tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13313522011-04-22T08:18:01.693+10:00Peeling The OnionTake the time to gently peel back the layers of the onion and raise self awarenessHeather Blakeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569556563400820006noreply@blogger.comBlogger341100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331352.post-1085820881508434492004-05-29T18:51:00.000+10:002004-05-29T18:54:41.506+10:00Chris Dunmire is a creativity enthusiast and developer of the Creativity Portal, an online cache of creativity-related resources. She also knows, first hand that writing is a tool which can be used to write through the pain
1996 was the first year in her life that death touched her on an extremely personal level. In 24 years, she had already experienced the death of three grandparents, an uncleHeather Blakeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569556563400820006noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331352.post-884104832003-02-02T15:59:00.000+10:002003-02-22T14:21:57.000+10:00Narrative and Healing focuses on the therapeutic properties of writing and storytelling, providing examples of how people of all ages face life’s challenges through the art of telling their stories. The section is divided into two parts: Professional Perspectives offers the views of health professionals on theories, techniques, research, and the application of narrative in health care and Heather Blakeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569556563400820006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331352.post-841424692002-11-07T10:07:00.000+10:002002-11-07T10:09:31.000+10:00Good Grief Rituals
Are you feeling sad and lost? Did you lose someone, something? Good Grief Rituals is about tools and rituals for dealing with change and loss. It is about grieving.
Grieving is about loving. It is about loving yourself enough to go through the “sads, mads, scares and glads” you feel about losing someone or something. It is about caring enough about yourself to deal with those Heather Blakeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569556563400820006noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331352.post-836993492002-10-29T14:14:00.000+10:002002-10-29T14:14:29.113+10:00Quote for the day
Grief has limits, whereas apprehension has none. For we grieve only for what we know has happened, but we fear all that possibly may happen.
~Pliny the Younger Heather Blakeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569556563400820006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331352.post-808946492002-08-30T10:36:00.000+10:002002-08-30T11:10:54.000+10:00Disowned, Hidden Parts
I was browsing to see where my hits have been coming from and found Globemix, a blogger written by a Scot from Aberdeen. David Henry has an interesting collection of poems and links - including a link to Soul Food and Peeling the Onion.
He shares a therapeutic-writing exercise he tried.
"The idea is, you write a poem as if it's being written by a hidden or disowned Heather Blakeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569556563400820006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331352.post-793682742002-07-25T09:52:00.000+10:002002-07-25T09:52:31.250+10:00Whenever I am running sessions I always like to use collage. It can be very hard to write 'cold turkey' so to speak.The visual images that we pull out of magazines invariably help the flow of words and provide some self insight. A creative, craft exercise can lead to a fresh flow of ideas and words. At one session I had some bereaved women making comfort envelopes for the recently bereaved. We Heather Blakeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569556563400820006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331352.post-782027832002-06-26T11:49:00.000+10:002002-06-26T12:06:44.000+10:0012 Edmonston Street
12 Edmonston Street, by Australian author David Malouf takes us on a graphic tour of his childhood home. Spend a moment or two listing some of your former addresses.
For example, key addresses that spring to my mind are 7 Sale Road, 46 Mary Street, 4 Thompson Street. Here at Soul Food you can read about Carnforth, my current home.
In your journal take the time to sketch the Heather Blakeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569556563400820006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331352.post-776354682002-06-12T12:20:00.000+10:002002-06-12T14:43:53.000+10:00Rear Vision Mirror View of Life
When you look in the rear vision mirror on long, straight, Outback roads in Australia there is often nothing to be seen but the white lines and bitumen stretching into the distance. Sometimes it is a huge transport that we can see gaining, bearing down on us and it is a relief as it rattles past and silence returns.
No doubt some of us would like to adjust the Heather Blakeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569556563400820006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331352.post-769110672002-05-24T14:14:00.000+10:002002-05-24T22:09:04.000+10:00Exploring Metaphors
Deciding how to dress our mannequins in such a way that we express inner strength has been a slow process. Today in class some students thought that they were not working because I gave a couple of 'graffiti artists' the freedom to draw on our white board. Chris drew an 'Arnie style' man and entertained us with ghetto blaster like sounds as he provided all the details. 'ArnieHeather Blakeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569556563400820006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331352.post-756660002002-04-22T10:34:00.000+10:002002-04-27T19:30:55.000+10:00Taking Arms
'Take Arms' we said as the mannequins were distributed amongst the Year 12 student body. Naked without identiy the mannequins were claimed by students with the task of expressing that which will give them the strength and protection needed as they undergo the battle that is life.
The mannequins nudity was confronting enough. Many students felt compelled to 'dress' them for the Heather Blakeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569556563400820006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331352.post-753049902002-04-12T10:22:00.000+10:002002-04-12T10:22:43.623+10:00Voice Dialogue
The words 'know thyself' were inscribed above the entrance to the ancient temple of Delphi and reflect the pursuit of self knowledge and understanding that is pivotal to anyone seeking to live the life of a writer.
Voice dialogue takes this belief a step further, helping us to incorporate the many selves who live within each of us and enabling the individual to gain insight intoHeather Blakeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569556563400820006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331352.post-114438362002-04-04T16:55:00.000+10:002002-04-04T16:56:58.000+10:00A Thing Called Longing
My good friend, patron Lois Daley, clipped out a copy of an article for me from the Melbourne Age entitled "A Thing Called Longing". The writer, Sophie Cunningham explores the nature of the physical ache that can take us to the edge of madness. She explores the emotion of longing.
Cunningham was inspired a by a recently held exhibition at the Museum of Modern Oddities in Heather Blakeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569556563400820006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331352.post-104304942002-03-06T11:43:00.000+10:002002-03-06T12:23:17.000+10:00I am currently reading 'Firebrand' by Marion Zimmer Bradley, my favourite author. Set within the ancient Greek Empire, 'Firebrand' fuels my imagination. Kassandra, the leading female character says "I shall go mad, prisoned inside house walls for the rest of my life." Then she remembers her visions and reminds herself that with this gift she would always have a way of going outside her immediate Heather Blakeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569556563400820006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331352.post-91767022002-01-30T10:41:00.000+10:002002-01-30T10:41:35.880+10:00In her diary Anais Nin writes "When I look at the large green iron gate from my window it takes on the air of a prison gate. An unjust feeling since I know that I can leave the place whenever I want to and since I know that human beings place upon an object, or a person, this responsibility of being the obstacle when the obstacle lies within one's self. In spite of this knowledge I often stand atHeather Blakeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569556563400820006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331352.post-88119162002-01-18T22:41:00.000+10:002002-01-18T22:50:54.000+10:00Writing helps the grief process. C.S. Lewis wrote about the palliative impact of writing in A Grief Observed and Cicero explains the healing impact of words in The Nature of Gods. Like Lewis, Cicero found the world of words a rich retreat. Kit Dove is one of those pages that is enough to make you cry. When my father died I turned to words and found that my muse was there to console and comfort meHeather Blakeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569556563400820006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331352.post-85085822002-01-08T21:36:00.000+10:002002-01-08T21:44:39.000+10:00A Very Personal Email
When you read this very personal email that my student, my close friend, my ally wrote to me you will understand why I am so committed to Writing for Well-being.
THIS IS MY STORY
==============================
Many years ago I met a patient in a hospital where I was recuperating from an illness. We talked for only an hour before she was discharged & I never did get Heather Blakeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569556563400820006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331352.post-40417712001-06-13T11:24:00.000+10:002001-12-24T07:11:14.000+10:00The Soul Doesn't Fit Into Schedules
Time management is a concept of the 21st century. It's becoming increasingly difficult to fit everything we want into life. To have the time for every thing, is for most of us, a dream.
When I think of the advancements technology and research have made to modern life, I'm grateful. I would not have liked to live during times when having a simple infection Elizabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331352.post-39882652001-06-09T12:59:00.000+10:002001-12-24T07:10:58.000+10:00A Naturalist's Approach
Have you felt that you should be 'over' something and aren't? Or that unwanted thoughts should and could be banished using an affirmation or a cognitive therapy mantra? For me, these therapies work sometimes and other times they don't.
Maybe it's not surprising that my heroic actions regarding the psyche often leave me shuddering in the wake of their ineffectiveness.
Elizabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331352.post-36166742001-05-14T09:11:00.000+10:002001-12-24T07:11:32.000+10:00Grief's Unspeakable Lament
'Loneliness does not come from having no people about one, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to oneself.' Carl Jung
Quotes have a habit of being read at opportune moments. In the past few weeks, this quote by Carl Jung, found in passing, meant something to me.
Grief's emotional body is often mute. Grief's signature statement is Elizabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331352.post-34630292001-05-02T23:00:00.000+10:002001-05-06T09:00:37.383+10:00"Only when I began to prepare myself for death did I realise I was learning to live"These words resonate for meCancer has taught me that when you face death you learn to live, you make spontaneous decisions and you step outside the square. When you step outside the square you learn to live. When I am travelling over the coming months I will be searching for life, looking for it in out of the way Heather Blakeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569556563400820006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331352.post-34309182001-04-30T22:26:00.000+10:002001-04-30T22:27:17.100+10:00Consider:"He who does not understand your silenceWill probably not understand your words."Elbert HubbardHeather Blakeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569556563400820006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331352.post-33994572001-04-28T08:27:00.000+10:002001-04-28T08:27:18.720+10:00Over the past few months I have been running creative arts sessions at the Melbourne City Mission Palliative Care unit as a part of their bereavement program. This work has put me on a sharp learning curve. This work has heightened my awareness of the power of creative arts to heal. It does this by enabling people to gain a clear sense of direction. You can read more about my work in my Online Heather Blakeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569556563400820006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331352.post-29249992001-03-25T22:12:00.000+10:002001-03-25T22:17:54.080+10:00After an extended period of absence I am back. My husband was diagnosed with cancer in July last year and it has been quite a saga. The good news is that last month the surgeon successfully reconstructed his bowel and pronounced that it all looks healthy. So now that he is recovering I am beginning to get back my creative energy and it will be go go go at the Soul Food Cafe. Make sure you check Heather Blakeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569556563400820006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331352.post-21448442001-01-28T07:54:00.000+10:002001-01-28T07:54:57.603+10:00I sent out some hand made writing journals, covered with images from glossy magazines in my New Year Mystery Muse parcels to friends and was overwhelmed by the reaction. One friend was slow to let me know that her parcel had arrived, writing that *sheepish grin* Ummm...I *did* receive your package, but I am dodging the challenge as yet. I was overwhelmed by the graciousness of the gift...trulyHeather Blakeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569556563400820006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331352.post-20437302001-01-20T12:37:00.000+10:002001-01-20T12:37:55.266+10:00If you are committed to Peeling the Onion you really do need to have a journal to work in. Make sure you have covered this notebook with all your favourite images or create a special room of your own where you can work, using images from glossy magazines. If you are wondering where to start you can always treat yourself to the Chocolate Box. Remember that these were constructed during the early Heather Blakeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569556563400820006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331352.post-20423852001-01-20T10:25:00.000+10:002001-01-20T10:25:13.963+10:00I am back from my beach vacation - full of salt air, my feet massaged from taking a long walk along the pristine beach that is my front verandah for a fortnight. While I was in this computer free zone I wrote and covered notebooks for my close friends, inserting lovely long letters. It reminded me of childhood pleasures and helped me clarify who I am and how I want to live and write. This month Heather Blakeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569556563400820006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331352.post-17714832000-12-26T21:02:00.000+10:002000-12-26T21:03:14.066+10:00The inscription in the Temple of Apollo 'know thyself' has long mystified people. But when you work with the muse and peel back the layers of the onion you really do come to 'know yourself. Heather Blakeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569556563400820006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331352.post-17190832000-12-20T22:07:00.000+10:002000-12-20T22:07:36.430+10:00In me there is a vast and lonely place, Where none, not even you have walked in sight, A wide, still vale of solitude and light, Where Silence echoes into ebbing space. And there I creep at times and hide my face, While in myself I fathom wrong and right, And all the timeless ages of the night,Heather Blakeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569556563400820006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331352.post-16930402000-12-18T10:08:00.000+10:002000-12-18T10:15:05.580+10:00There is no doubt that facing cancer and watching as my husband has chemotherapy has helped me to peel back the layers. In these circumstances some clarity seems to emerge. In the face of such a battle, at a time when you need to muster all the strength you can, writing is a constant, a solace. To read my personal journal as I face this period check out my on-line journal. This month I have been Heather Blakeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569556563400820006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331352.post-16366402000-12-12T21:19:00.000+10:002000-12-12T21:19:15.290+10:00If you have not read it already make sure you borrow or buy a copy of Wendy Orr's 'Peeling the Onion'. Amazon have some reviews on this book. Orr closely examines the process of peeling the onion in a moving portrayal of a young girl recovering from a major road accident. Heather Blakeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569556563400820006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331352.post-16361362000-12-12T19:15:00.000+10:002000-12-12T19:15:26.243+10:00Today a card came in the mail. It read. Dear Heather, Fifteen years of attending your writing garden have borne fruit now. You have arrived as a writer with a fresh authentic voice. 'The Soul Food Cafe is a writing achievement that you must feel proud of. Within these cyber walls your spirit is calling out, being heard, being noticed by others. Your readership has grown and is loyal and while youHeather Blakeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569556563400820006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331352.post-16149322000-12-10T17:27:00.000+10:002000-12-10T17:30:56.110+10:00As Soul Food Cafe patrons participate and write pieces to be published in the cafe, be it about their relationship with the muse, as a guest chef, a nostalgic piece about their maternal ancestors, they begin the process of peeling the layers and learn more about themselves. So take the plunge! Soul Food is a non judgemental writing cafe that provides no critiques, but simply accepts the unique Heather Blakeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569556563400820006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331352.post-15975672000-12-08T21:50:00.000+10:002000-12-08T21:50:16.650+10:00I received an e-mail from a friend who has gone to the Antarctica for a year and she sounds really excited. She writes that "This place is magic. I've had a few revelations since I've been here. It really has made me question my life. There are people here who are so generous and kind and it doesn't matter about what I look like or how old I am or how silly I behave it is all excepted and they Heather Blakeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569556563400820006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331352.post-15866062000-12-07T21:58:00.000+10:002000-12-08T09:56:40.696+10:00'Peeling back the layers brings a stinging tear to the eye. When we shed the tough external layers, soft, innocent layers are as tender and untouched as new skin beneath sunburn. We feel raw and exposed. The environment becomes hostile and we look for shelter to protect our newly exposed self' writes Elizabeth Hayes. Make it your practice to call in and visit us in the Soul Food Cafe. It is a Heather Blakeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16569556563400820006noreply@blogger.com0