Part 2 -- Visioning®: manifesting one’s dreams through collage and non-dominant hand journaling

Dialoguing with images allowing the non-dominant hand to write for the image, is a creative path inward to the unconscious and deep inner wisdom and guidance. This approach can be used with Vision Boards or simply by choosing images from magazines or in the environment (paintings, photographs, etc.) and interviewing the image, as Donna does here. 

Part 2 -- Visioning®: manifesting one’s dreams through collage and non-dominant hand journaling
By Donna Sparrow

The whole collage

2.18-19.2021 - Woman with walking stick

Who or what are you?
I am a wise explorer. I have traveled far. I have many stories to share. I can see into people’s hearts.

How do you feel?
I feel their desires. I ache for their longings to be known to them. I love watching them discover that they belong and they can create new horizons. 

Why do you feel this way?
Because I have eagle’s wings and eyes. I see the tiny things that other’s don’t notice. I feel the winds that are there to lift other’s off the ground even before they are ready. 

Do you have a message for me?
You have wings, too. You have owl’s vision. You’ve had to learn how to fly in the dark. You are used to not being seen as you fly and as you feed the young. It’s time to become a daylight flyer. It may be a bit bright and it may be uncomfortable at first, people may even point at you, but that is where the winds are taking you. You haven’t flown in the thermals. They will carry you higher in the daylight than you’ve ever flown before. 

Is there anything else you want to tell me?
Be brave. Make practice flights. Trust the winds. Trust your wings. You can be like me.

2.19.2021 - Bottle with feathers and weeds

Who or what are you?
I am the untaken callings, longings and gifts left forgotten along the path like lost feathers and unnoticed weeds in a vessel of time. We are unnoticed or abandoned due to the lack of passion or resilience. 

How do you feel?
Angry. Unimportant. Like a stillbirth. Never given breath. Never given love. Never given life, wild life.

Why do you feel this way?
Because I am the original. Other voices have painted over me and tried to hide my fierce reality. My offerings threaten the culture as it is, but I won’t be ignored. I will be found. I will be remembered. 

Do you have a message for me?
They tried to literally abort you. Since that didn’t work they tried to verbally abort the gifts that wanted to be born. The vessel of time is eternal. It is not too late. You have collected feathers like garlands of amazing callings. They are a charm bracelet of offerings yet to be given. You carry them. You wear them. Now it’s time to share them. Breathe into them. They are waiting. Breathe. 

Do you have anything more to tell me?
I do. But not today.

2.20.2021 - Small earth-loom weaving

Who or what are you?
I am a tapestry of life. All the things woven in. The things you expect to be there and the things you don’t. I am nature at its finest, surprises and the solid ground beneath. 

How do you feel?
I feel alive. I am tightly woven with spaces for things to be added. I am open for change always. I was created on an earth loom and the earth is always on tilt and moving. 

Do you have a message for me?
Be like me with your dreams. Know how hard to pull without ruining the warp…they are the lines that give you direction. But don’t be afraid to add the unusual…even if it’s a bit wild and may have holes in it. Sometimes a weaving doesn’t have a lot of color because it was woven in the barren colors of winter. Don’t reject the quiet season of winter. The colors are just waiting. You may think the tapestry is complete, but it is like life…ull of humor and adventure. 

Is there anything else you want to tell me?
Always leave the spaces. You will be glad you did.

2.20.21 - The word “Sanctuary”

Who or what are you?
I am the sacred place of belonging.
I am safety.
I am boundaries.
I am peace.
I am integrity.
I will never leave you.
I’ve got you. 

How do you feel?
Wild. Free. Solid. 

Why do you feel that way?
I am made out of wind and stars and the dust of before you, that’s why you can lean in. 

Do you have a message for me?
You can dream, there is sanctuary. You can create, there is sanctuary. Just begin and begin again, there is sanctuary. 

Is there anything else you want to tell me?
Show others how to find me.

2.21.2021 - Women at a table outside

 Who or what are you?
I am the spirit of gathering. I create portals for people to go within and to connect with each other. 

How do you feel?
I feel hopeful. 

Why do you feel that way?
When I sense resistance I bring patient courage. I bring memory of memories locked away waiting for the sound of the key turning. I carry smelling salts. 

Do you have a message for me?
I am handing you the smelling salts. Wake them up. Help restore them to their authentic selves. Let them remember who they were before the chisel of culture warped their gifts. Help them to read what is inscribed on their hearts. Use art to awaken their souls. Teach them how to play. Play is a spiritual discipline. 

Do you have anything else to tell me?
Don’t forget to play yourself. Dance in your kitchen and buy yourself flowers.

2.21.2021 - Nature mandala

Who or what are you?
I am source. I am the space between your heartbeats. I am inspiration. I am the creative river. 

How do you feel?
Alive. 

Why do you feel that way?
It’s what I am. 

Do you have a message for me?
Connect to me in the stillness, the solitude and in the beauty of nature as you often do, but open your eyes and ears to find me in the chaos and loud places that you avoid. I am there too. Seek beauty in all places. Bring the strength of the quiet within you into the new territories before you. I will show you new creative ways to do things. I will inspire new ways to do the things you’ve always done. I bring the light and the solid force of revelation to your gatherings. I will bring the people as it is me they’ve come to find in themselves. You just set the table. I’ll pull up my own chair.

2.22.2021 - Girl with feather

Who or what are you?
I am the spirit of inspiration. I am the muse. 

How do you feel?
Wild. Light. Free. 

Why do you feel that way?
I am not captured by photos, art or words, though I often touch them. I drift like dandelion seeds on the wind. I move by my own desires and moods. 

Do you have a message for me?
I am loved by many, but faithful to few. If you want me to visit, you must be idle and playful as well as show up to your work regularly. 

Is there anything else you want me to know?

I love to be a surprise so don’t wait for me…just get to it knowing I’ll visit someday.

2.22.2021 - Mountain Range with one Tree

Who or what are you?
I am ageless wisdom. I am love. 

How do you feel?
Rooted and grounded. 

Why do you feel that way?
Because love is what remains when all other things are gone. 

Do you have a message for me?
Your dream of retreats is rooted in love. Love of people. Love of nature. Love of art. These are what gives you the wisdom to create. When you get stuck without ideas, think less and let your heart feel how much you love the people. That will ground you and let you fly above the mountain tops. Love. Love is your main resource. 

Is there anything else you want me to know?
Love never fails.

2.23.21 - The word “Workshop”

Who or what are you?
The magic space to find insight into your questions and beliefs. The magic space where all questions are welcomed. 

How do you feel?
Vast and Wide. 

Why do you feel that way?
Because hospitality expands. 

Do you have a message for me?
Beliefs are to be held lightly. Life has a way of reshaping and repainting them. Let the color filled questions rise up like balloons filled with helium. Float above. Change your view. That’s where creativity dwells. Follow the sounds and sights of new territory. Risk the unknown path. 

Is there anything else you want to tell me?
Trust your gut. Learn to leap. You are unquenchable. You are flowing with fun new ways to express your curiosity. Open the flood gates and ride the wave of creativity and express your raw authentic self. Hold my hand and get ready. Bring your spirit of imperfection and messy beginnings. Remember to trust me. I will be faithful to make it interesting. We will blow your dreams wide open.

2.28.21 - Basket of sewing things with the word “make”

Who or what are you?
I am the basket of options. There are many ways to make things. You can feel pushed to make something a certain way by your Inner Critic. But I am here to offer you a lot of new and different and heartfelt ways to create. I am options. 

How do you feel?
I feel positive. I feel empowered. I feel free. 

Why do you feel that way?
It’s what I am. 

Do you have a message for me?
I have brought you the resources to have options as big as a path to the moon. Have fun. Play. Seriously…PLAY! Listen to your heart. Everything you need is in the basket. It’s all yours.

2.28.21 - Logs with weeds stuck in them on a table.

Who or what are you?
I am nature re-imagined. I am beauty from outside, brought inside. 

How do you feel?
Generous. Seen. Appreciated. 

Why do you feel that way?
I get to be creative and rethink, reflect and break out of old perspectives. 

Do you have a message for me?
Be wild. Be untamed when you see me. Be like a child. Let’s have fun and make beauty. Let’s get messy. 

Do you have anything else to tell me?
Keep paying attention.

3.1.21 - Art Supplies

Who or what are you?
I am color. I am the sensations on your eye that reflects light. I am intimately unique to every human. I love this about me. It’s all about the eye and the light. I play in the light. 

How do you feel?
Changeable. 

Why do you feel that way?
I am invisible like magic and wind...I move...I play. 

Do you have a message for me?
Play in the light. Play in the fog, the shadows, the dark. Let your eyes love the colors. Love the sensations of change. Don’t be afraid of change. Your roots are like the Ents, you are like a tree that moves and takes their roots with you. Change is full of colors and newness. They help you be creative. It’s the change that helps you see. Embrace the new colors. Embrace the magic. Play with the light as I do. Let the colors fill you up. 

Do you have anything else to say?
Not now.

3.1.21 - The words “Nurturing Creativity”

Who or what are you?
The way. The path. The map with no names. I am the vision you follow by the will of your heart. 

How do you feel?
Strong. 

Why do you feel that way?
Because I’m a survivor. 

Do you have a message for me?
You are a survivor, too. We’ve held hands for years. Now we can get married. Just say yes. 

Do you have anything else to tell me?
No, but I have lots to show you.

3.2.21 - Clothespins wrapped in colored yarn

Who or what are you?
I am the will to hold fast to the colors, the light, the daily everyday simple joys. 

How do you feel?
Useful. Important. 

Why do you feel that way?
Nothing gets done without me. 

Do you have a message for me?
Wishing and dreaming are the ways to begin. I am the way to take action and to hold on when things get hard. I am in you holding you. You can’t lose me. I’ve wrapped my colors around your heart. Relax and breathe. 

Is there anything else you want to tell me?
Together your dreams will come true. Trust me. Let’s get to work.

Donna Sparrow, Candidate for CJEA Certification
donna.sparrow777@gmail.com

------

Lucia

Let us know what you think of this post in the comments below. Follow us and be updated by email when new blog posts are published.

www.luciac.com
www.visioningcoach.org
Order The Power of Your Other Hand (Conari Press 2019) at Amazon.com

Part 1 -- Visioning®: manifesting one’s dreams through collage and non-dominant hand journaling

Our guest blogger, Donna Sparrow is a candidate for certification in our Creative Journal Expressive Arts Certification Program for professionals. My Visioning® method, based on my book of the same name, has been a source of creative and life expression for Donna. As outlined in the book, she has created collages and then done the journal assignments that include writing with her non-dominant hand for gaining insights into the images. Due to the length of Donna's sharing, I've formatted it into two separate posts: Part 1 and Part 2.

Part 1 -- Visioning®: manifesting one’s dreams through collage and non-dominant hand journaling
By Donna Sparrow

I’ve made many collages over the years that never become more than wishful thinking. Using Lucia’s method in her Visioning book has taken me deeper than I’ve ever gone before by engaging my right brain through my non-dominant hand. I was constantly surprised and sometimes shocked by what my images had to say about themselves…being portals and options and love. Many seemed to express themes of play and not being afraid of change. I know those are things I especially need to be encouraged in. I grew up in an abusive home where I didn’t play. I hid and survived. I lived in fear and the tiniest failure had harsh consequences.

Having my non-dominant hand tell me that my dream is rooted in love and that love never fails…seriously? My non-dominant hand told me to listen to my heart and to play…to dance in my kitchen and buy myself flowers. Who says these kinds of things! My Inner Child does. Telling me that I have the will to make these things take action, but that it’s holding me. So my Protective Parent steps up. The other tools of CJEA reveal themselves as I learn the skills of expressive arts. The Inner Family Model breaks through even when I’m not focusing on it.

I had to laugh when I asked the image “do you have anything else you want to tell me” and the answer was “no, but I have a lot to show you.” How is that going to work? I guess I will find out.

This is a wild, new ride for me. I have a sense that this vision collage will actually cause things to come into my life. I am committed to engage with it every day. Half of my collage is the display on my phone. That’s a lot of looking at it without much effort. I will change to the other half every month to see whole vision. I’ve committed to go deeper by investing in ongoing journaling.

My next steps are following what Lucia calls The Story Inside The Collage. On pages 136 and 137 in the Visioning book you answer questions by projecting yourself living out your vision. I love the questions about how has your life changed and how have you changed. These questions are designed to move me into embodying my future in the now. My ex-husband used to do fancy skydiving moves with a team of people. He was amazing at it. When I asked why it seemed so easy for him he told me it was because he would visualize it over and over in his imagination. There is magic in Visioning®.

Here is an image of the whole collage I did recently. In Part 2, there are cropped images from this collage to show, and dialogues to share. It’s more fun to do your own, but what I share will give you a sense of what it can be like.



Donna Sparrow, Candidate for CJEA Certification
donna.sparrow777@gmail.com

-----

Lucia

Let us know what you think of this post in the comments below. Follow us and be updated by email when new blog posts are published.
 
www.luciac.com
www.visioningcoach.org
Order The Power of Your Other Hand (Conari Press 2019) at Amazon.com

 

Coping Creatively with COVID-19

Our guest blogger is Betty Rosen, from southern California, a gifted artist, teacher and candidate for certification in Creative Journal Expressive Arts. Like all of us, her life has been impacted by COVID-19. In moments of crisis and stress, she has turned to drawing and writing with the non-dominant hand to receive guidance from her own inner wisdom.

Coping Creatively with COVID-19
by Betty Rosen

I’ve kept some kind of a journal since I was in my teens, writing on colored lined paper to match my moods, sitting in my yellow bean bag chair, headphones on, music blaring. I used leather bound books of the 70’s, often gifts from my Dad. Then I found larger black Art Journals where I pasted ticket stubs, and collaged images of beautiful places I’d hoped to visit, and scribbled out heartbreaks. Later IBM Selectric typewriters were also a fave, and then computers entered our lives. I would journal, eyes closed, tears streaming, getting it all out on paper.

In the early 1980’s I was in a Women’s Studies major at San Francisco State University (SFSU). They actually offered a Creative Journaling class. I’d known other women who had kept journals. Our books held not only secrets and frustrations, but also daily appointments & phone numbers, visions for our future, and designs for a more welcoming society. The creativity and beauty I glimpsed in those journals inspired me to curate a Journal Exhibit: “Sharing Intimacy.” Ten of us took the actual pages out of our journals and mounted them in an exhibition case in the cafeteria at SFSU.

Fast forward through two careers in the Entertainment Business and living in Nashville, Tennessee. I knew I felt another calling. Finding Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, my friend Matt Lindsey and I committed to work this method. Those “morning pages,” pouring out 3 pages of blah, blah, blah daily did the trick for a time. Other exercises in Cameron’s book helped me carve out the time to become an artist and change careers.

My third career has been that of a mosaic artist, art advocate, and teaching artist. Yet it wasn’t until I found Lucia and the non-dominant hand journaling that I can say now I am fully satisfied. I was exposed to her work at a professional development conference on the Queen Mary in Long Beach. I heard about her Creative Journal Expressive Arts Certification Training (CJEA) just when I was looking for something to augment my work. I wanted something that could enhance and legitimize what I knew intrinsically, experientially: that art-making heals us all.

The CJEA practice is so immediate, so instant, so accessible. My clients, my friends, my family, and I all richly benefit from these processes and experiences. It’s so simple. And I’ve learned from twenty years as a self-taught artist that simple, well, simple is hard. An art practice, for me, is like making a reduction in cooking: distilling ideas, shapes, images, down to lines and patterns.

In 2016 I moved in with my Mom (who is now 84 years old) in a one-bedroom apartment in Los Angeles. I thought it would be a pause while I righted myself during an amicable divorce. It didn’t take long to realize that it was better for my Mom to have someone living with her at this stage in her life. She’d lived there alone since her divorce 26 years ago. It’s a beautiful courtyard building, in classic 1910’s southern California Spanish architectural style, with a terrace and 360 degree view of the city. A building that old has problems and we’ve been trying to solve a water leak for the past few years. More on that later.

I started my CJEA Program with Lucia and ten other candidates in October 2019 near San Luis Obispo, California on the central coast. We were scheduled to meet there again in October 2020 to take our last in-person intensive, graduate, and become certified. But COVID-19 had other plans for us and for our planet. We will now complete the program online in an extended version, graduating in May 2021.

When COVID-19 hit the USA, I took all the precautions recommended by medical experts. I had to repeatedly tell my Mom, who is now suffering from short-term memory loss, that life had changed. With roles reversed, I did what all of us have tried to do protecting ourselves and our most vulnerable loved ones. And then on April 12th, while I was at my art studio a block away, I was alerted that there were workers in the apartment. Unannounced. Without masks. I panicked.

I sequestered my Mom in the apartment and stayed in my studio for three days. That breach of security, of potential contamination, on top of an already stressful life being a caregiver for my Mom, juggling three part-time jobs from Long Beach to Skid Row, and studying to be certified in CJEA methods, sent me over the edge. Fortunately, because of Lucia’s work, I knew exactly what to do.

I turned to Lucia’s book, Drawing Your Stress Away, her draw-it-yourself coloring book, and scribbled it out. Those pages follow:



Sadness & Confusion & Resolve 

With my dominant hand, I wrote all the negative thoughts about why I shouldn’t or couldn’t take action. Often this is where my past pre-CJEA journaling would end. It’d be a safety valve. A vent. But then I’d invite the world to walk all over me or blame myself for events beyond my control.



RE: HOA/ WATER

I'm too high maintenance
Jews always sue
Jews want good deals
Jews want things for free
I should just trust men to handle things
Virus isn't deadly.
I'm overreacting
$ doesn't fix anything
I expect too much
It's too much effort
Nothing will come of it
I will piss people off.
Someone will get fired.
White privilege wants too much. 

This time, with the non-dominant hand writing in green, I wrote from my inner wisdom, the truth within me. The messages from my inner wisdom/non-dominant hand offered immediate relief. This gave me the courage and guidance to take the necessary next steps. The results amaze me each and every time I do this process, and when I witness others do it.



I want my home to be safe

• Mom protected
• Respect in business practices for safety
• honest communication
• time back
• less stress
• water not coming into apt.
• Kim respected (Kim is landlady)
  

I am professional.
I value my & others work
I am a smart capable woman
I am reacting appropriately to this deadly situation.
I am not responsible if someone is fired
I expect what's safe & fair
I'm educated and compassionate
What others think of me is none of my business
Money has value, it would make life easier.

Lucia has said, many times since COVID-19, that her whole life has prepared her for this moment. Now more than ever we all need to boost our immune systems, relieve stress, and nurture ourselves and each other. I'm grateful for access to technology that keeps us connected while we reinvent our lives and shelter in place. I’m exceptionally grateful for the richness of this CJEA work, and look forward to continuing using the method and offering it to others.

Betty Rosen
Practitioner Candidate, graduating CJEA May 2021
Betty is a mosaic artist, community builder, and arts advocate.
www.mosaicalchemy.com

-----

Lucia

Let us know what you think of this post in the comments below. Follow us and be updated by email when new blog posts are published.

www.luciac.com
www.visioningcoach.org
Order The Power of Your Other Hand (Conari Press 2019) at Amazon.com

Creative Journal and Nature: Co-Create a Spiritual Experience by Liberating the Inner Child

Our guest blogger this week is Charlotte Yonge from England. Charlotte is a Certified Creative Journal Expressive Arts facilitator and Visioning® Coach who works with individuals and groups of all ages. She has done a great deal of work in nature, as reflected in this post.

Using the Non-Dominant Hand to Hold the Imaginative "Stretch" of Visioning®, Accessing Deep Levels of Grief with Nature as my Inner Teacher

Left and right hands play together in Creative Journal: "Life must be lived as play." ~Plato

These Creative Journal activities are part of my journey to recover my Inner Child and restore some effective Inner Parents. They are all created from experience, rooted in dreams and memories and, like stories, take on their own life as anecdotes in conversation becoming shared understanding of common human issues.

Early in my CJEA training I depicted my Inner Critic and told it to go using my non-dominant hand. All around the picture are the words I remembered from childhood that made me feel shame and guilt. I realized that they came from adults and my parents and I contemplated their own dilemmas of bringing me up in an alien continent: Africa.

My mother's sharp tongue was crafted from the deep vulnerability she felt with two toddlers alone in a house while my father was on the road. At our first house I was 2-3 years old, and she reflected on the garden she created which became an oasis for birds in that very dry landscape.

My mother died in 2017, and a month or two before that I had shown her the Wilderness Mother collage card, although by then she was not responding well and I did not know what her reaction was. Her last words to me were to tell me she loved me.

My grief processing with the non-dominant hand brought to memory her love of dance and Nature. I found I could reflect on the gifts she gave me of her love of gardening, wild nature and of woodland. I tapped into my own Inner Artist, so long rejected, and began creating many cards, one of which was called Wilderness Mother.

So I tapped into the wild in England, and brought all my early experiences to bear upon my sense of loss for it to become a part of my new Inner Artist persona. A big stretch of self-affirmation was fueled by grief and gratitude together, and a whole pack of 67 cards.

As I dialogued with Nature, and the memories of wild gardens in my African childhood, all sorts of metaphors arrived in my intuition about the direct experience of Nature and its challenges. The difficult emotions were represented in the landscape for me, and so I became more familiar with my own gut responses as creative allies.

For me the vision of my artistic self became real after dedicating my dialogue with Nature to my mother’s fiercely held dream of life cracks you open, and her positive response by growing new life. Through my non-dominant hand I drew a witch face for my Inner Critic, and this helped me explore how my difficult relationship with my mother’s fierce interactions with me as an adult were necessary survival behaviors that had kept me safe in very disruptive times of living in two continents.

I was brought up in Africa as a semi immigrant, loosely connected to a home country (UK), but deeply bonded to the African wilderness. Over time my mother created gardens in semi desert areas; her courage made her a fierce life affirming person with early experiences of dance and movement before the war threw her into facing the worst of challenges in a hostile, primitive environment.

Charlotte Yonge
creativeliteracy@gmail.com
www.cliacoaching.co.uk

-----

Lucia

Let us know what you think of this post in the comments below. Follow us and be updated by email when new blog posts are published.
 
www.luciac.com
www.visioningcoach.org
Order The Power of Your Other Hand (Conari Press 2019) at Amazon.com

Enter the Dragon: Inner Critic as Sparring Partner

Where there’s a creative muse, there is a dragon lurking right behind. Whenever I am inspired, feel the urge to create, or try something new in some area of my life, then boom! Fear and doubt follow right behind. My brain starts chattering: “I can’t do this. What makes me think I can succeed? I’ll look stupid and others will laugh at me or at what I create. I’ll just fail, so why bother. This is a waste of time. Stop now.” That is the recipe for a creative block of any kind.

I’ve lived my life chasing after new ideas, and making most of them a reality. As a pioneer in the arts, education and psychology, I’ve had to take on the dragon of inner criticism and self-doubt on a regular basis. Whether I am making art, writing a book, creating a new school curriculum, or starting a new business project, I’ve learned that the dragon of inner criticism and self-doubt are inevitable. Taking on the dragon has become a way of life, a necessary part of the game. It is a form of mental martial arts. Fortunately, I found my Inner Bruce Lee years ago. My dragon has become my ally.

The martial arts metaphor came to me in a journaling session. I was curious as to why we needed the dragon of self-put-downs when engaging with novel ideas and new directions. It had become clear that this was an inevitable part of the creative process. But why? I turned to my non-dominant hand for the answer. My inner guide (writing with my left hand) told me that my Inner Critic is my “sparring partner,” just as boxers have a sparring partner who prepares them for the ring. That is how they get tested and toughened up.

Like sports, and like Life, the Creative Process is not all sweetness and light. Brilliant ideas and inspiration are not enough. The creative process is not for the faint of heart. Giving birth to the new is not for sissies. There will be labor pains. There will be gut punches. But most of them are coming from our own critical mind.

If we understand how the Inner Critic operates as a character assassin, destroying our self-worth with negative thoughts, we can combat it. If not, it can obliterate our creative urges, block our creativity and contribute to depression and low energy. In my private practice as an art therapist, I’ve found that creative blocks can cause depression and anxiety. Not the other way around, as is commonly believed. Once the blocks are removed, using my method of inner martial arts through journaling, the depression and anxiety disappear.

By standing up for ourselves and defending our creative urges against the dragon of self-criticism, we open the floodgates to huge amounts energy. Our natural life force moves us naturally into the flow of the creative process. This is our birthright. Like little children, we regain our inborn ability to experiment, and we explore new territory within ourselves and out in the world. Our souls guide us with a message of light and new possibilities. We gain the strength to grow and express our true Creative Self. We take the risk of being our authentic selves and not settling for less.

The Dragon’s Agenda

In the creative process, the dragon’s agenda is the opposite of adventure and new growth. It follows left-brain rules, colors inside the lines, and sticks with the same-old-same-old. It describes our new ideas with words like strange, crazy and too “out there.” It hypnotizes us into blindly believing its judgments. Creativity is dangerous territory. Do NOT venture forth into places others have not gone before. Forget about pioneering anything. Innovation has no place in a tidy, safe little world. It goes nuts at the thought of breaking new ground and predicts the worst possible disasters. If we veer off the trodden path by flirting with the idea of an entirely new career, a different lifestyle, or starting a new business or hobby, it warns of danger at every turn.

The tricky part is that this dragon may start out sounding benevolent, like a well-meaning friend, a protector who has our own best interests at heart. It says stuff like: Things are fine the way they are. Why rock the boat? I’m just trying to protect you from being hurt. Just stay with the tried and true. Taking risks is too dangerous. All kinds of terrible things could happen. I’m only saying these things for your own good.

But if we persist in following our heart and our creative urges, this self-styled “friend” becomes our “foe”. It resorts to bullying, name-calling and doomsday prophecies. Who do you think you are anyway, thinking you can pull this off? You’re not smart enough. You’re too old (or too young). You don’t have enough talent or education or experience (or whatever). You’ll fail and be disappointed. You don’t have what it takes to do what you dream of. You will look stupid. Others will laugh at you. Worse yet, you will be rejected. If that doesn’t discourage you from moving ahead, it often returns to posing as your friend. I’m only saying these things for your own good. 

If we let the dragon of self-criticism control us, our lives shrink and we are severely diminished. The dragon will suck all the juice out of our existence. We stagnate, risk being depressed or even getting ill. But it doesn’t have to be that way. We can literally unmask the dragon of self-criticism and inner bullying and get to the other side of self-doubt and paralyzing fear.

Mask making and journaling with the dragon

Materials: paper plate (plain white) or large brown shopping bag (big enough to fit over your head). Fat markers or crayons. Optional: scissors, glue, colored paper. Your personal journal or 8 ½ X 11 bond paper, pen and markers.

Make a mask depicting the face of your own personal Inner Critic dragon. Portray the character behind the voice that puts you down and discourages you from trying anything new or creative. You can draw it with your non-dominant hand or make a collage with colored paper or both. There is no right or wrong way to do this. Only YOUR way. Make this mask as fierce as you can. This is your sparring partner that tries to stop you from being creative, from trying new things, from venturing forward in life. Enjoy creating this mask.

Put your dragon mask on and look in the mirror for a few minutes. Be aware of how you feel being looked at by the face of your inner dragon.

In your journal or on bond paper, using your dominant hand let your dragon mask talk. What critical things does it say to you? How does it stop you from being creative in life? How does it block you from following your heart’s desire? Let it talk.

With your non-dominant hand, let your Creative Self talk. How does it want to be creative, adventurous and innovative in your life? Is it a new project? A different direction in life? A hobby you are drawn to? A new travel adventure? Let it say what it wants.

With your dominant hand, let your Inner Warrior speak on behalf of the Creative Self. What will your warrior do to help you be more creative, adventurous and innovative in life? How will it help you from letting the Critic dragon get in your way? You may even want to draw a picture of your Inner Warrior. Maybe it looks like a favorite sports star, warrior or superhero, like Bruce Lee, Serena Williams, Superman, Wonder Woman, etc.

For detailed information and procedures for making more elaborate masks, see my book The Art of Emotional Healing (Shambhala 2006), chapter 9 – Facing Ourselves: Mask Making and Inner Dialogues. For more on breaking through creative blocks, see The Power of Your Other Hand (Conari Press 2019), Chapter 3.

Lucia

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www.luciac.com
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Zenga Art from the Non-Dominant Hand

Almost twenty years after discovering the power of the non-dominant hand to heal, open up channels of creativity and unlock inner wisdom, I made another amazing discovery. One day while painting with watercolors, my “other hand” (the hand I don’t normally write with), picked up a brush and began making forms and “characters” that loosely resembled what I had seen in Japanese and Chinese art. A long-time admirer of traditional Asian art and collector of antique and vintage kimono, I recognized the painted circle (called enso) from exhibits of Asian art I had seen.

At the time these circles began flowing out of my brush, I knew next to nothing about the Zenga tradition of art. I only knew what I had seen and liked on scrolls and mounted paintings in museums and at shops in New Chinatown and Little Tokyo in downtown Los Angeles where I spent my early years. In fact, I was using one of the Japanese brushes I’d had since 5th or 6th grade when I purchased one for painting a large fabric banner in grammar school. I loved the flexibility of these brushes that seemed like many brushes in one. I could paint a large solid area or draw by making medium or thin lines with the round pointed tip. It all depended on how much paint was on the brush, how much pressure was applied and how the brush was held.

As I painted these circles with my non-dominant hand, calligraphic forms started to appear out of nowhere. How curious, I thought. These look like Japanese and Chinese characters I’ve seen on scrolls. I have no idea how my hand is doing this, and I sure don’t know what they say, if anything. It was effortless, fun and super relaxing, so I continued. I ended up creating a series of these multi-colored “faux Asian calligraphy” paintings. A few had enso circles in them, most of them were filled with calligraphy formed from the top down and often starting on the right hand top corner of the painting. I had never had instructions in Asian calligraphy techniques, yet my non-dominant hand knew what to do. Sometimes I gave them poetic titles that came as naturally and effortlessly as the paintings had. These titles sounded like fragments of zen sayings. I had no idea where any of this came from.

After awhile I got into the practice of playing recorded music for Zen Meditation while I painted. At those times it felt as if I were channeling a past life as an Asian monk. Although I began studying art at age 13 and had a Bachelor’s Degree in Art, I’d never taken a class in Asian art nor ever visited an Asian country. Yet here I was, immersed in a clearly meditative process using brushes from a far away land. Around that time, I saw an ad for an exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art entitled: “Zenga: Brushstrokes to Enlightenment.” The name of the show hit me like a thunderbolt. I knew I had to see it as soon as possible. Walking around the Museum’s Asian Pavilion, I was awe struck by what I saw. The walls were filled with traditional pieces from an art form that was all about meditation, mindfulness, and being in the present. Enso circles and other drawings, as well as calligraphy, seemed to flow from the very soul of the artists. The show was stunning and inspired me to continue.

I learned that, traditionally, these simple circles were created with Japanese brushes and ink, and usually accompanied by calligraphy featuring phrases or verses from Zen teaching. Enso art is a direct expression of the mind of the artist who creates it. I also knew from my studies of Swiss Psychologist, C.G. Jung, that circles have deep significance as the archetype of wholeness. He wrote about the circular form of the uroboros, the serpent eating its own tail, symbolizing the continuous cycle of life and death. What fascinated me most was the spontaneous quality of the work, considering that the artists received rigorous training by Zen masters and were themselves Zen masters. As an artist and art therapist, I resonated deeply with the idea of finding enlightenment through art.

For a few years after discovering this spontaneous Asian style art through my non-dominant hand, I continued painting and exhibiting these works throughout Los Angeles and California's central coast. At one exhibit, a Japanese man and I struck up a conversation. I laughed and acknowledged that my work was "faux calligraphy" inspired by Asian art. He laughed and pointed out that there actually were some real kanji characters in my art, but they didn't add up to anything. It would be like doing a painting with a made-up alphabet and throwing a few real letters into the mix for decorative purposes only.

At the same time I was painting and exhibiting these Asian inspired paintings, I also created collages and watercolor landscapes. However, it was the process of painting with Asian brushes in my non-dominant hand that brought me the most relaxation and inner peace. As in the Zenga tradition, the art was a byproduct of my state of mind and my spontaneous interaction with the brush, the paint or ink, and the paper. I was leading a very busy life at the time, traveling all over the world, writing books and leading workshops. Meditation through the brush became my refuge and a welcomed stress reduction practice.

In the last few months, almost three decades after my original discovery of Zenga art, I have had the opportunity to take classes with masters of Chinese brush painting and calligraphy. These teachers appeared out of nowhere, just like my first discoveries of what happened spontaneously when I put an Asian brush in my “other hand.” Exploring brushes, Chinese papers, calligraphy forms and traditional techniques has been a joy. I am looking forward to seeing what happens next.

Lucia

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Giving a Voice to Art

Our guest blogger this week is Suzette Morrow, art teacher at Coast Union High School and Santa Lucia Middle School in Cambria, California. She is also a graduate of Creative Journal Expressive Arts and Visioning® Coach Training. Suzette is currently working on a Masters Degree in Fine Art and has been using her non-dominant hand in explorations of artwork that has been emerging for a student show. As you will see, journaling is part of her creative process. The brown and white sculptures below are accompanied with a journal entry written with both hands. The sculptures speak with her non-dominant hand.

Giving a Voice to Art

These sculptures were what showed up one by one in my art making without knowing why. I sat down and drew them first. Then I used Lucia's method of journaling with them asking them why they were there. I was so surprised by how dominant the inner critic was in my unconscious. 

Suzette giving a voice to her art through journaling with her non-dominant hand

About a month ago and 30 sculptures later, they started getting smaller. Now they are pill size and I plan to put them into a glass jar for the first round of shows for my MFA. This will be to get critiques and feedback on my process, so it is the source as well as the product. 

 The Many Faces of the Inner Critic

These are my inner critic pieces. They are getting smaller, but still persistent. These are part of my show.

Suzette Morrow
Suzet.com
Suzette.morrow@gmail.com
Follow Suzette on Instagram @suzettemorrow

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Lucia

Let us know what you think of this post in the comments below. Follow us and be updated by email when new blog posts are published.
 
www.luciac.com
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