Shelley Klammer

Blossoming in Times of Adversity

I have noticed a very curious thing about myself. Whenever I watch too much bad news, I start to get a sore throat. When I choose instead to dance, to write in my journal, to sketch, to read uplifting books, my sore throat goes away.

The Challenges of Being Stuck at Home

What a strange and unsettling time in our human history. As an online therapist, I have the opportunity to talk to people around the world and I know this is a very challenging time financially, physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually for many, especially those in strict in-home lockdown.

When we do not have the opportunity to get out of our homes, old unhealed emotional pain can come up, primal survival fears can be activated, and prior avoidance strategies in intimate relationships can ignite all kinds of in-home challenges.

And, while many are still joking that they are eating too much comfort food, drinking wine every night, and binge-watching Netflix, this transformative time in human history is actually offering us the time and space to deepen, strengthen and heal.

More Healthy Structure

I feel that the most urgent directive at this time is to find innovative ways to uplift our "vibration" higher than fear - not only to stay physically healthier but also to cope in such trying times with greater resilience. Fear is so discombobulating. Many people have been expressing to me this week that they are having trouble focusing.

In order to cope with the fear and chaos that is sweeping the planet, I think there is a great need for in-home structures, practices and routines that increase focus on physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health. This could be new exercise routines,  in-depth spiritual and creative practices, and engaging in self-study or learning a new skill.

Levels of Consciousness

Dr. David Hawkins, author of "Power vs Force" found a way to measure human consciousness. He discovered that there is a critical point between weakness and strength - level 200 on his scale.

Every emotion that calibrates below level 200 makes the body go weak. Every emotion above 200, makes the body strong.  While some people resonate above 200 much of the time, currently, most of the world is resonating below 200.

I invite you to consider the Scale of Consciousness here and contemplate what uplifting practices and activities could support you to live more frequently above level 200.

 

Best Expressive Arts Books

Do you love to read about the expressive arts? I sure do. I welcome you to view the list HERE.

My all-time favourite book on the list is Life Paint and Passion by Michele Cassou and Stewart Cubley.

"Life, Paint And Passion is a deeply involving approach to using the creative process as a tool for self-discovery. With vibrant and contagious enthusiasm, the authors liberate the reader's urge to create freely and spontaneously, as a painter or an artist in another medium, purely for the process of exploration, not for results."

I read this book over 20 years ago, and I went to a painting retreat with one of its authors. After I painted in this way, I was utterly betrothed to spontaneous creativity.

I felt immediate relief from the honesty of the process. I have healed so much fear and pain through spontaneous creativity. 

Expressive Writing Exercise

I recently shared this post on my Depth Therapy Blog. I hope you enjoy it. This is a writing exercise that I use often.

 

You might be going through your life feeling numb, distracted or out of touch with how you feel inside. This is very common. If you have a hard time identifying how you feel, here is a great daily check-in exercise that you can track in your journal each day from David I. Rome, the author of "Your Body Knows the Answer."

 

If you easily abandon yourself when you are with other people, you will find this exercise very helpful. You can do this exercise in your mind several times during the day. This emotional check-in exercise invites your deeper self-knowing by repeating a question three times. 

 

Noticing "Something"

1. Begin by simply asking yourself, "How am I?" Say whatever comes mind. "I am fine...tired...sad...happy...excited and write it down in your journal.

 

2. Now ask yourself, "But how am I really? This time ignore any words that arise quickly. Instead, hold in mind the question, "How am I really? Allow there to be a gap, and sense into your body with an attitude of friendly attending.

 

3. Do not answer from your head - that would be what you already know. Look for a response to the question in your body. Find that unclear sense of "something." You might sense a strong sensation in a part of your body. You might see images, colours or symbols. You might hear music or words.

 

4. Don't rush. Go slow. Stay present. Be a friendly witness to what comes - even when nothing comes.

 

5. At first, feelings tend to be quite shy. They are not used to being seen and need time to feel safe enough to show themselves.

 

6. When you notice something, simply welcome it and be with it, and do not look for anything else to happen right away. Write down what you are experiencing.

 

7. After a while, ask for a third time, "How am I really?" and notice if the feeling alters, becomes clearer or disappears. Write down your felt-sense impression in your journal.

 

7. At any point in this process, you may experience a fresh insight, or something unexpected. These qualities come with a sense of Oh! or Aha! or Now I see! Make a note of your deeper insights in your journal.

 

Create a Surreal Collage

I love visual inspiration. Part of my "visual food" is going on Instagram and Pinterest when I can find the time, and revelling in images that uplift, intrigue and inspire me. I love thinking and dreaming about art!

These collages are by Marcelo Monreal. He is a Brazilian collage artist who collages flowers and foliage with faces.

Expressive Art Process - Surreal Collage

The word "surreal" describes something that's a bizarre mix of elements, often jarring and seemingly nonsensical.

For this expressive art process:

~ Choose a face from a magazine and cut it into two or three pieces.

~ Separate the face on your backing paper. Do not glue down the face fragments yet.

~ Choose images of foliage and flowers (0r anything else) and arrange in the gaps between the face fragments.

~ Glue down the foliage and flowers

~ Glue down the face fragments on top.

I invite you to follow me on Pinterest HERE.

 

Four Expressive Mandala Prompts

I spent several years creating 365 free-form mandalas as a way to help me to relax and meditate. Along the way, I discovered many expressive ways to vary my mandala practice. Below, I have created an infographic that illustrates four easy methods for you to begin creating free-form mandalas.

Intuitive Mandala Meditations

I also created a video module, documenting my mandala journey in my year long expressive art and writing course.

In this mandala healing adventure you will:

~ Learn how to create spontaneous free-form mandalas by sensing for symbols that match your inner experience.

-  Practice playing, loosening and freeing up your mandala process to allow for surprise and insight.

~ Practice deep rest in your intuitive mandala making process.

~ Learn how to "give" worry silence, and restore your mind to peace.

~ Practice the art of keeping your mind open to intuitive insight.

~ Recalibrate your nervous system to calm, confidence, and self-love.

 

Emotional Processing with Collage

About a year ago, I discovered an older and sometimes glitchy collage app online, and I began processing my emotions through digital collage. Being an empathic person, I find that I can easily get emotionally accumulated by the energies of other people, and I was amazed at how much "emotional debris" I was able to process through my daily digital collage practice.

It is challenging for many people to be socially honest. For this reason, self-to-self expressive art practices can support you to get comfortable with being honest with yourself about how you feel, what you like and dislike, what your boundaries are, what your dreams for your life are and much more.

In the past year, I have created over 300 collages! You can view my collage gallery HERE

Shelley Klammer on Pinterest!

I LOVE the visual world. Being a collage artist, I collect pictures from books and magazines. I am also an avid "visual collector" on Pinterest.

Maybe you are too? 

If so, please join me on Pinterest for some rich visual sharing! I invite you to follow me HERE.

 

Discover Intuitive Collage Facebook Group

If you are a collage enthusiast and would like to share your collages in my Discover Intuitive Facebook Group, I warmly welcome you to join us HERE.

If you would like to learn how to create an intuitive paper collage, I am reprinting an article that I wrote about magazine collage from many years ago.

How to Create an Intuitive Collage

Intuitive collage involves is sitting down with a pile of old magazines and choosing images, textures, and colours without thinking or judging.

It is easy to gather an overflowing abundance of images that can be recycled into opulent, personal works of art. Glue down anything that excites or intrigues you - in fresh and spontaneous ways.

When I sit down in my studio and start to flip through old magazines, I keep my mind relaxed and my eyes soft. My breath is deep and gentle as I look for anything that catches my eye.

I don’t ask myself why I am drawn to images of old wooden doors, a red bird, the carved bust of a king, a hot pink lotus flower. All I know is that I am delighted with what I find.

My fingers get sticky with glue and as I lay down the backgrounds and the collage begins to come together like the mysterious pieces of a puzzle. A blackbird drops a seed into a pink flower. Eyes become clocks. A cathedral ceiling evokes the expanded state that I am in.

My collage unfolds with a force greater and more generous than I could ever plan for. The patterns and colours are instantly opulent and richly detailed. I find a warm red Celtic scroll, a verdigris fossil.

I look for small finishing details, a wing from a bird, a ladybug, a church steeple. Finally, it feels finished and I feel complete, more whole than when I began. I look up at the clock. Where did the last hour go?

I put my collage up on the window ledge and I look at it throughout the day. Insights and ideas come to me as I do other things. I communicate with my collages and with the deeper, more mysterious parts of myself. The carved door feels like a possibility. The king’s imperial head feels like strength.

Suddenly, I have an answer to something I have been wondering about. I could act with new strength as easily as I could open up a door and walk through it. Yellow orchids seem to bloom and applaud my insight. My life suddenly feels more vivid and rich with possibilities.

The next time you pick up a magazine try looking at it with soft, relaxed eyes. What jumps out at you? Is it a word, a colour, a shape? Cut it out, glue it down and then add more images. What does it tell you about yourself? What we notice provides clues to who we really are. There is a true self within all of us that is always waiting to be more profoundly discovered. Anyone can touch into their deeper feelings, insights and desires through spontaneous collage.

Identifying Your Developmental Blocks

Many of us get arrested at various ages and stay stuck in a developmental stage that could have us feeling like a child in our 20's or a teenager in our 40's or a young adult in our 60's.

This is because, during each stage in your lifespan, it is possible to have a psychosocial crisis that could have a negative outcome for your personality development.

A psychosocial crisis involves a conflict between your psychological needs (psycho) with the needs of society (social). At each stage, there is a crisis or a task that you need to resolve.

To see where your developmental impasses are, I welcome you to take a look at this article on my Depth Therapy Blog that details all the stages of human development. 

When you can identify an unhealed personality part's age, you will better be able to see what kind of emotional healing work you need to do in order to progress in your life.

 

Free Support Group for Expressive Arts Facilitators

If you regularly create expressive art to further your creative freedom and emotional wellness, you might be considering facilitating the expressive arts for other people at some point in your journey. 

I am a REACE (Registered Expressive Art Consultant and Educator) with the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association and I am an avid encourager of Expressive Arts Facilitators!

Having facilitated expressive art and writing for many different populations for many years, I now guide a free Facebook peer support group for Expressive Arts Facilitators at all stages of practice.

This peer learning group is for expressive arts facilitators of all backgrounds and experiences. I warmly invite arts facilitators to share knowledge and experiences in a way that is encouraging and inclusive.

Join us HERE!