Creative Arts as Contemplative Practice

Recall the last time you created a piece of artwork spontaneously, e.g. drawing, painting, handcraft. How did you feel while you were doing it? Did you feel calm or even peaceful? Creative arts, or more specifically expressive arts, can have therapeutic effects on us by helping us express our complex feelings and other states of mind that words alone might not be able to. It is a widely adopted contemplative practice across different parts of the world for this purpose. We will focus on how expressive arts serve as a type of contemplative practice in an experiential way in Lecture 9, so join us in class and roll up your sleeves for some fun learning!