Creative Mentors

Besides all of these amazing teachers, guides and gurus, one thing I have come to appreciate again and again is that the most important mentor is what Parker J Palmer refers to as the “inner teacher.” He writes, “…from our first days in school, we are taught to listen to everything and everyone but ourselves, to take all our clues about living from people and powers around us.” Yet, “we are born with a seed of selfhood that contains the spiritual DNA of our uniqueness – an encoded birthright knowledge of who we are, why we are here, and how we are related to others.”

Creative Healing

In my work as a therapist, again and again I have been amazed at how creativity plays a role in healing. This is nothing new; since the dawn of time, shamans have journeyed through the realms of “singing, dancing, storytelling and silence – the 4 healing salves,” as dancer Gabrielle Roth and others describe.

Through poetry, drawing, simple crafts, music and meditation, writing, and many other avenues, healing energy can flow, often in ways that surprise us. I’ve learned so much from my patients – people suffering from anxiety, depression, trauma and tragedy. Bringing my own experience of the arts as a source of inspiration, I’ve developed many exercises for healing. I’d like to share some of those with you, and I’d love to hear how you are discovering healing and growth through your creative avenues.

My favourite place is being in a group of people engaged in a creative activity, as leader or as participant. A gathering of open-hearted individuals paying attention to a common purpose quickly becomes a community. It may feel at one moment like a play group for adults, and at another moment, a communion of prayerful souls.