Healing Art Therapy

Shield Making Process

article by Whitehorse Woman, Holistic Healing Forum Moderator

Every six months I do a check in with myself. Be it about my physical, emotional, intellectual, or spiritual self. Then I make a representive of what is going on in the form of what I call a shield (see heart shield photos). The shield is an outward expression of what is going on inside of myself.

The shield I created that is pictured here has to do with someone asking me the question "What is your worth?" Of couse they meant money. How much money do you have? I was angry about being asked such a thing. I had to really look inside myself to see what that anger was about. I found that it was not the question but rather that the person was not interested in who I was, but rather how much material things I might have. That is what this shield represents.

It is about what I believe, not only about myself, but everyone's worth. The fact that no amount of money could replace anyone. We all deserve to be loved because we are a part of creation. Even those who some would consider evil play a part in making us who we are. They are in fact of great value for without them we would be missing a part of ourself. This is what this shield is about.

I don't know how many different shields I have made over the years. I have been working through this process every six months for sixteen years I have also made them for others at other times during the year. I made a shield for my daughter that spoke on her being able to choose which path she wanted to walk on. I would think I have made fifty or more of them.

Whenever I am struggling with an issue in my life I will make one. It allows me to focus upon where I am at that time in my life. I usually spend at least three days creating a shield and sometimes up to a month.

The woman who introduced this process into my life is currently writing a fictional book around this form of healing though art. She has been working on it for a couple of years now and I hope that it is finished soon.

Over the years that I have become freer with how I make shields. I have found that my shield creations have become more beautiful each year because of that freedom with them.

I will go into silence during the time I am making one (no phone, television, radio, or music of any kind), just me and my thoughts. I prefer to make these shields during my periodic retreats to the west coast. The beach is a good place to take things into myself as well as let things go. The ocean seems to be the place I can find the depths of myself as well as the height. I sometimes wonder if it is because this is where whales dive so deeply and the eagles soar out of sight.

Sharing With Others

Another aspect of this healing process of creating the shields is sharing with others. I do this during springtime and again in the fall with other women at LaPush, Washington. We will meet in the morning as a check in. We do this primarily to make sure everyone is being safe. Many of the women are by themselves and safety is an issue. Later on, in the evening, we will meet up again to share our thoughts about where we are in our healing process. Putting our thoughts into words helps to clarify where we are. Doing so can also be helpful to others. We never know if what we say may have great meaning to others.

On the last night before returning home we share what we have made as an outward expression, be it a physical thing, a song, or poem or just our thoughts. At this time we share a meal. Some women will fast during this process also. I have fasted many times as well. Others go into complete silence and may not speak at all until the last night. Although, those who do not speak will meet up with us regularly on the beach during this period of time to let us know that they are physically okay. This is important because the beach can be a dangerous place with rolling logs and high tides.

If you would like to know more about this type of work I do please feel free to drop into the Holistic Healing Forum anytime. You can post a message with your comments or questions. I serve as one of the moderators and routinely check the new posts.

Copyright © 2007 Whitehorse Woman