A couple of weeks ago I attended a workshop at Phoenix Institute run by Atira Lydia Tan, who founded The Art2Healing Project; a Creative Art Therapy grassroots organisation working particularly with women in Asia. Much of their project work is focused on empowering women who have been rescued from the sex trafficking trade. They teach yoga and meditation programs to empower women to bring healing into their own communities. The session was inspirational. I took so much away from this, not the least the reinforcement of the idea that whether we are teachers, therapists or mentors the basic responsibility is not in the teaching itself but in what is left behind after the teacher departs. Resources, empowerment...
“Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime”
Whether you are of the belief the above quote comes from a Chinese proverb or the Bible, it still rings true of what I mean. A good teacher does not control what is learned, simply dishing it out in portion controlled parcels as they choose. Just like when teachers at school used to tell you to "Look it up in the dictionary" if you wanted to know how to spell something, there was intention in that kind of teaching. Irritating as it was, particularly when you didn't have a clue where to start, it taught me personally that the power to learn was within me and the resources were there for me to access. Therapists likewise facilitate the accessing of one's own personal resources. In my opinon, anyone claiming to know you better than you know yourself is a charlatan. A well paid one.
“The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind.”
This one was Khalil Gibran, who runs rings aroung some of the weird shit Jesus said. So, back to EMPOWERMENT and The Art2Healing Project. Atira told a story of working with clay with a group of teens rescued from the sex trade in Nepal, and how they would spend their time making little bowls. Bowl after bowl, they would form these containers with lids, write little notes and place them in, sealing in their most private thoughts. Those little vessels were the safe container for their innermost fears and sadness. Things like "I miss my mother" and others perhaps never revealed... Such a powerful healing process. I imagined the possibilites of firing these little containers in a kiln and visualised the release of the burning away of the letters. It got me thinking in my studies of transpersonal art therapy, ways in which containment and release of wounds, guilt, fears and feelings can heal. Writing your fears in an envelope and sealing them is an immediately accessible way to do this too. It might be before a meeting, a job interview, any kind of undertaking which causes some anxiety or fear. Think: "What am I afraid of?". Write it, seal it, and put it away. Once the event is over, look back over it. When I have done this I have found it amusing how over inflated my own fears were, and gave me a sense that I had more personal strength than I may have given myself credit for.
Art therapist Pat Allen says "Art is a way of knowing". This is know; All That I Have To Learn is Within Me. This is my mantra. I just forget it sometimes. I might put a reminder in my phone...
The Art2Healing Project:
Phoenix Institute of Australia
