I sometimes think of the mind as a computational algorithm, there are inputs and outputs of data, what art does is input data that changes the way that data is processed, or provides the potential for change, it can be cumulative as well as instantaneous. It is a trigger that changes the structure of your brain, like trauma, or beyond this, once this is realised by conscious thought, provides a gateway for several structures within that one system, all of which can be entered through conscious thought.