The Five Questions

For as long as I could remember, I'd been in search of a magic bullet that would help me wade through uncomfortable or unfamiliar feelings...I'd work through a challenge with a new set of insights, only to discover they wouldn't work in another circumstance (sound familiar?). While going through the Creative Journal Expressive Arts training program, I learned an arsenal of amazing tools to help me wade through the bogs of my emotional world, but the simplest and most insightful exercise I learned was "The Five Questions". It's not necessarily a magic bullet but it's the quickest way I've found to gain clarity on anything I'm not clear on.

The Five Questions are:

1. Who or what are you?

2. How do you feel?

3. Why do you feel this way?

4 What can I do for you?

5. What are you meant to teach me?

This activity is meant to facilitate direct communication with whatever it is you are seeking clarity on - whether it be an emotion, a physical sensation, a concern...and it's amazing to use with collage work.

One important thing to mention is this is a dual handed activity. The questions are written out with the hand you normally write with and the non-dominant hand responds. Why the non-dominant hand? The simple answer is: it confuses your brain out of thinking in the way it is accustomed to, which produces answers and insights that you wouldn't normally arrive at. The longer answer is: conventional (dominant hand) journalling appears to be a left brained process, because the hand you write with is expressing language...the language and communication centers rest in the left brain. Solving emotional and intuitive challenges (Which are right brained qualities) with a left brained solution is like trying to use a mathematical equation to give you clarity on a heartache. The non-dominant hand is your direct link with the intuitive and emotional arena. Sceptical? All you have to do is to try it for yourself. Think of anything in your life that remains unresolved (consider a simple challenge to start out) and ask it - as if it were a person who has insights to share - The Five Questions. If your non-dominant hand needs a warm-up, the 'Stress Busting' exercise is a FANTASTIC activity.