eARTh Journaling Practices By Emma Taylor, MSc
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eARTh Journaling Practices . by Emma Taylor, Msc .
How I came to discover the practice of eARTh Journaling I chose to write this little guide to eARTh Journaling practices to share the wonder and beauty that we can all access when we intentionally spend time in nature, by learning to quieten our busy mind, and begin to notice the abundance of life around us, by really paying attention to what calls for our engagement and reciprocity. I also truly belief that mindful creative expression is restorative and is vital for our wellbeing, particularly during times of uncertainty, perceived difficulty and change. Creativity and self-expression can heal us, as we make new connections, gain deeper insights, and perspectives, which in turn contain the potential to catalyse a real transformation in individuals and communities, for the greater wellbeing of the planet. I spent the early part of my working life focused on establishing a corporate career. This afforded me with many opportunities, particularly when I worked for a Japanese organisation where on a number of occasions, I had the opportunity to travel to Japan. Whilst here I would immerse myself in the culture, both in the crowded urban spaces and the quiet solitude of rural environments. It was during these periodic visits to Japana that I became aware of three cultural signatures, which offered a glimpse into a different way to experience a sense of their place in the world and engage in a deeper connection with nature. i) A deep cultural connection and reverence to nature ii) A relaxed and focused intentionality, and a mindfulness afforded to all creative practices iii) The active presence of simple rituals and ceremonies grounded in a reverence for nature that underpinned an artful approach to everyday living My time spent in Japan spoke directly to my creative self and opened the door to what has become a lifelong inquiry into how we can each learn to connect with our innate creativity, and in doing so deepen our trust in ourselves, and become more confident in our own self-expression. Curate and hear our voice. I am deeply grateful for the way this whole experience informed my world view and creative practices over the years. I was privileged to have many excellent and patient teachers who encouraged me to discover my own creativity, and who sowed the seeds to what has become the heart of my work; inviting others to reclaim their exciled creativity, embody their inner artistry, with nature as a teacher and guide.
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Whether we choose to see ourselves as artists or not particularly creative, through the process of inquiry, image making (mark-making, drawing and painting), and storytelling, we access powerful creative processes for deepening our connection to our deeper nature nature. Which in turn enriches our well-being and cultivates our self-expression. In this little booklet you will be introduced to the roots of an eARTh Journaling practice, what I call, The Intuitive Expression Method. An embodied creative process that is grounded in self awareness and acts as a bridge so that our busy thinking mind becomes located with the bigger context of feeling, sensing, imagining, and intuiting. As a creative process The Intuitive Expression Method; - Deepens our focus, strengthens concentration, builds drawing and painting confidence, and leaves a lasting impression on the true nature, and innate potential of our creative selves. - Inspires inquiry and reflection which invites a curious state of mind and forms the backbone for an integrated and holistic experience of nature connection. - Is a resource to enrich our sense of wellbeing and cultivates our self-expression, which opens us up to be fully present to life with renewed connection, creativity, and gratitude. By practicing The Intuitive Expression Method you will find your own way to bring together, inquiry, image making (drawing and painting), and storytelling. Awakening you to your true nature through your own creativity and intuitive self-expression. Expanding into the creative practices for eARTh Journaling, you will be introduced to how to really access and embody your senses, and your imagination. To open your experience into new ways of knowing. There will be practical ways to use both hands, close your eyes, change perspectives, and call upon different senses whilst engaging in the intuitive actions of image making and storytelling, with nature being as a teacher and guide. Through your own experience you will notice how alert and absorded you become when you pause, being to notice your sensations and pay close attention to the place that has invited you to start close in. You will see with fresh eyes, the unique array of colours, textures, shapes and patterns that form an image, and you will hear all the subtly layers of sounds. You will feel natural materials, the intricate texture of a leaf, branch of a tree or a stone with eyes closed. You will notice what happens to your felt sense when begin to arrange the materials that you have gathered into your own patterns, and the sensations that arise when you paint with both hands while listening to a bird call, or the sound of a bubbling stream, or just the gentle inner and outer movement of your breath. You will marvel at the intuitive powers of your attention, sensory experience, and your imagination, and at your deep sense of connection to this place. Your inherent connection to nature.
“Art, Nature, the human body, and the human psyche are so intimately related that it is impossible to think of one without being reminded of the other." Marshall McLuhana
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The Intuitive Expression Creative Cycle . .
Whether we choose to see ourselves as artists or not particularly creative, through inquiry, image making, (mark-making, drawing and painting), and storytelling we access a powerful creative process for deepening our connection to our true nature, to enrich our well-being and cultivate our self-expression. I
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eARTh Journaling I am not a technically trained artist and in the past I have often struggled to see myself as a creative person. So I have personal experience of how we can easily place limitations on ourselves, and how we needlessly cut ourselves off from our own inner artistry. Which when accessed contains the potential to open us up to a rich, vibrant, and diverse world that is constantly in a state of change and renewal, much like nature. Creating and keeping a regular eARTh Journaling practice is my way of connecting my three passions: my love of nature, image, and story.
"eARTh Journaling is an intuitive creative process which begins with nothing more than going for a walk, noticing what you notice and then choosing to respond through the gesture of inquiry, image making and storytelling."
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Now, every time I go for a walk, I stay open to what attracts my attention or from a more poetic perspective what calls to me. I then either choose to respond or not respond to that sensation of image, sound or feeling. If I choose to respond, then I will often make an image of some kind. I see these images as both a celebration of and a collaboration with nature. I use whatever is to hand, leaves, twigs, stones, water, feathers, flowers, berries, mud etc, and from this random assortment of materials, I will create something that is specific to that place and those moments that I am in that place.
I notice, I listen, I observe, I touch, I move, I arrange, and I imagine. I then slowly and deliberately make a composition that forms an image from which arises a story. It is in these moments that nature becomes my teacher and guide.
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Within this creative process, I am aware of a wider creative process and ecological story of which I am a small but intricate part. This is a story that helps us to remember that we are all interwoven within a creative cycle of change, transformation, permeability, the unknown and impermanence. eARTh Journaling is a creative practice that offers me a medium to notice these natural rhythmns, to pay attention to my experiences in nature. In my creative practice I often recorrd these images firstly as a photo. Then when I return home, I make an entry into my eARTh Journal and use a combination of images and writing to create an artifact that deepens my connection and meaning of my whole experience. Below is an example of how a simple seasonal circle became the inspiration for a more abstract interpretation of the many systems we each live within.
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Feel The Connection Too often, the habits of our everyday lives has a tendency to cut us off from our deep connection to the earth. Yet the reality is that we are intimately connected. We are not just living on the earth, we are the earth —our bodies, after all, are made up of 70%TK water! By focusing our attention on the everyday gifts that nature gives us can help to cultivate a feeling of reverence. In my own life, just placing my feet on the floor to connect with the earth first thing in the morning fills me with gratitude. Splashing warm water on my face connects me to the water that flows all over the planet. Drawing air deeply into my lungs as I glimpse the first rays of the sun brings a sense of joy, because fire, air, and prana have united in me. In those first moments of waking, I feel a deep connection and gratitude to the Earth. When we remember these connections with gratitude, we can experience a sensation of groundedness, a sense of belonging, and a feeling of abundant well-being. It is from these roots which new stories can arise.
The world consists of five elements: earth, air, water, fire, and ether. One way to create a deeper sense of oneness with nature is by consciously choosing to take in energy from the elements by drawing or painting our felt sense of them in us and around us.
This is a nature inspired language that nourishes a resilient and reciprocal relationship between all members of the earth community. Through creating, in any form we choose to make, we not only express our innate interconnection with nature in the moment, but we also strengthen our interconnection as we nourish generative ways of seeing, feeling, imagining and expressing that nourishes us for a lifetime.
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Now, each time I bring a new image into form, I am fascinated by what emerges from this intentional reciprocal relationship with nature. I watch in rapt fascination as images change in shape, colour and meaning. A living transformation is taking place before my eyes and by my hands. New connections and stories are returning to the surface which generate new inquiries and insights. A deeper kind of wisdom and ancient knowing is being given voice and the space to express a different way of knowing.
"To create is aliveness and connection, to create is love expressed, to create is sharing our individual uniqueness to the world." Andy Goldsworthy
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Three core eARTh Journaling Practices There are three core eARTh Journaling practices, and each one is a means to deepen our connection to nature, and enrich our wellbeing and self-expression. Firstly, it is vital to listen and we do this by spending time learning to pay attention to what calls to us; to use our senses, hands, eyes, and bodies, to get to know our whole environment and the elemental life force that is forming and informing a living composition with us. Then in the second phase, our attention is spent working from the inside-out as we focus our awareness on exploring our inner landscape through spontaneous mark making on the land, drawing, or painting as it relates to the flow of body sensation, feelings, inquiry, and intention which is moving within us. We pay attention to a specific plant, insect, bird or animal and we keep track of this encounter through the images and words we choose, and allowing our imagination to take the lead. This is illustrated in the image below of how I was draw to some discarded pheasant feathers and how once gathered, I listened to how they might like to be arranged, and what this arrangement might represent in my experience.
In the third phase, the invitation is to move in the opposite direction, and intertwine outside-in creating with inside-out, as we spontaneous create an experience the boundless fluid dance between the two emerges. Often, it is here in this intimate dance of self-expression that something completely new, unplanned and unexpected appears, just like the day this beautiful arrangement of feathers laying on the tarmac, which then transformed again when joined with flowers, swan feathers and blue paint.
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Taking It Slow The Slow Approach to eARTh Journaling The SLOW acronym outlined below is a useful way to remember the basics of this creative practice. S- Find a regular place in nature where you can go and sit, somewhere where you will not be disturbed, and can sit in silence. Often this is referred to as a 'sit spot' in nature connected practices. Go slowly so you can remain in connection with a sound, texture, pattern, creature, or some other aspect of nature. L- Place your full attention on what is asking for your attention. On what you love. Work only with what you love. Be loving and kind to yourself and others as you create. Really listen. When selecting or choosing organic materials to combine, arrange and assemble into a pattern, be gentle and deliberate, do not take too much from one place. Remember that you are a visitor to this place, and you have a duty of care to retain the natural harmony and balance which arises there. O- Open to the sound, texture, pattern that you are working with. Work with opposites together (for example make at least some of the time using both your hands). W- Maintain a curious state of mind. Let your senses wander and allow yourself to suspend meaning making. Use your whole brain by working with both hands equally, and eyes closed part of the time. I recommend that you keep the basic cycle the same and change only one small thing each session. Do not be afraid to try the same creative task repeatedly over a number of sessions. While creating learn to be an archaeologist of your own experience. Watch what helps you to stay in the flow and what jars you out again. The more you follow your in-the-moment attractions, the less time you spend in your organising mind, and the deeper your intuitive creative connection to nature, will become. The more you will become attuned to our unique creative process.
EMBODY YOUR ARTISTRY
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Amplifying Your Sensory Experience Invite a sensory and imaginative response by closing your eyes, using both your hands, asking nature to share a story, and by showing your gratitude. CLOSED EYES “I shut my eyes in order to see.”- Paul Gauguin When we create with our eyes open, we can be seduced by the idea of creating something in particular. With eyes closed, we flow and feel the sensations associated with a nature connected creating. By moving away from the outward grasping habit of seeing, we open to a fresh way of relating. If we cannot see what we are doing, then judgments soften, and expectations fall away. Other senses kick in and we pay more attention. We can move beyond surface details and no longer see nature as simply another pretty picture. We let go of our need to control an image or seeing forms as fixed static entities that must contain an ‘idea’ of perfection and move aside as it is a new perception is born before our eyes. BOTH HANDS “Let your hands be your eyes.” - Ruby Elena We draw and paint with both hands and paint without brushes. We open to the wholeness of ourselves when we create with both hands. Both right and left brains are invited into the creative process. Materials bridge between the creator and nature when we follow where the hands spontaneously lead. Creating without brushes is often surprising and relaxing as the mind sinks into the textures and sensations of succulent-coloured hands and fingertips. We learn to trust in the wisdom of our bodies.
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EMBODY YOUR ARTISTRY
LET NATURE AND IMAGES SPEAK “Everything has its own voice. Thunder and lightning and stars and planets, flowers, birds, animals, trees” Thomas Berry When we are finished drawing and painting, we often ask an image or a natural being if there were anything it would like to share. Then we record the answer. We also take time to reflect when we complete the sentences, I noticed... and I wonder.... We develop a new way of listening, one that is characterised by no preconceived notions about what nature might be trying to say and how it might be trying to say it. We open to receive messages and to fully listen again to ourselves and nature. GRATITUDE “If the only prayer you said in your whole life was thank you that would suffice.” - Meister Eckhart We begin and end a session with reverential mindfulness towards nature and the creative process. We ask for permission to engage and we say thank you or express our gratitude in some way when we are finished. Sometimes we can be chosen by a plant or animal. At other times we follow what attracts. Either way we engage with nature with appreciation, wonder, humility, and gratitude. These are just a few ways in which we can all access our innate creativity and invite nature to be our teacher and guide. eARTh Journaling as a creative practice only ever offers a framework to guide and support your creativity and to deepen your connection to nature. There are no 'rules' and there is no getting anything wrong, There is only an invitation for you to remain present to the continual flow of your experience and to discover and embody your unique artistry. Which is expressed through your creative connection to your unique visual language of image making, and storytelling.
Pay Attention, Be Astonished. Tell About It. Mary Oliver
We are creative beings. Some of us are compelled to express this creativity without hesitation. Some of us feel that something is"whispering" to us, "come, you have riches inside you and the world needs you to share them." Do we dare to follow this? Others sense a longing or a pulling, but it may be mixed with an uncertainty of how to express or what wants to be expressed through us. eARTh Journaling Practices speak to this creative and expressive energy that is available to all of us, and offers an introduction to the creative process of The Intuitive Expression Method, and the creative practices of eARTh Journaling/ Both deepen our connection to nature, enrich wellbeing and cultivate self-expression. This is the second in a short series of booklets which aim to call our creativity out of excile, draw attention to our innate artistry, and the restorative connection between nature, art and wellbeing.
Emma Taylor is an image maker, storyteller and painter, and has always had a deep connection to nature having spent her early childhood in the glorious wilds of West Wales. This feeling of a deeper connection was re-ignited during her time working for a Japanese Manufacturing company, where she gained new perspectives on our innate creativity and interwoven story with the wellbeing of the Earth. In 2018, she chose to deepen her connection to nature by re-membering her creativity and cultivating greater self-expression, in the mediums of inquiry, image-making and storytelling, and to encourage others to do the same. Emma has an MSc in Transformative Change, A Gestalt, Systemic and Complexity Perspective, and runs a small expressive arts enterprise called Camellia Jewel, where she offers short courses on the creative practices of eARTh Journaling and Expressive Art Painting, and Creativity Mentoring.