Soul retrieval through art making
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Authors
Fox, Roseanne F.
Issue Date
2014
Type
Thesis
Language
en
Keywords
Tranformative arts
Alternative Title
Abstract
The journey I'm about to take you on is about my own soul retrieval through therapy, spirituality, shamanic journeying and art. Through these different modalities I became my own, whole person again. Sandra Ingerman talks about soul loss and soul retrieval in the context of shamanic work, "most shamanic cultures around the world believe that illness is due to the loss of the soul.. .our essence, life force, the part of our vitality that keeps us alive and thriving" (Ingerman, 2012). My approach looks at the issue of soul loss and soul retrieval. It deals with my soul loss due to emotional trauma and grief and how I was able to recover parts of myself through different modalities of healing. Talk therapy gave me tremendous healing and growth yet it had its limits. It was an emotional trauma that I had in 1995 that profoundly effected me and changed me in such a way that I never felt like myself again. This is one of the symptoms of soul loss. Even after vigorous healing practices, I was still not the same as I had been before. Shamanic journeying and reclaiming parts of myself lost in childhood through art making have helped me to become whole again. I made artwork that delved into my shadow and that helped me to acknowledge and embrace valuable yet neglected parts of myself. I made artwork that help me claim my right to call myself an artist and showed me that everything I did and saw contributed to my artistic process. And I made art, with the help of my Reiki practice, that traveled back in time to my childhood to heal me and acted as a talisman.