It was an amazing thing to watch 5 young ladies reflect on their lives, write down their dreams and decide how they wanted to move forward  Ellen and I marveled at how they stood up on the final day of camp and declared where and how they wanted to move forward in their lives and in the world.  I love the risk that it involved and the bravery in speaking those deepest wishes aloud. 

For me,  I declare that I will choose my good...that will listen to that still small voice that tells me "No, this isn't what I want" and "Yes, go for this" and "Ask for it...you need/want it"...Do you know what I mean?  Some people tell me that it is about boundaries but it is more than that...it is me listening to and honoring me...yes, sometimes that means boundaries and other times it means something really different.  After I made this declaration and shared my artistic expression of that vow, the universe gave me the gift of practicing what I asked for.  I was asked for help on something that I really didn't feel that I could support.  Normally, I would have just "sucked it up" and helped but this time I said,"No, I cannot help you.  You are welcome to make this choice for yourself and for me, I am not going to put any energy towards it"...It was phenomenal and an example of how we are constantly supported in moving towards what we desire.

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If you wanted to make a change in your life or to your stance in life...what would that be?  What would you be willing to do to make that happen?  These are important questions and questions which a fine group of young women are asking themselves right now!  They have written their intentions...claiming their act of power!  Next they will create the expression of that declaration...their act of expression.  It is an amazing thing to watch these ladies sit with the discomfort and the chaos that can come with asking these questions.  It takes courage and effort to take a new stance, to put a  new spin on any aspect of your life.  I wonder what your answers to these questions might be...What would your new stance look like...The young lady in this photo has taken her "warrior woman" stance and it is beautiful to me.  How might you show up in the world as your true expression of warrior woman.  
Women, You Must Learn to Be Warriors

Women, you must learn to be warriors
Now when times are dark and our men
Are afraid to tell us what is in their hearts.
there is so much trouble in our land
That is is up to you to decide
Which direction the wind must blow

Women, you are our tree of life
Just as you were a long time ago
When a man said:  carry my seed.
If you go forth from this darkness,
Telling our story of courage and survival,
Then our tree will grow strong with your words.

Women, do not worry about tomorrow.
Even when daylight is long in coming,
The sun remembers its place in the sky.
Take this blue shawl of knowledge and
Wrap it around your daughters, telling them'
That women must not be afraid to be warriors.

From 'Spirit Walker' by Nancy Woods
 
 
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One of the keys to becoming a better you is to keep moving forward, to have a clear  picture of the you you want to be and to give that all your attention...so the question becomes, what is the face you want to put forward in the world?  What stance do you want to take?  What  you do you want to embrace?  These beautiful masks embody the "me that I want to be in the world".  If you look at them you can see and feel the energy of the creators...some exude softness, other beauty, others strength, others creativity..look at each and see if you can connect with the change that these girls want to see in their world.  What would your mask look like?  What would you like to take  off the "face" you show  to the world?  What would you want to own or incorporate?  A worthy exercise for all of us!
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It's funny to me how life has a way of working things out.  Elien, the homeopath, was teetering between two different remedies. Of this, I was unaware.  Oddly enough, I developed a malady that required medical attention during this period.  Coincidentally, I ran into Elien in the office of the school both our children attend.  She excitedly told me she had so much to share but needed just a little time to confirm her thinking.  I shared with her my malady and I swear I could have picked her chin up off the floor.  She told me in that moment that she now knew what I needed and could we meet on Friday.

Friday came and I sat in her lovely, warm space and learned that she had been stuck in deciding between two remedies and that she had asked for guidance.  This was the same day that she had run in to me and I had told her of the malady.  Here's where it gets really cool.  She was battling between Calcarea Carbonica and Carcinosum.  When I  told her of the abscess on my breast, she knew that it was the Carcinosum that I needed for this remedy is derived from "breast cancer tissue".  It is amazing to me how things work and they always do.  This wasn't ultimately going to be my 'constitutional remedy' but turns out to be a critical first layer remover.  And that it did. 

I took the first few pellets and waited.  Within days I could feel the energy moving in my chest and knew that something was happening.  I think that it is really important to say that these remedies are not magic pills...this remedy required work from me.  It demanded that I step up and listen to my heart, that I honor my deepest wishes.  Where I did my work, the changes were remarkable.  I walked away from work that has been a part of my life for 23 years and away from people that I cared deeply about.  I knew that I needed to choose a different road and that this remedy demanded that I look at that.  So look I did!  I wrote down each day the physical changes that I experienced.  I wrote down my dreams.  I wrote down my thoughts and emotional reactions. I created art with amazing gifts in them.  Elien painstakingly listened to all of this and helped me walk through the messages of my mind, body and spirit.  My dreams showed me that it was time to fly, to honor my integrity and my spirit.  Within the first five months of taking this remedy I walked away from my career, spoke up for my beliefs, lived my principles and values, and began to take care of me.  Weight began to fall away (still more to go) but fall away it did.  I could feel the toxicity that I had created begin to cleanse itself and it was good.
 
 
I have just returned from a week of traveling.  I spent a few days backpacking on Mount San Jacinto with my family and then met my lovely sisters in the Napa Valley for some fun and relaxation.  Here is what I am exploring today....can this set of experiences be considered a form of expressive arts?

While it may seem trivial to even consider such a thing...I love the idea of playing with this question.  As I climbed the mountain and breathed in the chilly air,  I felt an incredible sense of restoration and healing.  The trees, the soil, the granite that surrounded me represented the absolute perfect expression of peace and serenity that so many of us seek.  As I required my body to exert itself and climb, I felt the release of stress and anxiety that builds up from day to day life...the mountain is easy...YES,  hike away and spend time in nature,  it is an absolute expression of healing and release.

Okay, on to Napa Valley...
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The journey began with this lovely meal laid before me.  My sisters and I chose a place called Hurley's for lunch.  When this sandwich arrived,  I was astounded by its beauty.  I considered...could eating food beautifully prepared and presented be considered an exercise in Expressive Arts....I did not create the piece BUT eating it brought me tremendous joy and community and frankly, happiness!  It isn't unlike sharing a piece of art in community and everyone who hears about and sees that experience grows because of that person's creation....so....YES, eating food beautifully prepared and presented is an expressive arts experience as well.

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A beautiful entrance to a winery...just had to stop while on the bike ride to take this shot...photography is a form of expressive arts!

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An amazing cluster of cabernet grapes...perhaps drinking wine is not an expressive arts...although, I am clearly open to hearing any argument supporting it....the photography of beauty such as this brings great benefit to one's psyche...If we could look at all the photos I took I wonder what it might teach me about all that I noticed on this trip...perhaps a gift there?
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And then, of course,  there is the benefit that comes from community while traveling....These are  my sisters.  I am on the left and my sister Cindy sits beside me and Tere on the far right.  BTW, it is important for you to know that Cindy isn't happy with this picture as it doesn't capture the depth of happiness that she felt at this moment in our travels nor does it reflect the joy that she felt in being together with us so pretend she looks that way!  In any event, here I am having a new experience at an amazing winery, steeped in community, immersed in beauty and generally, feeling as restored and balanced as I feel when my hands are in paint, clay or collage...My conclusion,  yes, travel is a form of expressive arts and I strongly advise you to go out into the world, open yourself up and experience the joy that comes from finding beauty, community and great food all over the world! 
 
 
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This piece of art was created by one of the clients at the center where I work.  Collage is a common technique used in expressive arts but I have often thought about it as simplistic and possibly not all that interesting or complex.  When I looked at what this client did I was blown away.  His ability to use images from a variety of resources to create a cohesive and powerful image hit me square between the eyes.  He graciously gave this piece of art to me. 

He explained to me that he is the young figure in the center foreground of this piece and that his guide was behind him and eagle flew above him to help him in his recovery.  He is grounded in nature because that gives him strength and hope. 

I often hear from people that "troubled" kids can't do this kind of work or that they don't care.  It is my experience that they have deeper and richer life  experiences than most people I come in contact with.  They have more to overcome,oftentimes, but once they decide,  they are incredibly strong and determined.  This young man was just that sort of person.  He taught me never to set limits on what can be done within any medium or to limit what people could get out of that work. 

I am amazed each day by the places that this kind of artwork can take us.  I wish deeply that people  see that this process isn't about "art"....that the creativity is the gift that shows us where our work is and where to proceed.  This process takes us into places and shows us insights and connections that we might never be able to make with the use of our mind only.  I invite you to try some of these techniques:  collage, sand tray, sculpture....hold a question in your mind and then let your mind go.  Cut out images that call to you,  shape clay anyway that your hands want it to.  Don't think.  I promise you that there is a gift in it for you.  More to come...
 
 
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Journaling is a great tool for connecting with your day to day experiences and for going deeper in your writing (for all my writers out there).  Take a picture, like the one above, and dive into it.  What images or thoughts come to your mind?  What body response is triggered when you look at the image above?  If you could dialog with any part of the picture what would it say to you?  Adopt the first person and give that part a voice. 

It can be very surprising where this type of exercise takes you.  You don't need this picture, you can randomly open up a magazine and look at the first picture you find or even go out into your back yard or visit a park and dive into an object in nature.  The important thing is to allow your imagination to flow, limiting nothing and giving your subconscious a chance to speak its response. 

Try it and see where it takes you.