Learn about CJEAI™ and our Exercises

 

Exercise # 1

Feelings in the Movies

 

Purpose: To use your DH (dominant hand) to write about a movie that deeply affected you.

      1. What was the name of the movie?

      2. How did you feel about the movie?

      3. What feelings came up as you watched it? Did you express those feelings at that time? How?

      4. What was it about the movie that affected you? The plot? The characters? A particular scene?

  1. If a character in the movie had a big impact on you, write an imaginary conversation with him or her. Your voice is written with your DH (dominant hand). The character speaks through your NDH (non-dominant hand) Imagine that you are face to face with this character.

        1. What do you say?

        2. What does the character say?

(Don’t think about it, just let the pen move in page. Allow this to be completely spontaneous.)

  1. DH (dominant hand) jot down in your journal/paper any observations you made about your reflections on this film and about your dialogue.

Exercise # 2

An Image is Worth a Thousand Words

 

Purpose: Create a NDH (nondominant hand) drawing of an emotionally charged event or situation in your life (past or present).

  1. You can even do a drawing and/or collage of an emotion such as anger, joy, sadness, peace, etc. Let the colors, images and shapes express your experience of the theme you’ve selected.

  2. Look at the completed drawing/collage. Allow any feelings that come up in response to it.

  3. With your NDH (nondominant hand), let your picture speak in words in our journal/paper. Allow the writing to be completely spontaneous. Don’t try to correct it or determine what for it will take. This is free writing.

  4. With your DH (dominant hand) jot down in your journal any insights you had while doing the collage and image writing.

Exercise # 3

Play on Paper

 

Part One

Relax and enjoy making marks on paper without expectations. Enjoy the process of exploring with colors; open up your right brain through drawing; use your whole brain by using both hands.

  1. Use your dominant hand (DH) (the one you normally write with) Choose colors that feel good to you. Follow your instincts. Make marks, doodles, scribbles, or shapes in your blank journal or paper.

Keep it simple. Do not try to make a representation or symbol of anything. Think of this as a “warming up.”

Part Two

Use you (NDH) nondominant dominant. Continue playing with color below and on the following blank pages, to make your scribbles and doodles. If your Inner Art Critic starts chattering in your brain, ask it to go out for a break.

Exercise # 4

Calming Down

 

Learn to meditate through drawing; relax and clear your mind; enjoy the moment with no expectations or pressure to perform.

  1. (NDH) Choose whatever color attracts you. Allow your pen or crayon to move across the page, drawing wherever your hand wants to go.

  2. . Do not premeditate or plan what the drawing will look like. Stay out of your head. Let go of thoughts and concentrate on the page in front of you. Let you hand feel its way around the page, drawing spontaneously.

  3. If your mind wanders to thoughts of other things, just stop, go back to present moment, and focus on the paper. Stay with your experience of the colors, lines, shapes, and textures your hand is making on the paper.

Exercise # 5

Writing as Meditation

 

(DH) Now that you’ve made some drawings with your nondominant hand, write about the experience on your blank paper.

  1. Beyond Words

  1. Drawing is a form of emotional expression that can reach places words cannot go. There are some feelings and moods that simply will NOT translate into neat little phrases or sentences.

  2. At these times we are “speechless.” Because we have been trained to label things (to understand and control them), this speechless state can feel uncomfortable.

  3. But the feelings don’t go away. They have energy. They may fester in the dark. They hide in our bodies on to appear later as symptoms of stress, physical or emotional illness. Just like music and dance, drawing can be a wonderful way to release feelings.

Exercise # 6

Drawing with Feeling

 

Release stored emotions; express feelings in the language of art; tap into your right brain through your nondominant hand.

  1. Sit quietly for a moment. Tune into your feelings and allow yourself to experience them fully. If your feelings had colors, what would they be? Are they hot or cold colors? Do your feelings seem to have a shape? Do your feelings have a texture or a pattern? Do they have a rhythm as you make marks on the paper?

  2. (NDH) Find the answers to these questions by drawing your feelings out on paper. There are no right or wrong colors, only the ones that feel right for you. Draw spontaneously without judgment or concern for the finished product. Explore and experiment. Your picture does not have to look like anything in the outer world. It’s okay to scribble, doodle, and make abstract shapes, lines, and patterns. This is an outward expression of your inner world of feelings.

  3. The next time you are dealing with difficult feelings, such as fear, sadness, anger, depression, frustration, anxiety, or confusion, scribble them out on paper as you did in the exercise, using your nondominant hand (NDH).

Exercise # 7

Simple Centering Activity

 

Video Provided by CJEA Graduate: The Joy Spring