ENDORSEMENTS

FORWARD BY MURRAY STEIN

The unique paintings David Blum created throughout his life, and increasingly during his battle with cancer, are a window into his spiritual journey. The Wise Old Dog, who came to David in dreams,was his guide and comfort. Through these images and David’s insightful commentary, we are reminded of the resilience of the human spirit, the power of art to help us understand life, and the role creativity can play in healing and transcendence.

—Yo-Yo Ma

I have studied and meditated on David Blum’s extraordinary documentation of his dreams and innerwork—the immense gifts that were given to him from his unconscious and poured into images and music. We are intrigued on all levels—emotional, imaginal, intellectual. Our hearts are split open as we watch the process of the inner marriage.

—Marion Woodman, Jungian analyst, author and visionary

If it were ever discovered that we all have an ancient source within, a wise fount, invested in our well-being, and speaking directly to us through the language of symbol, we would experience our centers relocate, our priorities shift, and our sense of place and purpose in this great mystery deepen. By risking such dialogue with this unknown center, David Blum found it spoke to him, and gave him, and us, renewed guidance in a time of fragmentation, distraction, and dis-ease. His example is a summons, a model, and invitation for the rest of us to risk such a dialogue in depth.

—James Hollis, Executive Director of the Jung Society of Washington

This body of work is an amazing achievement of the human imagination and spirit which requires multiple visits to take in its many wonders. Each viewer will find his or her own favorites from this extraordinary human document. The brilliant colors and composition of Blum’s intensely personal yet highly sophisticated images constitute a treasure of which ARAS Online has been chosen to be guardian.

—Tom Singer, MD, Co-Chair of ARAS Online for National ARAS

David is so real, so totally honest, definitely a person who has seen into the depth of the soul and what that means. I love his paintings. They enable us to see so much of what he experienced. Marie-Louise von Franz said that artists almost never are able to duplicate on a canvas what they see in their inner world, yet I can tell that David captured the essence of what he saw. We would all die a good death with such understanding as he had of the psyche.

—Gilda Frantz, Director Emerita of the Philemon Foundation

I have used patients’ dreams and paintings for decades to help them get in touch with their innerwisdom. David Blum, during his struggle with cancer, captured his dreams in an illuminating series ofpaintings taking him through a journey of self-exploration and transformation. David’s inspiring story is a powerful invitation, for each of us, to go within and realize our creative potential so that we may find our way through the difficulties of life and discover

the unique rewards in taking the journey.

—Bernie Siegel, MD, Author and Founder of Exceptional Cancer Patients