Lately, my grandson has been completely immersed in Star Wars. His Christmas presents revolved almost entirely around it—LEGO building sets, books, a backpack, games, and more. Watching his excitement has been pure joy, but it also led me to an unexpected realization.

His love for Star Wars connects directly to my own long-standing fascination with Joseph Campbell.

Eckhart Tolle’s book A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose is an invitation to awaken. It asks us to step out of the ego’s grip and live from presence, awareness, and the deeper intelligence of the soul.

Intuition Painting® is a powerful, embodied way to practice exactly what Tolle teaches

When you paint from intuition, you are not just creating art. You are practicing consciousness.

If the central teaching of A New Earth is that suffering comes from identifying with the ego and freedom comes from awareness, then Intuition Painting® becomes the place where this insight is no longer theoretical. It becomes lived, felt, and real.

As Tolle writes, “Awareness is the greatest agent for change.” The canvas is where that awareness comes alive.

Rewiring your creative pathways, one brushstroke at a time

There is a powerful insight that shows up again and again in neuroscience and attachment research, often connected to the work of Dr. Karyn Purvis. The brain learns and changes faster through play.

Some studies suggest it can take hundreds of repetitions to form a new neural pathway through effort and discipline alone. But when learning happens in a state of play, that process can accelerate dramatically, sometimes taking as few as 10 to 20 repetitions. The exact numbers vary, but the truth behind them is clear. Play speeds up rewiring.

This is exactly why Intuition Painting® works so deeply.

In expressive arts, we talk a lot about painting freely…following your impulses, trusting the unknown, and letting color lead the way. But when we try to do that, the mind immediately fights back.

Michele Cassou, creator of the Point Zero approach, describes these inner blocks as the Three Dragons, the forces that rise up whenever we step into true creative freedom. You see them in every Intuition Painting® session. We all do. And naming them helps loosen their grip.

I’ve been researching this idea of high vs. low vibration emotions. We hear a lot about “high vibration” as if it means being happy all the time, thinking positive thoughts, or avoiding anything uncomfortable. But high vibration has nothing to do with forced positivity or spiritual glossing-over.

It’s something much deeper, calmer, and more honest: alignment. With your body. With your intuition. With the natural rhythms of your life. And that alignment only becomes real when we stop treating “low” emotions like failures and start seeing them for what they are: information.

Every Emotion Has a Vibration

Every feeling you experience carries a frequency. Not “good” or “bad”, simply signals that reveal what’s happening inside you. Low-vibration emotions are not signs you’re off your path. They are messages pointing toward what needs attention, truth, or care:

• Fear shows where safety is missing
• Anger shows where boundaries were crossed
• Sadness shows where tenderness is needed
• Grief shows what mattered deeply
• Shame shows where healing and honesty are calling for you

There is wisdom in every emotion. When we stop labeling feelings as right or wrong, we unlock their purpose.

I came across a simple video about ikigai the other day, nothing flashy or “life-changing,” just a gentle explanation of this Japanese idea of a reason to wake up in the morning. But something in it landed deeply.

It made me pause and ask myself: What is my ikigai? What actually makes my life feel worth living…beneath the goals, the roles, the doing? Especially since I recently retired, what is my reason for being at this stage in my life?

That small moment of reflection inspired me to write this blog post and to explore what ikigai really means and to invite you to discover your own.

The Intuition Painting® Guiding Mantras are gentle prompts that awaken your inner muse and reconnect you with your natural creative flow.

Each one is a simple shift in mindset—an invitation to release fear, trust your instincts, and let your imagination lead the way.

With Intuition Painting®, these mantras help you:

• Move beyond fear

• Open creative flow

• Spark insights and “ahas”

• Free stuck energy

• Lift your mood and motivation

• Deepen your connection to your inner wisdom

I keep these mantras posted around my art studio as reminders of what really matters in the creative process—and you can, too.

In Intuition Painting®, we try to avoid familiar symbols — hearts, stars, trees, butterflies, and so on — not because they’re wrong, but because they often come from habit rather than intuition. The question is: Are you making a pretty picture, or are you letting brush, color, and emotion lead the way?

Just as a writer avoids clichés to find fresh language, we paint beyond cultural symbols to discover our own imagery and meaning. That said, if a familiar image appears, I never tell someone not to use it — and sometimes I use one too. Maybe it really is their intuition, or maybe it’s simply a placeholder when they feel stuck. In the first of the four sessions in a workshop, that’s common. By the second or third, the painter often paints over it or transforms it into something unexpected.

We had a beautiful 2-Day Intuition Painting® Workshop at the new Juniper Moon Artisan Market in Paradise, Utah, held during the luminous Harvest Moon on October 6 & 7.

What a gift to share the magic of this process with the loveliest people — souls willing to dive deep, trust their intuition, and let the colors lead the way. Each brushstroke became a whisper from the soul… each painting, a mirror of transformation.

Mapping Myth to Creativity: Back in 2023, when I attended my first Intuition Painting® Workshop in Joshua Tree, CA with founder Montine Blank, I realized that the wheel of the process mirrored the archetypal paths of Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey (the external quest) and Maureen Murdock’s Heroine’s Journey (the inner transformation). Wanting to understand this more deeply, I mapped the stages together—interweaving mythic storytelling with the creative flow of Intuition Painting®—to show how the process guides us through both an outward adventure and an inward awakening.

While I wasn’t raised with art, creativity, or painting being a focus—or even really encouraged—I fell in love with it late in life. It arrived quietly at first, as a coping skill for burnout, frustration, trauma, and the emotional unraveling that followed my divorce, almost 20 years ago. What began as a way to survive became something sacred. Now, painting is part of my everyday life, and I honestly can’t imagine life without it.

I couldn’t sleep last night and was scrolling on Instagram. I became fascinated with a post that someone had submitted a question to AI and received a profound answer…especially interesting because it mirrors what we do in intuition painting. I wanted to see if I got the same answer so I asked ChatGPT this: “Based on all the great psychologists, What are the 5 things everyone must understand about life or they risk failing at it?” It was basically the same answer. The interesting thing I realized is the relationship to what we do in intuition painting, read on:

Aceso: Goddess of the Process of Healing

I paint a lot now. It’s become a daily meditation—a quiet return to myself through color, texture, and breath. As I painted this image of a medicine woman, she spoke to me of her power. She is Aceso, Goddess of the process of healing. Not of sudden miracles. Not of quick fixes. But of the gentle, sacred unfolding—one breath, one choice, one brushstroke at a time.

The magic of Intuition Painting® lies in helping you access and trust your intuition—not as a fleeting feeling, but as a full-body knowing.

Through the act of painting without rules or judgment, we quiet the thinking mind and awaken the deeper wisdom held in the head, heart, and gut—our three inner “brains.”

Did you know you have three brains?

I am facilitating Intuition Painting: Painting Through Grief over the next couple months at my home for anyone that may be interested in this unique experience.

This is a gentle, creative workshop for healing through color and expression. No painting experience needed—just an open heart.

I finally did it!

After years of painting women, words, and quiet truths…
I turned my art into something you can hold in your hands—
Introducing the Soul Journey: Secret Selves Oracle Cards

Each card is a doorway—
into the unseen parts of ourselves,
the whispers we often ignore,
the wisdom we carry in our bones.

Art. Quotes. Journal prompts.
Designed to stir your spirit and spark reflection.

They’re linked in my bio, straight from the printer to you.
I hope they guide you as they’ve guided me.

For sale directly from the printer: Soul Journey: Secret Selves Oracle Cards

From my soul journey to yours,

Maria

The First Ever Badass Women’s Retreat!
A celebration of friendship, relaxation, and the unstoppable power of women—especially our creativity!

This beautiful, soul-filling day was hosted by a dear friend who generously provided the most delicious food. I had the joy of guiding a Neurographic Art session and Red Thread Ceremony—they may not always go perfectly, but they always spark deep connection, shared laughter, and learning. That’s the beauty of showing up, creating together, and growing through it all.

Other incredible women stepped in to offer yoga, wine bottle flower arranging, sound healing, and journaling. The result? A truly inspiring day filled with sisterhood, soul care, and spontaneous joy.

Will there be another one?
Time will tell.
But for now, I’m simply grateful to have been part of something so special—with such lovely, radiant women.

“A circle of women may just be the most powerful force known to humanity. If you have one, embrace it. If you need one, seek it. If you find one, for the love of all that is good and holy, dive in. Hold on. Love it up. Get Naked. Let them see you. Let them hold you. Let your reluctant tears fall. Let yourself rise fierce and love gentle. You will be changed. The very fabric of your being will be altered by this, if you allow it. Please, please allow it.”
Jeanette LeBlanc

From my soul journey to yours,

Maria

As part of my Intuition Painting® Facilitator Training that ends next month, I was assigned a presentation on one of the books we read. Mine was the incredible book ART HEALS: HOW CREATIVITY CURES THE SOUL by Shaun McNiff.

First, I created these fun cards with my own art on one side and a favorite quote from each chapter on the other…to be used like oracle cards: choose, read, and contemplate the value of art in healing and growth. Then I picked a favorite word from each card to create an Instagram post of a word cloud on a paint brush…so apropos! This has been such a fun project, training, and learning experience to add to my repertoire of education and life lessons through this school of life. I invite you to join me in healing through art, best life lesson ever!

From my soul journey to yours,

Maria

Painting from the Source:by Aviva Gold

Life, Paint, & Passion: by Michele Cassou & Stewart Cubley

The Creative Connection: By Natalie Rogers

Art is a Way of Knowing: by Pat Allen

Art Heals: by Shaun McNiff

Big Magic - Elizabeth Gilbert

The Creative Act - Rick Rubin

Point Zero: by Michele Cassou

Atlas of the Heart - Brené brown

The Artists Way - Julia Cameron

From my soul journey to yours,

Maria

Three of my lovely cousins joined me to experience my first Intuition Painting Retreat, it was such a lovely experience to share with them this very transformative art process. We also spent time at the beach, eating yummy food, and celebrated a birthday with a cocktail from the very cool Raised by Wolves speakeasy. My dear friend also soothed us with her beautiful sound healing bowls. I can't wait to share this experience again.

From my soul journey to yours,

Maria