artist way class with t: week 1

we had our first class tonight and it was really nice. just 4 of us including t. i like that it won't be more than 6 people even if a few more join in. i almost didn't think i was going to do the class as i have started my other undergraduate schooling on monday night's and i was soooo tired this morning. ugh, both classes are 1 hour drives for me each way. but thanks to how everyone around here always says to discuss things with your t i called t today and told her my dilemma. she encouraged me to come but also told me she was sort of counting on me because i had committed and she usually requires 4 people to do a class which she had told me before. she said she wasn't trying to give me a guilt trip and i knew she wasn't. i would have felt terrible if she ended up canceling it due to me dropping out. really, i needed to hear that as i can be a bit of a flake especially now with my health issues. it was a great class and i'm so glad i'm doing it. i think i even found a fairly non-stressful travel route.

i took my art journal to show her as i'd done one entry and a couple of doodles. she was of course very encouraging and had good ideas to make it easier for me to do consistently. i got to hear more of her background when she shared and we have such similar backgrounds. no wonder we connect so well. fortunately she is letting us just do as much or little as we want of the book as it is a lot of work if you follow it strictly. yikes, now i've got to do tons of homework with all this schoolwork. i have my regular t appt tomorrow over the phone so it will be good to talk about how i can get everything done i've committed to. i am so not good at realizing what i commit myself to and get overwhelmed and so stressed and have a tendency to not finish things. boy, do i need help with that! i was looking at a book online that i think i'm going to get and one of the things it said is to never miss class. i think that is something i need to do. just show up.

(((((((((((((((bloom)))))))))))))))))

I'm glad you went!

Since you can do as much or as little as you want, I hope you will use the class as a way to help you explore and grow and heal...and not as something that overwhelms you or makes you feel like you've taken on too much. There is a balance to be found, especially now that you have school on Monday nights.

to you!!

Bloom, how exciting! I hope the class is very rewarding for you - it sounds like it already is, opening you up more artistically, and deepening your relationship with your T - wow!

I have been doing the morning pages for the past few weeks, but I have yet to start reading Chapter 1! Maybe this weekend, but like you, I refuse to put pressure on myself - I want this to be an enjoyable activity, not something I feel like I have to do. I think the morning pages have really helped me with free association, though, which could also be good for my upcoming EMDR.

Hi Bloom,

That sounds so interesting! I've glanced through The Artist's Way book and thought it looked like it had alot of good stuff in it. Hope you share with us what you learn. As far as getting overcommitted and bogged down, having and keeping a good schedule will probably be really important. If you tend to procrastinate, talk about that with t and see what suggestions she can give you.

Bloom, that is AWESOME! I've heard of this book, I should check it out. I've started doing some art journaling and it has been really fun to do. I even brought one in the other week to show T!

dream, this is great. feel free to share more about your experiences with the book on the threads i start about it. i'd love to hear what you get out of it as well. we can have our own virtual discussions here for anyone on pc who wants to do it too. i've done the book on my own years ago but i'd always wanted to do it in a class. today has been crazy and i didn't get much writing done but i'm going to try to do a little more later. i'm totally distracted today.

you, velcro, and dream can all join me if you like but no pressure! schedules are hard for me. i told t today in our regular session that my inner children seem to be squabbling! i think she thought that was funny and we both were laughing about it. my inner critic and my inner rebel are duking it out, lol. t said i need to let the rebel's concerns and feelings be heard, so i don't act out and sabotage myself like i did last week eating java chip ice cream late at night and then couldn't sleep most of the night. i am so just learning all this talking about your feelings thing. i feel like a toddler learning to walk as i'm rather awkward at it but it is helping! same with talking about the t relationship. i told t i didn't even know people talked about the t relationship in t. i have learned so much from all the wise pc folks here.