From the kitchen parsing the vastness, I contemplate the northern winter landscape. The sun rises late in the morning, after at least two mugs of steaming tea. It then skims across the low horizon, hiding behind the clouds and tendrils of mists, ready to drop down amongst fiery hues of astonishing beauty when the day still feels young. Its slow withdrawal illuminates the swellings left by the snow drifts and the ice cap shimmering in the golden light. Birds ravenously pick up the seeds strewn among the snow and peck the fat balls while there is still enough light to see, before the night cold creeps in.

Everything is an invitation to stay in, snuggling up in the warmth to gaze out at the beauty and majesty of a winter sunset. For the time being all outdoor explorations are suspended, or limited to the few hours when the light brightens the land calling me out to my youthful adventures when I was fledged from the family home to become a great explorer in the world. Winter hibernations remind me that it is time to turn in, resume my inner voyaging and practice my art form.

For the first gathering of the At Home with our Art Form series, we return to the inner voyaging practiced last year. More specifically, the first salon offers an extended version, a four-hour perambulation, of the shamanic inner journey accomplished in December. Our itinerary walks us through the four elemental forces of Earth, Water, Air and Fire following the constant invitation to growth, before releasing us into the protective circle of light and returning us to our dreams of wholeness.

The readings include John O’Donohue’s poems in praise of Earth, Water, Air, Fire and Light from Benedictus. A Book of Blessings, accompanied by selected excerpts from David Whyte’s book Consolations. The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words. The accompanying music brings together compositional pieces for contemplation – Ola Gjeilo, Ólafur Arnalds, Max Richter, GioAri and Mari Boine – with pieces from the classical repertoire: Einojuhani Rautavaara, Bedrich Smetana, Cristobal de Morales, Orlando Gibbons, Thomas Tallis and Sergei Prokofiev.

During our time together, while we allow the blessings of words and music to wash over us, we are invited to drop into the space and to be drawn into the mystical experience that pushes open the door leading on to the imaginal realm from where we birth richer realities and hold inspiring conversations. To enhance our transdimensional explorations, we are encouraged to alternate times of silence and quietness, periods of stillness and movement, and practices with an assortment of art forms – drawing and painting, dance and movement, sculpture and craft, music and sound, writing and poetry – in whatever way feels fitting and beneficial for our openings.

We cast aside our thinking minds and allow the virtuosity of our innate creatorship to guide and inform us.