Sankalpa: Art Journeys!

My dreams are becoming more real everyday, and you are part of them. I have had a compelling vision to share Art Therapy in India, with the extended family of my heritage (though we are all connected as part of a larger whole). This blog has been the space for me to explore and articulate this vision, and will continue as a more personal account of this journey.

After a very challenging and humbling seven months of travel in India and Nepal surveying locations last year, I returned to the US to process and collect resources before returning to a village community center this November. Any donations for sustainable art supplies are greatly appreciated and can be made via PayPal here: http://www.sankalpajourneys.com/donate.html

As this vision builds, please be sure to join, follow updates, and find more information through these links:

Website: http://www.sankalpajourneys.com/

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sankalpa-Art-Journeys/146425478702745

Facebook cause: http://www.causes.com/causes/518393

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/krupa-jhaveri/24/405/a49

The logo is a map for collaboration and integration and I invite any of you to contact me with your ideas for expanding or deepening this vision. I am currently looking for assistance in sorting hundreds of travel photos, and those with expertise in establishing a non-profit status.

Gratitude!

Boomerang

It is challenging to update and summarize after such a break from technology, from general reality stateside, and especially after such a profoundly transformative journey. I am back in NY and settling in, learning to reconnect with the fast pace, the consumerism, and the cold.

In seven total months of travel in India and Nepal (grand total of over 80 places), I forfeited most technology and accessibility, including the ability to update this blog. However, in return I gained awareness of the messages of the earth, the path of the sun and moon, the identities of plants, and personalities of creatures. Above all, I tuned into my instincts, and I realized that a pattern of migration is what will suit me best in the next phase of my life. A future dream to live in both parts of the world throughout each year is materializing into my present reality.

As I evolved through these travels, my visions have as well. This phase of research/survey before opening a center in India has finished, and I am processing the experiences and preparing for my return to spend more time focused within a maximum of three organizations. I believe a well-researched foundation is necessary in this venture. At the moment, I am applying for funding for materials and expenses as I volunteer myself as an art therapist in a village community center (details to follow).

The perspective upon return allows me to share a more succinct and less predictable presentation of my experiences. Instead of cataloging each city, temple, person, interaction, etc., I will highlight themes and stories (e.g. women, addictions, children, poverty). I will also focus on profiles for organizations without websites or access to many resources, in need of assistance.

Vision

Moving closer to realizing my vision, I am moving to India in one week. It has been a very challenging process to uproot myself from attachments to the people, places, and possessions in my life. I have been tempted and discouraged and offered dozens of reasons not to leave, but the path is undeniable, so here I go…!

The importance of these connections, however, has also informed a developing project idea. Some of my first favorite moments in art school at Parsons in NYC were spent perusing beautiful papers and materials from around the world at New York Central. I recently found a colorful miniature set of 10 handmade books there. In leaving, I am distributing these to people in my life, and asked them to return the blank books to me filled with their words, art, inspirations, dreams, etc. by 09/09/09.


And then I realized that this idea, on a larger scale, has the potential to bring people together in a profound way. Through an international penpal book exchange, people will form expanding and healing connections. My work in publishing, my experience in art therapy, and especially the thesis work with positive women in Uganda and New York documented here, all have led to this point. I can already envision at least one colorful library where these books will collect an expressive census of humanity.

Many have been asking how I arrived to such a state of clarity and determination in my life, and while a deepening spirituality has become more important, I can briefly offer the following. Spend time alone, away from distractions, and reflect on the simple essence of who you are regardless of all that surrounds you. Dream that impossible dream, and once you leap, a net will appear to help you make that dream materialize.

As always, I am open to questions/suggestions/contacts, here or by email. Thank you to everyone supporting me on this journey. ॐ