January 16, 2010

BACK OF TEA COZY



Inner Healing of the Wounded Child

Before I sewed up the black and white fabric I cut this hand out of the red fabric that I got from Ann Johnson.
I have a problem with throwing anything away...even when it didn't work.  When I put it on the black and white fabric it looked more like a war protest image.
So I decided to  use the hand as a visual representation of something that I read in my journal.
I didn't write down where I got this and if you know I will be happy to give credit.

"GETTING RID OF BAGGAGE

When we have IT in our mind, break IT down literally into smaller pieces.  With your mind, however it works for you personally.  Take the rock or BOULDER that IT is as a symbol of IT and then make IT smaller in size.  Continue to do this until IT is small enough that IT no longer over powers you or feels bigger than you are.  Continue to do this until you can literally blow IT into the universe for her to now take care of with a breath, and watch IT dissipate into thin air and nothingness.  IT feels really good when we do this.  It allows us to take something that we once gave huge merit to and no longer see it in the same way.  It totally changes our perception.  This helps us to realize and recognize that we were the ones that was allowing IT to remain in a controlling nature to us.  What is your relationship to IT?  We were also the one that took IT down and CHOSE TO CHANGE IT'S  NATURE.  We have now taken back our control by  taking responsibility for what we gave IT."

I actually did this exercise at a charged moment.  I managed to reduce what I was reacting to...then I got a handle of how I wanted to respond.  It was quite empowering.

I got the term "wounded child" from Dr. Margaret Paul, who
wrote the book Healing Your Aloneness.

7 comments:

Erika C. said...

I like this exercise. Art absolutely has the power to heal. Thanks for visiting my blog and for your inspirational art.

love,
Erika

Anonymous said...

Beautiful tea cozy.
I like the idea of making something smaller and smaller until it is manageable! Makes sense to me.

Lynn Cohen said...

Love the visualization...been teaching this sort of thing for years now...your tea cozy is cozy indeed and I love the red on the lavender. Your stitching is beauifully done.

Quilt Architect said...

Thank you all.
I believe that you have been teaching it Lynn...because I can tell you must live it. They say that values are caught and not taught and surely you have learned how to teach this through example. It just seems you don't let things get you down.

"Art absolutely has the power to heal." -Erika,
This is a powerful statement. It is interesting that when doing art we often go to places we hadn't thought we were going. We end up understanding things that we were trying to keep our self from seeing. It is like the right and left brain communicate with each other through the hands...and they find peace. I have often told my husband that the reason I say the wrong thing is that my brain can't hear the other side until it comes out of my mouth and through my ears. Perhaps this is also what happens when art comes out of our hands and through our eyes.

I think Ancient Cloth that it is all about trying to make sense and creating a workable path.

b

Anonymous said...

I'm behind on my blog visiting so just popped over to yours after posting mine about suitcases and my nine-year-old self ~ talk about synchronicity! I have many talks with my child self, and I love how art makes all the difference going forward from anything. xo Kari

2 Morrow said...

I love the images you have used on this tea cozy! Very powerful and emotional. I love art that yanks on universal emotions. Thanks for stopping by Suzet's Studio and watching my vids. I'll be back!

the wild magnolia said...

A favorite Zen teaching is living in the moment. Only now exists. It is much easier to manage a moment.

Getting rid of baggage, as you point out, breaking it down giving us true clarity.

Great post!