By R. Nadia Lopez, Art and Soul Intern What does it really mean to leave your comfort zone with purpose and intention? If it is so comfortable, then why should we be seeking to leave our comfort zone in the first place? In the same way that our very flesh and bone is constructed, held, and protected by the walls of the womb, our identities are constructed, held, and protected by the walls of the comfort zones we find ourselves in. Soft, plush, warm, safe, forgiving: that is

In this journey, as in my day-to-day life, I practice what I preach to my clients.  I know the dangers of staying too long in my cozy little comfort zone / safety bubble.  I know that bubble will shrink down until it risks killing me, a concept explained in this video we made.   So what happens when we DO push outside of our comfort zone?  Well, here’s what happened to me… I began this journey with anxiety levels so high that my guts were liquified.  I was legitimately afraid

I began my trip wearing a hat to hide my blue-and-pink hair at the airport.  Just as I can feel triggered when I see very-right-wing conservatives wearing red MAGA hats, I was afraid of triggering those same people with my blue-haired indicator of more liberal ideals.  I journeyed away from my “Us” territory into “Them” Land.   Those were biases I had to consciously work to balance as I traveled.  If I wanted better manage my anxieties, I needed to be more objective, and a

In my last entry, I wrote about the high-stress circumstances that plagued the first two days of my “Walkabout.”  I set the challenge to face fears, stress, anxiety, and isolation in a MAJOR WAY, all in one week.  Woof.   I did it, and I’m here to tell the story.  But HOW did I do it?  Let’s break it down: 1)      BREATHE! As in DEEP breaths! “Your first and foremost self-help tool is your breath.” ~ Yudit Maros   We all know it’s important to breathe.  No, not just what y

In the book The Tools (made famous by the Netflix special, and with references in the Apple+ series Shrinking), Phil Stutz discusses a technique in which one envisions one’s fear as a black cloud.  Stutz encourages his readers to silently scream in their minds “I love pain!  Pain sets me free!” as they run headfirst at the cloud.  This technique had worked for me in the past, especially when it came to entering cold water with my full body.  I had learned that running headfi

“ Are you really even considering this??  Flying to Ohio??  Briana, you are LITERALLY a ‘blue-haired liberal’- and a woman!  Flying alone to a RED state?!  Airports are federal space- and the federal government is doing some pretty scary things in that space.   People with a legally-recognized right to be here are being deported to overseas prisons .  People are being ‘violently interrogated’  at airports.   Yes, you’re white. You’re a US citizen… maybe you are ‘safe’… but w

Aboriginal Australians have a traditional coming of age ritual in which a young man (roughly age 12-13) is sent into the bush (wilderness) to wander and survive on their own for a period of time.  The youth spends a period of roughly 6 months, wandering around 1,000miles, surviving solely on their own. Successfully returning alive is rewarded with respect and admiration of older members of the tribe, not to mention a profound sense of independence and self-reliance in the in

At Art and Soul Art Therapy, working with kids and teens is one of our favorite parts of what we do. Every young person who walks through our doors brings their own story, energy, and spark — and we feel so lucky to be part of their growth. We also know that being a parent in this process can feel tricky sometimes. You want to help your child, you’re investing time and energy into therapy, and yet… you might not always know exactly what’s happening behind the therapy-room do

Here we go, parents... (cracks knuckles in anticipation of the hate mail)... Ready? The problem with kids these days is the adults in their lives. And society. Which is run, primarily, by adults. Now, before we get started, let me put my disclaimer here: parenting, teaching, hell, even just existing as a human being in this day and age is HARD. I don't sit in a glass house throwing stones. I've been there too. My own child does not have perfect parents. Because ther

This is a fantastic write-up from MAPS that I wanted to share here. Hi friend,   With the rise in popularity of Apple TV’s Severance ,...