The Art of Emotional Healing Over 60 Simple Exercises for Exploring Emotions Through Drawing, Painting, Dancing, Writing, Sculpting, and More

by CAPACCHIONE, LUCIA

• ISBN13: 9781590303061
• ISBN10: 1590303067
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-01-10
• Publisher: Shambhala

Summary

Feelings either flow naturally, like a river, or get dammed up. If our emotions become blocked, we can become tense, unhappy, anxious, or depressed. This book offers simple techniques for using art to embrace, understand, and release our emotions so that we can experience a greater sense of well-being in our lives. In The Art of Emotional Healing, Lucia Capacchione presents the simple yet powerful methods she uses in her internationally acclaimed workshops, showing us how to reach inside and let our feelings out through drawing, painting, journal writing, collage making, sculpting, drumming, dancing, mask making, and more. No artistic talent or skill is required, only a desire to let go of self-criticism and discover how we really feel.

Author Biography

Lucia Capacchione, Ph.D., A.T.R., is an internationally known art therapist, artist, corporate consultant, trainer and best-selling author who leads popular workshops around the country and consults to businesses and schools. She is the author of twelve books, including Recovery of Your Inner Child, The Creative Journal, and The Power of Your Other Hand. She lives near Big Sur, California.

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(8)
The emotional self
Emotions and body-mind medicine
The way of emotions
PART ONE Embracing Your Emotional Self	9	(58)
How Do You Feel?	11	(20)
Emotions: what they are and where they come from
Emotions: what they're good for
Emotions and the mind
Emotions and relationships
Emotional literacy
Negative emotions: releasing the old ones, dealing with current ones
Learning the language of feelings
Nine Families of Feelings
Meeting your emotional self
What Can I Do with My Feelings?	31	(21)
Discovering the art of emotional expression
But I can't draw a straight line
Emotions and the right brain
You ought to be in pictures
The expressive arts
The arts as process, not product
Sometimes art happens
Two brains, two hands: right, left, write
Facing the critic
Answering back
The three brains
Expressive arts: matching the medium to the mood
Materials
Feelings in Your Body	52	(15)
Emotions as energy
How emotions get stored in your body
Reclaiming our emotions
Feeling the body
What the drawing means
The body as storyteller
PART TWO Expressing Your Feelings	67	(106)
The ABCs of feelings: match the medium to the mood
Directory of emotions: an alphabetical reference guide to emotions
The Color of Emotions: From Red with Rage to Feeling Blue	75	(34)
The ABCs of drawing: color, line, shape, and texture
Drawing out your feelings
Emotions at the boiling point: anger and rage
The image of feelings
The art of collage
Feeling scattered
When nothing makes sense: chaos, confusion, and ambivalence
Exploring pastels
Painting your feelings
Scared stiff fear
Feeling down: depression, sadness, and grief
Revisiting earlier activities
Helplessness and vulnerability
At home with yourself: happiness, love, and playfulness
Expressive arts as meditation: peace, contentment, and serenity
Embracing happiness: joy, enthusiasm, and creativity
Try a little tenderness: love
Sculpted Feelings: Mad, Sad, and Glad	109	(21)
Preparing the clay, preparing yourself
Comments about the process
The hot emotions: anger, sexuality, and passion
Getting down to earth
Sexuality and sensuality
My body self
Feelings of loss: grief, sadness, and loneliness
Journaling: a handmade life
The Sound of Feelings: From Sadness to Joy	130	(23)
Emotions and sound
Sound as environment
Music as medicine
Journal entry
Music as therapy
Sounds around us
Drumming and the hot emotions
Emotions and vocal sound
Vocalizing our feelings
Sounding our depths: sadness, loneliness, and grief
Toning
Mantra and sound meditation: peace and contentment
A meditative atmosphere
Sounds from the heart: happiness, love, and playfulness
Music for exploring the sound of feelings
Emotions in Motion: Moving Your Mood, Dancing for Joy	153	(20)
Body language and emotions
The Dancer Within
Blocks to spontaneous dance
Moving your feelings out
The work of Gabrielle Roth and the five rhythms
Trance dancing: when the spirit moves you
The inward emotions: sadness, vulnerability, and fear
Nurturing the self: love and self-care
Taking a stand: protectiveness and assertiveness
Outgoing feelings: anger, passion, and sexuality
Movement as spiritual practice: peace and serenity
Roots and wings: joy, playfulness, and creativity
Emotions as energy
PART THREE Understanding Your Feelings	173	(64)
Insight through words
When Your Feelings Tell Their Story, Pay Attention	177	(15)
In the beginning was the Word
I found it at the movies
Writing from the still image
Writing from feelings
Writing as medicine
Listening to the guide within
Facing Ourselves: Mask Making and Inner Dialogues	192	(18)
Finding our many selves
Subpersonalities and emotions
Mask making and our many selves
The woman of darkness and light
Methods of mask making
Joy, enthusiasm, and playfulness
Exploring the selves through Voice Dialogue
Accepting Your Feelings: Letting Go of Judgment	210	(27)
Clearing the emotions by clearing the mind
A change of mind
A change of heart: nurturing yourself
As we believe, so we feel: dropping old baggage
Clearing old patterns
Changing your mind about feelings
Letting your feelings be your guide: changing your life creatively
Resources	237
Materials
Sources for art materials and supplies
Books, audio and video cassettes
Body charts: chapter three