Street artist JR made a wish in 2011: Join me in a worldwide photo project to show the world its true face. Now, a year after his TED Prize wish, with a camera, a dedicated wheatpasting crew and the help of whole villages and favelas, he shows how giant posters of human faces, pasted [...]
“Higher Ground” is a song that speaks of the perseverance it takes to reach the higher consciousness. You can join and support the movement, “Playing For Change,” here.
Music education produces myriad benefits, strengthening kids’ abilities in reading, math, and verbal intelligence. New British research suggests it may also teach something less tangible, but arguably just as important: The ability to empathize. In a year-long program focused on group music-making, 8- to 11-year old children became markedly more compassionate, according to a [...]
Read by Thich Nath Hanh and chanted by brother Phap Niem, this meditative piece of work is truly soothing and uplifting. The creators of this audio track were Gary Malkin, the composer/arranger, producer, and collaborator Michael Stillwater. The work came from a CD/book called Graceful Passages: A Companion for Living and Dying. The visuals [...]
We know the power of music to move us profoundly and beautifully. It is always a thing of beauty to observe someone completely absorbed in music and experience pure joy, become alive. Here is an old gentleman in nursing home reacting to hearing music from his era. See, a thing of beauty and wonder. [...]
In Arizona, an African American doctor creates street art to heal the Navajo Nation. In São Paulo, a graffiti artist documents the lives of the homeless and working-class. In New Orleans and Chicago, an artist creates a space for people to share dreams. There’s plenty of cool street art out there, but these three [...]
Alison Moraites knew she’d made the right career choice the first time she played for a patient. The fourth-year music therapy student at the University of Windsor always had a passion for playing music and helping people, but everything came together on her first placement. “You actually see the effects the music can have right [...]
Art therapy exercises for depression use direction to explore emotions and awareness. Deb Shoemaker is trained in Art Therapy Assessments, DBT, and CBT.
The following is an excerpt from an article published in the New York Times Arts: The Society for the Arts in Health Care, in its most recent State of the Field report, published in 2009, cited data showing that up to 45 percent of the country’s health care institutions use art in their programs. These [...]
Imagery has been used in healing continuously since the times of ancient shamans. In the first part of this two-part program, the late Jeanne Achterberg discusses the holographic model of the brain and suggests that mental images mediate between our conscious intentions and our physiology. She cites a body of research indicating that the [...]