We get this question a lot.
Officially, according to the National Endowment for the Arts, “Healing arts use creativity—through music, visual arts, dance, drama, and creative writing—to promote health and well-being in a variety of ways.”
Are we all crunchy, conscious, woke, woo-woo hippies?
Those labels get tossed around like punchlines, and often used in a dismissive way. But the truth is, we, the people drawn to healing arts tend to know exactly who we are. We care about awareness. Think in systems. Listen to our bodies. Question defaults. Want our work to mean something beyond a paycheck.
If that resonates, you belong.
Here we are less concerned with titles and more interested in values.
If you align with our seven guiding principles, this space is likely for you. We are here for people doing their work with purpose and service, who consider the whole body, the whole person, the whole community, and the wider world their work touches. This includes body, mind, spirit, relationships, land, and future generations.
The Alternative to Mainstream
This is not about being alternative for the sake of being different. It is about refusing to fragment what is naturally whole.
Many mainstream industries are not wrong, they are simply designed to specialize. They optimize for efficiency, output, and profit. That structure has its place, but it often leaves out the human experience. Healing arts tends to lean alternative because it asks different questions. Questions like:
- How does this affect the nervous system?
- The family?
- The environment?
- The long arc of someone’s life?
So what do we mean by healing arts?
We mean work that tends. Work that restores. That considers impact, not just outcome. Done by whole people who are paying attention. We’d like to believe that this is the direction the world is going, and we’re here for it.
If you are doing your work with integrity, curiosity, and care for the larger web you are part of, you are not on the fringe. You are helping lead us forward. And yes, you are probably one of us.
Ready to pair up with one of our members? If you’re not sure where to start, here’s a guide for things to consider.
