Transformative Writing

What is Transformative Writing?

Transformative Writing is the intentional use of writing for psychological change and well-being. As Shaun McNiff, a leading scholar on the expressive arts, says, “Words become agents of transformation, shamanic horses that carry expression and transport people to change.” Transformative writing also goes by these names: “writing therapy,” “poetry therapy,” “bibliotherapy,” and “journal therapy.”    

Artist: Malka Michaela Barshishat

Numerous scientific studies by James W. Pennebaker and other scientists have shown that writing affects heart rate, blood pressure, and the immune system. The power of writing from the heart results in stress reduction and the restoration of emotional equilibrium.

“I saw the angel in the marble and carved till I set him free,” wrote Michaelangelo. So has each author wielded the pen to liberate the creative spirit within. Each writer has discovered that words have the power to call upon angels and banish demons. Through writing, the self recognizes its identity with greater definition, harvests its wisdom, and wrestles with challenges, transforming them into building blocks of growth.



In Writing Away the Demons: Stories of Creative Coping Through Transformative Writing, Dr. Sherry Reiter defines ten principles that have withstood the test of time.

THE 10 PRINCIPLES  OF TRANSFORMATIVE WRITING

I. MASTERY
Writing is a form of empowerment.  When thoughts and feelings remain formless and invisible, the demon may dance in the shadow of your mind. But when pen is put to paper, and you hold that paper up to the light, your honesty and courage overpowers the dark.If you can reduce the demon to the size of a page, certainly you are much bigger than the problem itself!

II. RITUAL
During periods of transition humans have always created rituals to give significance to life passages. Rituals offer meaning activities that reduce feelings of anxiety, depression and helplessness.  Writing in a journal is a ritual of comfort and meaning.

III. SAFETY
Writing is about creating an intimate relationship with oneself. Like any intimate relationship, confidentiality, honesty and permission to be in a judgment-free space is required. Safety is a prerequisite for creative action.

IV. WITNESSING
Recording your thoughts and feelings is a testament to your life experience. We never see ourselves completely, but when we write, externalization permits you to view your thoughts and feelings. With witnessing, come new observations, reflections, and perspectives.

V. FREEDOM
Every person who writes exercises poetic license and the five freedoms that Virgina Satir wrote about. Writing is self-directed. Words may reveal or conceal. It is the nature of the poetic to be paradoxical and large enough to hold contradiction. “Do I contradict myself? Yes, I contradict myself. I am large I contain multitudes.” Never underestimate the power of poetic license.

VI. VENTING AND CONTAINMENT
Words symbolically leave the person and are transported to a place where they are safely held and may be revisited at any time. Containment is as vital as expression How the words are released, to whom they are released, and how the words are contained all contribute to safety, a sense of mastery and poetic license.

VII. TRANSFORMATION OF TIME, SPACE AND MATTER
The poetic imagination permits us to visit the past, present and future. In writing, we are capable of manipulating time, space and matter. A personal play space is literally created with building blocks of words.

VIII. THE MAGIC OF THE POETIC
If dreams are the royal road to the unconscious, as Freud suggested, then metaphor is the drawbridge allowing us to enter a deeper realm of feeling and thought. Both dreams and poetry use the same psychological principles of imagery, condensation and displacement.

IX. CREATIVITY
On a psychological and spiritual level, creativity enables us to transcend our limitations. It kindles the imagination, fuels our dreams, and plants seeds of hope that are vital for our renewal. When we write, our natural creativity finds new ways to view ourselves and the world.

X. INTEGRATING PARTS INTO A WHOLE
Therapy is from the Greek word “theraput,” a midwife who originally made way for Psyche’s head, Christina Baldwin writes, “therapy means to stretch one’s limbs or consciousness of opening oneself to the imagery and activity of labor.” When we write we attend to our own labors, and different parts of the self become active. Fragmented aspects are healed. Heal comes from the root word “hale” which means to make whole.


       This information is condensed from Reiter, Sherry. (2009). Writing Away the Demons: Stories of Creative Coping Through Transformative Writing. St. Cloud, MN: North Star Press, pp. 5-14

Meditations

A Creative Visualization:

In the Orchard of Hope

            Notice your breath as you settle into a safe, secure spot. With each inhalation, breathe in the fullness of life. With each exhalation, release, relaxing more completely. Breathe In.Release. Allow the belly to soften. As you relax, imagine your heart is opening. You will, in your imagination, be finding a path that takes you to the Orchard of Hope. Remember that it is not necessary to be able to “see” inner pictures to take an imaginary journey. Your mind’s eye will assist you, and you may also imagine your path through intuitive feelings, words or an inner knowing. Your efforts earn the right to gain access to deep wisdom.

            The path to Hope begins at a hole in the ground at the base of a mountain. With resolve, step into the passageway. You enter a timeless and dreamlike reality. As you look in, you see a long tunnel. It may head down into the earth or up a mountain. With confidence, you step into the passageway. You are not troubled by the suspension of other ordinary laws of physics regarding your size, speed, gravity or the presence of light. Your are alone, aware of your own vulnerability, need and hope. Without knowing how, you move forward until you come to a stone tablet inscribed with beliefs you have rarely challenged. Take time to consider them. These have been the commandments by which you have lived.

            Gather your courage and move on till you come to a stone landmark overlooking a valley representing the past. Your  sight and hearing are strong, and you feel compassion as you survey the emotional world of your childhood.  Without faltering, consider the terrors, disappointments, confusions and blessings of earlier years. Do not flinch, judge, or condemn. Your task is to affirm your stamina in having survived. You have entered a tunnel dimly lit, a place of lost illusions and challenges that make you worthy of the guidance you seek.

            The tunnel opens into a clearing that takes you into an extraordinary ancient forest, You begin to explore the trees, sky, and lush undergrowth. You follow a path. You feel completely calm and at peace. Ahead of you, the branches of two large trees form an archway. You are now standing in the Orchard of Hope, where you have access to ancient wisdom and compassion. Ask yourself the question: What hopes or habits are causing me problems in my life or are harming me? You will receive an answer to your question—through words, movement or image, the way you learn best. Remember the laws of physics do not apply in this place. Stand in the glory of this beautiful place and receive the answer from the Orchard of Hope.

            When you are ready, you will find your way back, visualizing the route by which you came or finding a different path. Be mindful as you prepare to leave this ancient forest. You understand that the forest and lush green plants in the Orchard of Hope exist with you. Savor its spirit and know that you can return to this place if you choose.

             Prepare to return to ordinary waking consciousness. You will be able to remember all you need of this experience. Gently start to wiggle your fingers and toes, neck and facial muscles. Take a deep breath. Open your eyes refreshed and write about your experience.

                                     

                                                         By Sherry Reiter, Inspired by the work of David Feinstein and Stanley Krippner’s book The Mythic Path (N.Y.: Tarcher/Putnam, 1997)

Invitation

With the sincerity of children
they scramble to explore
the deeper recesses of the island
They survey its mountains, caves and
dense undergrowths with breath held and
hands clasped tightly
Gathering strength from each other, they push forward
Cheeks flushed, eyes too bright
No sound but the echo
Of solemn whispers and labored breath . . .
The children are after a golden treasure
Certain by some Divine Providence
That no harm can come to them
Certain that the treasure was put there
For them to find
And no one, especially the grown-ups
Could appreciate its incredible dazzle more than they -
Because the eyes of children
Are not trained to make the distinction
Between real and counterfeit gold
And whether the treasure is there or not
Makes little difference
Because the children, who are very wise
Know that the treasure is not in the gold itself
But in the search for it.
– SLR


Dear Readers,
I wrote Treasure Hunt many years ago, before I found the treasure of poetry as a healing tool. Nevertheless, this poem could very well refer to the poetry therapy journey.
Each poem you find that resonates inside you is a golden nugget— a treasure sent from Rumi, Emily Dickinson, Carl Sandburg, Stanley Kunitz and some of the greatest souls who have ever lived. And every time you permit yourself to write your true feelings, you are panning for gold.
As hundreds of participants of The Creative "Righting" Center can attest, every seminar and peer group is an adventure. The interactive process of reflection and dialogue activates your own personal growth and healing process.
I invite you to consider joining the circle of people who use poetry passionately for the purpose of helping themselves and others. Learn about The National Association for Poetry Therapy and the work being done around the country. (Links are provided). The Creative "Righting" Center offers its services for therapy and training to individuals, groups and agencies.  I welcome your questions and comments by e-mail or phone.
Blessings,
Sherry Reiter (SLR)

Calling Upon The Muse

What is the function of “the muse”? 

Is it to amuse, confuse, use, or abuse? 

Or perhaps to discover what might be true or new? 

The word muse is implicit in words like “museum” (a house of knowledge), “music” and to “muse” or to ponder.

Historically, the Greeks and Romans referred to “Muses,” originally the nine daughters of mythological Zeus who were thought of as goddesses of the inspiration of literature, sciences and the arts.

The Romans believed that six were particularly pertinent to poetry: Calliope (epic poetry), Euterpe (flute and lyric poetry), Thalia (comedy and pastoral  poetry),  Melpomene (tragedy), Erato (love poetry), Polymnia (sacred poetry. Today we think of the muses as being three embodiments of grace and inspiration.

How curious that the muse of creativity is often referred to as external to oneself, and poets have often used personification in their conception of the Muse.

In “Three Small Songs for the Muse,” Kathleen Norris calls the Muse her oldest friend:

My oldest friend looks for me
on a dark road.
Nights I can’t sleep
we are lonely together
(Cries of the Spirit, pp. 292-293)

In her poem, “I Said to Poetry,” Alice Walker confronts a contentious Muse who tries to convince her to move beyond her resistance, and asks, “When you pray, what do you think you’ll see?”

Poetry had me 

There’s no paper in this room, I said.

And that new pen I bough

Makes a funny noise.

She concludes:
                                           “Bullshit,” said Poetry.
                                           “Bullshit” said I.
(Her Blue Body Everything We Know. New York: A Harvest Book, 1993) 


Denise Levertov imagines her muse as a dashing, gallant hero on a horse.

He turns in his saddle waving a plumed hat
Indecipherable clues to destiny. 

Writers  have imagined the muse as a rambunctious biker, a goddess, a hero, and have written interesting dialogues with the Muse (See Exercise #1).  The here-now-gone-tomorrow quality of creativity has fascinated and vexed artists through the ages.
Where  does our creativity come from? Perhaps it comes from within. It is as though some dormant part of ourselves claims a voices, grabs a pen and delivers a product. We are filled with awe. Where did that poem or that story come from? 

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According to Jung, “The creative urge lives and grows in him (a person) like a tree in the earth from which it draws its nourishment. We would do well, therefore, to think of the creative process as a living thing implanted in the human psyche. In the language of analytical psychology this living thing is an autonomous complex. It is a split-off portion of the psyche, which leads a life of its own outside the hierarchy of consciousness.” 
No wonder we sometimes reel in amazement after producing a writing! 
Poet Gary Snyder refers to a great force field, when he writes about the indigenous people who invest great spiritual vitality in their surrounding landscapes. “Like inside a big mind, the animals and humans can all talk, and those who pass through here get power to heal and help” (Snyder, l990, p. 93). The encounter with this “big mind”  harvests spirituality, and is a creative gold mine. 

While  some of us claim writing is Divine inspiration, others lay claim to the creative power that lies within. Writing is an act of declaration, and insecurities only add to our resistance. As Sylvia Plath once said, “And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy of creativity is self doubt.” 


Poet Barbara McEnerney writes a brilliant poem that starts

And what if my words, 
My fledgling poems,
Were children, were toddlers
Trying first steps … 

As children do, they skin their knees, squeal, splash mud, and “make a mess while discovering themselves.” McEnerney’s apt metaphor is provocative and rings true. Would we hold our children at arm’s length, disown them, or hide them? She asks if we would habitually say of our poems “that after all, they really aren’t very good?” 

In her last verse,  she suggests that we permit our children free reign, to ramble along weedy paths and whisper their secrets and learn what it is they need from their parent. She concludes by asking if we can love our offspring just 

as they are 
give them room 
to grow, a chance 
to shine? 

Ah! If we could do this for our written offspring! They could play and tumble, fall and right themselves. We cannot protect our children or ourselves if we do not respect their abilities and choices to become who they evolve into, and to say what needs saying. 

Poet Charles Olsen, in his poem, “These Days”, tells us that whatever we do, we must leave the roots on and permit them to dangle, Claim your authentic voice and let it ring out with its own truth:

and leave the dirt 
Just to make clear
Where they come from.
                        (Collected Poetry of Charles Olsen) 
                        Ed. George Butterick, University of CA Press, 1987.

As a wise woman once said to me, “To know more is to be more.” 

To write is to muse, reflect, and inspire oneself with the consciousness of being fully alive. Writing enhances the connections between thoughts and feelings, external reality and internal world, body, mind, and soul. Write and celebrate you inky heart!

Blessings,
Dr.  Sherry

P.S. Note that I will be teaching a 3-day intensive in New York city at The Summit Expressive Arts Therapy Conference November 7, 8, and 10th.  
Face-to-face writing therapy is available for persons in the New York area. Writing therapy also takes place via phone and e-mail. For more information, contact Dr. Sherry at sherryreiter@yahoo.com

Exercises for Growth and Healing

1. Muses have been envisioned as goddesses, heroes, tricksters, and even as a disheveled biker crashing at someone’s pad for the night. If you were to personify the muse, what character and qualities would this person take on? What form? Write a dialogue that takes place between you and your Muse. 

2. See “Write Your Own Life” by David Berman at http://www.beliefnet.com/Inspiration/2001/12/Write-Your-Own-Life.aspx  
Write about your response to this evocative poem. 

3. Langston Hughes wrote a poem about his early experience in writing class at college called “Theme From English B”. The teacher gave the instruction: 

Go home and write
a page tonight
And let that page come out of you—
That way it will be true. 

See the full poem at http://www.eecs.harvard.edu/~keith/poems/English_B.html 
Follow the teacher’s instruction and write a page that comes out of you and that will be true.             

4. Read “The Great Poem” by Lawrence Raab. See the full poem at http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2009/06/13    

Now, using this poem as a template, write your own poem, starting with the first line of the second verse:

“What I’m writing now is not the great poem.” Later in the poem, Raab says, “the great poem will happen when I no longer care.” What will happen if you write as though you don’t care? 
5. After reading my seven principles of Creative Truths, create a mantra that will inspire you to be your most creative self:

Principles of Creative and Curative Power by Dr. Sherry Reiter 

1. Remember what the great psychologist, Abraham Maslow said: 

    "Creativity is essential for psychological health." 

2. "All of life is interconnected."

    That means you are never completely alone. There is always a tree, a pet,
 the sky at midnight.
  
3. "Creativity is innate."

   We are created in God’s image, and the Divine is a Creator. So are we. 

4. "Every moment is potentially creative and we are always in the process of becoming, falling apart, and re-creating ourselves." 

5. "When you connect your thoughts and emotions, there are times when sparks will go off."

 Note the energy. Celebrate the light! 

6. "When we open ourselves to be creative, we also open toward order, beauty, and a force that is greater than ourselves."

7. "Creativity helps us to balance ourselves."
 Because change is a constant in life, creativity is a tool to establish equilibrium. Creative “righting” occurs through writing, art, and every creative act.

Hope

 Definition: to cherish the outcome of desire’s good. 

-- The Web’s Brainy Dictionary

Can we really define hope? 

Theologists and poets through the centuries have tried. Perhaps we should accept Emily Dickinson’s enduring abstraction:

                                    Hope is the thing with feathers

                                     That perches in the soul

                                    And sings the tune without the words

                                    And never stops at all.  

Hope is the vital ingredient that makes all things possible in psychotherapy, religion, and –yes, even our understanding of science. A mother once approached Einstein to ask him how her young son could improve his mathematical skills. Einstein’s reply was, “Try telling him some stories.” Einstein understood that the imagination and hope are entwined in finding scientific solutions. Hope must be tied to the life of the imagination, for the nature of hope is to imagine what has not yet come to pass but still is possible. To use an expression from Martin Buber, “hope imagines the real,” thus distinguishing this form of imagining from the unreal absorptions of day dreams or fantasy whose object tends toward solitary self aggrandizement.

            As William Lynch writes in Dr. Leslie Farber’s book “Images of Hope” (1965):

 Since ‘hope cannot be achieved alone,’ imagination must be admitted to be dialogic in character. In other words, we imagine WITH. Even the novelist or poet grimly describing the absolute hopelessness of the human condition is till imagining this landscape WITH his reader; though he conceals the fact, he must possess some hope to achieve his description.

           Erik Erikson believed the first psychosocial task of trust, essential in the first year of life was entwined with hope, and without it, the human was impaired in relationship and future endeavors:

Hope is both the earliest and the most indispensable virtue inherent in the state of being alive. Others have called this deepest quality confidence, and I have referred to trust as the earliest positive psychosocial attitude, but if life is to be sustained, hope must remain, even where confidence is wounded, trust impaired. Clinicians know that an adult who has lost all hope regresses into as lifeless a state as a living organism can sustain…Hope is the enduring belief in the attainability of fervent wishes, in spite of the dark urges and rages which mark the beginning of existence ... The fact is that no person can live, no ego remain intact without hope and will.

                                              Insight and Responsibility, W.W. Norton & Co., l964, pp. 115-118

Ted Bowman, educator and consultant writes:

  Hopelessness can find reinforcement if and when our stories are not heard or when our stories are not validated, or when our stories are superseded by stories that “someone” deems more important  . . .  An essential element of hope is the belief and conviction that one’s story will be heard, even if it is a story one does not want to tell. “I don’t want  to be a widow.” “No, not me. It can’t be cancer.” When someone is dealing with grief, especially losses that alter one’s identity or self-perception, the story becomes all the more important.

Ted reminds us that hope can be rekindled or restored by focusing on hopeful actions

          * By acts of care for self and others

          * By future commitments, even in the next few hours

          * By writing, music, talking ... to make sense of and to give voice to your    thoughts and feelings

          * By connections to life in the midst of death

          * By practice of disciplines like the serenity prayer — awareness of    what you can change, what you cannot, and the wisdom to tell the difference.

          * By telling and hearing stories of hope.

                                             Finding Hope When Dreams Have Shattered. St. Paul, MN. 2001

My favorite story about Hope is a tale that circulated following the 9/11 attack. It is actually an old Native American teaching.

A grandfather was talking to his grandson. He said, “I feel as if I have two wolves fighting in my heart. One wolf is the vengeful, angry, violent one. The other wolf is the loving, compassionate one.”

          The grandson asked him, “Which wolf will win the fight in your heart?

 The grandfather answered, “ The one I feed.”

Feed Your Hope.

           Regardless of how hurt or wounded the individual may be, there exists a healthy part of the self straining to flower like a seed that takes root and naturally pushes through the earth toward sunlight. Biblical commentary on the Book of Genesis suggests that over each blade of grass there is an angel praying, “Grow! Grow!”  Such faith may considered romantic, delusional or overly optimistic… but we can hope, can’t we?

Blessings to you, my reader.

  

Sherry       

P.S. To exercise your imagination and writing skills, try the Creative Meditation: “In the Orchard of Hope” or the writing prompt under Exercises for Growth and Healing.

Exercises for Growth and Healing

1. Read Steve Porter's essay "The 50% Theory" .

Now write your own essay or poem choosing your own percentage of positive vs. negative events based on your life experience.

2. There is a great story in one of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books about a mother whose son is accidentally struck in the eye when he is playing darts with his twin bother. When she finds out that he will lose the sight in one eye, she is filled with anguish. How can she tell him that he will never see from that eye again?
She tactfully tells him,  "The Lord created everyone with two eyes — one to see the world with a good eye and one to see the world with a bad eye. Right now you have  the privilege to be able to see the world with only a good eye.” 
The boy was silent for a moment, and then said,“Boy, I’m sure glad the arrow didn’t hit my other eye!”  

Writing Directive: Draw a line down the page and entitle the two columns "My Good Eye"and "My Bad Eye". Write a list of what you see with your "good eye" and your "bad eye". Which list is longer?

3. Read the Meditation of "The Orchard of Hope". Then do a creative visualization of what you have read. Follow with writing about the experience