In this episode, Leah Nguyen and I discuss the ways in which art making, and art itself, can elevate consciousness. Leah tells us about their practice of working with various spirit guides that assist her in the channeling of the work she makes. We discuss what that process is like and how they began working in this way.  Leah and I also dive into topics related planetary healing and the much needed shift in consciousness that is necessary to evolve in harmony with this planet.  ----------------------------------------- Leah Nguyen(they/she) is a queer artist-healer creating on lands of the Duwamish and Xacuabš. They are half Ukrainian Jewish and a fourth-generation artist married to an artist. She received a BFA in Painting from University of Washington, studying with the late Denzil Hurley, and a Masters of Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis, with studies at The Evergreen State College and Yale at Norfolk. Energy psychology, reiki, and plant spirit medicine are formative to their work. Leah incorporated aspects of these modalities into her art practice and began to consciously collaborate with their soul in 2007. In 2014 Leah expanded to a larger team of guides and began painting Soul Pattern Portraits. Nguyen places their work within a lineage of artist-mystic-healers that begins in traditional cultures and emerges in western culture with Georgiana Houton, Hilma af Klint and Emma Kunz. Leah's work provides energetic templates to heal, celebrate, and map the unique gifts of a soul, community, or place. Nguyen creates their work in collaboration with their soul and specialized spirit guides. She sets the intention of the piece, then within a dialogue, her guides show how to make the pattern that fulfills the intention. The purpose of the patterns usually includes healing and balancing individual, place-based, and collective traumas, and providing templates for new ways of thriving. Leah communicates with their team of guides using a nested series of yes/no questions and a 300+ question matrix that continues to evolve. Answers come to her as an inner pulsing or by energy testing the muscles in her hand. When the answer falls outside of the matrix, Nguyen use inner sight and intuition to find the answer. What results are gorgeous patterns that are at once surprising, visually exciting, and deeply centering. The patterns are a visual medicine, impacting energy systems and levels of knowing we have scant words for.  Instagram @planetpaintpeople Website: www.planetpaintpeople.com See More from Martin Benson *To stay up on releases and content surrounding the show check out ⁠⁠⁠my instagram⁠⁠⁠ *To contribute to the creation of this show, along with access to other exclusive content, consider joining ⁠⁠⁠my Patreon⁠⁠⁠! Credits: Big Thanks to Matthew Blankenship of ⁠⁠⁠The Sometimes Island ⁠⁠⁠ for the podcast theme music! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/martin-l-benson/support