March 17, 2025

The Power of Art Journaling: Navigating Life Transitions with Creativity

The Power of Art Journaling: Navigating Life Transitions with Creativity
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Join Dr. Doug and Susan Hensley, author of Art for Your Sanity, as they explore the transformative power of art journaling. Discover how this creative practice helps process emotions, navigate life transitions, and uncover personal values. Susan shares her journey from corporate life to coaching and explains how anyone can use art journaling—even without artistic skills—to tap into inner wisdom, expand possibilities, and embrace authenticity.

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This program is designed to provide general information with regards

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to the subject matters covered. This information is given with

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the understanding that neither the hosts, guests, sponsors, or station

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are engaged in rendering any specific and personal medical, financial,

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legal counseling, professional service, or any advice. You should seek

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the services of competent professionals before applying or trying any

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suggested ideas.

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At the end of the day, it's not about what

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you have or even what you've accomplished. It's about what

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you've done with those accomplishments. It's about who you've lifted up,

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who you've made better. It's about what you've given back.

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Thanzel Washington, Welcome to Inspire Vision. Our sole purpose is

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to elevate the lives of others and to inspire you

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to do the same.

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Susan, Welcome to the show.

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Oh thank you for having me. Doug, I'm thrilled to

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be here.

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I'm really pleased. This is going to be an interesting

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topic and I'm excited to really learn about what you're

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doing and while you're doing it. So forth, I'd love

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for you to share with the on Age your journey,

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what brought you to this point and go ahead and

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take the time to kind of share with your life

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and how it all came to this point.

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Sure, well, given my age termed sixty the past year,

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it's a bit of a winding path. But I professionally,

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I started off as a broadcast journalist and did that

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for a number of years. And then, as happens, life

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takes a veer and our first professions no longer fit us.

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And what happened is, you know, children are having a

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child and I was anchoring. You know, it's eleven thirty

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five at night, and you work weekends and news, and

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that just wasn't compatible with you know, my view. It

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was one thing to work, but it was another thing

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not to be around at nights and holidays and to

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be called out urgently. So really switched careers, took up

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a sharp turn, moved across the country and started a

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career in corporate America, where I did a number of things.

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I initially started in training in human resources, then worked

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in strategy, did some time overseas as an expad and

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a business unit in Asia. Came back sort of really

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to work in HR and fell in love with with coaching,

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executive coaching, career coaching, business coaching within that and really

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really enjoyed that. During that time, I took up a

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hobby quite by accident of art journaling. Now that isn't

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I have to always pause because that's going to be

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I'm going.

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To ask you. Well, I'm going to ask you that

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definition later on.

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Okay, perfect, I'll just say now, it's not about making art.

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You know, to get your head initially wrapping around it,

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think of what most people understand what a written journal is,

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or you know, keeping a diary. This is using art, crayons, paints,

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collage in that same way. So I yeah, so it's

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never about the end product. It's a what I call colorful, visual,

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right brained way to journal so deeply private. I started

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that during the last I don't know five plus years

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of my corporate career, and that also hit during the pandemic,

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and it really I realized art journaling was such a

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great way to tap into my inner wisdom to process emotions.

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You know, all that coaching experience I had and all

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the tools that I was fortunate enough to gain doing

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that professionally and certifications sort of really taught me to

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pay attention when you both love something and it's giving

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you insights into yourself and really guiding you. So the

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Art Journal helped me to recognize it was time to

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leave that career. Now, the Art Journal didn't say write

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a book about me because that's what happened. Let's be clear,

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it's not like the oracle. Life is not that easy,

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but it definitely started to show me that it was

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time for a change. And that was now three years ago,

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and in that half I ended up as I've continued

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doing both business coaching meaning executive coaching and career coaching,

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but I got more into life transition coaching. The Art

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Journal continued to be such a powerful tool. I started

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with client to do it and then ended up doing

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a book about it, which is Art for Your Sanity

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and online training and now I do workshops because it's

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so simple and for the right people right where all

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individual can really be a major unlock in a fun way.

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So when you talk about transitions, okay, what are you

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talking about there?

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Yeah, So we all go as humans in this world

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through a number of life transitions almost every twelve to

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eighteen months. It can be anything from a career transition.

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That's one of the easiest for us to get our

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head around to moving right, a physical change, a relationship change.

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If you think of my story about when my husband

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I realized after having my son that that career no

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longer fit right, becoming a parent or becoming an empty nester,

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those are what I mean by life transitions. It can

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also be losing a loved one or becoming a caregiver,

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empty nest. Right, There's any number of them. But easiest

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way to think about it is you have ones in

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your professional life. You have various ones around your relationships,

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You have them around where you live, You have them

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around your body and the sort of stages of our body.

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In many cases, what we can or can't do anymore.

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If we've ever had a diagnosis we need to work through,

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that's certainly a transition.

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Okay, how many times as you've done coaching, executive coaching,

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or individual coaching, have you found that a transition has

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occurred because they've gone ahead and changed their mindset to

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the point that they're actually moving in an entirely different

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direction than what they have before, or at least they

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want to.

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Yeah, so in almost every case, in some of it, right,

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So it's in there are transitions that can happen to us, right,

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an empty nest, or a diagnosis or caregiving, or you

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lose a job. Those are ones that in essence happened us.

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But in all the ones that we create, right, the

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ones that are sort of intrinsic, It is a mindset change.

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Right.

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You can get into a little bit of chicken out,

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but anything that we're really initiating is a recognition that

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something isn't fitting now. Sometimes fortunately you recognize an old

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way of thinking is no longer working, and as part

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of your new way, you start to see these behaviors

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in this life. The shell you're wearing, you know, you

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sort of it no longer fits. So anyone, any transition

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that we really choose, has a mindset component, either at

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the very beginning or in order to make it, you

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have to switch your mindset.

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And you know, I'm fascinated by the art journal ad

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because you're saying and it's really art. Now, I'm someone

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that cannot draw, as they say, the broadside of a barn.

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I've never been artistic in that way. I love photography,

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but never been artistic where I can sit and draw

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or any of that type of thing. So how do

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you start? People? And I guess kind of explain what

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is art journaling exactly, and how do you help people

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to start that if it's something that they really don't

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have a tendency to have ever done.

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So those are the best people for it, I and

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that was me. So I will go back to how

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it started and I'll explain why people who don't think

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they have any artistic ability it's best for And so

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my story with our journaling starts because I would have

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described myself and still do the way you are because

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it's really not about making art that I'm going to

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show you. It's about play. And so they said it's

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working full time. And one of my coworkers had and

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still has a wholeside business as an artist, legitimately talented

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individual who sells her work. Her goal is to create

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work people commission or buy. And some of us were saying,

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what you just said, I can't paint a side of

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a barn, and she goes, oh, everyone, you know, come

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over on a Saturday. We'll spend a couple hours. I'll

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teach you a little you know, teach you some shape.

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So I'm one of about five people go over. Right,

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it's a little maybe wine and cheese thing. It's a

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rainy Saturday, and it's two hours and she's explaining the colors,

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and there's some paints and I'm sort of in the corner,

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and I make a huge mess. I mean, I'm not

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patient enough. My paints run together. I create brown, which

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is very easy. I have found out talking to artists

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that's just an impatient person, and that fits me. I'm

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an invasion in general person. But I have a great

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time and I love this brown splot which I've created.

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I actually take my little soggy piece of paper home,

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I hang it on my refrigerator, let it dry. And

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with all the coaching, what I tell everyone right this

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is that you got to take your own advice. Is

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when you do something that you really love, that sparks

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that like little glimmer of joy or excitement, pay attention

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because as adults we can go on autopilot with routines

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or dismiss things. So I started paying attention. And at

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the time, we still had things in our house like

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crayons and watercolors, very inexpensive things. So I took out

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the crans and just started playing with them. I circles, doodles,

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the sort of things I drew when I was five

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smiley faces, flowers hearts right, and then fast forward why

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I love art journaling as a tool for art for

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self discovery and why the people I work with have

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loved it. As adults, Many times we don't do a

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lot of things for pure play and pure creative outlet.

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We may have a hobby, but in that hobby many

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cases we're trying to get better for trying to improve,

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and there can be a lot of self judgment there.

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I advise people, if they're at all curious, to start

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with the least expensive art supplies they can find, right,

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try a crown, because it's very hard as an adult

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to have two crayons in your hand and take yourself

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seriously to think that you are about to create a masterpiece.

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You come to the page to play is where this

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whole thing starts. And from that place of play their

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curiosity right, and you build that practice from there. So

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it is never about end product. It's all about the process,

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and in this case with art journaling, staying with really

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inexpensive fun materials that remind you of what you loved

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to play with between probably five and eight. Research has

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shown that by about age eight or nine, a lot

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of people who don't define themselves as artists or creative

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have gotten messages that they're not right. They've either looked

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at someone else's page and felt discouraged. But this is

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about when you did it for the pure fun and joy,

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when you weren't judging whatever you loved to doodle.

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So when we talk about art, I mean there's all

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sorts of different types of art. As I mentioned, I

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love photography, and yeah, I'm probably guilty of what you

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were talking about of always wanting to be better at

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that that I love doing that, and to me that

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was my and that is my expression of art, although

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I haven't been able to do it recently. So when

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you're talking, are you talking specifically about the crowns and

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the paints and all of that type of thing, or

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are there other aspects to art that could be involved

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in that based on your.

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Experience, So based on my experience, you can use any

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aspect of art. But the key here is to use

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it as a written as you would think of a

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written journal. There are a lot of people who read

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about the benefits of journaling.

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Yes, rather it's.

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Gratitude journaling or that, but many times either get hung up.

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I'll share that I still keep a written journal as

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well as an art journal. I have found both to

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be very helpful. So when I talk about art journaling,

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it's as much the right brain creative place for processing

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emotions for a little outlet. It's like ten minutes a

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day for tapping into inner wisdom. It's not it can

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be anything you want it to be. I want to

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be very very clear. The way I've been using it

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with people and the book is as a visual means

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to help them better understand themselves. Now, you could certainly

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say through your photography and the way you see the world,

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it also helps you to understand yourself. So people can

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art journal if you will, with photography, with images. Part

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of it is just being really aware of what's going

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on yourself. But I've used it and that the book

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is really a tool. It's a creative tool to help

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you during one of those life transitions. So something's happening

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in your life. You either want to start a new

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career or you're moving, or something has changed, and we

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can overthink during the change and we can get impatient.

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Right.

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Change has three really big, well studied parts. There's the ending,

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the great big law messy middle which we all hate.

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We want to go straight through that messy middle and

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the new beginning. Art journaling is a really great outlet

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to help us with the ending, rather we chose the

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ending or not. There's a lot of processing and letting

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go of who we were, where we lived, what we did,

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whatever that looks like. It then really helps in the

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messy middle where we can feel like will never sort

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of feel settled again or have that same mastery. So

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that's how I like, and I've seen the most power

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for people to use it.

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So how do you work with someone like me who

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like I say, I'm just I'm you know I And

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you say you meet a lot of us. You know,

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I'm not an artist and to sit down. I can

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barely dry anything, even stick figures. So what is art journaling?

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Am I just sitting down for five minutes a day

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and trying to draw out stick figures? Or what is it?

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Because I know that as you talk about it, you're

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talking about how it actually helps individuals with self discovery,

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with mindfulness, mindset, all of those type of things.

259
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Yeah, so I think where we would start, if you're curious, right,

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is I would say, okay, think back to when you

261
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were a kid five to eight, and what your art supplies.

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If you had art supplies like glue stick, magazine pictures

263
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or collage, crayons, watercolors, which of those three would you choose?

264
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Probably watercolors, but I didn't have those as a kid.

265
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Okay, that's okay. We can still find you some inexpensive

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water colors. They're in all the kids stores. So we'll

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find you some couple couple dollars and we'll start you there.

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If that's a pealing, So the very first exercise, if

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you're curious, is get you a blank piece of paper

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or in a little book, and I'd say, choose two colors.

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Just three minutes, and I want you just to fill

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this page with colors three minutes is all, and you're

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just putting color on the page, and see what happens.

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So you start super simpling. You're just getting some color

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on the page. And then we stop, and then the

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question of how'd you feel? What was that experience? Now

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you may say it was messy, it was wet, or

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it was freeing. It was fun to see it, right,

279
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And that's where we start to get into how did

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it make you feel? If it wasn't all fun. If

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you think of my story about sort of I've created

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this brown blob that was actually fun because there was

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some surprise, there was play. I didn't have any expectation,

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so depending and then you could let it draw on

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or dry and ask the questions like how did it

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make you feel? Would your body feel like during that?

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So that's where some of the initial exploration. So you

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don't need to actually draw anything. A lot of people

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like Kollagh, we do in the workshops because water paint

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water colors take a little bit of time to dry

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a lot with just two crayons, so it really can

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just be scribbling or making a mess. But you're processing.

293
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You're thinking about why did I choose those two colors?

294
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They're just my favorite they remind me of a happy memory.

295
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Or I felt frustrated and so I wanted that dark purple. Right,

296
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I feel that this is silly, So your your sort

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of pain, attention to why you're making those choices. That's

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where it becomes. If you will a little bit on

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the therapeutic, all right.

300
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And if I were doing it with crawons, let's say,

301
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and I'm going to I don't really like crowns, and

302
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I don't I would rather use water colors. What does that?

303
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What does that tell you about me? What does that

304
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tell me about me? As far as starting to get

305
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that self discovery going.

306
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On, Well, I think i'd ask you a question. So

307
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I love water colors too, And that's one of my

308
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go tos is just filling journal sized pages with colors.

309
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I can tell you what I love, and you tell

310
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me if it's why you think you might love water colors.

311
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I have found for me, what looks a certain way

312
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on the page at the moment is totally different when.

313
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It dries, and there's a bit of surprise to me

314
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and delight, and it reminds me it's an interesting psychological

315
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reminder that what we experience in the moment is really

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not any.

317
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More reality a day later or ten minutes later, right,

318
00:19:51.079 --> 00:19:53.799
because the colors have softened and dried. That's actually why

319
00:19:53.799 --> 00:19:56.160
I'm a pretty big fan of water colors. But what

320
00:19:56.240 --> 00:19:58.839
about you, because you've a few times gone to them.

321
00:19:59.039 --> 00:20:00.960
Well, you know what I I mean. As I was

322
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visualizing in my mind while we were chatting and you

323
00:20:03.480 --> 00:20:06.039
were saying water colors, I was just visualizing taking a

324
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couple of really great bright colors and drawing kind of

325
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wide open lines coming up and kind of curving and

326
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bringing the next one into it. So I'm just kind

327
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of blending them together. Whereas if I look at crayons,

328
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just a little line with the crown, I can't stand that.

329
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So that's what I was doing, is I was just

330
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looking at more of an expansive type of drawing from

331
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the standpoint of just drawing some lines and so forth,

332
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and curves, not lines, but more curves and wide curves.

333
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Yeah. So I love that. And when you talk about

334
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the lines and curves, because I'm watching you, we've got

335
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the magic of zoom. You're smiling, you seem light and

336
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I can see a picture right above your head with

337
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like a line and a curve. So there's there's it's

338
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an interesting symbol for you. So I might ask one

339
00:21:02.400 --> 00:21:06.200
you lightened up and it was appeeling. You started smiling immediately,

340
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So that's a little bit where I think you dig

341
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into it. It's like, what is it about that? The motion,

342
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the shape? Is it the expansiveness? Is it the blend?

343
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I'm curious and you don't have to answer, but I

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would ask that the question is in your life. As

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I repeat that back to you. Where does that resonate

346
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how how do you view your life as expansive, as

347
00:21:32.880 --> 00:21:36.839
blended or is that something you're aspiring to versus currently have.

348
00:21:37.920 --> 00:21:39.519
Yeah, and I think for me, I mean I don't

349
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mind sharing. I think for me it would be the expansiveness.

350
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I like that word. It would be just the expansiveness

351
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of things. Yeah.

352
00:21:47.319 --> 00:21:49.079
Well, I love that you shared. Thank you. I was

353
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you know, I hate to surprise put you on the spot,

354
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but that's a little bit where you where your person

355
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starts to go. So, say your working through a transition

356
00:22:01.960 --> 00:22:04.279
and a lot of your images and as you describe

357
00:22:04.319 --> 00:22:06.200
them to mean you draw them and what you're wanting

358
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to create are about expansion or blending. You start to say,

359
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but I don't know what that looks many cases, I

360
00:22:13.240 --> 00:22:15.920
don't know what that looks like. I know my current

361
00:22:16.799 --> 00:22:20.680
career or where I'm living feels constricted. Right, So this

362
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is during a lot of transition. So then we start

363
00:22:23.359 --> 00:22:26.720
to play with images, right, this is where people could

364
00:22:26.720 --> 00:22:29.680
collause or what's the next shape or symbol or color.

365
00:22:30.039 --> 00:22:32.960
So that's a little bit how we play with it

366
00:22:33.000 --> 00:22:38.039
is and that's why it's all process, not perfection or

367
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not end creation because we all go different places. Plus,

368
00:22:43.599 --> 00:22:47.279
I thought it was so interesting. And tell me if

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you don't want to go there that you didn't like

370
00:22:49.480 --> 00:22:53.160
how restricting a crayon felt to you, because other people

371
00:22:53.200 --> 00:22:55.480
will will love what you could do. Right, there was

372
00:22:55.519 --> 00:22:58.640
something about the I don't know density the line, and

373
00:22:58.640 --> 00:22:59.920
that's very interesting.

374
00:23:00.559 --> 00:23:03.440
Yeah, and and and again you know, and as we're

375
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talking about expansive, I'm a big fan and I talk

376
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a lot about new adventures, that life is an adventure

377
00:23:11.200 --> 00:23:13.720
and we always need to find new adventures in our lives.

378
00:23:14.200 --> 00:23:17.799
And so I think that's where the expansive idea comes in.

379
00:23:18.400 --> 00:23:21.480
Uh And yeah, I mean you haven't thought about the

380
00:23:21.559 --> 00:23:25.599
restriction of the of the crayon, but yeah, I don't

381
00:23:25.680 --> 00:23:26.759
like restrictions.

382
00:23:27.160 --> 00:23:29.799
Yeah, well so and just it's interesting just in those

383
00:23:29.839 --> 00:23:32.599
few moments because one of the thing on the online

384
00:23:32.640 --> 00:23:34.680
training and one on one coach, this is a little

385
00:23:34.680 --> 00:23:37.160
harder to do in a group as you start to

386
00:23:37.200 --> 00:23:40.519
get some values work. So think of your your life

387
00:23:40.599 --> 00:23:44.119
at this point, your your podcast, what you're doing, it

388
00:23:44.160 --> 00:23:48.559
is about expansion possibility. So you see how that visual

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00:23:48.599 --> 00:23:51.759
aspect is just mirroring a value, I mean, a really

390
00:23:52.640 --> 00:23:57.000
base core foundational piece of who you are right now.

391
00:23:58.079 --> 00:24:00.640
Well, and you know, you bring up something interesting that

392
00:24:00.640 --> 00:24:03.240
comes to my mind. And I've talked about this a

393
00:24:03.240 --> 00:24:07.240
lot with other folks on the podcast, is that you know,

394
00:24:07.359 --> 00:24:09.839
we all have the ability to some degree for that

395
00:24:10.119 --> 00:24:13.680
self development. You know, we can be reading, we can

396
00:24:13.720 --> 00:24:16.200
be doing the meditating, we can go to different workshops

397
00:24:16.240 --> 00:24:18.880
and so forth, and that type of thing. But a

398
00:24:18.920 --> 00:24:23.759
lot of times, ultimately it boils down to having a coach,

399
00:24:23.960 --> 00:24:27.200
having someone there to help you. And you know, for me,

400
00:24:27.279 --> 00:24:31.599
I've done that periodically throughout my life. And as you

401
00:24:31.759 --> 00:24:34.920
talk about this, I'm thinking, Okay, I could read your book,

402
00:24:35.680 --> 00:24:39.880
but is the book going to really be the coach

403
00:24:40.480 --> 00:24:43.480
or is that going to just be the instigation for

404
00:24:43.599 --> 00:24:47.039
me to find you online so that you can help

405
00:24:47.039 --> 00:24:49.799
me and coach me through this because not many people

406
00:24:49.839 --> 00:24:50.160
do it.

407
00:24:51.039 --> 00:24:55.079
Yeah. You know what I have found since the book

408
00:24:55.119 --> 00:25:03.039
has come out is it probably depends on how a

409
00:25:03.079 --> 00:25:06.640
person already views certain creative things. There are some people

410
00:25:06.680 --> 00:25:08.880
can read the book and start immediately. I have a

411
00:25:09.160 --> 00:25:12.400
free pdf on the website. They can download it and

412
00:25:12.480 --> 00:25:15.839
if they're all ready sort of playing in that space,

413
00:25:16.160 --> 00:25:20.039
just run with it. Others, to your point, really benefit

414
00:25:20.160 --> 00:25:23.279
from a workshop or online training or the coaching. So

415
00:25:24.240 --> 00:25:27.440
I think one of the things that's really nice, and

416
00:25:27.480 --> 00:25:32.480
it can be with even a trusted friend, is reflection

417
00:25:33.039 --> 00:25:37.839
and someone mirroring back what you're looking for. So in

418
00:25:37.880 --> 00:25:41.839
a time of deep transition, I always think a coach

419
00:25:42.039 --> 00:25:45.640
is a really helpful thing, right, whoever that is, I've

420
00:25:45.720 --> 00:25:48.200
used them, You've used them, just because we can get

421
00:25:48.240 --> 00:25:52.079
going in our head. What I have seen the art

422
00:25:52.160 --> 00:25:55.279
journal do for people, and things hit differently right for

423
00:25:55.400 --> 00:26:02.160
different people, is over time really help people better understand

424
00:26:02.519 --> 00:26:06.119
their emotions. They may take to an art turtle page

425
00:26:06.599 --> 00:26:10.880
feeling very frustrated or angry. They may realize after scribbling

426
00:26:10.880 --> 00:26:13.960
all over the page or using dark colored water colors,

427
00:26:14.000 --> 00:26:17.119
whatever it is, slashing away, it's a good safe place

428
00:26:17.160 --> 00:26:20.799
to process that emotion at the time, and it holds

429
00:26:20.799 --> 00:26:24.359
it very quickly and helps us get rid of it

430
00:26:24.480 --> 00:26:27.279
or process it then you can go back. So I

431
00:26:27.319 --> 00:26:31.160
think there's some value just in that, and I think

432
00:26:31.200 --> 00:26:34.240
people can read the book or play with it and

433
00:26:34.400 --> 00:26:37.880
get that for themselves. So it really depends on what

434
00:26:37.920 --> 00:26:41.359
a person's working through. Rather they want more coaching or

435
00:26:41.440 --> 00:26:42.680
doing online.

436
00:26:42.279 --> 00:26:46.039
Course well, And it's interesting because you talk about colors

437
00:26:46.160 --> 00:26:49.319
and colors reflecting emotion, and do you find that that's

438
00:26:50.079 --> 00:26:54.559
a reasonably accurate thing as you've worked with people, so

439
00:26:54.839 --> 00:26:56.759
you know all these I'm more in a dark blue

440
00:26:56.759 --> 00:27:00.640
shirt right now, But if I'm putting out black, brown

441
00:27:00.720 --> 00:27:03.359
and so forth versus the yellows and the reds and

442
00:27:03.400 --> 00:27:06.319
the oranges and that, do you find that that really

443
00:27:06.400 --> 00:27:09.720
is reflective of our emotions at that point in time?

444
00:27:11.000 --> 00:27:13.880
It is? But with the question, so I say, if

445
00:27:13.920 --> 00:27:16.839
a person's at all curious, you need to bring sense

446
00:27:16.880 --> 00:27:20.039
of play and real curiosity, Like if you want to

447
00:27:20.079 --> 00:27:23.960
give this a try to it. Because we all have

448
00:27:24.000 --> 00:27:27.440
different color codes, like even culturally, so red, let's just

449
00:27:27.519 --> 00:27:33.480
chuse red. Red can be love, Red can be you know, holidays.

450
00:27:33.480 --> 00:27:38.000
Red can also be anger, passion. Blue, blue can be tranquill,

451
00:27:38.079 --> 00:27:42.559
blue can be depressed. So you are and I try

452
00:27:42.599 --> 00:27:44.759
and work with people on this and the course your

453
00:27:44.759 --> 00:27:48.599
own best color decoder of what it symbolizes to you.

454
00:27:48.640 --> 00:27:52.920
For some people, browns may feel very earthy and grounded.

455
00:27:52.960 --> 00:27:58.319
For other it's muddy and depressing and without light. Right,

456
00:27:58.680 --> 00:28:03.039
So there's a real individual aspect. And I would say,

457
00:28:03.119 --> 00:28:06.880
if you ever take to water coloring or doing an

458
00:28:07.000 --> 00:28:11.200
art journal, crayons, collaging in a moment, pay attention to

459
00:28:11.200 --> 00:28:14.000
how you're feeling. If you're angry, I know I tend

460
00:28:14.039 --> 00:28:21.160
to choose blacks, grays, purples, sometimes some red for me,

461
00:28:21.359 --> 00:28:26.000
those colors if I'm feeling really angry or frustrated, symbolize it.

462
00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:30.359
It's so interesting because when they dry in many cases

463
00:28:31.200 --> 00:28:34.559
or you look at them afterwards, they can be quite mellow.

464
00:28:36.119 --> 00:28:39.319
They don't have that same power, which is why I

465
00:28:39.359 --> 00:28:41.960
sort of laugh when we use ourselves like we know

466
00:28:42.480 --> 00:28:45.400
and I've drawn little screaming faces what we're feeling at

467
00:28:45.400 --> 00:28:49.559
the moment. You look back even a few hours, but

468
00:28:49.640 --> 00:28:51.960
certainly a few days or a few weeks, and it

469
00:28:51.960 --> 00:28:54.519
does give you a sense of real self compassion, and

470
00:28:55.160 --> 00:28:58.160
it helps us remember that our emotions, we're not our emotions.

471
00:28:58.200 --> 00:29:02.720
Our emotions are just like momentary visitors that we can

472
00:29:03.039 --> 00:29:06.880
process and move on from. So I also really like

473
00:29:06.920 --> 00:29:09.839
it for that, and people can absolutely do that without

474
00:29:10.240 --> 00:29:13.279
a coach. You can do that right now after listening.

475
00:29:13.640 --> 00:29:16.640
Well, so here's what comes to my mind. Have you,

476
00:29:16.759 --> 00:29:20.359
as you've worked with different clients, have you actually observed

477
00:29:20.440 --> 00:29:24.599
some major changes take place in their lives from a

478
00:29:24.640 --> 00:29:28.480
standpoint of mindfulness and habits and all of those types

479
00:29:28.519 --> 00:29:30.960
of things. I mean, can you see someone go from

480
00:29:31.000 --> 00:29:34.920
A to B and go Wow, that is amazing what

481
00:29:35.039 --> 00:29:37.920
they've been able to accomplish through the art journaling.

482
00:29:39.039 --> 00:29:45.400
Yeah, I think I have one of the biggest changes

483
00:29:45.720 --> 00:29:48.559
I have seen, and I've seen it now in a

484
00:29:48.759 --> 00:29:59.599
handful of clients is a much better understanding of strong

485
00:29:59.599 --> 00:30:05.680
emotion when they're coming through them right, irritation. Three of

486
00:30:05.720 --> 00:30:09.039
the five people I'm thinking of or processing some work

487
00:30:09.119 --> 00:30:13.039
frustrations with this, like you know something that triggers them

488
00:30:13.039 --> 00:30:15.960
every time, and it's the same thing. And they would scribble,

489
00:30:16.319 --> 00:30:21.400
use images, do that to process and what each one

490
00:30:21.519 --> 00:30:26.160
recognized it in a different way. It was less about

491
00:30:26.200 --> 00:30:29.599
the other person and more about their fear of themselves

492
00:30:29.640 --> 00:30:35.279
looking bad, their need for perfection, their need for control.

493
00:30:35.480 --> 00:30:35.680
Right.

494
00:30:36.119 --> 00:30:38.559
And it was really interesting because you could, as a

495
00:30:38.599 --> 00:30:42.079
coach say to them, you know, what's this about? You

496
00:30:42.079 --> 00:30:44.559
could ask them that question. It was only through some

497
00:30:44.599 --> 00:30:48.200
of the images that I think some of the if

498
00:30:48.200 --> 00:30:52.759
you will fear the current people, I'm thinking of our

499
00:30:52.960 --> 00:30:55.160
three women, I'll tell you about the other two. You

500
00:30:55.200 --> 00:30:58.200
get a lot of that imposter syndrome. And so what

501
00:30:58.319 --> 00:31:02.720
starts as like frustration is they played with the images,

502
00:31:03.359 --> 00:31:10.160
started to uncover a little bit of am I good enough?

503
00:31:10.279 --> 00:31:15.799
Is this about me? And when it happened more visually

504
00:31:16.240 --> 00:31:18.480
and we worked through it, it was a much bigger release

505
00:31:19.119 --> 00:31:23.920
because then when the whoever it is right, we all

506
00:31:23.920 --> 00:31:28.319
have the perpetrator the challenger out there when it would

507
00:31:28.400 --> 00:31:32.160
occur again, instead of trying all these ways to parry

508
00:31:32.240 --> 00:31:36.839
the person, what would work is some affirmations and recognizing

509
00:31:37.519 --> 00:31:42.720
I'm successful, this is not about my competency my job.

510
00:31:42.839 --> 00:31:46.480
And it really lessened that emotion in that case, so

511
00:31:46.519 --> 00:31:50.240
you asked there. The other it was interesting is like

512
00:31:50.519 --> 00:31:53.640
five different people popped up that they sort of split

513
00:31:53.720 --> 00:31:57.519
and I won't worry with that. The other two examples

514
00:31:57.519 --> 00:32:02.599
are really about the need for a change to come right.

515
00:32:02.759 --> 00:32:06.119
It was I talked earlier I used the analogy of

516
00:32:06.119 --> 00:32:08.599
a shell, but one of the people was using a

517
00:32:08.640 --> 00:32:11.319
shell that was too small, right if you think of

518
00:32:11.400 --> 00:32:14.680
like sea creatures when you've outgrow and you just needed

519
00:32:14.839 --> 00:32:20.319
a new shell. And the images that kept choosing they

520
00:32:20.359 --> 00:32:23.039
were doing a lot of collage and shells are just circular.

521
00:32:23.079 --> 00:32:25.880
It was like wanting to expand you know, if you

522
00:32:25.880 --> 00:32:28.480
think of almost where you started, it's like, I need

523
00:32:28.519 --> 00:32:31.759
to get out of this confine. So those are a

524
00:32:31.839 --> 00:32:34.640
couple of examples where imagery and this weren't These weren't

525
00:32:34.640 --> 00:32:39.079
long sessions. These are not years, not even I mean

526
00:32:39.359 --> 00:32:41.960
within the case of a month or two of doing it,

527
00:32:42.000 --> 00:32:45.680
but they were all working through sort of a repeated

528
00:32:45.880 --> 00:32:50.640
sense of Rather it was frustration or stuckness.

529
00:32:51.079 --> 00:32:53.359
Well, and you know you talk about imposture syndrome, and

530
00:32:53.839 --> 00:32:56.400
I appreciate that. You know, the definition you gave is

531
00:32:56.640 --> 00:32:59.759
the well known one. I've come up with another definition

532
00:33:00.799 --> 00:33:03.400
a couple of times, and that's when you're living someone

533
00:33:03.400 --> 00:33:08.839
else's life. Oh, absolutely, living the life of your family,

534
00:33:08.920 --> 00:33:12.920
your parents, you know what all these expectations are. What

535
00:33:13.079 --> 00:33:17.039
have you found when we look at that, and also

536
00:33:17.319 --> 00:33:19.359
when we look at the fact that in that case,

537
00:33:19.480 --> 00:33:22.920
most of them are not really recognizing or living their

538
00:33:22.920 --> 00:33:26.839
true values. And subconsciously they don't even they don't know

539
00:33:26.880 --> 00:33:29.720
why they're unhappy or frustrated or angry. But yet if

540
00:33:29.799 --> 00:33:32.759
you get to it, you know the values that are

541
00:33:32.839 --> 00:33:36.720
genuine values for them, they're not living them, they're not

542
00:33:36.839 --> 00:33:40.119
really being who they are. Have you found with your

543
00:33:40.160 --> 00:33:43.000
experience with working with people through the art journaling, that

544
00:33:43.079 --> 00:33:45.680
you've been able to help people to discover their true

545
00:33:45.799 --> 00:33:49.400
values and to actually discover that, you know what, this

546
00:33:49.640 --> 00:33:52.599
is not the life that is truly me.

547
00:33:53.720 --> 00:33:58.920
Yeah, So thank you for that definition, because you're absolutely right.

548
00:33:59.279 --> 00:34:03.920
I worked with so many people, even back when I

549
00:34:03.960 --> 00:34:06.119
was in a corporation and I was doing it was

550
00:34:06.200 --> 00:34:09.679
so sad. Sometimes I would be doing executive coaching with

551
00:34:09.719 --> 00:34:13.360
an up and coming female in finance. This was a

552
00:34:13.440 --> 00:34:16.840
number of years ago, and she was trying to get

553
00:34:16.880 --> 00:34:19.000
to the next level and we're talking about how to

554
00:34:19.159 --> 00:34:23.679
unbreak and we're talking about values, and what comes out is,

555
00:34:23.719 --> 00:34:26.079
you know, her dad always wanted her go into something safe.

556
00:34:26.079 --> 00:34:28.000
She would have loved to have been an animator for

557
00:34:28.079 --> 00:34:31.960
Disney and the only reason she'd built an amazing career,

558
00:34:32.599 --> 00:34:35.519
but was struggling to get to that next level. And

559
00:34:36.320 --> 00:34:38.639
all answer outcomes with art churling. But what you said

560
00:34:38.760 --> 00:34:42.360
is so common that we end up living the life.

561
00:34:42.360 --> 00:34:45.320
We turn around and we are living a life that

562
00:34:45.559 --> 00:34:50.320
through society, our family, how we grew up, we thought

563
00:34:50.360 --> 00:34:52.559
we were supposed to live and we don't even know

564
00:34:53.599 --> 00:34:57.199
because until later in life that it doesn't fit us,

565
00:34:57.360 --> 00:35:01.800
and so art journaling can be hugely powerful, as can

566
00:35:02.000 --> 00:35:05.360
any form of counseling, meditation. Right when we end up

567
00:35:05.760 --> 00:35:08.159
living a life that is not true to our values,

568
00:35:08.199 --> 00:35:11.719
and so many people end up there and at different points,

569
00:35:11.719 --> 00:35:14.639
I think we all experience aspects of that and it's

570
00:35:14.800 --> 00:35:19.559
part of growth. And so it's okay, yes, using art

571
00:35:19.639 --> 00:35:22.360
journaling coaching to really get clear on what are your

572
00:35:22.440 --> 00:35:28.400
values and then to work through the fear, because it

573
00:35:28.440 --> 00:35:34.840
can be so paralyzing. In the navigating transitions work I

574
00:35:34.920 --> 00:35:39.039
do we talk about this triple threat of like community expectations,

575
00:35:39.159 --> 00:35:41.920
family sort of expectations, and then like what you've sought

576
00:35:41.960 --> 00:35:46.960
and how you break free of that and really challenge

577
00:35:47.320 --> 00:35:51.840
you know, what you want versus how everyone sees you.

578
00:35:51.960 --> 00:35:55.920
So are in the images of breaking out of shells,

579
00:35:56.039 --> 00:36:01.280
of building a foundation, if you will, based on your values, right,

580
00:36:01.400 --> 00:36:04.639
what do you value expression? And part of it is

581
00:36:04.719 --> 00:36:06.880
how does that value show up for you? Like I

582
00:36:06.960 --> 00:36:11.800
could say authenticity and you could say authenticity, but it

583
00:36:12.079 --> 00:36:16.760
could look different to each of us, right, or integrity,

584
00:36:16.800 --> 00:36:21.719
And so it's important to put either words or images

585
00:36:22.679 --> 00:36:25.559
with that. You know, I'll keep going back to your

586
00:36:25.559 --> 00:36:29.440
first answer, about what you would watercolor, right, blended arches,

587
00:36:29.599 --> 00:36:33.239
things that go to exxpansion. That's mean that sounds like

588
00:36:33.239 --> 00:36:36.519
a person who wants to look at a lot of possibilities,

589
00:36:36.920 --> 00:36:42.400
not shut things down, be open minded, right, right, But

590
00:36:42.519 --> 00:36:46.920
that could show up differently for different people.

591
00:36:48.280 --> 00:36:51.519
Well, and you know, what I find is really interesting

592
00:36:52.320 --> 00:36:55.599
is that you know, here's a methodology that you have

593
00:36:55.719 --> 00:36:58.840
developed that's worked so well for you, and that you've

594
00:36:58.920 --> 00:37:04.000
been able to reach people who have somehow connected with

595
00:37:04.199 --> 00:37:07.639
that perspective and that approach and you've been able to

596
00:37:07.679 --> 00:37:10.320
help them. And what I find interesting in why I'm

597
00:37:10.360 --> 00:37:12.719
doing what I'm doing with all the different people that

598
00:37:12.800 --> 00:37:16.920
I talk to is because everybody has a slightly different approach.

599
00:37:17.880 --> 00:37:21.760
And what I find is for you know, I'm starting

600
00:37:21.800 --> 00:37:24.119
to play golf again, and I'm not a good golfer, right,

601
00:37:24.360 --> 00:37:26.679
and so I'm watching YouTube and all these things and

602
00:37:26.840 --> 00:37:29.039
all these different people talking about do it this way,

603
00:37:29.079 --> 00:37:31.280
do it that way, And so I've been trying and

604
00:37:31.360 --> 00:37:33.960
practicing and so forth, and finally I watched the video

605
00:37:34.079 --> 00:37:36.039
that was like, you got to be kidding me. That

606
00:37:36.239 --> 00:37:39.159
is so not how people would tell me to do it.

607
00:37:39.440 --> 00:37:42.320
And I went to the range the other day, and

608
00:37:42.519 --> 00:37:44.400
sure enough, the way I was holding the club and

609
00:37:44.440 --> 00:37:46.239
how I was doing the whole thing, it all of

610
00:37:46.280 --> 00:37:50.199
a sudden started working for me, and I thought to myself,

611
00:37:50.239 --> 00:37:53.920
you know, it's so true that as individuals, we need

612
00:37:53.920 --> 00:37:59.960
to find that methodology, that approach that resonates with us,

613
00:38:00.079 --> 00:38:04.599
connext with us. And I love the fact that different

614
00:38:04.639 --> 00:38:09.119
people have come up with different approaches and been able

615
00:38:09.199 --> 00:38:12.199
to find people who that resonates with so that you

616
00:38:12.239 --> 00:38:14.519
can help them. And that's exactly what you're doing.

617
00:38:15.679 --> 00:38:18.000
Yeah, I love the way you describe that. Gosh, that

618
00:38:18.079 --> 00:38:19.920
golf makes me want to take up golf. So I

619
00:38:19.920 --> 00:38:21.920
could come up with that analogy because it's such a

620
00:38:21.960 --> 00:38:29.519
good example in that sometimes it's just a tweak, a

621
00:38:29.599 --> 00:38:34.079
different way of explaining it, a different process that fits us. Right.

622
00:38:34.480 --> 00:38:37.559
We are each so unique, but we're you know, we're

623
00:38:37.599 --> 00:38:43.199
tied with a common desire to be happy, right, quite honestly.

624
00:38:43.239 --> 00:38:46.519
But the way we hear things, the way we interpret things,

625
00:38:46.519 --> 00:38:50.360
what speaks to us is so deeply individual. And you know,

626
00:38:50.440 --> 00:38:52.679
that's one of things I love to tell people. It's like,

627
00:38:53.000 --> 00:38:57.079
if you're all intrigued, try it. If it's not for you,

628
00:38:57.079 --> 00:39:00.679
you know, no real money loss, no real time time loss.

629
00:39:00.679 --> 00:39:04.000
This is not what I love about art journaling. Is

630
00:39:04.039 --> 00:39:10.000
it low barrier to entry, and so if it's doesn't

631
00:39:10.079 --> 00:39:15.360
spark any joy or curiosity in you don't worry about right.

632
00:39:15.440 --> 00:39:18.559
This is not a shot. This is a for the

633
00:39:18.639 --> 00:39:23.360
people that works for it is freeing and liberating and terrific.

634
00:39:23.639 --> 00:39:25.960
For someone that doesn't speak to it just doesn't speak

635
00:39:26.000 --> 00:39:28.840
to and you can move on with no guilt. It's

636
00:39:28.880 --> 00:39:32.360
not like, oh, I bought all this expensive exercise equipment

637
00:39:32.440 --> 00:39:34.559
and that found out was me. No, it's like you bought,

638
00:39:34.960 --> 00:39:38.119
you know, a couple dollars thing of watercolors or a

639
00:39:38.159 --> 00:39:41.360
few crayons. It's very low barrier, and I think that's

640
00:39:41.559 --> 00:39:44.519
really important because you want to start with a lot

641
00:39:44.559 --> 00:39:46.039
of playing curiosity.

642
00:39:46.559 --> 00:39:49.480
Oh amen to that. Well, if if you were to

643
00:39:49.599 --> 00:39:54.320
share with the audience just a very short message of

644
00:39:54.360 --> 00:39:57.639
what you would want to gain, have them gained from

645
00:39:57.639 --> 00:40:00.800
this podcast today? What would that be?

646
00:40:02.039 --> 00:40:05.719
Okay? Well, I think from today's podcast it was a

647
00:40:05.760 --> 00:40:11.239
great conversation. I love your questions. It really is. If

648
00:40:11.800 --> 00:40:16.360
it has sparked any curiosity, just give it a try,

649
00:40:16.519 --> 00:40:22.400
don't overcomplicate it, just play with it. Start playful, ask

650
00:40:22.440 --> 00:40:26.760
yourself a few questions, think about how it feels, have

651
00:40:26.880 --> 00:40:32.880
some fun ten minutes, and I think allowing yourself that

652
00:40:33.039 --> 00:40:37.559
little bit of play and curiosity is really important. And

653
00:40:37.599 --> 00:40:40.280
I don't think we have we take enough time in

654
00:40:40.320 --> 00:40:42.559
our day to do a little bit of play.

655
00:40:43.119 --> 00:40:45.199
And that's specifically with the art.

656
00:40:46.119 --> 00:40:49.840
Yeah, very yeah, very specifically with that. But I mean

657
00:40:49.880 --> 00:40:52.199
I would even challenge you if the whole time you're

658
00:40:52.239 --> 00:40:54.599
listening to this, you're thinking, yeah, I want to go

659
00:40:54.639 --> 00:40:58.119
bang on some drums, and you should go bang on

660
00:40:58.159 --> 00:41:00.800
some drums, because that would be a a glimmer. So

661
00:41:01.239 --> 00:41:02.800
not that I want to take people away of it,

662
00:41:02.840 --> 00:41:06.800
but I don't think we should ignore our voices when

663
00:41:06.840 --> 00:41:10.440
we get a little excited about doing something, because to me,

664
00:41:10.679 --> 00:41:14.679
that's the true definition of expansion is to follow that

665
00:41:14.840 --> 00:41:17.719
voice when you get a little bit of that joy glimmer.

666
00:41:18.239 --> 00:41:20.800
Yeah, I love it. So, so how do people find you?

667
00:41:20.840 --> 00:41:23.000
And how do they find your book? And reiterate again

668
00:41:23.039 --> 00:41:25.599
the name of your book so the audience knows is.

669
00:41:25.800 --> 00:41:28.559
It's art for your sanity And you can find any

670
00:41:28.559 --> 00:41:31.920
where you buy books. My website's the easiest way to

671
00:41:32.280 --> 00:41:36.719
find me. And it's just Susan dash Hensley dot com

672
00:41:37.199 --> 00:41:39.719
and on it there's like a starter. There's the free

673
00:41:39.719 --> 00:41:42.280
guide how to get started. You could pdf, you know

674
00:41:42.280 --> 00:41:46.800
it's pdf. You download books there, video online course, that's

675
00:41:46.840 --> 00:41:47.239
all there.

676
00:41:48.360 --> 00:41:49.000
Fantastic.

677
00:41:49.039 --> 00:41:51.519
Well Susan, thanks, oh, thank you.

678
00:41:51.760 --> 00:41:53.039
It's been a fun conversation.

679
00:41:53.880 --> 00:41:55.639
Yeah, I've baoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you.

680
00:41:56.039 --> 00:41:58.880
And yeah, you do have my curiosity up a little

681
00:41:58.880 --> 00:42:01.440
bit as I start thinking of out watercolor.

682
00:42:02.920 --> 00:42:05.400
Perfect. Give it a try when you have a few minutes,

683
00:42:05.440 --> 00:42:06.639
maybe one day after golf.

684
00:42:07.159 --> 00:42:08.719
Well I have to try that. And if I don't

685
00:42:08.840 --> 00:42:12.280
like it, I'll just send it off to my grandkids exactly.

686
00:42:13.679 --> 00:42:14.639
They would love it.

687
00:42:15.800 --> 00:42:19.000
All right. Hey, well, folks, thanks for listening. And again, Susan,

688
00:42:19.039 --> 00:42:21.599
thanks so much for being on the show. I really

689
00:42:21.639 --> 00:42:25.679
appreciate it. Thank you, it's been great you betting folks,

690
00:42:25.760 --> 00:42:28.159
hope you join us again soon. This is a doctor

691
00:42:28.239 --> 00:42:29.800
Doug saying no mistay