EarthSong Aboriginal Healing Pathways Foundation is Incorporated…

We are very pleased to announce that EarthSong is now officially incorporated as of September 8th 2008.

Here are two of our founding members Misters John Hartley and John Williams holding our certificate of Incorporation.

If you are interested in learning more about EarthSong, who we are and what we are doing, please checkout the Facebook EarthSong Aboriginal Healing PathwaysFoundation group here:
EarthSong….Putting Action to the shared Vision for Change…

Photo update on our first working bee….

“I AM at Home with Peace and Prosperity”

This was the theme for our empowerment art work this week…to become comfortable with Peace and Prosperity when there has been a history of chaos and poverty….

I am ever amazed at the completely individual and unique creations that emerge from the same black and white template……..

Don’t worry… and Just Bead Happy!

I have recently introduced an ART of Change  program using beads that we hand roll from air drying clay to create an “empowerment necklace’ as mentioned in an earlier thread.

Meeting for between 2 to 4 hours a week participants shape their beads based on a Vision they hold for the future or as an expression of love / resolution / Spiritual strength / developing a stronger sense of Self and identity etc. 

Once the personal vision  beads are dry we paint them and give them life, colour and vibrancy. Das clay is FANtastic as a quick drying and very hardy medium that is not heavy once it has dried…
The rolling of the clay and shaping the beads is a very relaxing process that activates the alpha state (open eyed meditative) of optimum learning and relaxation.

The ‘bead happy’ project engages two significant aspects – process and completion, which are often difficult to attain for people who are living with marginalisation, violence, addiction, mental illness, trauma and poverty.

The talking circle format is a very relaxed, informal environment which is more culturally relevant for many of the participants from non-western /European backgrounds. This kind of environment does not have a ‘counsellor -client’ dynamic, it is a far more empowering model that moves beyond pain and issues to the place of connecting with personal power, natural talent and possibility.
The very state we knew as small children before the external world imprinted limitations upon us.
We celebrate “ME” and explore the potential we have to move beyond limitations and past patterns and programs….

Thankyou to the Women whose work is in the image below…although they remain anonymous in the photos, the very personal stories and amazing creativity that is expressed through the clay and the beading affirms to me how privileged I am to provide art based life coaching at the grass roots, community level where so many amazing people have extraordinary stories to share….

‘Always Remembered’ …Honoring the Women & Children who have died…

Earlier this year I was invited to facilitate a Women’s Empowerment Art program “Always Remembered”.

A group of Women who had each experienced trauma and violence wanted to create art work that honors the lives of the Women and Children who have lost their life in domestic violence and to inspire other Women to claim their power to leave an abusive relationship.

We created black and white Mandala posters for coloring in as a meditation and relaxation tool for Women living in shelters and emergency accommodation and book marks and badges from the posters.

Last Friday was the annual Reclaim the Night march and our project was launched after the march.

The Women who participated in this amazing project experienced a significant culmination of their own Journey and will now be taking the message of “Always Remembered” and the power of art for healing and empowerment, back to some of the shelters where their journey began.

My life long friend Janet was killed by her husband in 2001, he then killed himself and Janet’s story and the memorial art I created in the week after her death inspired me to share in the message of the importance of breaking away from destructive, toxic relationships and reclaiming our right to be safe, loved and respected at all times…

Here are some of the images from the project.

You can see in the end photo the array of Empowerment Badges that the group created….because of the public format of posting these images, I have respected the anonymity of the group members but if you use your imagination you can see the beaming smiles and energy of solodarity and purpose amongst our “Always Remembered” empowerment artists….

Sacred Art.