Part 2, if you missed it…
Part 3: How Using Ownership Language Changes My Worldview
By changing the statement from "we" to "I" in this entire blog series I have shifted my perception of life. I no longer blame “society” (you, we, or any form of “other”) for what I am perceiving as a…
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Honoring the Spectrum of Self
On May 20, 2016 the Wild Heart Gallery hosted the opening night of Honoring the Spectrum of Self, an exhibition where Southwestern College staff, faculty, and students were invited to investigate the sacred pieces that have shaped them as an individual or within the collective. The show featured a variety of works installed within…
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Honoring the Spectrum of Self
On May 20, 2016 the Wild Heart Gallery hosted the opening night of Honoring the Spectrum of Self, an exhibition where Southwestern College staff, faculty, and students were invited to investigate the sacred pieces that have shaped them as an individual or within the collective. The show featured a variety of works installed within…
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Wild Heart Gallery Exhibition
On May 20th, 2016 the Honoring the Spectrum of Self exhibition began with an opening night of planned and spontaneous performances. Spoken word, song, and video filled the large art therapy classroom and vibrant conversations filtered into the Wild Heart Gallery, where guests could examine the installed works…
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Living in New Mexico has always been a dream of mine, and when I had the chance to move here to come to SWC, I jumped at the opportunity! It wasn't long before I was itching to explore my new world, and when I did, I was truly awestruck by the beauty within minutes from…
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Part 1, if you missed it...
Part 2: Practical Examples of Ownership Language
I look around and see so many things that say "Stop doing THIS!" or "Don't do/think/act THIS way!" or even "Fight THIS!"
With so much negative bombardment, is it any wonder I feel so overwhelmed and defeated much of the time, especially…
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The other morning I came into contact with a report by Jonathan Cook from the Aljazeera international news station. His correspondence, Israeli textbook 'bad for Arabs, bad for Jews,' resonated with a recent discussion I had. Mr. Cook shared a piece on the war and conflict segment on Israeli’s ministry of education’s effect on Palestinian…
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Over the past weekend I was excited and joyous in being able to spend time with my extended family. Growing up with a diverse and multicultural background I had an unconventional childhood. At the age of 3 my parents divorced and I grew up separate from my father and brother. Over time both of my…
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As a second year Art therapy/Counselor in training, I have recently begun practicum. Practicum is the hands-on application of my accrued training from over the course of my graduate and undergraduate programs. At Southwestern College I have come to understand and appreciate the art of transforming consciousness through psycho-eco-socio-education. As an indigenous woman I have…
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Since beginning my apprenticeship as an art therapist/counselor in training here at SWC in 2014, I had my most challenging quarter in the spring of 2016. For the first two years I felt like I was doing a lot of personal transformation work in the safety of some of my cocoon-like classes. Since the beginning…
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Part 1: What is Ownership Language
In many of my classes our teachers have been training us to use “I statements” during discussions. For example, it applies when you fall into the habit of using we, or you, when you actually mean “I” in a statement, as I just did in this sentence. See what I…
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Bringing the Divine Feminine to Campus by Ann Filemyr, Ph.D.
I believe the Ultimate could be a vast energetic being, nameless, formless, skinless, disembodied raw creative force power zipping through the universe in the never-ending processes of making and unmaking, being, becoming and dissolving back into non-being. The Great Mystery, who I refer to…
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When One Transitions, We All Transition
by Ann Filemyr
Our granddaughter announced his decision to become an F to M Trans Boy. Okay, I am ready, I thought. Well, not completely ready, I discovered.
I should be ready. I came out in 1977 as a bisexual. I was precocious, adventurous and fully engaged in the…
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Get your LPCC as soon as you can. Out. …
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Choosing the right graduate program is not an easy task. I am one of those people who did not make the best choice. I am writing this blog to offer some questions to ask when comparing programs in Counseling or in Art Therapy/Counseling.
I earned a MA in Counseling degree when I was in my…
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Summer Beach Reading from the “Sea of Whiteness”
I remember seeing lists of books in magazines that were deemed appropriate for “summer beach reading," the assumption being that we all deserved a break from heavier reading material during the summer. I like that idea, in theory. But the truth is that I read what I…
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In the Aftermath of Yesterday’s Massacre
We heard the news about the June 12 massacre on Sunday evening. A man declaring himself an Islamic fundamentalist entered a gay bar in Orlando, Florida and began shooting. He killed 50 people and harmed 54 more. It is the most destructive mass shooting in U.S. history.
My partner…
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Writing has quite simply saved my life. When I was 16, I was on the verge of ending my life when I received a letter informing me that my first short story and illustration had been accepted for publication. When I was 39, and had just suffered through the death of my life partner, writing…
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A Letter to Anybody even REMOTELY Thinking of Working in Addictions/Substance Abuse
Dear Friends, Colleagues, Prospective Students, Current Students, & Alumni,
Credentials, licenses, and professional certificates can help us get jobs, and help us get clients and referral streams in private practice.
This letter is for ANYBODY who thinks they MIGHT even POSSIBLY be interested…
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What the Writing Group has Meant to Me – Jaylek Ahn
While difficult to put into just a few words, I am so grateful for the depth of emotion, opening, closing, re-opening, awe and reverence that I’ve experienced in the presence of fellow writers that have come to mean so much to me, as has…
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I’m the chairperson of the Art Therapy/Counseling program. I moved to Santa Fe to teach at Southwestern College in 2002, and continue to be delighted by the insightful art therapy provided by our students during Practicum and Internship. It’s been an honor to witness our students as they blossom into therapists. And actually, I also…
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Thoughts about why personal therapy is required at SWC...…
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Life purpose and vocation; I sometimes wonder how they are related.
Sometimes I hear life purpose described simply and clearly, like this quote from notetoselfphilosophy.com:
Note to Self:
“What is my purpose in life?” I asked the void.
“What if I told you that you fulfilled it when you took an extra hour to talk…
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Ron is the Landscaping Director at Southwestern College. You have seen him around a thousand times, and if you’re lucky, you have had opportunities to talk with him. He is a really interesting guy, with a wide and colorful background.
Ron was born in Chicago, and, well---I’ll let him tell you…
“I grew up…
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Howard W. McConeghey passed away on March 28, 2016 at the age of 95, in Albuquerque. He was an important leader in the field of Art Therapy and established the Archetypal Art Therapy Program at the University of New Mexico in 1975, which he directed until his retirement in 1990.
During WWII he met Gertrude…
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Featured Artwork: Mandala Buddha, acrylic on paper, 36"x24", 2012, Tejal Murray
Over the last few blogs, I’ve been exploring Stephen Cope’s The Great Work of Your Life in a general way with examples from my own life. Today, I’m going to dive more deeply into the teachings by profiling one of Southwestern College’s graduates.
…
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Southwestern College Santa Fe, NM