Art was my way of connecting to the inner soul, before I ever even heard about shamanism and, like Joseph Campbell, I love to draw parallels between mythologies. Sometimes, when people are too open in a culture that doesn't support them, they become like hothouse flowers exposed to the elements. But they pave the way for others to come through. Then there are people like Georgia O'Keefe. I don't think she gave a damn what people thought of her paintings.
Some people are just tough like that.
My family and responsibilities keep me from going too far in either direction, so I stay in a comfortable range. I study and garner strength from the works of spiritual masters like Neem Karoli Baba. I have also studied the Ramayana, a great Hindu story that centers around King Ram, Queen Sita, and their devoted servant Hanuman, the Monkey King. To me Hanuman is the ego at its highest level. Ram and Sita are like the yin and yang of the higher self.