Art is consciously saying YES to Life.
Magic is consciously stepping into Life's Creative Flow.

When we find ourselves off balance, there are practices as old as human life on Earth to help us regain our equilibrium. Here at the School of Art and Magic we learn about these practices. We learn to be aware of the movements of subtle energies, whether that means the energy of emotions, thoughts or the invisible realms. All of our practices are designed to wake you up, bring you into the present moment and assist you in finding happiness.

Meditation is our fundamental tool. We practice a form of Active Meditation similar to guided visualization but with a much more investigative purpose. In Active Meditation we begin to understand how we use the energy of our thoughts, beliefs and feelings to create our lives, our relationships... everything we call Reality. As the subtle energy of unconsciously held beliefs and feelings are brought to consciousness we literally clear blockages from our bodies, incarnate more fully and change our physical experiences.

In Active Meditation we learn to be aware of our own clairvoyance and see symbols and images with the mind’s eye; we become aware of our clairaudience and hear words and tones; we become aware of our clairsentience and learn to feel, viscerally, when we have merged energy fields with another. And as we begin to hear our own intuitive voice and knowing, we learn that energy is information. All the colors, images, symbols, light, vibrations, etc., carry information about how to heal yourself, your relationships and your life. As we bring our awareness to these subtle energies, our unconscious beliefs begin to come to consciousness. By clearing out the energy of old beliefs, experiences and emotions we literally bring the essence of ourselves back from the past and future into the present tense. Energy is real stuff. The energy of you, whether you call it Soul, Spirit, Authentic Self or Core, can be strengthened and awakened. It is only by being consciously aware of how and what we are creating that we let go of all blame and victimization and find the joy of authentic expression: of being effective, responsible and yes, powerful.

Becoming aware of your unconscious beliefs can be like living in a bell jar and having someone suddenly shatter the glass. It can be shocking. The “Aha!” of a sudden realization is often accompanied by strong emotions. Feelings and thoughts are energies and energy is real stuff. Releasing strong emotions can be tricky. Fortunately for us, human beings have been working on this for hundreds of thousands of years. The process of releasing untenable emotions is called catharsis. The way humans have developed to create catharsis is called Art.

When we paint, write, dance, sing or engage in any of the Arts, we connect the unconscious to the conscious. We invite the mystery of all that is not our own conscious mind to interact with us. And through that interaction something magical happens: we let go of our fear-based need to control and we begin to trust life. We begin to investigate our authentic response. Not how we think we should respond or how we’ve been conditioned to respond but our natural, essential core self’s response. Through the Arts we learn to relax and say “Yes” to life.

As we learn to show up in the Now, freeing ourselves of projections and blame, we naturally begin to enter the realm of what has always been called Magic.

Magic is the Art of allowing all the good that is trying to come to you to manifest in physical reality.

Magic Creates For The Good Of All And Harming None, because only that is real creation. Anything less is destructive.
When we talk about Magic we are talking about the ability to recognize and align yourself with the energy of creative, compassionate abundance. As Starhawk says, “Power-with” instead of “Power-over.”

Magic is not a secret tool to use to have power over anything. If you try to control or have power over anything you are just creating chaos and suffering. Power-over is based in fear and will always end in destruction. Power-with is based in joy and will always create more joy.

At the School of Art and Magic we learn to let go of control and step into manifestation. When we let go of the idea that we are alone and learn to connect and interact with the unknown without fear or projection, we participate rather than hold back, and Magic happens. The mystery of the unknown is welcomed and unimagined possibilities suddenly open. What you need is suddenly right there, available to you. You can step into Life’s Creative Flow. Just like Magic.

May all Beings be Happy.

The History of The School of Art & Magic

The School of Art and Magic began September 24, 2001 at The Art House in San Francisco, CA. There, we began our inquiry into methods of creating happiness. We met for intuitive healing sessions. We held series after series of meditation classes. We produced plays and poetry readings, had process painting workshops, writing workshops, movement classes, classes on the human physio-psychic system, the chakras, past lives and compassion. We had classes on the vibrations of gemstones and the healing effects of sound vibrations. We held openings in the art gallery and had evenings of musical performances. We met to celebrate and do ritual, to dance and to sing and support each other in our growth.

Our first graduates were awarded their degrees in April of 2003. * Since then we have expanded to include teleseminar classes & meditations, four levels of classes on CD’s, day-long & weekend workshops on the East and West Coasts and a once-a-yearTransformational Intensive. The Art House in San Francisco no longer exists in physical form. We are allowing it to expand so you can be a part of it too.

Please feel free to listen to the Sample Grounding Meditation. A listing of upcoming classes will be available soon.

Meet some of the Teachers at the School of Art & Magic.

*These classes were recorded and edited to form the Classes in Intuitive Development, Levels I - IV. Available on CD’s

We are Happy you are Here.

all material © Mary Swanson | The School of Art & Magic 2005 - 2009
no part of this website may be used without permission from Mary Swanson
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Design: HeatherBleasdell.com 2006| Sound: Tom Lattand Soundtank 2005 | Art: Mary Swanson 2005