Crushing The Page - releasing pent up energies onto your journal

                CRUSHING THE PAGE 

    

As I continue my journey creating ART, I also want to share a wonderful healing process, which goes by several names, but I am calling CRUSHING THE PAGE. Because that is what I did today. I grabbed my journal, crumbled and crushed the page.

It is a method that artists are using following a process such as this: (there are different ways to do this).

    1. Write down on a paper, preferably a journal, what is causing you problems, or stress, or emotional upheaval. Just release all your inner thoughts (pains, fears, anxieties, anger...). Forget about the grammar and sentence structure, just put it down on the page. Unleash that rage, anxiety, tears of grief, disappointments and if your page gets all crinkled, crushed or torn in the process, let it happen.

    2.  Cover your words up - with cut out images from magazines, with markers or paint over it.  Use whatever you have on hand.  Let it dry and spend some time reflecting, wondering WHY this is happening.  Then come back to your journal and add positive words or phrases to your page. When you feel you have finished, close your journal, and walk away from it.  

After a while, (or a few days) you will sense an emotional release.  Those feeling you had been bottling up inside will gradually subside. The more you practice this act of Crushing the Page, the more you will find answers to problems, and find your heart easing from its fears and pains. You will see subtle changes in your emotions and in your way of life.

For a more detailed way to engage in the process, click on the following link and watch Catt Z, creator of  Cosmic Smashbooking. Another fabulous artist that teaches this process is Amanda Mauck.

I invite you to explore this creative way of healing those pains that burn inside.

Below is my page of the day.  All my pains are written underneath this journal page, and then I collaged over it wishing to "Live for Greatness."  Felt so much better afterwards. 

BOOK REVIEW: Memoir about being abused as a child.

I just finished a book written by a friend of mine. In her memoir, she tells how one day, while at a retreat, her brain flashed her memories of being sexually abused by her father when she was a young child. Without giving any more of the story away, here is the link to this moving story on how she healed and was able to forgive. Unexpected Legacy

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As I went on one of my daily walks this week, I encountered this:  a beautiful, bright, orange flower growing in the middle of some prickly cactus.  I am reminded that one can find beauty and the light even amongst the thorniest places. You have to look with eyes wide open and with your heart. 

Til next time, 

Paty 

Healing Emotional Pain through Smashbooking

    I began writing about one thing, but then Smashbooking led me off in another direction.

    This morning I participated in a second session of journal Smashbooking with the wonderful Catt Z. If you are not familiar with the concept, it's putting all your worries, stresses, and/or dreams onto the pages of a journal.  Add some prayer, cover it up in paint, and then watch some emotional healing magic happen over time. 

    I wish I could say it was that easy, but there is a lot of inner soul searching in the process, and many questions come up that beg for answers.  And some are not pretty. But we know that pain, anxiety, stress and depression are NEVER pretty. 

    Here is her link if you care to dive into this personal healing journey.  Cosmic Smashbooking

    I'm not attaching my Smashbook work of the day, but instead posting the collage I created this past Monday. I'm always drawn to horses, (in this case a psychedelic one), and birds (behold this hummingbird showing off its skeletal frame).  I will dissect my work this coming weekend and find out what messages it has for me. 

    All in all, I can say that these art activities are a wonderful way to connect with other creatives and spend some quality time connecting with myself during retirement and a pandemic.

     On my walks in nature, I continue to enjoy the book The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green, where he tackles subjects such as being bullied, teddy bears, depression, and whispering.

    Til next week.