Creating Art Ever since I was a child, I was drawn to art. Two of my Aunties were artists, and they would help me with the basics of drawing as I grew up. Art was my favourite class in school and I turned almost every assignment into an art project - even in College I found ways to maneuver my school project into an artwork.  I have always been better with colours and images then I was with words. I felt like I was living in a magical realm and that no one understood me.  Being Told It's Not a 'Real Job'.  However, as all kids growing up in the 90's could understand, art was not a 'career'. It was a silly hobby and the best we could hope for ourselves was a 9-5 in an office with 'job security'. Important, yes, but I really believed I could create my way into some kind of business. I recall collecting all my drawings and making a poster for custom drawings, and pinning it to the notice board at the local shops.  Realising that it probably was going to be hard, I did what all creatives did back then - I quit creating, and got a 'real job'. I studied personal training and nutrition, and ended up in the bodybuilding world (a pretty extreme sport where you turn your body into a work of art with weight training and food).  Art Made a Comeback Despite loving my professional choice, the urge to be creative returned. I completed a fashion degree - studying all day and working in the gym in the mornings, evenings and weekends.  In the end I founded a fashion label, Jenifer Aniela, creating hand-painted silk gowns for Miss Universe, Miss World and featuring in local magazines. I was first on the runway in FashFest in 2013, invited to shows in Sydney and New York.  Art Went Away Eventually I burned out, and I was forced to choose. Fitness won. I built a coaching business and helped women all over Australia become fitter, stronger, healthier. This flowed well for a few years until I became unwell - chronic fatigue, allergies, mental health issues. This was the start of my healing journey.  I followed the signs wherever they took me - reiki healing, shamanism, sweat lodges, meditation, America, New Zealand, naturopathy. I then went through a lengthy soul-retrieval process. Art Won. Seemingly out of nowhere in 2022, I found myself with a really strong urge to paint. Not draw this time, but paint. I just didn't know how. So I enrolled in the Milan Art Institute's Mastery Program - and they took me all the way from to launching my art business! In the search for a name I discovered that Jenifer Aniela was was still available, even 13 years later! I took this as a sign. Aniela is Polish for 'Angel', or 'Messenger of God', and although I am not religious in a traditional sense, my healing journey took me to a deeply spiritual place and I don't see things the same way any longer. It feels like the name was meant for me all along.  Now, I want nothing more than to paint the world as I've seen it all these years - magical, complex, beautiful, and filled with colour. Just like I did as a child, only this time I won't believe that it's 'stupid', or 'too much'.  I do still run my health and fitness business and so I split by time between them, but I feel like i've finally found the balance I needed.  I hope you love the paintings as much as I enjoyed creating them.  Jenifer X

Back in 2017 I attended a presentation by Eckhart Tolle (author of A New Earth, and The Power of Now) on his philosophy to holistic health and healing. Alongside Eckhart was his wife, Kim Eng. She was taking a yoga class before the presentation.  I was not at all interested in Yoga, but as soon as I saw (and felt) her presence – I was intrigued.  Kim Eng was light, like a feather. Etheric, really. She was wearing loose white clothing and walked around the room as if floating on air.   She shared her philosophy about life, suggesting we aim to 'become like bamboo'. Bamboo is hollow, light, resilient, and fast-growing. It reminded me of story my homeopath had shared with me a few years earlier, about how we are all diamonds drowning in ‘black muck’. It’s common for spiritual philosophies to overlap, sharing different contents but in the end reflecting the same truths.  Kim shared how over our lifetime, we accumulate energy that isn’t properly ‘metabolised’, and which becomes ‘stuck’ in our bodies. This energy makes us heavy, unhealthy and reactive.  When we have an experience, it enters the bamboo, reacts with the stuck material, and is repelled back out. We misperceive some messages, and are unable to take on others, because there is no room and too many old stories trapped in that bamboo. We become confused between the present and the past, what is true and what is false. To feel whole, we want to work through the stuck energy (ancestral events, current patterns, unhealed trauma, current addictions, and poor lifestyle choices as examples), and as we do this we start to hollow out the bamboo.  From there, we become a clear channel for our own life-force without any ‘interruption’.

I'm sure you can see that the general theme behind my artwork is healing, and spirituality. In fact, it was a shamanic philosophy that inspired my healing journey about 15 years ago. It took me a while to pull it all together, but this was the ‘spark’ so-to-speak. And it ended in me starting a painting business - how wild!! Did you know… It takes 7 years to make a Shaman?  Probably more of a lifetime, but 7 official years is how long they spend in initiation. The reason being, they need to be ‘clear’ if they are to support anyone.  If I hadn’t head of this shamanic philosophy, it’s likely I would have just trusted the usual system – but I am so glad I didn’t. I first heard of Shamans as I was researching mental health. I had been diagnosed with Bi-Polar three times, I didn’t want to take medication, and I was frustrated by the lack of understanding Psychiatrists had when it came to my experiences.  I came across an article on this shamanic philosophy which reflected a their unique view on mental health – that the person who is experiencing the crisis is actually meant to be a healer, they’re just not going through the proper initiations to move through the crisis and serve their community as a whole.  It really got my attention, as something deep inside my being resonated with that perspective.  What is a Shaman? A shaman is the medicine man of the tribe, whose job is to keep everyone healthy, happy, and connected. If someone shows signs of disease, the Shaman will identify the root cause – whether emotional, spiritual, psychological, or physical, and clear that person’s system back to wholeness and health.  They can travel between worlds – the material and the mystical – to facilitate healing for the person, community, or place in nature.  If the shaman tries to do this, but has not worked on his own ‘stuff’, he cannot be a clear vessel or receive a clear message around what this person needs in order to heal. The message will come through, but it will become entangled with the Shamans unhealed ‘stuff’.  So a shaman goes through the process of clearing their own trauma, so they can transfer healthy messages without attachment or projection from their own field.  They may also unearth some hidden talents or dreams they lost from childhood, through the process.  A real Shaman has undertaken a harrowing journey to become an effective healer, and can only become a healer once he has gone through his own healing journey. I have gone through my own version of this, recognised the difference in the purity of my support and advice to clients as I worked deeper and deeper into myself. I started taking Reiki sessions in 2017, but found myself confused and triggered so I took a break for a while. Now, in 2024, my sessions and downloads are extremely clear, and I am a much better healer.   The fastest path to health and healing is a relatively slow one, it requires working through layers of conditioning until you reach the core, and only then will you be completely whole and free. Your healing journey will take time. With each layer you work through, however, your health and wellbeing improves, and with this positive changes, you are able to then find motivation to continue. So take your time to work through your stuff – there is no rush.