"I have always been able to see what others were unable to see; and what they did, I did not see."

- Salvador Dali

Several years ago while in New York I stumbled on a book that was to change my life - "Psychic living: tap into your psychic potential" by Andrei Ridgeway.

"In this technological day and age filled with busywork, " he writes, "many of us neglect our psychic potential. Our instincts are repressed and our inner voices buried...."

"...For many, the word "psychic" is so big, so titanic, they can't accept it. They don't realize it is a normal state of being, that as a lover, and a friend, we use this part of ourselves all the time."

Today as I continued to feel my way toward my preferred future, my true path with heart, and needing a boost I decided to try one of the exercises in the book - evoking the seer.

"For an artist, whatever, he is looking at has meaning. He doesn't need to use the word "clairvoyant, " because the whole universe is holy. Whether it be a spirit that appears out of thin air, or a piece of fruit on the table, it has soul," he writes. Then he encourages us to see the world as an artist and expand our vision to see into other times and places. "It is a wake up exercise, like a cup of coffee for the eyes."

Seeing exercise

Try Andrei's exercise - I just did and it was extra-ordinary! (I've posted my experience at the end of this entry)


Step one Go to a bookstore, library, art gallery or museum and visit the art section. You can make it a filed trip with a friend or lover. Give yourself time. Pretend you are living in the Renaissance, before the invention of People Magazine, when art mattered. Go through the books as if you have never seen any of those painters before, and be especially open to painters whose work you have never seen before. If you have not been in the painting world for a while and feel the need for a starting point, try one of these artists: Salvador Dali,Alex Grey (especially his book Soul Mirrors), Georgia O'keefe, or Claude Monet.

The books that you are drawn to will contain images and colours that resonate with your soul. Go through the pages/view the paintings at a leisurely speed. When you find a painting that really moves you, that stirs your optic cells, sit there and stare at it for a while. Let the light and the colour fill you up.


Step two Write a paragraph about your favourite painting, why it touched you, what is was about it that awakened your soul, Write stream of consciousness (IE just free write without "thinking") I liked the painting because it made me think of god and being a little kid and no end to wonder with yellow warmth and excitement in my belly. Let your pen go wild. No censorship.


Step three When you enter back into reality - your home, office, or the coffee shop next door - see if you can perceive in the objects and people around you the same level of beauty you saw in the painting. Rarely do painters create strictly from the unconscious. Most of them combine their hidden selves with the world around them, blending spirit with matter int heir own masterful way. See what it feels like to perceive life through this double lens, to bring your soul vision into the mundane, to see in the face of a stranger the same wonder and intensity that lived in the painting.

If the painting you chose was famous, buy yourself a print and put it somewhere in your home. It will act as a reminder of how your soul sees the world, keeping your eyes attuned to beauty as you pass through the day."

(excerpt from "Psychic living: tap into your psychic potential" by Andrei Ridgeway, pg 43)

Seeing Cass


Leap Away Girl 1969, Ian Scott

Today I went to Te Papa and after wandering around the many walls of art this painting "Leap Away Girl" by Ian Scott immediately called to me.

Here's what I wrote:

"Fresh yellow greens, clear blue sky and white puffy clouds - the colours call to me as does the name of the painting - Leap Away Girl. "go follow your dreams" the painting called, "look to the horizons and keep following your dreams, allow the fresh, invigorating colours of nature to guide and inspire you - the red energy of passion and goals, of motivation; green the energy of pastures news, of the heart chakra , of feeling energetic and alive, connected to nature, of following the seasons; blue the colour of peace and calm of warm days and summer skies of mother earth and the heavens that envelope her; white the colour of purity, marriage, union, partnership and marriage - contracts of love."

The energy and vitality of the painting arrests me, stops me in my tracks, draws me deeper still - it's joyful, hopeful, sensual,epxectant . The curvy shapes of the clouds in the sky and of the hills - dancing, playful, irregular, creative, uniform - heralding surprises, defying expectations.

"Let go. Let live. Follow your dreams," it challenges and encourages me. Allow the green of the heart - of courage and positive emotion, growth and renewal to nurture you; the blue of the horizon and sea to guide you - to flow like their currents to distant shores and new memories awaiting. The white of the clouds to soften your fears to life you higher still."


Now that I am back at the office the painting lives inside me still, whispering to and challenging my soul. I have printed out a copy of the painting and placed it on my inspiration wall, saved it as my screen saver, and pasted it in my inspiration journal. I see myself in the image of the girl - colourful, jubilant, happy beyond belief. It reminds me of my dream "I dream I am on vacation, it's the perfect career for me" - taken from a song by the Eagles. And of my morphing back toward art, writing, photography and photo journalism - and there on my business card for all to see is a reminder:
Cassandra Gaisford - Artist, life coach, author, photojournalist"


"Art washed from the soul the dust of everyday life." Pablo Picasso


Try this exercise yourself - I'd love to hear how awakening the seer within transforms your life.

Labels: Colour, Cultivating Creativity, happiness, intuition, Life coaching, Motivation, Spirituality in art, Thecolourgirl.com