New Year’s Revolutions I am 58 years old, and with only 40-50 years left on the planet, this time around anyway, I don’t have the time to waste on namby-pamby New Year’s Resolutions. This year I am going for New Year’s Revolutions. I like the added increment of drama and force, the…
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Controversy and Unity in the Art Therapy Empire Controversy means somebody gives a damn. That’s a good thing. This is a touchy one. I should leave it alone. But I probably didn’t get to be president of an Art Therapy graduate school by leaving the touchy ones alone. Let me start with this…
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Piranhas, Hijackers, Brawlers, Shunners and Consciousness... Authentic communications are not so easy to come by these days, and you kind of wish they were, maybe especially during the holiday season. I thought a lot about whether I wanted to submit this post, and had a long discussion with myself, finally deciding that even if it only heightens…
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I guess it’s probably good to get knocked out of your rhythm, sometimes even when you felt you had a good one going. We are sitting on the Rhine River, Cologne, and I am writing longhand because I do not know how to access the internet. The over-engineered coffee pot seems more like a…
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Little toddler fingers sticky with glue, reached into the container of sequins. Hello, bling! Shiny stars and hearts stuck well and the tiny artist was completely fascinated by his magical-looking hand. At the Holiday Bazaar where students could sell their art, we also had a little art making room for kids. And adults wandered…
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The Scientific Method Doesn’t Prove Diddly— Never Did, Never Will: A Brief Note on “Proof” and “Evidence” by Jim Nolan OK, so here is a quick reminder to those of us in the social sciences (this includes Counseling and Art Therapy). When you read an article, or have a deep conversation at Java Joes or…
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Cows Works: India is the Great Teacher “Chaos” in India One thing (among many) that I loved about our experience in India is that it demonstrated, in ever-in-your-face, living color that so many of the rules, laws, regulations, restrictions, dicta, fiats, got-to’s and can’t-do’s that we embrace in western culture as critical to…
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Maras is an amazing place as it is starting to rain frequently elsewhere in the valley, yet it remains sunny here on most afternoons. The cloud views from our residence at ARI can only be described as stunning. Our work with the children continues, and even when it does become wet and chilly, we are…
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I notice that I value a mindfulness practice most when there is a period of time when I am not doing it. The quarter has ended. The mindfulness sessions have stopped for now. I am rushing around trying to get "stuff" done - meetings, work, shopping, and running around before the holidays. It is probably…
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Jim just posted a piece on photography and I cannot resist sharing photos that he took while in a Transformational Ecopsychology class taught by Carol Parker. I call the series the “Phoenix series” for obvious reasons. Jim was one of the attendees and laid on the ground and took pictures of Carol and students through…
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Uh,Oh. I Think I Am Doing Art Therapy Without a License. So this is something I never expected. A few years back I came into a used Nikon, not bad, kind of beat, and I took it on Vision Quest. Thought I’d take a few pictures, did so, in fact took a million, and then…
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I never intended to be a teacher. Did not have an interest, to tell you the truth. At least not a “classroom teacher.” And now that I am the president of the College, I should probably be spending my time on development and networking with the outer world in order to enhance Southwestern College’s visibility,…
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How do I describe him? He is a warrior and a healer. He is a leader and a friend of SWC. He is Lakota. Harry comes from the Cheyenne River Reservation, and he has visited our campus a number of times to teach. He is an elder in his tribe and leads the “Healing of…
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There were five of us around the table today. Two were painting, one was creating with tissue paper, one was using play-doh, and I had the colored pencils out. Sometimes it was quiet, sometimes the conversation was lively. It was a typical “Open Studio” at noon on Tuesday, open to everyone – students, faculty, staff…
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Holistic Education Requires Soul in the Curriculum, say SWC Leaders... Today, eight leaders of Southwestern College (Me, Robert Waterman, Katherine Ninos, Webb Garrison, Deborah John, Jason Holley, Laura Lansrud-Lopez, and Gabrielle Viethen), met for over two hours, discussing the role of "Soul" and "Consciousness" at Southwestern College, among a great many other things... We discussed how…
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Reflections on India... Darshan and Bhangra, Nag Champa and pungent, burning cow poo, Krishna and chotchka wallahs, The dance of seeming oppositions Ultimately whirling into Same, Without losing an ounce of Different. I don’t know how that works. All I knew…
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It is time for Thanksgiving and I am so glad for this holiday. And yet I would like to take the word "time" out of the equation and practice giving thanks everyday of my life. There is so much to be thankful for each day. I would say if I were to choose a guru,…
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Holistic Counseling and Art Therapy Degree Seekers Must Find their Answers Inside Themselves at Southwestern College... I am the president of a spiritually-sourced graduate school, the mission statement of which is “Transforming Consciousness through Education.” With a mission statement like that, one must be extra careful to walk the College’s talk. …
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I truly believe (actually, I KNOW) that Southwestern College honors and appreciates its graduates. Somebody questioned that recently, and it made me step back and reflect, trying my best to be honest about my thoughts on the matter. I came up with a number of things I would like to share here... We certainly…
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I encountered the wild this dawn. Greybrown doggod Coy-YO-te, twanged a new mexican accent as alarms pealed through my system. I stopped. And my leashed goddog stopped, oblivious to CoYOte who stood still, watching us. Should I ignore this? Should I run? Who was more of…
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There is a great potential for transformation when you bring the heart into your awareness. The heart is the mediator between our emotional body and our mind. As one goes inward, the heart offers the potential for self forgiveness and compassion. Having access to the heart enables you to love yourself as well…
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The SWC president is Jim Nolan. He is originally from Cleveland. I have never met an Ohioan that I did not like. They are so friendly! Jim fell in love with the southwest from a distance, and now is a member of the New Mexico tribe and all that it brings. Although he has an…
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Southwestern College had its largest fall enrollment ever this year, and it appears that this January will bring our largest ever Winter enrolment of new students. We are ever-more aligned with our mission, and that is the key. More prospective students are looking for a meaningful graduate school experience, with intense, hands-on training…
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I remember when Nora arrived at SWC. She came from the east coast, and had recently left a job with a popular magazine. It was a big deal for her to pick up stakes and go in a completely different direction. Shortly after Nora arrived, Maggie entered her life. Maggie is a medium size…
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The word “mindfulness” may imply, for some, that you are in your head…but that really is not the case. Or is it? This past week in the mindfulness session there was so much buzzing happening in the old noggin’ that it felt like a hornet’s nest. Geez! When you are practicing mindfulness and the only…
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SWC Trustees vote unanimously to NOT RAISE TUITION for 2012-13. When an organization (or a person) truly aligns with its mission and focuses its energy and resources in the direction of its achievement, good things happen. Ever since reclaiming/re-articulating our original mission in 2009, Southwestern College has been on the upswing, even despite…
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This fall I had the opportunity to present at the European Arts Therapies Conference in Italy. One of the keynote speakers for the conference was Graziella Magherini, MD, a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. The title of her Keynote was “Aesthetic Emotion and Health: Arts Therapies in Italy”. One of the issues that she touched upon…
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Since so many of our students come to us from out of state, many want to explore the region and there is so much here to discover and experience! Chaco Canyon is an ancient site that is popular to visit. I will share my experience here just to give you a flavor.... It is…
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In a graduate school that has a large student body studying art therapy, it is no surpise that the mandala is used in and outside the classroom. In Archetypal Psychology the counseling and art therapy students create personal mandalas and follow their progress in the class visually. In a mindfulness practice, when it is…
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It is a “Day of the Dead” as I write this. Gifted by a strong Mexican community, Santa Fe has access to the traditions surrounding this holiday. With roots in ancient Aztec traditions, this holiday invites us to welcome back the spirits of those who have departed. At the very least we have the…
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There are a million kinds of trees and ways to think about trees, but Robert Frost wrote his poem about “Birches”; there are scores of philosophies of education, but Waldorf Schools choose to focus on Steiner’s; there are untold numbers of ways to talk about and understand “Consciousness”, but Quimby/Southwestern College comes from identifiable influences…
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Mindfulness Practice at Southwestern College I was recently at the American Art Therapy Association conference in Washington D.C. and was asked by a prospective student whether we have a required “mindfulness practice” here as a part of the program. We do not. We do notice that there are activities that spontaneously arise in every entering class.…
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I was painting an image of a tree last week when I had more paint on my brush than I thought I had and created a big purple splash in the middle of the tree branches. I played with it a while and came to appreciate the shapes that emerged as the paint flowed and…
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During my Internship I began a heart-warming relationship with someone I never would have met otherwise. I had created an Art as Healing group at a local residential facility for the gay and lesbian community over fifty. Residents would come and go throughout the season but one woman was always present no matter how grumpy…
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In the last two weeks I lost my iPod, my apple’s hard-drive, my printer/fax followed by light flashes in my left eye, my dog’s life. The road has been bumpy, but I have strength garnered from the wilderness. There is a message: If I can learn to detach from the technology and embrace the…
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Quite often I take the opportunity to take a class here. I have taken a number of art therapy classes as well as psychopathology, psychology of altruism and vision quest. This fall I am taking the human development course because so much has happened in the field since I studied this. There are so many…
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Everywhere you hear about “integrative health care” now. It seems like this holistic or integrative approach is really catching on fast. It is about time I think. When I studied counseling my instructors were “all about” Carl Rogers! Y’know when I graduated I felt like this mini Carl Rogers and it just did not fit.…
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Entering the second year of my counseling program, I immediately felt the shift of focus from myself to the client. Going to the Southwestern Counseling Center for Practicum concretizes this transition. The Center sits in a small shopping mall surrounded by fun businesses such as the cycling shop, an Ayurvedic café and a paleteria (Mexican…
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"You get what you put into it"...I cannot tell you how many times I have said this to a potential student of SWC. I just had this conversation with Luke - one of our students. He agreed wholeheartedly. Don't misunderstand me....we do not just sit back and make you do all the work. However, we…
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I love art therapy! I am fascinated about how art making can be such an amazing and efficient approach to therapy and healing. The art work here on campus is so inspiring. We usually have an art show going on in the AT Complex and it is incredible to see the variety of art coming…
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We have time during the week where students can participate in open art studio for artmaking and in addition we have a time around the noon hour where students can participate in a mindfulness practice in our spiritual practice room. These sessions may look different depending upon who is involved. Those who participate help to create…
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Helping comes in many ways here at Southwestern Counseling Center, magic comes in many ways too. We see so many people in so many different situations looking for help, support, caring and love. Recently we were able to help two little beings that were in desperate need, a life and death situation. It was…
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The Mourning Dove was first brought to my attention when I was nine years old by my father who heard the cooing one evening and announced, “There’s a Mourning Dove.” This comment was totally out of character for my father and I sensed that he felt a special connection to the Mourning Dove. Mourning Doves…
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I have taken the Vision Quest here at SWC. I believe the lineage of this type of VQ comes from the School of Lost Borders based in Colorado. Carol Parker, the VQ leader and head of the Transformational Ecopsychology program was trained there and she has quite a bit of training with shamans in the…
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I remember working too hard, cognitively, to find my “solo spot” on Vision Quest. First I went straight to the top of a mountain, and claimed it. Then I gave myself a lecture about being a Straight White Guy taking control of the top of a mountain and how arrogant was that and yada yada,…
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