I offer therapeutic Soul Portrait drawings where I sketch images that arise during shamanic meditation about my client’s life situation.
People who have received these Soul Portraits have told me the drawings touched them in astonishing ways even though I usually only know their first name.
Many have said the images felt therapeutic because they gave a sense of shared feelings. I present some of the drawings further down this page.
When drawing the following portraits, I only knew each person’s first name. I had not met any of these people before drawing them.
While drawing Anna’s portrait, I saw an image of a person whose face was being gripped violently.
After sending the drawing she told me she had left a relationship where her partner was aggressive. Anna said the relationship felt exactly as suffocating as the drawing looks.
When I drew Eeva’s situation, an image of a figure that seemed to be screaming appeared to me.
After I delivered the drawing, I heard that Eeva’s relationship had ended, which is why the portrait captured her moment so tangibly. Eeva also told me that her throat was sore that same morning, so the image felt meaningful for that reason too. She added that blue had been her favourite colour since childhood.
While drawing Pirkko’s situation I felt strong pain sensations in the stomach area—as if there was a rock inside.
I told her about my sensations when I gave her the drawing. Pirkko then told me that she had suffered from stomach pains for years.
When I drew Saara’s situation, a very difficult scenario resembling a labyrinth entered my mind. I saw a person walking through a sea of fire and tightly clenched fists appearing in the image.
After sending the drawing I heard that Saara had faced a challenging court process where her child was threatened with being taken into custody.
While drawing for Eerik I sensed pressure and cramps between the shoulder blades. An image of a person collapsing under heavy weight appeared.
After giving the drawing to Eerik, he told me it described his feelings perfectly.
I asked a friend to see if their contacts would like to experience the results of this drawing method. My friend tricked me by giving the same person’s name both for their childhood and adulthood.
I drew the first portrait under their childhood name, unaware it was the same person. After sending the image, they replied: “You can definitely see my life in there. I often watched birds with my grandma and besides plants we also grew flowers. I played football in the junior league”.
When drawing the second portrait, I felt that the person might have tinnitus. After sharing this feeling I heard back: “I can’t even get a sound out of a trumpet, but yes, I have tinnitus in both ears. Sunsets have also been an important part of our travels with my partner.”
Soul Portrait drawings ask what consciousness is. Is there a shared consciousness that can be touched, for example in meditation? Is consciousness primary to matter, as idealism proposes? Does all matter have an experiential side, as panpsychism suggests?
The questions are not only philosophical. Mystical experiences are known throughout human history, and they have been explored visually for as long as traces of image-making have survived. Esoteric, occult and spiritual movements also played a significant part in the birth of modern art. Hilma af Klint, a pioneer of abstract art, said she received guidance for her works in spiritualist séances. The Soul Portrait belongs to this continuum.