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These FREE EXERCISES are compliments of Richard Bingham &
NowGetCreative.com and Dr. Lucia Capacchione, Art Therapist
Registered, Expressive Arts Registered Therapist.
The Creative Journal and Dr. Lucia Capacchione's other 12 books,
audio programs, and Dr. Lucia's recommended art supplies are
available in our Self Discovery Bookstore to learn more about Art
Therapy and how to use it in your life read: What is Art Therapy? to learn
more about Creative Journaling read: What is Journaling?

About the Creative Journal Method

What Will I Discover?
Materials for Journaling
Origin of the Creative Journal Method
How the Creative Journal Method Works
A Few Tips Before You Begin Journaling
Creative Journal Exercises and Activities
Subscribe to our Free Art Therapy/Journaling Newsletter
Take a Free Mini Course on how to achieve your goals
What is Art Therapy?
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Recommended Art and Journaling Supplies
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Tell a Friend about these FREE Creative Journal Exercises

Email Richard@NowGetCreative.com
Copyright 1996-2004 Lucia Capacchione, Ph.D. A.T.R. All rights reserved.

About the Creative Journal Method

The Creative Journal Method was developed by Dr. Lucia Capacchione,
internationally known author of ten books, including The Creative Journal, The
Power of Your Other Hand and the bestselling, Recovery of Your Inner Child.
She is a registered Art Therapist and lecturer/workshop leader. A pioneer in the field
of creativity and healing, Dr. Capacchione discovered the healing power of writing
and drawing with the non-dominant hand. She originated Inner Child Reparenting
work and her book on the subject has become a classic in the recovery field. Her
most recent book is Putting Your Talent to Work (co-authored with Peggy Van Pelt
of Walt Disney Imagineering).
The Creative Journal Method has been endorsed by Bernie Siegel, Joan
Borysenko, Gerald Jampolsky, Louise Hay, Charles Whitfield and Melody Beattie. The
method is being used internationally for growth and healing in such settings as:

counseling and health centers, hospitals and prisons

support groups for persons with AIDS, HIV positive and cancer
inner child workshops
treatment for addictions, recovery from abuse or trauma, prison
courses in creativity, writing & art
professional training in psychology and expressive arts therapies
talent and career seminars
weight management and body image workshops
childbirth preparation classes and teen mother groups
public elementary & secondary schools

Creative Journaling is a tool for:

o
o
o
o
o
o
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personal growth
health and healing
inner child work
creativity development
life planning
career and talent development
parenting kids and teenagers

spiritual practice

The originator of this innovative and therapeutic approach to journaling invites you to
join her in an inward journey of discovery, healing and growth.

What Will I Discover?

I hope this is the most rewarding journey of your
life. Why shouldn't it be? The Creative Journal is
about YOU. It's a therapeutic tool for GETTING TO
KNOW YOURSELF BETTER, body and mind,
heart and soul.
Using techniques based on expressive arts therapies
and my original brain/mind and creativity research,
you'll find out:
What you really feel and think
How to decode your dreams and use the
information hidden there
Where you're at in your life and where you're
going
How your own body can be a healer and guide
How to remove blocks to creativity
How to re-parent your inner child and find the creative child within
What your true heart's desire is
How to find spiritual guidance within
You'll be doing all this while playing with new media of expression:
drawing and doodling
color and images
creative writing and poetry
written dialogues

Materials for Creative Journaling

Blank book or loose leaf folder (unlined pages) 8.5"x 11"or larger
Felt pens (12 assorted colors or more) Crayons can also be used.
Some Creative Journal activities must be done in a journal (blank book or loose leaf
folder) Others can be done directly on the computer.
Drawings and written dialogues must be done by hand in your journal. In some cases
you'll be using both your right and left hand. Sounds weird, huh? Writing and
drawing with the non-dominant hand has been shown to put people in direct touch
with the creative, emotional and intuitive faculties of the right brain. Please see my
new revised book, The Power of Your Other Hand - A course in channeling the
inner wisdom of the right brain

Origin of the Creative Journal Method

Before introducing you to the method, let me tell you briefly how I discovered this truly
amazing personal growth and creativity tool. At the time, I was a professional artist and
teacher. I had never had any therapy and the farthest thing from my mind was becoming a
psychologist or writing books about personal growth.
I was in a major crisis after five years of coping with divorce, family illness, several
moves, job changes and raising two young daughters on my own. My body finally broke
down from too much stress and I became very ill.
The nature of my disease was quite mysterious: it confounded all the doctors and terrified
me. My symptoms? Complete exhaustion, anxiety attacks, and several infections (sideeffects of antibiotics and other medications). At one point, my lab test was mixed up with
someone else's and I was given the wrong prescription. By the time I was told, it was too
late. I had already taken the medicine and was having reactions: more infections, more
anxiety attacks.
Unable to work or do much of anything else, I was in bed for weeks. I began doodling
and writing in a sketch pad that sat on my bed stand. Reading The Diary of Anais Nin
inspired me to turn my sketch pad into a personal journal.

Here is a drawing I did in one of my first journals. It's

called "Coping with Crisis."

Another drawing done at this time was one that I called

"Giving Birth to Myself."

When I did these drawings I really had do idea what they meant. It was like having a
dream on paper.

I was later to learn that I had tapped into the creative and healing power of my right brain
(which specializes in visual/spatial perception as well as emotional and intuitive
expression). But I didn't know that at the time. Frankly, I thought I was losing it. They
looked like the paintings of mental patients you might see in the occupational therapy
ward of a psychiatric hospital .
Yet, these odd little sketches intrigued me. It was as if I was writing in a foreign language
that I didn't understand. The important thing was that I felt a lot better after I did these
drawings. Something about doing this was healing me, although I couldn't tell you how
or why. Later, I learned to read the language of symbols and decode these mysterious
messages from the unconscious. Just as you will learn to do in keeping a Creative
Journal.
Doing these drawings felt so therapeutic that I decided to keep a journal of my feelings
and thoughts. My first "official journal" was a little blank book I had bought twenty years
before when I was fifteen and thought I wanted to be a journalist . (How's that for
prophetic wisdom?). I had never written a word in that book. But I started. And I have not
stopped writing since. The Creative Journal healed me and led to a new career as an art
therapist and author. I am pleased to share with you what I learned about the art of
finding yourself.
The Creative Journal Method is unique because it develops both sides of the brain: the
rational, verbal left hemisphere and the artistic, intuitive right hemisphere. Drawing is a
right brain function, writing words is primarily a left brain activity. Using the non
dominant hand helps to INTEGRATE the brain hemispheres. Writing with the hand you
don't normally write with allows you to express - in words - feelings and intuitions
associated with the little-used right side of the brain.

Guidelines: Just a Few Tips Before You Begin Creative Journaling

How Often, How Long and When

You don't have to do journaling every day. The more you do, the more you'll benefit. It's up to you. Late
evening is a good time, just before retiring. Some people prefer journaling early in the morning before they
start their day. Block out at least fifteen minutes in any one session. Some activities take longer. The great
thing about a journal is that you can use it practically anywhere. It's cheap and it's great therapy when
you've got problems to resolve and it's a lot of fun.

Setting
It's best to have a quiet place where you can be alone with yourself and concentrate on journaling. Find a
place that is free from loud noises, distractions and interruptions. Many people find that they have a
favorite chair or desk or even a spot in nature where they like doing their Creative Journaling. Find the
place that feels best for you a place that's safe, quiet and conducive to taking little journeys inside.

Structure and Spontaneity

It's a good idea to put the date on first page of each journal entry. This way you can go back and review
where you've been during your little trips into "inner space." You're likley to see changes and growth.
Sometimes you night uncover old patterns that you wish to change or new ones that you want to cultivate.
Express yourself as openly as possible. Don't edit or revise what you write or draw. Just let it all hang out.
The important thing is to be as honest as honest and spontaneous as possible. Remember, no on is grading
you or evaluating your work. There is no right way or wrong way to keep a journal. Find the way that
works FOR YOU. After all, it's YOUR journal, it's your life.

Honesty and Privacy

In order to be really honest with yourself it is VERY IMPORTANT that you keep your journal private. This
is a from of self-therapy and just as therapy is held confidential, so is journal work. If you're worried about
what people will think about your feelings, thoughts, drawings and musings, you'll never be able to be
really honest with yourself. Without total honesty, the Creative Journal will not yield the best results.

Selective Sharing
There are times when you may want to share an insight, a feeling a dream or some drawings with someone
else. Be selective about who you share these special pieces with. Be sure the person is safe, won't criticize
you and is supportive of you and your journal work. Sometimes you may want to share with your therapist,
counselor, best friend or spouse (if it's safe). Whatever you do, avoid sharing with people who put you
down, think journal-keeping is a waste of time or want to tell you how to think and feel or how to live your
life. How you live your life is up to you. Don't let others talk you out of being and expressing who you
really are in your journal.

Self-Criticism
The written and drawn illustrations were done by other journal-keepers just like you. Their work is meant
to inspire you and spark your own creativity. It is not for you to copy or compare your work to. There is
no right or wrong way to do Creative Journaling. Only YOUR way. Relax, express what's inside and get to
know the real you. If you encounter self-doubt or blocks, there are exercises specifically for dealing with it.
You do not need any experience, training or special talent in writing or art to do these journal activities. All
you need is the willingness to explore yourself, experiment with new media of expression and have a good
time with yourself.

Creative Journal Exercises and Activities

Finding Yourself

Healing the Body/Mind

Warm Up
How Do I Feel Right Now?
My Inner and Outer Self
Looking Back
Where Am I At?
Current Challenge
Self-Portrait
Block Buster I
My Creative Self
The Guide Within Me

Body Talks
Tension and Relaxation
Nurturing the Child Within
Nurturing All of Me
Drawing Out Your Inner Healer
Personal Support System

Dream Work
Draw a Dream
Translating My Dreams

10

WARM UP
Take some colors and make some marks on your journal page. Try "messing around."
Don't attempt to make "Art" or to draw a "picture" or plan any particular design. Don't
think or preconceive what it will look like. Just let it happen. Let whatever wants to come
out appear on the paper. Play with the colors. Find out what kinds of lines, shapes,
textures, shades of color you can make. Do this as long as you like.
Uses: Especially helpful if you feel nervous about drawing, afraid you "can't draw" or
will make "ugly art." It's also useful as a relaxation technique if you are tense or tired.
You can turn your head off and just fool around without any goal in mind.
This is a good way to loosen up and get started, the way dancers limber up their bodies or
musicians tune up their instruments. These drawing and writing tools are your
instruments and you need to know them and what you can do with them.

HOW DO I FEEL RIGHT NOW?

Turn your attention inward and ask yourself:
How do I feel right now?
Close your eyes and meditate on the question for awhile. Pay attention to physical
sensations and emotional feelings. See if any visual images or words come to mind which
express how you feel at this moment in time.

11

While your eyes were closed, you may have seen images, colors, words, or symbols. Or
you simply may have felt some physical sensations or emotions. Channel them out in any
form or style: doodles, scribbles, shapes, textures, images, or words.
When you are finished, look over what you have done. Do you have any reactions? If so,
write them down on the next page in your journal.
Uses: This is perhaps the basic and most often-used exercise in Creative Journal-keeping.
It is especially helpful when you have very powerful feelings that are difficult to handle.
You can pinpoint exactly how you feel and then examine and clarify what you want to do
with your feelings in everyday life. This exercise encourages you to pause and reflect, to
discharge or release feelings, to sort out and clarify and, perhaps, articulate more clearly
where you're at.

12

MY INNER AND OUTER SELF

Ask yourself the question:
What do my inner and outer self look and feel like at this time in my life ? Think of your inner
self as your internal, private world of physical sensations, emotional feelings, fantasies,
memories, wishes, thoughts. Your outer self is the part of you that shows to the outside world, the
ways in which you express yourself for others to see: your activities, behavior, accomplishments,
body, environment. Close your eyes and meditate on your inner and outer self.
Some images may have come to you which reflect the quality of your inner and outer self at this
time. They may be contrasting. For instance, you may feel very active inside with many thoughts
and feelings buzzing around. Your external world, on the other hand, might seem quiet, calm or
even boring and stagnant.
Draw an expression of your inner and outer self. Use any style that feels right for you: doodles,
images, symbols, pictures. You may express both your inner and outer self in one drawing or you
may want to use two separate pages if that is more appropriate for you.
Afterwards, look at what you drew. On your next journal page, write your impressions, thoughts,
feelings about what your graphic expression "says" to you.

Uses: This is a tool for examining conflict and gaining perspective.

13

LOOKING BACK
Look back over the day and ask yourself:
What kind of day was it? What were the highlights?
Close your eyes and, in your mind's eye, replay the movie of your day. Start out by
visualizing the first waking moment and then go on to retrace your steps through the day
up to the present moment. Recall what happened as best you can, pausing for a second at
the highlights: the significant thoughts, feelings, events, interactions, people, places.
Draw or write about the highlights of the day. About each one, ask:
How did I feel at the time? How do I feel about it now?
Afterward, study over what you have drawn or written and add any comments.
Variations: This exercise can be used to focus on longer periods of time, such as a week,
month, year, or whatever block of time has meaning for you.
Uses: At the end of the day (or any other period of time), this exercise can help you tie up
loose ends, clear your mind, put things into perspective and perhaps clarify some lines of
future action.

14

WHERE AM I AT?
Reflect upon this period in your life and ask yourself:
Where am I at in my life right now?
Think about what kind of a time this is for you. See if there was a particular event or
experience that marked the beginning of this period. Then think about the chief
characteristics of this period, the quality of your life right now. Is it a hectic time? A calm
period? A time of crisis? A period of transition and change? A dull, stagnant period?
Close your eyes and meditate on your life at the present time.
Draw any images, colors, forms that reflect where you are at in your life at this particular
time. Also, write about this period.
Uses: This is an excellent way to take stock periodically, to keep current with your inner
response to the conditions that surround you. This gives you a chance to see what is
happening and opens up options for change if that feels appropriate. It can be a way to
appreciate what your life is like and enjoy it even more if this is a good time for you.

15

CURRENT CHALLENGE
Think about the major challenge or problem in your life right now. Ask yourself:
What am I struggling with? Is it within me or without?
Close your eyes and visualize your struggle. See if any images come to mind. Really
feel the nature of the struggle and see if you have any physical reactions or
symptoms that seem related to it, e.g., "pain in the neck", headache, upset stomach,
etc.
Draw the struggle. Give the drawing a name.
Let the drawing speak to you. Imagine what it would say to you if it could talk.
Respond to it and write out your conversation on another page as though it were a
script for a play.
Uses: When you are especially plagued with worry, tension, etc., this exercise can
help you get to the heart of the problem and lead the way to confronting the problem
and resolving it. If you uncover physical symptoms in connection with this exercise,
turn to Body Talks, My Self as a continuation. It deals directly with physical reactions
and their causes and possible preventive measures.

16

SELF-PORTRAIT
Close your eyes and do the relaxation exercise. With eyes still closed, turn your attention inward and be
with yourself quietly for awhile. Experience simply being you. Then ask yourself:
How do I see myself?
Focus on your perception of yourself using your inner eye. See if some visual images come to mind in the
form of symbols, colors, shapes. Or you may experience thoughts or feelings or visualize your physical
appearance as you imagine it, see it in mirrors or photographs.
Let your perception of yourself flow out onto your journal page in some form of drawn expression.
Study the drawing over and see what it "says" to you. Write down your feelings and thoughts in response to
what you see on the page.
With your eyes closed, focus inward again. This time ask yourself:
How would I like to see myself?
Now draw an image of how you would like to perceive yourself, a projection of the person you want to
become. Let your drawing speak, introducing itself in the first person. Let it tell about itself and then write
down what it says.
Uses: This exercise reveals your present self-image and your self-concept in general. You can examine how
your perception and beliefs about yourself affect your attitudes, behavior, and expectations. You can also
see how you create limitations for yourself and pinpoint areas in need of change.
Through positive auto-suggestion in the form of visualization of your desired self-image, you can learn to
build up the attitudes and beliefs necessary to bring about satisfying changes. This is an excellent example
of applied creativity in everyday life. By using your imagination and creative expression to project a new
you, you are affirming your strength and directing your life toward greater fulfillment.

17

BLOCK BUSTER I
1. Ask yourself: What is my Heart's Desire? What is the one thing I want to do, to be or to
express that is currently being blocked?
2. Select or create two characters: One is your Heart's Desire and the other is your block.
3. Begin a written dialogue by letting your non-dominant hand express your Heart's
Desire. Be as elaborate and detailed as you want.
4. Continue the dialogue by letting your dominant hand tell its story and why it blocks
your desire. This exercise will help you clarify your true Heart's Desire. Writing it out
with your other hand makes it easier to sort out what you really want, not what others
want for you. When you know what you really want and are willing to "go for it," a shift
in power takes place. The Inner Critic eventually becomes impotent: an emperor with no
clothes. The pseudo-rational arguments of the Critic are brought to light and revealed for
what they are: negative self-fulfilling prophecies.
This exercise will help you clarify your true Heart's Desire. Writing it out with your other
hand makes it easier to sort out what you really want, not what others want for you. When
you know what you really want and are willing to "go for it," a shift in power takes place.
The Inner Critic eventually becomes impotent: an emperor with no clothes. The pseudorational arguments of the Critic are brought to light and revealed for what they are:
negative self-fulfilling prophecies.

18

MY CREATIVE SELF
Close your eyes and ask yourself:
What does the word creative mean to me personally? How
does the creative spirit live in me? How do I express my
creativity in my everyday life, activities, relationships?
Meditate upon your creative self.
Draw your creative self in any graphic style that feels right
for you: symbols, abstract design, doodles, cartoon,
picture, etc.
Look at what you've drawn and write down your reactions.
Then let your creative self speak to you (in the first person,
singular), e.g. "I am your creative self . . ." and write it out in your journal. Have a
conversation with your creative self, if you wish, asking questions and responding to
what it says to you.
Uses: This exercise can help you explore and expand your definition of creativity and to
actively experience and express this innate human characteristic. By recognizing and
cherishing the creativity you already use without perhaps being consciously aware of it,
you can tap hidden potential. This exercise helps you to affirm yourself as you are now
and to build inner strength and self-esteem for taking on new challenges.

19

THE GUIDE WITHIN ME

Get into a relaxed, meditative state with eyes closed. Then imagine yourself in a beautiful
place. It might be a room, a place in nature. Wherever it is, let the beautiful environment
form around you in your imagination. See it in your mind's eye, feel the experience of
being there. Look around you and take it all in.
Still keeping your eyes closed and being in your beautiful environment, let an image
appear before you. This might be a person, animal, object. Observe the image and notice
its appearance in detail. Experience its presence. Then let the image speak to you. Ask its
name and why it is appearing. Tell the image what you think and feel about it and what
you want from it (assistance, advice, a gift of some kind). Then ask the image what it
wants from you and for you. This image is your inner guide, the wisdom within you
which is being personified or embodied through imagery. After you have conversed with
your guide, thank it and release it to dissolve back into the beautiful environment. Then
slowly let the environment fade and say goodbye, knowing that you can come back
whenever you wish.
Write out your conversation with your guide. You may want to do this as a right/left hand
dialogue. Let your guide speak with your sub-dominant hand and respond with your
dominant hand. Writing with the sub-dominant hand is optional in this exercise.
Uses: This exercise is intended to help you contact your own wisdom that lies hidden
within. Often, we search for gurus and advisors in the outer world, hoping they will
furnish us with answers to our problems. It is easy to ignore our own inner resources, the
wise spirit or higher self that resides within us.
Here is one woman's dialogue with two of her wisdom guides, the Snake Woman and
John, the Healer. Snake Woman, please help me. I'm feeling inundated and overwhelmed.
S.W. These issues (problems) are a test for you to be true to yourself and your innermost
convictions. God is guiding your path. It is not in your control. It is not known to you!
You are being brought into a new place and the doors that will open to you are full of
surprises. John, the Healer, is important to you at this juncture. He is used to many trails
in the wilderness above and below ground. He will not abandon you. He is able to walk
in the dark, he is not fearful. All is transitory. John, help me with this confused, dark,
crazy problem, please?
J.H. Jane, come. I am not able to save you from the pain when you hurt. I will assure you,
it won't last long. Your anxiety is what you are lost and entangled in now. Come on out
and look at the long view the mountain ranges. You must look at the distance instead of
the mire.

20

BODY TALKS
Materials: paper, set of felt tip pens in assorted colors.

1. Sit quietly, focus inward. Get in touch with a body part that is painful or diseased.

2. Draw an outline of your entire body. Then, in color, draw in that body part. (If
you're not sure what it looks like or think you can't render it correctly, just use
your imagination.) In your picture, color the painful or diseased part. Use colors
that express how the body part feels. For instance, if the pain is a burning
sensation, use a "hot" color like red or orange. If there's a lump or other distortion
to the body part, include it in your drawing.

3. Interview the body part by writing questions with your dominant hand. Let the
body part or disease write the answers with the non-dominant hand. Use two
different colors, one for each hand.

Ask the following questions:

A. Who are you? or What are you?
B. How do you feel?
C. What caused you to feel this way?
D. How can I help you? What do you want me to do for you?
Observe any new understandings of what may be causing your discomfort or illness.
Have you gained any insights into what part you can play in the healing process?
The following story is a classic case of successful healing through medical treatment
combined with right/left hand dialogues. When I met Erin, she was in her mid-twenties, a
bright, outgoing young woman shopping for a career. She had a degree in Art and was
interested in becoming an art therapist. Like Pamela, she came in for career advancement
but went out with tools for healing herself.

21

Over many months of journal-writing and drawing in my classes, Erin experienced a

recurring theme: a chronic bladder infection (for which she was receiving medical
treatment). In retrospect she described her healing experience as follows:
Somehow, I always knew that if I had a physical problem and could decode what it was
trying to tell me, I could clear the problem up. Every time I drew a picture of how my
bladder felt and then conversed with it, issues would come up. I started the process of
looking at things about myself and my life that I hadn't wanted to look at.
The biggest problem was a friend with whom I was having great difficulty. In my
dialogues, it became very clear that this person was not healthy for me. But I still had to
struggle with what to do about it.
My doctor at that time was a well known physician who practices holistic medicine. That
is, he takes life situations in to account when diagnosing and prescribing a "cure." Since I
had gotten in touch with the problem friendship in my journal writing, I was able to talk
more freely about it. After hearing what I said, the doctor finally said to me: "This person
is causing your bladder problem. If you want to heal it, drop this so-called friendship." I
knew he was right. He confirmed what my dialogue had said. His words really got
through to me. I finally dropped that person from my life and when I did my bladder
problem disappeared.
What I've learned from all this is that my body goes out of whack when I'm doing
something I shouldn't be doing. It tells me I'm on the wrong track. For me, this usually
involves a friendship that doesn't nurture me, a relationship that is not healthy. If I stay in
those non-nurturing relationships, I break out in rashes or develop infections.
Another student who started a deep inner healing process through dialogues with a
physical discomfort is Jill. As a child, Jill wanted to become an actress when she grew up.
But emotionally she wasn't able to follow through with her childhood dream and take it
into adulthood. Instead she did what was expected of her, got married and had children.
As she puts it, she became "Mrs. Somebody" and "Somebody's Mother."
After years of taking care of everyone else while ignoring her dream, Jill took a stand.
She started seeing a therapist and also took one of my weekend journal workshops, where
she discovered the healing power of her Inner Child through a right/left hand dialogue. "It
was a major breakthrough in my life," she recounts. Her first dialogue was a conversation
with her headache. As she wrote, she soon contacted the Little Girl within who had been
silenced for so many years.

22

TENSION AND RELAXATION

Draw a picture of tension. This can be an abstract design or doodle. It can be a symbolic
portrait or cartoon of yourself in a state of tension.
Let your tension speak, and write down what it says. Let it tell you how it feels, what
causes it, and what you can do about it.
Lie down or sit in a comfortable chair. Starting at your feet, tense them up as much as
possible and then let go completely. Tense and relax your feet, legs, and torso. Then tense
and relax your shoulders, neck, arms, and hands. Repeat this with your head and face.
Enjoy being relaxed.
After you have experienced relaxing fully, draw a picture of relaxation. This can be an
abstract design, a doodle, or a picture of yourself being relaxed.
Benefits: This activity increases your awareness of the difference between relaxation and
tension. Often we become so habituated to tension we are unaware of it until its effects
show up in particular parts of the body. This exercise will help you experience your
tension level, and provide a means to relax quickly and effectively.

23

NURTURING THE CHILD WITHIN

This is a dialogue between your
Vulnerable Child (who feels weak,
frightened, upset) and your Inner
Nurturing Parent (who gives comfort and
support). The Nurturing Parent writes
with your dominant hand and asks the
child what it wants and needs. Let the
Inner Child write with your nondominant hand and tell exactly what it's
feeling, what's missing in the
relationship, and what to do about it. Let
your Nurturing Parent build trust by
telling the Inner Child how it will fulfill
the Child's requests.
Whenever you are feeling upset, sit
down and let your Vulnerable Child
write its feelings out with your nondominant hand. With your dominant
hand, let your Nurturing Parent respond
with love and encouragement. This is an
excellent exercise to do whenever you
are feeling discontented or confused. Often, it is at these times that your Inner Child is
feeling either ignored or criticized by your Inner Parent.
Benefits: This exercise gives you a chance to recognize openly the feelings that are often
associated with denial, distress, and pain. It also lets you DO something about these
feelings by activating the opposite aspect of your personality, the strong, nurturing side.
Instead of only seeking support from outside, you can find it within and thereby reduce
your demands upon others. The end result is greater self reliance and wholeness. Also, if
you learn to nurture yourself, you can give to others with a feeling of abundance from a
truly generous spirit.

24

NURTURING ALL OF ME
What do you do to nurture the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects of your
being? Make four lists, one for each category. Under each heading write the people,
places, things, and activities in your life that develop that particular aspect. As you write
each item down, visualize it and re-experience your enjoyment of it. Really conjure up
the sensory impressions of these nurturing elements in your life.
Every day, do something to nurture and develop each of these four aspects of yourself.
Write out a daily checklist with a plan of what you intend to do. Write down the activities
with your non-dominant hand. At the end of the week, review your list to see how you
did.
Benefits:
This is a method for becoming aware of and expressing the four aspects of your being
and thereby developing your whole self. This technique can help you stay balanced and in
alignment, since each part of you is getting positive attention and reinforcement. If you
are weak or having problems in any particular aspect, give it extra opportunities to
express and develop.
Example:
Monday
Physical: Roller skate
Emotional: Draw in journal
Mental: Read for an hour, attend lecture
Spiritual: Meditate, read spiritual book
Tuesday
Physical: Take walk at the beach, attend dance class
Emotional: Write about an emotional experience.
Mental: Attend a class in writing
Spiritual: Meditate, visit meditation garden
Wednesday
Physical: Ride bike, exercise at home
Emotional: Go to lunch and art museum with friends
Mental: Watch educational video
Spiritual: Attend seminar in spiritual meditation
Thursday

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Physical: Exercise at home, doing spontaneous movement to music

Emotional: Play musical instrument or listen to music
Mental: Read
Spiritual: Attend meditation group
Friday:
Physical: Ride bike or take walk
Emotional: Attend play
Mental: Read and write in journal
Spiritual: Meditate

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DRAWING OUT YOUR INNER HEALER

Purpose: Contacting your Inner
Healer; creating a pictorial image to
use as a visual affirmation of your
own healing power.
Materials: Paper, felt pens, or
pastels in assorted colors.
Take a moment to contemplate your
Inner Healer. Now, using your nondominant hand, allow your Inner
Healer to draw a picture of itself.
Now, have a written dialogue with
your Inner Healer. You will speak
with your dominant hand and the
Inner Healer will speak through your
non-dominant hand. Use a different
color for each hand. Ask questions
about anything in your body or your
life that needs healing. Let the Inner
Healer guide you.

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TRANSLATING MY DREAMS
Use two pages side by side. On the first page, document your dream by writing it out. On
the facing page, write down a "translation" into everyday terms connected with your life
at the present time. Do this sentence by sentence, underlining the key words in both texts.
Uses: This method is intended to help you make a connection between the dream story
and your current life situation. With practice, you will become more skilled at finding the
hidden messages.

Example:
Dream: Crossing the River

Meaning: Entering a New Career

It is mid-day and I am walking

across a large, flat meadow.

I am middle-aged and steadily moving foreword. I

have lots of freedom now.

As I walk I see a beautiful woods

ahead in the distance.

I see a new career as a writer ahead. (Being in the

woods always inspires me to write.)

As I get closer to the woods, I see a There are obstacles in the way, keeping me from my
river separating me from it. There goal of becoming a professional writer.
are sharp rocks and rapids.
I can't swim across (dangerous) and I'm afraid of failure given my present financial
I'm afraid to walk for fear of falling resources and conditions. Survival needs must be met.
from the rocks.
I decide to look up and down the
river bank for a way across. I see a
bridge (indicating that others have
solved this problem before me.)

However, I'm determined to reach my goal of writing

professionally. I need to research my first writing
project and structure the work, set specific goal and
schedules. I may need advice from experienced writers,
too.

End of Exercises

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