Science and Spirit Institute: Empowering Communities

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Creating or observing art is of the essence of being in the moment. Our founder, Cynthia Husted, found art to be helpful in her healing from a near-lethal encounter with a black widow spider. After nine years, she still found it difficult to focus on reading and recalling memories and worked with an occupational therapist who advised her to learn something totally new. Right away she knew she wanted to learn knitting. As she went through the motions of knitting, it felt as if a funnel opened on the top of her head and memories rushed in. She began reading scientific papers again and was able to learn new subjects such as functional and Tibetan medicines. What was most impactful were her memories of being in the hospital in a toxic haze and deliberately twisting the fingers of her two hands together and she could not stop. She did not understand what she was doing until nine years later when she took up knitting and realized that she was going through the knitting motions while in the hospital. It was as if her higher self was telling her this would be her therapy to restore her brain, body, and cognitive functions. This story was included in A Book of Miracles by Dr. Bernie S. Siegel with Forward by Deepak Chopra and concludes with the following excerpt.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama has said that a miracle is when the unexpected occurs, something we cannot understand. For me it was the healing power of art. I deliberately sought to do all the intellectually right things to balance my physical, emotional, and spiritual selves, but it was ultimately creative expression that allowed healing and transformation to occur. Contained within every stitch is a prayer or mantra, and I send these blessings to you.

Dr. Husted’s mantra has been Create – Regenerate. She has consulted with many clients in functional Tibetan medicine over the past 10 years who are also using art as medicine and have shared how it is calming for them and helps them to be in the moment and not focused on their illness. 

We are also interested in the use of art as activism and creating intergenerational dialogue. We appreciate this quote from a colleague, Ruth Westreich, whose link is in our Resources page.

We come together to envision a better world, one where we confront the immensity of the challenge of creating a paradigm shift and promoting care for our common home. ~ RW