Using Art to Create Transformational Experiences - with Stephanie Bell May

Today’s show introduces you to someone who blends her passions perfectly into the artwork that has become her creative outlet. Her story and her life’s work are inspiring on many levels. Join us to learn more. 

 

Stephanie Bell May is a world-renowned artist and leader in her transformational work called The Art Experience. Stephanie discovered her passion for art as a young girl growing up in Mexico City, where the museums are flooded with a rich history of early and mid - 20th century artists with strong political motives, like Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Tina Modotti, and Rufino Tamayo. These masters strongly influenced Stephanie’s vision and played out in her early work. Following years of public exhibition and recognition, she pursued a new visual path where she began to explore issues of female equality and human rights. In this episode, Stephanie and I talk about how her upbringing in Mexico and her studies in Buddhism and psychology shaped both her early work and her projects today. We also discuss the wild inflection point that transformed her and led to the creation of The Art Experience, and how her own marriage led to the awareness of cultural expectations of her as a woman and the knowing of her own soul in its truest form. 

 

Freedom

 

Freedom can mean many different things; the meaning is derived from how cultures value it, and this concept is the overriding theme in Stephanie’s observation and expression. She explains how freedom of expression shows who we are, intellectual freedom gives us opportunities to explore ideas and educate ourselves, and spiritual freedom relates to how we view our existence. Freedom in a different sense means how we find our true selves without social constraints. Stephanie explains that the peace found within that freedom is everything; there is no higher achievement in life. 

 

You can’t un - wild yourself

 

Once you know your wild, you can’t go back to being restrained. We are born as an incredible self that is constantly being left behind as we grow and allow society’s constraints to shape us. We are told to speak and act in certain ways that are acceptable within social norms, especially as women. We’ve been told to be less than our true sexual self and less than our true expressive self, along with being quieter, less demanding, and more accepting of the way things are. Stephanie explains how this un - wilding leads to an unspoken unhappiness that many women feel within their lives. 

 

The ugly truth

 

When we don’t align with society’s norm, we feel that we either have to rebel or suppress ourselves and conform. It’s a dilemma that we each face. We have to remember our pure self and understand the value of our real, authentic, wild self. Stephanie shares how she and her husband checked all the boxes and hit all the markers for success in life, yet they realized that they weren’t happy and were tired of pretending. Stephanie found herself wanting more than the traditional role of wife and mother, and her husband felt the same way regarding his suppressed homosexuality.

 

No more pretending

 

One day, Stephanie’s husband went on a trip and fell into cataclysmic love with another man. Stephanie later observed how they loved each other and never wanted to be apart. She knew their relationship was right, even though it was hard for her to let go of the facade of ideal life and family that they had carefully crafted together. Being gay was her husband’s worst nightmare, and she saw the struggle, trying to help him survive and be happy and fulfilled. Even though she looked at him as her partner and the father of her children, fear and anxiety set in as she faced the questions about why they weren’t the couple that everyone thought they were. 

 

Handling the chaos

 

Because her children were still young, Stephanie had to carry on in front of neighbors, friends, and teachers without anyone knowing what was going on inside. Cataclysmic changes were occurring as she entered a time of spiritual, emotional, and mental gymnastics to get to a point of stability. She learned to meditate and use yoga, exercise, and therapy to save herself. It took a dramatic, life - changing moment for her to realize that she had the answers and peace within herself. It was a rebirth and a surrender that became the starting point to remembering who she is as a person. 

 

Freedom as a sexual being

 

With her newfound freedom in giving up social constraints,