Awareness through Conversations with a Collage

Jack Jimenez is a candidate for certification in Creative Journal Expressive Arts Method training for professionals. In this post as guest blogger, he shares some powerful journaling he did using collage and Whole-Brain Two-Handed Method dialogues. He gained deep insights into himself, his past, old patterns he has shed and the presence of his Inner Child today. This process of conversing with a collage is a wonderful way to recycle old magazines into vehicles for greater awareness and personal growth.

Awareness through Conversations with a Collage
by Jack Jimenez

I was recently working on an exercise from Lucia Capacchione's book The Art of Emotional Healing regarding expressing your feelings and specifically about Anger - Let It Rip. It's on page 89. I was to do a collage. I found it very interesting that so much in magazines is positive. It is clear that anything perceived as negative and with messy feelings like anger are not covered nearly as much. In addition it seems that male anger/aggression is more socially acceptable than that for females.


I have had a long and painful association with anger. In fact I think the term rage would be more appropriate. I came from a hostile and unsafe alcoholic household. Anger was a common and acceptable form of expression in the home. As I ventured out into the world I learned that I really had to keep it in check to safeguard my people pleasing and caretaking. I tried to contain it as much as possible and would be embarrassed when it exploded out of me.

My work through Creative Journal Expressive Arts surprised me and I came away with a different view of my relationship and how it served me growing up.

I did my collage about anger and then did a dialogue about it. It went as follows:

Dominant hand (DH): How do I feel now?

Non-dominant hand (NDH): Awareness again how much I was impacted by my family of origin issues. It is so driven by fear. I learned survival behavior. I am no longer that child and have so many tools that I don't need anger like I did for so long and how much it saved me when I needed it most!

Jack Jimenez
Life Coach, Grief Recovery Specialist, and Candidate for Certification in Creative Journal Expressive Arts
oldrthndrt@msn.com
Southern California

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Lucia

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