Ian's April 2020 Newsletter - part 2

Welcome to my Update, which is the first instalment of your April newsletter. How are you coping at the moment? We are all going through an unprecedented time where things are changing rapidly, on an almost daily level.

Many of you reading this will be in lockdown mode and restricted from doing the things you would normally like to. Therefore, I thought it might be an appropriate time to focus on Turkey Bush - THE Essence for creativity. In the artwork processes of our Levels 1, 2 and 3 Bush Essence workshops, participants are given a dose of Turkey Bush before going off to do their paintings, drawings etc. People are amazed at the results with Turkey Bush both switching off their inner critic, so that they are able to simply enjoy the experience. As well as having the pleasure of their creative juices flowing!

Many a time at the end of one of these workshops an individual has approached me to say they were really keen to come but once they realised there was an art process, they seriously considered cancelling! So many people have been traumatised in their early years around expressing themselves creatively, whether criticised by others – or themselves – humiliated or just frustrated by not being able to tap into their creative energy.

Turkey Bush grows up in the Top End and its peak flowering is in August when it creates a spectacular sight with a rich profusion of pink along the highways and throughout the bush. A few days after returning from making this Essence the first time, I found myself teaching a residential Level 1 workshop South of Sydney. Having more time than normal, I allocated two hours for an art process. The participants were given a basic introduction on how to use water colours, a dose of Turkey Bush then given their art material & paper and sent out to paint. The many anguished excuses of not being able to, nor wanting to do the process were suitably ignored. Afterwards we collected their artwork organised framing and hired an art gallery for a weekend a month later. One of the paintings was chosen as an invitation postcard which was sent out to the participant’s friends and family for opening night of their very first art exhibition. These same people who, a few weeks earlier, had strongly protested were now proudly standing underneath their masterpieces explaining it in minutiae to their adoring friends and family!

In the Level 1 workshop participants draw a flower they’ve connected to the day before on the Trust Walk, on the Level 2 workshop they draw a flower they have seen intuitively during a guided meditation, while in the Level 3 everyone draws or paints the flower that we, as a group, are making the Essence from, so as to observe more accurately the Doctrine of Signatures of that flower. All the participants at these workshops are given Turkey Bush before going to do their artwork.

Are you getting a little bit bored with Netflix or of finally doing all those domestic chores that have been put off for a long time? If so, then you may want to consider having fun exploring and expressing your creativity by working with Turkey Bush! You could also consider Creative Essence, of which Turkey Bush is the main component.

As a result of the lockdown we have had to cancel all of our scheduled Bush Essence workshops both in Australia and Internationally for the next few months. However, you will still be able to do the artwork in the Level 1 workshop this year as for the very first time I am going to teach the Level 1 workshop online! More details about this will be sent to you very shortly.