating; the magic of the paint going from wet to dry, that transformation lies. Allowing that process to happen organically is the key. It was for Marina, and she hopes it can be for you, too.