The ArT of Journaling - Rant and Rave to Your Heart's Content!

So, someone gave you a brand new leather bound, or simple journal as a gift, and you're not sure what to do with it or where to begin. Chances are, it might still be sitting on your dining room table or nightstand just waiting to be embellished with your thoughts and feelings. Or, maybe you stare onto the blank pages uncertain of what to write, draw or what warrants a journal entry. I'm here to help.

Here we go...You can write whatever you want in your journal as long as you have a safe place to keep it where family members or room mates won't pry into your sacred psyche.  You can also draw, collage, paint and glue things such as movie tickets, a dried flower, horoscope or anything that holds significance for you. A journal is your personal, creative playground that does not adhere to any guidelines or rules.  Journals are a creative tool to get to know yourself better and to develop deeper clarity of your thoughts and feelings as they are reflected back to you.

I have been journaling for years. My mother kept a journal and used it as a recount of the days activities and her thoughts. My entries are much more personal than my mother's, including my disappointments, my accomplishments, and my attempt to de-tangle my musings, which at times have me confused and in need of some clarity. I also glue poems that touch me, horoscopes that act as guides to my clairvoyant side, and I draw out my dilemmas and feelings.

It doesn't matter what time of day you journal: morning, noon, or night.  If you find staring at a blank page intimidating, I suggest you begin with an opening line that helps get you going, such as, Today I... Or, Here I am, once again, not knowing what to write in my journal, but, if I were to choose one thing that mattered to me today, it would be... I believe journals are meant to be a sounding board for us to share and express aspects of our lives that we may or may not want to share with others. A safe place where censoring is optional; grammar and spelling are optional. And, freedom to be yourself is recommended!

So, go find that new journal, curl up in your favorite spot, pour yourself your favorite beverage, open to the first delicious page and brag, boast, cry, reflect, brainstorm, and rant away!

Peace,
Victoria

VISION BOARDs - YOUR PERSONAL ROADMAP FOR 2012

During the first few weeks of the New Year, we are inundated with news of dieting offers, gym bargains, car deals and for those among us who are self-growth-ers....VISION BOARDS.  I happen to love vision boards and have made many of them over the years usually using collage. I don't always wait for a new year to make one; you can create a vision board anytime during the year but, the New Year does provide an official starting point to map out your intentions, wishes, expectations of the year ahead and create a visual reminder of your personal landscape dreams.  Basically, you are sending yourself and the universe a snapshot of what you would like to bring into your life for the coming year. They're easy, fun, creative, focused, and simple to make.

What do you need? Very simple:

• Quiet moment alone or with a friend.
• Light a candle
• Add calming music if you wish
• And make your favorite drink....
• Collage magazine cut-out images or photos
• Glue Sticks
• Scissors
• Heavy paper or a board

Choose images that reflect the changes, letting go-of's, wishes, and vision you have for your life for the year. In other words, what you would like to manifest in your life.  You can choose to have a theme, such as LOVE, career, relationships, health,  etc. Or, you can combine them for one big intention. You can tear or cut your images and clue them to the paper or board.  Overlapping, separating or any other unique method you choose. You can make your vision board as big or small as you wish. You can also cut out says to add and if you wish, use colored pencils or pastels or markers to color in the blank space...totally optional.  Hang your vision board somewhere where you will be reminded of your vision and reflect on it daily, weekly, monthly, however often you wish. You can also add journal entries about your vision board and how your New Year's intentions are manifesting.

Most of all....have fun!
Peace, Victoria

The "Dark Days" Are Our Greatest Teachers

Everywhere I look, friends are unhappy, clients are riddled with anxiety, depression, self-doubt and fear, and life appears dark and without hope. At least that is the message I'm hearing from many.  Nothing feels satisfying anymore including relationships, work and the long-term picture looks bleak.  I see one of my responsibilities as a marriage and family therapist and art therapist as helping to instill hope into the psyches of my clients and teaching them that they can learn a thing or two about themselves during these    challenging times.  Since I know all too well about the dark days of life, I feel compelled to share my experiences with others and help them SEE that these challenging times help move us to higher emotional planes. I feel, and so do many spiritual teachers, that the so called dark days are our greatest teachers. That is, if we choose to look closely at our lives and what the darkness is meant to teach us. If you have ever received a diagnosis of a life-threatening or chronic illness, you understand how this news can propel you to take action and re-examine your life.  It is a motivator for many to change eating habits, start exercising, reconnect with old friends and repair relationships and hopefully see one's life from an awakened, eyes wide-open perspective. I believe we can view the cloudier days of our lives the same way...as propellers to experience a deeper understanding and respect for ourselves and lives.

Recently, when a good friend of mine asked, if I ever felt like just "ending it all," I had to be honest and reply, "of course." But, I also added, I'm sure glad I didn't follow through on that thought. I would not be the therapist, woman and healer I am today if it weren't for those dark moments of my life. Once I learned to not fear the dark days and to look them straight at them, and to learn from them, understand them and heal the pain, I found myself in a healthier and stronger place.  We are taught to extinguish sadness, pain and depression, not use them as teachers. We are taught to run from these
feelings and to pretend they don't exist. What if we took care of them, loved them as part of us and allowed them to be really felt and understood? Imagine what we might learn from them.

What I am suggesting, is the next time you experience emotional pain, try sitting with the feelings; try getting to know them and see them as a guide that can teach you about yourself.  Try really taking care of them as if they were an unset child instead of something to extinguish and reject. I would have your journal with you and write about what comes up. Write about what insight you might gain and allow your darkness to speak.

In peace,
Victoria