Oct 22nd 2024

The Soul of the Land: From Sentience to Sovereignty

@ Life Force Arts Center

1609 W Belmont Ave, Chicago, IL 60657

Opening Tuesday, October 22nd, from 1:30PM - 8:30PM

On view through Monday, January 5th

Awaken to the land you live on as a living being as Life Force Shamanic Arts & Healing presents the multidisciplinary arts show The Soul of the Land: From Sentience to Sovereignty

The Soul of the Land. Since ancient times, people respected the land that they lived on as a living being. People lived close to the land, aware that they came from the land, often thinking of it as their Mother. There was an understanding that just as humans are living, conscious beings, so is the land. In Chinese artwork, the landscape is paramount, while the humans are depicted as small specks.

Ancient peoples also thought of the land as their Sovereign, their ruler or ultimate authority. Celtic and other cultures had rituals of the king marrying the land – the land was Sovereign, and only by marrying the land did one become a king. The job of the human sovereign was to create peace and prosperity for the land and the people.

Unfortunately, in later centuries people began to think of land as mere property to be used, not a living being to relate to and be respected. Instead of humans living in harmony with the land, humans started having wars over who would control which land. In the last few decades, people themselves feel disconnected from the land, feel less and less alive. Now, both people and the land are threatened with losing their souls, their aliveness, autonomy and sovereignty.

You have a sovereign soul, and so does the land.

Sentience means being alive, feeling and conscious. Not abstract thinking consciousness, but consciousness in the body, receiving information through your body as it participates in the energy fields all around you in your environment. Sentient beings are capable of agency, and a Sovereign is one who has great agency. You must be Sentient to be Sovereign

This art exhibit seeks to inspire people to see the land as having soul, sentience, sovereignty, agency. For humans to realize that it is an honor to have a relationship with the land.

The Soul of the Land is the second of two Shows presented by Life Force Shamanic Arts & Healing in 2023 – 2026 that explore two major topics of our times, Sentience and Sovereignty, and their relationship. Life Forceshows are based on the Life Force Wisdom Wheel, a powerful psychological and spiritual tool for understanding life and the skills of being human. Conscious Body, Living Soul (February 17, 2023 – June 30, 2024) focused on Sentience: being alive, feeling and conscious, an embodied soul. The Soul of the Land (July 26, 2024 – January 5, 2026) focuses on Sovereignty: respecting both the land we live on and ourselves, as sovereign living beings.

The exhibit features a wide variety of media including painting, photography, sculpture, mixed media and installation. Life Force Founder & Director Joan Forest Mage says, “It’s fascinating to see the interpretations that artists have about the theme. At Life Force, our art exhibits create sacred space in which our performances and workshops become healing rituals, infused with transformative power to heal and enlighten.”

Life Force Shamanic Arts & Healing helps you live from your soul through a modern shamanic practice rooted in the arts. Based in the developed by Life Force Founder & Director Joan Forest Mage, our two main programs are and Our talented teaching-healing artists create as the sacred space for you to commune with your soul and spirit, as our workshops and catalyze your personal breakthroughs with the spiritual power of the arts.

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