Thoughts, they have their impact.
They do not exist in isolation, they create vibrations, ripple out and then take effect. We may find ourselves confused by the various inner dialogues that go on inside us and so we struggle to attain clarity – this is where speaking up, exploring and expressing become useful. Most of us agree that some pressure is needed to keep us motivated. However, if the load is unbearable, we become stressed. One way of reducing stress is to talk about your thoughts and your feelings - this is taking charge of your well-being and is not a weakness, as some may choose to view it. You are looking into your inner self and paying attention to it, creating a bond with that self is a process of self elevation. We can express ourselves in various forms: talking, drawing, painting, performing, writing etc. Some time ago I worked with an aggressive and violent young man. He was extremely frustrated so I asked him to engage in a writing exercise. To begin with, he wrote many aggressive words to describe himself using black and brown colours. He worked without pausing and used such force that reflected his body language. Eventually, he calmed down, placed all the writing material to one side and sat back, tired. This work helped him release some frustration and anger. Explaining his work he showed how angry he was with himself and with the significant others in his life. The explanation of his last piece of work was that he wanted to have a wife and children of his own and not the life he was living then – a cathartic process. This taught me how similar we are deep within us regardless of how we may look or be perceived. I use various kinds of material such as paper, clay, glass and canvas for this kind of work. Recently I was invited to give a talk on “Communication through glass” by The League of Jewish Women. At one stage I asked for a volunteer from the group to experience the contents of my talk by working on glass and expressing themselves. My aim for working this way was for the better understanding of the group about my talk. Not one but three women came forward, one of whom said to me that she didn’t know what to do. I used my counselling skills and asked her to stay with this thought in order to accept that part of herself. Within a few moments she asked me for some black coloured paper. Now, in my experience, dark colours are often used when people are weighed down by heavy responsibilities and/or under pressures of negative emotions but one can also feel the heavy pressures of a positive experience which need exploration/expression as well. While I was involved with other members of the group, she was busy working. Not knowing what to do to then begin flowing with ideas – this usually happens when we accept our thoughts, stay with them and don’t oppose them, thereby avoiding internal conflict and thus enabling self acceptance and feeling at ease in the moment. This particular volunteer finished her piece and talked about her creativity, explaining the small figure she drew representing herself with the rest of the drawing representing her life at that time, the heavy responsibilities in her life. Black was the main colour she used in her work and so we see how colours affect our mood and vice-versa. The impact on the rest of the group was also interesting with one member of the group commenting, “it is fascinating” and another participant saying, “it is enjoyable”. This is exactly the point of these exercises, to feel good, be at ease, to relax, as I see relaxation healing us at a deeper level. When we enjoy our lives and feel good we function better. My focus in these kinds of exercise provisions is to work with thoughts and feelings - not the beauty of creativity but the beauty in creativity. The meanings attributed to the piece of art by the artists in these exercises are of paramount importance because their piece is the sketch of their inner world, their thoughts and their feelings in that moment to express themselves, which can be of comfort, and in my experience this is what often takes place. Thoughts and feelings are part of our inner fabric - as the saying goes: Watch your Thoughts, they become words. Watch your Words, they become actions. Watch your Actions, they become habits. Watch your Habits, they become character. Watch your Character; it becomes your Destiny. Life is a continuous process of change – we constantly evolve and transition from one state to the next.
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