The Voices Inside Your Head

The Voices Inside Your Head

I love the new Disney Pixar film, Inside Out!

I went to see this last week as a “field trip” with a client. We both loved it and it sparked some great conversation afterward.

Through the ups and downs of 11-year-old Riley’s life, we see the inner workings of emotions, subpersonalities, dominant and disowned selves. This is at the core of the Creative Journal Expressive Arts (CJEA) methods I use in my coaching practice. The animated scenes depicting the inner workings of the brain and emotional processing were very well portrayed and, if not 100% scientifically accurate, at the very least created a fabulous visual and metaphorical depiction.

During the course of the film, through Riley’s experience, we see how our “islands of personality”, dominant emotions/selves and disowned emotions/selves interact and respond to the situations in our lives. We also see how ultimately flexible these patterns are and how they shift over time.

Without spoiling the film if you haven’t seen it, my favorite thing about it was how the characters eventually come to understand that all of the emotions are equally valuable and necessary to full experience and wholeness. That is at the heart of the work I do.

This film is really well done. I give it a big thumbs up. I’ll be buying a copy when it’s available on DVD – it will be a great addition to my CJEA-related library.

Now, where’s the popcorn?

_________

UPDATE

Here are some interesting links to other reviews and commentary on the film.

“Inside Out: Emotional Truths by Way of Pixar”, Psychology Today

Disney and Pixar’s Inside Out Brings Emotions to Life: How 5 Emotions of the Brain Govern Thoughts and Actions”, Medical Daily

“How Inside Out Nailed the Science of Kids’ Emotions”, Huffington Post

“Four Lessons from Inside Out to Discuss with Kids”, mindful.org

 

Sing It! The World Needs Your Song

Sing It! The World Needs Your Song

I’ve been working with a client on chakra exploration and healing through Expressive Art. We are learning about the energies associated with each chakra, then exploring and clearing blockages and imbalance through collage and journaling activities.

Tomorrow we’ll explore the 5th Chakra, which is the throat chakra, and relates to the right to hear and speak Truth. This chakra is all about authentic expression. Many of us – and, perhaps especially women – struggle to claim our true voice, to speak up and out about what we need and want, to speak from our heart, to be who we really are rather than who others expect us to be. Sometimes we become so practiced at saying what others want to hear and being who others want us to be, we disconnect from our true essence. We forget who we are.

But deep within each one of us is a song that only we can sing. This beautiful song from Oleta Adams says it all . . .

My wish for you is that you will rediscover and reconnect with that sparkling, unique, amazing essence that is the True You. That you will find your voice and sing the song that only you can sing. This is urgent, not just for you, but for the world. When you connect to the deepest Truth of who you are, when you sing that out with all the passion you possess, you sing a new world into being.

I can’t wait for you to sing your song.

The Sound of Creation, created on Polyvore: http://www.polyvore.com/sound_creation/set?id=37040382&lid=335619
The Sound of Creation, created on Polyvore:
http://www.polyvore.com/sound_creation/set?id=37040382&lid=335619