We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Natalia Vásquez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Natalia, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?

Through a long-term practice of concentration that has at moments led to meditative states, I have been able to see with clarity what I feel and know is my purpose. This has been a decades-long process that has required effort and tweaking because my offerings are not necessarily straightforward in terms of what previously established society would have considered “profitable business products or services.” Creating a thriving practice takes time and profit has never been my primary focus. Humanity, connection, healing, introspection, creativity, trauma recovery, deep rest, and soul nourishment have been the inspiration.

As a visual artist, holistic practitioner, and photographer, my vision is to create a space where these practices unite in a seamless way. Establishing a place, virtual and in person, where we can come together as we are, to explore layers of our consciousness and remember our innate creativity, while at the same time feeling safe, seen, and welcomed, has been my dream. This arose from my own wish for such a space that did not exist when I most needed it. My own healing process has been an essential part of my offerings coming to life. As an experiential person, my own inner transformation has been integral to my ability to connect with those who come to practice and create with me. Through photography, I support artists, medicine people, visionaries, creative entrepreneurs, also creating their own spaces inspired by their own visions, with meaningful visual content to share their messages.

Throughout stages of this vision, I have received a lot of fear and judgment based criticism masked as advice. Essentially people who I trusted telling me to give up on my “pointless, irrational dream” and “get a real job.” Although I recognized their concern, it felt like an additional emotional barrier to overcome while keeping focused on the vision.

What I learned early on is that my role was not only to provide the services and create the artwork that I knew from my core are my offerings, but also to heal myself and pave the way for this vision to exist, and to build a solid foundation for future generations. I also learned that, although complex, because we all in some ways want to be acknowledged and “approved of,” in order for me to be able to live out this dream, I needed to stop seeking external validation and listen instead to my inner guidance. That is not an easy task in a world that is so loud. At times it felt like I was holding the tiniest seed in my palms by my heart, walking through a raging storm, through gusts of wind, water, fire, until the earth finally sucked me in and the seed was planted with me.

Even then, there were times that I’d forget Mother Earth had received me and the seed and I feared I’d lost it, us. Time spent in dark dormancy can sometimes be seen as unproductive in the eyes of observers accustomed to functioning within a system that does not stop, that is never satisfied. Then I’d look to the moon and skies and glimpses of the dream would return. “Recuerda tu visión y confía en tu voz interna” the voice inside of me would say. “Remember your vision and trust your inner guidance.”

Trust. This is a practice in and of its own. How to trust when that very feeling had been shattered within me? How to trust when at times I didn’t even know how to trust myself? To trust the bills would be paid on time. To trust the aligned practitioners would arrive. To trust the heart-felt collectors would become caretakers of my artistic work. To trust in my abilities to support someone through a stage of their healing process. To trust that through my lens I would truly see the heart-guided leader in front of me who also has a dream and vision and is trusting me to create their visuals. To trust in Mother Nature and her cycles. To trust the seed would germinate. To trust the anxiety and depression would not return as in the darkest days. To trust in the flow of my breath. To trust when the vision was seemingly fading. To trust the wisdom that arises from within the energy. To trust the land would remind me where I belong. To trust that the oceans and rivers would heal me. To trust. At all times. In all circumstances. That each step is part of creating the dream. That I am the seed.

Walk us through how you knew this was a worthwhile endeavor – talk to us about the logic of why you felt you could succeed?
Although successful businesses rely on logic, my offerings are far from logical. At the core, they are intuition based. Logic comes in when we see the world as it is now, in deep need of healing, but it is intuition that will guide us back to our collective purpose.

And we all have a reason to be here.

It is logical that we must reawaken to remember our divine creativity, and it is our intuition that will illuminate the break of dawn from within. It is logical that we must rest, and we need to listen to our intuition when it tells us it is time to slow down, and choose it above all else. It is logical that we need to reclaim proper nourishment, and it is our intuition that holds the wisdom of our ancestral ways of compassionate sustenance. It is logical that Mother Nature is our greatest healer, and it is our intuition that is guiding us to reconnect to her medicine. It is logical that there are systems in place doing their all to instill fear and violence in society, and it is our intuition that reminds us of the Love within us. It is logical that trauma has caused so much division and suffering, and it is our intuition that will lead us to forgiveness. The question is: how do we weave all of these elements together to create a sustainable way of living moving forward, in a world that has become so destructive, so controlled, so inhumane?

I offer much gratitude to the wisdom-keepers, on earth and in the spirit world, who have carried the seeds and passed them on to entrusted descendants for centuries, risking their lives, or hiding away for their own safety. Healing is among us now. Dark truths are coming to the light. Mother Nature is yearning for our protection and respect. It takes courage to maintain Truth, when erasure has been used as a tool to manipulate history.

Heart in Brain Studios came to life as a response to these logical needs that call to our intuition for solutions, as a return to the dream- for myself and for all who are ready to take on these basic humane responsibilities that have become forgotten. It is time to remember who we are, slow down, rest, honor all living beings, and create with purpose. It is time to live joyfully and feel free. It starts within ourselves. Our hearts know the path to our healing and as we transform individually, so does the collective heal. It is time for a “heartful (r)evolution of deep rest and creativity.” Are you ready to flow within the stillness?

Natalia, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Natalia and I have a visual arts practice that attempts to depict psycho-spiritual processes of transformation from our shadows to the light. This work is created privately and with intention and when the time is right, is exhibited and shared with the world as multi-layered installations. The conversations about my work revolve around mental, emotional, and spiritual health and releasing the stigmas around imbalances that lead to dis-ease. I am thankful for my process of creation and also for the support from collectors/caretakers, gallerists and curators, fellow artists and friends, who value my creations. It is the experience of this process that I bring forth when offering meditation and visual arts sessions that guide participants to the artist within themselves.

Deep rest is the focus of my holistic practice that is trauma sensitive and offered through workshops (live, breathe, meditate; intro to chakras; conscious rest), programs (i heart rest; chakrART), and private 1:1/group sessions, that guide practitioners through their self-study of energy and creativity. Sessions are centered around the breath, energy, intentional movement, settling into stillness to calm our nervous systems, and a creative outlet.

We study our thought processes, emotions, physical sensations, and reclaim responsibility for our health. Both of these practices, visual arts and holistic, are a response to my own experience and the need to create safe spaces to talk about and process the realities of trauma, provide nurturing throughout the healing path, and encourage creativity through the visual arts as a means of self-expression.

As a photographer, I co-create through the lens with visual artists, holistic practitioners, activists, musicians, and heartful professionals in need of content, who benefit from photo sessions to express their vision forward on their websites, social media outlets, and printed materials. My intention is not only to provide images that will serve leadership needs, but also to guide people on a photographic journey of self-discovery. Beyond the images to promote heart-guided services or creations, I hope that you walk away feeling more clear than ever about who you are and what your purpose is.

At first, these three practices existed within separate spaces, all having received dedicated time and energy to develop throughout the years. Often in the early stages, one practice would fall behind as focus was drawn to another. In 2017, I created Heart in Brain Studios with the intention of uniting the holistic and creative workshops and services under the same wing as the photoshoot services. My visual arts and personal healing practices are the other wing and the inspiration that fuels Heart in Brain Studios, creating balance within me and informing all of the offerings.

Recently, I opened an online boutique called La Tiendita providing small, calming images for home and professional spaces. Not everyone has easy access to nature, so I love knowing that some of my photos are bringing scenes of nature indoors to peoples’ cozy nooks. Holistic products are also available in small batches.

Heart in Brain Studios is a space to choose deep rest, creativity, and Love. It is a space to dream vividly and bring clarity to your vision so that you remember the power you have within yourself to live a life aligned with who you are, while also managing external circumstances.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My creative journey is motivated by the need and responsibility to express Truth and return to Love. As a trauma survivor, I experienced how deceit, lies, and secrecy are used as a manipulative tool to silence our voices and keep us controlled. The spiritual healing path I have been on for decades has provided the opportunity to meet people with similar experiences, proving to me that we all need to support each other in reclaiming our voices, our health, our safety, and our vitality. There is a divine Truth that unites us all and our essence is divine Love. In order to remember, it is necessary for us to face our own stigmas, dogmas, judgments, and fears. Within our darkest shadows shines the brightest light, and it takes courage to explore those spaces.

Heart in Brain Studios was created as a support system that encourages fearlessness to face our inner worlds and live authentically. Holistic and visual arts practices provide the tools for self-study, self-expression, self-discipline, self-responsibility, self-regulation, and self-Love that lead to the Self who confidently and humbly becomes a compassionate member of the collective.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I do not believe in the idea of non-creatives. I believe there is a system in place that has spent a lot of energy attempting to strip us of our humanity and creativity. Starting at young ages, children are told that creativity is a waste of time, that it is not in them, but only in a select few, that creatives will not succeed, nor will they be able to sustain their lives. There is the stigma of the starving, depressed artist that has a thread throughout the history of art, and within the context of the current art world itself, there is a hierarchy of types of expression considered more or less valid or valuable.

Artists are often expected to work for “exposure.” Spiritual and holistic practices are also often expected to be given away for free without any regard for the practitioner’s time, energy, and experience because they have historically been disrespected and called “unscientific.” The reality is, holistic practices, especially when linked to creativity, regularly provide healing in ways allopathic medical practices do not because they consider the whole and reach the root of the matter.

Of course, it is of utmost importance to use discernment when entrusting someone with our most vulnerable and intimate experiences related to our health. This is each individual’s responsibility throughout their healing path.

Sovereignty is our right. Never give yours away to anyone.

What most people struggle to understand about us who have actively chosen a creative life is that it comes with sacrifice, intention, sharp focus, and dedication to believing in our vision and making it a reality. When you see us, know that we have gotten to where we are by traveling against the current of the dysfunctional collective mind, and often along the solitary path. More times than not, we are healing intergenerational wounds and our offerings are linked to the insight that comes from those experiences.

We do not “work” at our “job” to pay the bills and have fun on the weekends. We create and offer services with Love and a dream to make the world a healthier, more sustainable and enjoyable place for all. We are forging a way forward that has not yet existed, does not depend on the support of an established system, yet is rooted in ancient wisdom. We have made active choices at multiple points throughout our lives to feed the dream we want to birth into existence, instead of being sucked in by the systems fueled by greed, materialism, competition, consumerism, shame, and fear.

There is soul-level freedom in this kind of creation, even though there may be uncertainty and material sacrifice along the way. We want community, connection, and to live abundant lives.

Heart in Brain Studios and my artistic practice are a testament to my healing, my offerings to humanity in this lifetime, my Love materialized. As I evolve, so will this space, and I am thankful that this path chose me. My wish for you is to be true to your inner calling. It is never too late to take a step towards your heart.

Contact Info:

• Website: Heart in Brain Studios – www.heartinbrain.com | Visual Arts Practice – www.sitprettynow.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heartinbrainstudios/ | https://www.instagram.com/nataliavasquezvision/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7C8ivTtn8cBUJeq1HTukhA
• Other: La Tiendita – www.heartinbrain.com/la-tiendita

Image Credits
All images ©Natalia Vásquez except for the cover photo which was shot by my mom Silvia Vásquez.