Unergi Explorations

"I so enjoyed painting, as per usual, it's the release I look forward to the most. I frees me up. I have come to so value the process of it, the movement of painting, the freedom I then feel in my body, the pure joy of creative self-expression. It leads to peace and quiet exuberance. Unergi has really taught me to think so differently about being artistic and I love being so present to the process and less attached to the outcome, and being agenda free.

My painting was like the eye of the storm. At the center, I saw a moon, a planet and they say to me: you can rest here, in the middle of the storm. The storm is red, shaky, intense: I see it as the expression of my frustration, irritability and anger in the face of life's stressors. But then I see that maybe the key is resting at the center of it all instead of fighting it, just being present to it. And I notice all this space around the red storm part too: I have all this support within and outside the storm, it says: rest here, take a deep breath, trust me, I'm here to support you. There is so much support all around! The next painting is about flow and waves, they tell me to go with the flow, that waves can be life giving, there is also a very playful, exuberant inner child coming out in that painting. It was reassuring to be reminded of this message, although the reminder is needed over and over again..."

What have I learned about self care?
All that Jan Baty stuff is rich, rich, rich. I wish there was a way to really ingrain it in my heart/brain memory because it all feels so fleeting. She spoke of not pushing out with elbow, not locking or fixing that elbow, staying soft in the hand, not tensing, doing less and not overdoing or over pushing which I know I tend to do. Remember the hand receives in, all the way to the back of me... I love the idea of approaching clients remembering there is a large energy field around them. Remembering directionality in knee, head, pelvis... endlessly sensing, feeling, including and using the heart/brain loop. Instead of adding something, how can I let go?
I also love: nature is a sentient being and we're part of it. It affected me profoundly to hear Ute say that, it was as if realizing for the first time that I am of the earth, I am like the flowers and the trees...

-Stephanie Bourgeois, December 2007