Be the Change

 

“When we are no longer to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves…”  ~ Victor Frankl

Making Meaning: Be the Change

This week I spent time reflecting on change; thinking about efforts to make change outside of myself and how these efforts have influenced  change within myself.  Outer and inner change is not an easy process, comes with many challenges and for me,  an increased commitment to make meaningful decisions. The above quote from Victor Frankl inspired me to create a mini-altered book focused on change and meaning, as well as to identify key principles that have been important in my growth and being the change I want to be.   

Be the Change: Think / Energy

Be the Change: Think and Energy- I have learned about giving more thought to what I put my energy towards,what supports my authentic self, and my intentions.  What opportunities and experiences will best utilize my strengths, ideas, spirit, and dedication?   

Be the Change: Relationships / Choices

Be the Change: Relationships and Choices-  The relationships I nurture and the decisions I make also influence my ability to make meaning and take a stand to be the change I want to be.  Collaboration, choices, responsibility, and commitment all fall under these principles.   We reap what we sow.

Be the Change: Meaning / Empower

Be the Change: Meaning and Empower- These principles are most important to me and my path to purpose. How and where do I want to make meaning?  Enstilling hope, trust, and having the courage to keep moving forward helps me create empowerment and resiliency. 

Be the Change: Action / Truth

Be the Change: Action and Truth- To create change within or outside ourselves requires action coming from a belief rooted in truth and vision.

I’m sure there will more art and thoughts around this topic on my end, as meaning and change are important to the work I do and my every day life experience. Until then, the video and song below by Kat Edmonson also captures many of the reflections mentioned in this posting, as well as adds new ones to think more about.  How do you create meaning to be the change you want to be?

 

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Thoughts on Inspiring Mentorship

Next week I am going to see my first mentor Dr. Z while I am in Michigan for the National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children’s (TLC) Childhood Trauma Practitioners Assembly.  I haven’t seen her in about five years or so, but think of her often and what she instilled in me early on in my professional career and clinical work. I met her at my first job in mental health at a residential treatment center for boys 14 years ago, which is amazing when I do that math.  It was an exciting, but overwhelming time for me as I tried to make sense of working in my first agency, be part of the clinical team, and begin the path of developing my first art therapy program… and I was only 23 years old. Yikes when I think of that now…

 

Dr. Z, an independent social worker, counselor, and with a Ph.D in Marriage and Family Therapy, was there early on the scene as someone who showed interest and willing to share her knowledge and past experience to help support my efforts, push me to grow, and guide me in a working world that was often unpredictable, chaotic, and stressful.   I have always admired Dr. Z’s work ethic, candor, compassion, intelligence, and her willingness to take real risks, stand up for what is right, and her expectations of herself and others to do great and meaningful work.  

Inspiration Collage

I am very grateful for Dr. Z’s influence, example, and wisdom having a direct impact on the therapist and adult I have become and am today.   The image above is a collage I created to express my gratitude and say thanks… 

Who are you thankful for that helped mentor you early on in your career?

Creating Meaning, Soul and Art

I have started working on a new mini-altered book with the theme Art & Soul for BATA’s 2009 Symposium Silent Art Auction in September.  Below are pics of the pages being worked on:

 

Art and Soul Altered Book

Art Washes Away the Dust.....

The Soul Cannot Think Without a Picture...

Every Artist Dips His Brush into His Own Soul...

While working on these pages, I started to think about the importance of art and the soul’s connection to sustain energy and life, as well as what contributes to soul loss.  For me; connection, creation, and providing service to others are some things that keep my soul growing, thriving, and living.  These actions bring me back to what has real meaning in my life.  Although this is not always easy. There are plenty of obstacles, stresses, and unknowns to face everyday.  Making choices that validate my authentic self and support meaning in my life are important, but sometimes difficult.  Soul loss triggers for me include when spirit, passion, intention, and connection have been threatened, damaged, or burdened with inclusiveness, control, disillusionment, and apathy. 

Art therapist and one of BATA’s Symposium keynotes, Bruce Moon dedicated one of his books, Art And Soul: Reflections On An Artistic Psychology, to restoring the soul, the idea of soul loss, and how to live soulfully with a focus on how art-making can be part of this process.  At the beginning of the book, Moon asks several questions:

“There are choices to be made.  Should we withdraw into ourselves out of anxiety and fear?  Scared by the loss of our familiar ways of being in the world, will we become immobilized, thinking only of ourselves?  Will we choose to live life in the shallow regions? Or will we take hold of the opportunities before us to increase our sensitivity, heighten our awareness, and live responsibly in the face of overwhelming change?  Will we seek restoration of the soul?”

 

Soul restoration for me includes art-making and reaching out through connection to discover the answers to many of these questions.  Creating art helps me find true meaning for what I am seeking, hiding from, need, or want to communicate and honor.  When in doubt, I create art to better understand myself, where I am going, where I have been, and what is going on.  Art helps feed my soul and keep me safe in times of uncertainty, confusion, and change, as well as a way to show my support, gratitude, appreciation, and admiration.

 

How do you use creativity to feed your soul and create meaning in your life?  

Stepping Away to go MIA

Stepping Away...Be Back in a Few Days..

I have been working hard on tying up loose ends and responsibilities before I step away from being on the laptop, get off the computer grid and go missing in action during a brief getaway and a well deserved mini-vaca to Vegas.  This respite will be very nice and I am thankful that Kevin and I are able to take even this small amount of time away, have some fun, and play.

I found this post, Can You Take a Vacation from Social Media? quite appropriate for this posting- especially since I made the decision last week NOT to take my laptop and use the hotel’s free wifi.  I’m sure I’ll find a computer kiosk to maybe check my e-mail once or twice to keep my in-box manageable, see the status reports of my friends on Facebook, but that’s about it.  Even though my connections to LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, blogging, e-groups, and regular old e-mail are something I enjoy, I think I can survive without the social networking scene and spend some time away. Although if we hit it big at the blackjack table, do look for this status report to come through on Facebook!

To help get in an “off the grid” state of mind, check out this Beastie Boys  song and video- Until then, away message on and stepping away…be back in a few days!  Have a good week…

Artsy Living

My inbox was recently sent another goodie from Artella that  I wanted to share with you.   It is from The Complete Idealist’s Guide to Growing a Creative Business: 37 Ways to Really Make an Artsy Living by Artella Founder Marney K. Makridakis. In these uncertain financial times, using your creativity is a must have survival skill! 

The Complete Idealist's Guide to Growing a Creative Business

I remember after finishing graduate school, I had a pretty low paying art therapy job that barely made ends meet.  To supplement my income I got involved with the artist community on eBay and started selling my art, which really was a great experience. Not only did I make extra money, but I met so many neat individuals who were interested in similar interests and inspired me in so many ways .  I have really good memories of those eBay selling days, think of them often, and still use the fundamentals of this experience today. 

This experience pushed me to start my very first website,  Dolls of Travesty where I could refer my regular eBay customers to and order more creations that were not up for auction. My friend Mark bought me the dolls of travesty domain name as a surprise and this really got my excitement going about possibilities- definitely an “a-ha moment”.

Between this website and eBay I would get commission orders for dolls,  including a bulk voodoo doll order from the guys who made the Blair Witch Project (Haxan Films) when they launched a short lived show called FreakyLinks on FOX back in 2000.  I remember getting the check from Haxen with the cool Blair Witch tree branch logo on it and thinking it was amazing that my dolls had reached this realm! It’s still unbelievable to me-! Actually they are still for sale here, if you are interested in checking the FreakyLinks site out! (Wow, I can’t believe they are still there!) Ah… the good old days!

So obviously this subject of using your creativity for an artsy life  is close to my heart….  To help you with your own creative brainstorming,  here’s a peek to some of the content that I enjoyed reading from Makridakis about finding resources that fit you and your business ideas:

1. Ask-  Inquire with those colleagues you trust  what resources have been helpful for them in their pursuit of developing new ideas, their business, and work.  Also research and learn more about businesses you look up to and want to model your own endeavors after.

2. Listen to your body- When researching and looking at resources, remember to pay attention to your “gut” and how your body is responding.  What energizes you and gets you excited?  Makridakis suggests to also pay attention to feelings of doubt, anxiety, and “a-ha moments”.

3.  Be a magnet to your excitement- Let your passion, excitement, and enthusiasm lead you to your resources, people, and tools that will help shape and build your idea.  Take a look at what truly motivates and interests you, as this will help sustain your strength and commitment when faced with challenges and struggles.

4. Know your core values- Do the resources and connections you are interested in support what is important to you?  Are they a right fit to what you value?

5. Play with serpendipty- Makridakis recommends having fun with researching and finding resources by inviting serendipity through a simple keyword search of your idea on-line.  Try googling words connected to your idea and see what kind of brainstorming comes from this!

6. Read testimonials of potential consumers and pay attention to how you feel- Do some market research on your idea and target those consumers who are really invested in your idea vs.  superifical commentary.

7. Avoid making choices only by price- Carefully consider and balance cost with quality. Look for cost effective ways to promote your business without spending a lot of $,  but don’t settle for going cheap either.  I am a big fan of using the Internet to help spread your ideas, special project, and business!

8. Look for “creative” specialties- Partner and collaborate with creative individuals and groups that have proven to be successful and have similiar thoughts, goals, and excitement about your interests. 

9. Work with fewer resources rather than more- Look for resources that cover the bulk of what you need- i.e. a couple of really good books with lots of information vs. having many, many resources to keep track of and go back to.  Streamline the resource gathering process.

10. Learn your own personal learning style-Look seriously at what works best for you in learning and guiding you in this process.    Makridakis suggests if you are a visual person, to pay attention to illustrated books  that contain a lot of this content.  Do you need an audio program?  If you enjoy learning with others, do you need to take a class or join a group? If you find that having individual attention is helpful for you, maybe consider working with a consultant or coach.

Have fun, remember to keep the creative juices flowing, try something new, or develop an existing idea or business further! 

 

Notes on Finding & Doing Great Work

The idea of finding, doing, and commiting to great work has been crossing my path a lot lately.  I have been challenging myself to think thoughtfully more about my own decisions, relationships, expectations, intentions and trying to learn more about what goes into great work. 

The short ad spot below from the creativity and image gurus at Corbis I think speaks to important qualities that distinguishes good work into the level of great work.  Don’t settle for less, cut corners, or give up.  Have high expectations for quality, seek help from others & work together to achieve what needs to be done,  and most importantly, remember that great work is hard work. Don’t make excuses for why a mediocre job is OK.

Finding Your Great Work Movie by Michael Bungay Stanier and his 5 Great Work Truths is another inspiration that I have taken notice to recently:

1. Take full responsibility for the choices you make.  Own them.   Have conviction, commitment, and the accountability that comes with the decision making of doing great work.  Are you in for more great work or out?

2. Changing your focus changes what’s possible.  Look at who you are,  what is important to you, what you are passionate about, and what is around you.  Seek opportunities and others that enrich, support, and inspire possibility. Will you look for great work or just hope it shows up?

3. You must make the full choice. Hold strong to the no so you can commit to the yes.  I think this could become my new mantra!

4. To do great work you must be willing to take a stand. Get focused on what you want and go for it. Don’t let resistance or fear stop you from finding and doing great work.

5. Great work involves not only working with others, but finding the right people to partner with and opening the door to invite them in.  A recent posting on Bungay Stanier’s The Possibility Virus Blog  reminds us that with sites such as LinkedIn and other on-line global networking tools, there is no reason we all shouldn’t be discovering, connecting, and collaborating with people all over the world who are amazing at what they do and can help us find and do great work.  In addition, take a closer look at who and what existing relationships you need to let go of and are exhausting you of your energy, effort, spirit, and time.

Are you ready to go and find your great work?  I know I am! Do you want to join me? Click on the image below and watch the film for more.  Also look for Bungay Stanier’s  new book coming out soon: Find Your Great Work: Napkin-size Solutions to Stop the Busywork & Start the Work that Matters.

Thanks to Nicole for sending this to me- it was perfect timing!

Find Your Great Work Movie

Virtues of Passion

Detachment Altered Book Page 5 / Inside Me- Passion

More pages from my altered book on detachment— I am on a roll with working on it over the last few days.  I started thinking about passion, virtue, and letting go. Responsibilities, ideas, projects, and people that are important to me and I have great enthusiasm for contribute to the amount of energy, commitment, and focus I put into anything. 

Detachment Altered Book Page 6 / Virtue

I have been thinking a lot more about how to better direct my energy passion-where, with who, how, and why.  Same thing with where and who I should be detaching my energy from.  

Memo to Myself: Relax & Let Go

Detachment Altered Book Page 3 / Peace & Simple Joy

My altered book on detachment is still coming along. Here are a few more pages I  have been working on.  

Detachment Altered Book Page 4 / Stop

A reminder to myself to relax, let go, and keep things in perspective. 

Check out the beginning pages to this book in my post Detached Devotion. 

rev o’lution 2009: change/transformation

My rev o’ lution for 2009 is starting with those qualities I want to cultivate, build on and attract more of in this New Year:

 

Change-  Here’s a quote from the Philosophy of Andy Warhol that sums this one up for me:  “They always say time changes things, but actually you have to change them yourself“.  In 2009, I want to see change, be part of change, and live that change.

Gratitude- To keep recognizing who and what I have appreciation for  in 2009.  Even in my most stressful days, not to take the simple things for granted and be thankful.  The Gratitude List  speaks about gratitude “being like a key” that opens, inspires, heals,  and develops feeling, relationships, decisions, and possibility.  I hope to also engage in more of what Psychology Today blogger Cathy Malchiodi calls “random acts of art“. Creating art or other creative goodies for others in the spirit of kindness and thankfulness to honor special times, occasions, or just because. 

Calm- If you read my last posting, 12 Simple Words for 2008, you know that letting go is not something that comes easy to me.  I am sure this year will also be challenging. I hope to keep working on relaxation and having increased calmness in my 2009 life.  Gotta finish my altered book on detachment for starters.  

Health-  Here’s to another year of my myelin behaving and keep doing what I have to do to help make this happen.   

Leadership- I’ll be posting more on this in 2009- dont’ worry, stay tuned.  I have been thinking a lot about leadership, creativity, and what these needs mean to me. I have strong beliefs about the good, the bad, and the ugly surrounding this topic. Good leadership is something I want to see, be, and understand more in 2009.

Openness- This one is very important for my 2009 rev o’ lution.   I thrive in an environment where I can work with others who value the philosophy of openness. Openness involves having free access to information, sharing resources, and welcoming the opportunity to contribute and collaborate on projects and goals together.   It’s very different from working in a “closed system” where people often experience isolation,  there is a lack of transparency, and the only interaction with surroundings are restricted to moving inside the system.  I believe the philosophy of openness has great potential for my 2009 life, especially after breaking free in 2008 from some closed systems and making some decisions on how to best direct my energy elsewhere.  I also view openness as how we relate to the world: with imagination, emotional awareness, curiosity, and a need to seek diversity, the creative arts, and strive towards innovation.  I have high hopes that lots of open collaboration, amazing ideas and new opportunities will present itself.  And I know that from this, great things will happen.

Voice- Here’s to a 2009 where I can use my voice to build, empower, and work on taking action through crafting new possibilities and awareness.  I hope this includes mastering my voice, understanding more about the power of my voice, its connection to myself, others and stimulating change, as well as how my voice can impact what’s important in my 2009 life.

Trust- What is trust? One definition that ChangingMinds.org offers is, “being able to predict what other people will do and what situations will occur. If we can surround ourselves with people we trust, then we can create a safe present and an even better future”.  To develop this in my own life, this year I will continue to nurture myself with those people I respect, who value integrity, compassion, well-being, authenticity, and are accountable to their choices and decisions.   I hope to live up to the same to what/who is important in my life.  ChangingMinds.org reminds us that if  “you do it (trust) well, other people will give you the earth.  If you betray them, they will hunt you to the ends of the earth.”  I absolutely agree.

Soooo….. that’s my rev o’ lution for change/transformation during 2009. What does your rev o’ lution look like? For more on how to start your own, check out the e-book Piece to Peace: Collage Your Way to Inner Harmony and other cool stuff to feed your artist soul on Artella.

Here’s to the beginning of an incredible, creative, and successful New Year!

12 Simple Words for 2008

Recently I was going through some old computer files and stumbled across a list of saved words.   I can’t remember where they came from or who wrote it, but reviewing and sharing my thoughts about the list seemed very timely with the New Year quickly approaching and reflecting back on 2008.

BEGIN- Do something you have always wanted to do.  Something that I have always wanted to do that I did in 2008 was learn how to make small films.  This has been on my “to do” list for many years now and I just never got around to it. In July, I taught myself through researching tutorials on-line and did a short film of my Visioning Collages and a few others since.  I’ve discovered that I really enjoy this new form of self-expression and the creative process involved with putting the film together.

LAUGH- Laughter is the direct route to the soul.  It broadens your perspective, keeps you healthy, and makes an unbearable situation easier to deal with.  I find that laughter is a huge coping mechanism for me and seriously contributes to my overall well-being.  I think there’ s a lot in my life that I couldn’t manage unless laugher was involved or I was surrounded by people in my life that make me laugh and remind me not to be so serious all the time.

BELIEVE- Tell yourself you will succeed at whatever you are doing at the moment.  I think many of my collages over this year and the past reinforce this attitude. They become a visual affirmation for me to stay focused, work hard, do my best, and make my own reality. 

TRUST- Trust your inner voice.  Trusting my inner voice was a BIG one for me in 2008.  I made some difficult decisions early in the year that had me walking away from something I really loved doing, in the name of integrity. Speaking out about what influenced this was even more important.  Standing up for what is right is important to me and just being a silent bystander on the sidelines was something my inner voice was not going to be OK with.  I am very proud of trusting my voice this year.

PLAY- Don’t forget to have fun. In 2008, this included going to Vegas  in April and playing blackjack, meeting Crispin Glover in May and seeing his slideshow again,  watching Lost (over and over and over), subscribing to satellite radio, listening to the Cure’s new album, 4:13 Dream (gotta love The Only One), making altered art books, and laughing at Kevin’s simple, yet very funny take on situations that stress me out.

CREATE- Creativity maintains balance in our lives. I did A LOT of art-making this year- for myself, for others, for my sanity…

CONNECT- Nurture the connections that uplift you. This year I was inspired to dive into the world of LinkedIn and to create the Art Therapy Alliance, a professional networking group for art therapists, students, and like minded individuals who support art therapy and want to connect more with others who share this same interest.  LinkedIn and the Art Therapy Alliance has connected me to so many new and interesting people, as well as help me strengthen my existing professional relationships and contacts.  

SEEK- Don’t live strictly inside your comfort zone. Allow yourself to grow by exposing your vulnerabilities and insecurities. There’s something to be said about courage, taking risks, and doing something that has never been done before.  2008 presented many opportunities for me to go outside of what is known to me and work hard to rise to the occasion with authenticity, confidence, and leadership.

CHOOSE- We can’t always choose our circumstances, but we choose our attitude towards them.   While this has not been easy for a control freak like me, I have had to learn a lot about this over the last few years.  I had a better attitude in 2008 and I hope 2009 will be even better.

APPRECIATION- Appreciate the good in yourself, others, and what you appreciate about your life in this moment. What comes to mind here is thankfulness and gratitude for friends and family in my life.  What’s truly good in my life are the relationships and friendships I have. So many who have helped, empowered, supported, encouraged, and listened to me throughout the year-  and this has not gone unnoticed-thank you!

WRITE- Putting your thoughts on paper can organize thoughts and make dreams more concrete.  I use to keep a daily journal for years and years, but in the last 5 years or so what use to be daily entries have become lists. Every year I make a list of things that I want to do- for fun, for my professional life, artist self, for my health, others, goals, crazy ideas, etc.  Things on the list that I did well this year were managing my health better, saving $, doing more art, going on vacation, as well as presenting and teaching more.  I suppose launching this blog provides me a nice opportunity to begin writing more!

RELEASE- Give yourself permission to relax and let go. I must admit that I have not done very well with this one in 2008– I have really tried to work on letting go and relaxing more (I swear!), but this is so very hard for a workaholic like me.  I even started a mini altered art book on detachment in October that is still not anywhere finished.  I did try to say no more- if that counts for anything.  I hope I can take letting go a little more seriously in 2009.

What words helped you survive and thrive in 2008?  Stayed tuned for 2009 and my rev o’ lution!