Creative Counselling Skills - 2010

Phew.... What a long time having come into this space..
Can't have enough time to jump into this space...
But anyhow I miss this part, will be coming into this space more
Should come in more, to pour out words that are jumping in my 'mind-pool'

Anyhow, for the time being I am putting my piece of work that I have a chance to create in Pris's workshop CCS 2nd - 2010. It was a 6 part story.



Once upon a time in the forest of Tinkle-tinkle, there was a young caterpillar who always called for mama-mama. Every day she will be heard, mum-mum (chewing the leave) mama-mama (crying for her mother), mum-mum , mama-mama.

She would very much like to go and find her mama, but when she looked down she saw rocks everywhere and she thought what if I fall, and further from the tree is a river, what if I fall into the river and I will be drown.

Then one day, came a snail and it introduced herself as Ms Snailly. The caterpillar looked at her and asked, if you are Ms Snailly who am I? Ms Snailly said I will call you Catery. Catery told Ms Snailly her dilemma and she do not know what to do, and he would very much wanted to find her mama. Ms Snailly thought very hard and decide to go along with Catery if she would like to go for the journey to look for her mama.

Day and night, day and night, day and night both of them travelled together to search for Catery's mama. You can see from here that Catery hair also began longer and longer. Eventually Cater needs to surrender to nature process, and she changed into a cocoon. The cocoon broke oneday, and Cater became a butterfly flew out. In the end, she managed to met up with her mama who had change into a butterfly. Snailly who has became Mrs Snailly looked up happily with her children beside her.

The End

Power of the tale - storytelling training & workshop

Oh no, I have already neglected this stories telling blog for so long..... got no inspiration to write stories-lah. Anyway, Pris, Binn, X10 and I went for a workshop on storytelling "Power of the tale" conducted by Jo Kukathas a well known theatre actress.

It was totally different from what Alex taught us, but it is fun and our group absorb very fast because of the foundation which was build up during Alex’s TUOS.
We have been given 2 stories to read before we attend the 3days workshop,
Story 1: The ruined Man who Became Rich Again through a Dream
Story 2: The Three Apples from the 1001 Nights
On the 3rd day, we need to do a group presentation on a story that we invented,here is our story.

LONG JUMP COMPETION



There is a place in the deep-deep jungle called Ting Tong Jungle. Where everything is so beautiful, serene and peaceful, there lives a proud grasshopper by the name of Grasso, who always thinks that he is the greatest in the insects’ kingdom.




One day while he was jumping from branch to branch, suddenly he saw a small green worm from a far. “Hi, wormy what are you doing there?” When the caterpillar heard that he replies, “I am not a wormy but I am Cater the caterpillar”.

“A worm is a worm, you moves so slow and not like me, I can fly and jump very
high”. If you do not believe me, let’s have a long jump competition to see who has the greatest strength and fastest. During that time, there are a lot of others insects around, like the spiders, ants (ask the audience to input more) and all of them shouted competition, competition, competition.


The grasshopper stands up tall and reply, “Yes, yes why not, I will not lose anything in this, I bet I will win”.


Beside the caterpillar, is his friend Snally a snail, who said to him, “Cater, I think you should accept the challenge”,
but reply Cater “But-but Snally, I am sure to lose I can only crawls while Grasso fly and jump.
“Be confident on yourself, there is every possibility that you can wins”.
After hearing the moral support from his friends, Cater reluctantly accepted the challenge.

On the competition day, every insect were very excited and turn up early. Grasso was the 1st to arrive and they waited, waited and waited for Cater to turn up.
At last, Cater arrived and his supporters cheered "Hip-hip hurrah, here comes Cater".
Both of them get ready at the starting line, “Bang-bang” Grasso rushed off, leaving Cater crawl slowly from behind.

Have way through the journey Grasso looked back and know that Cater is far far away. Grasso said to him, “There I told everybody, I am the fastest see what happened?. Hiyah, I still have time let me have my meals 1st” hopped to a branch and chew on the leave. The after a full and satisfied meal he stretched and felt asleep.



Meanwhile something unexpected has happened to Cater, he has become a cocoon. "Oh no", thought Cater, "I will infact lose the race".













That evening, Cater came out from the cocoon in the form of a beautiful butterfly, and without delay he quickly flied towards the finish line, thinking that he will be the last to arrived.

But halfway through he saw Grasso sleeping on a branch and he shouted to Grasso “Hei, Grasso wake up we have not finish the race, yet"
Grasso got startled and woke up, he try to jump and fly as far as he can but it was to late, Cater reached the finished line 1st, Grasso lost the competition and Cater is the WINNER.

MORAL OF THE STORY:
Do not be selfish like Grasso,
Be confident of yourself like Cater
Each one of us has a special capability and
always belief that there is every possibility something wonderful will happen.

Therapeutic of Stories Telling Finale and Pot-Luck

Sorry for being late in posting up this video that was done on Saturday 5th.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrtFVtAs-yg


We have actually planned that we will do some discussion of the TOUG assignement during our 'Potluck', but we were so concerned that X10 and Phaik Nie puppet show were not done yet. Therefore Priscilla offered to video tape it for them and we all joined in to help on the production, and it was like doing a screenshot in a studio set. We have so much laughter and fun. I saluted to Phaik Nie, one hand needed to make the puppet movement and the other hand needed to calm her princess.

X10 chosen the monkey puppet, and when she moved it in her story it was so alive. I could not believe it that Priscilla got it from a recycle bin, who in a right mind will want to throw it away. Oh Mine....

Cheng was unabled to join us, because she had sessions at BOLD, but I send her something she will likes at my movie below. Hope that she will like it... Hahaha.

Sorry girls, I can't find any beehoon pictures, I only found noodles, hope you'll done mind. Hehehehe...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6iyUO0qJiw

Answers to Questions from the Begining.

Anwers to the questions posted from the Begining of the Modules.
Therapeutic use of Stories to facilitate Healing & Growth

Questions:

1. Is the stories done by the therapist and reads to the child?

Not always, sometime it can be done by the client himself/herself, but most of the time is done by the therapist/caregiver because sometimes children has too painful or too difficult feelings bottled up inside which they are unable to process and digest these troubled feelings all by themselves. The therapist needs to be an empathic helper who can offer them a listening ear and be understanding. The therapist also needs extra effort to imagine in how the child think and see things, in another words to be in the child’s shoe to look at things. When the therapist helped the child to think about what happened and also all the troubled feelings through the story created, it can help prevent these negative feelings building up entangled mess inside the child.


2. What do I want to learn from Therapeutic use of Stories?

In TUOS I have learned:
• Using a skeleton stories Alex provide to do a complete story using 6PSM and taped it up using Audacity
• Using the story narration in Audacity to do a puppet show
• Using pictures provide together with 6PSM and do a story together with my ACL members.
• How to do personal reflection using the story pictures.
• How to do a storybook with the help of my ACL members.

3. How can we blend both stories telling and Small World Play?

Through story and play or imagination some children are able to say what they are feeling. Children are not good at answering a direct question, like are you hurt? How are you feeling, are you disappointed or frustrated? Therefore, they cannot reach out to the therapist using vocabulary to express out their feeling of hurt, sad, scare and etc. If this is the way, then how can the parents, caregivers or the therapist are able to give the children their empathy. When this happened then Small World Play provides a platform where the child can tell out his/her story, using the figurines and objects. In here, the therapist will be able to reflect on the story put up by the child.

My reflection on TOUS

In this challenging world that I am living, I saw a lot of suffering especially the children which was born that way or circumstances put them that way. I felt that I need to put a lof of effort together with others to heal and provide comfort for them.

But firstly before I can go to the maximum to provide them with this greatness effort, I myself need to get in touch with the shadow.

Many times, I thought maybe something happened to me that make my unconsciousness overpowering the shadow or repressed it deep in me (like the dragon deep in the lake). Until I recently read from a blog (http//group gaia.com – Robert Augustus) He mentioned that another kind of shadow can be emergent capacities (which was new and undeveloped) that we have not yet owned and inhabited. Hmmm... make sense, maybe....

I really want to help the children but I thought that I do not have the knowledge or the power to do so. I am stuck being as I project myself to be ‘lower self’ than what I’m really supposed to be. I am functioning in my old ways – comfortable, monotonous, contented, and fixed self, unable to responsibly integrate and incarnate my highest potentials and awareness.

Now, my mission to recognise this shadow that hold on to this low or primitive aspects of the psyche.
 To be aware of that possibility
 To cast or put aside that this exist and operating in me
 To find the clarity and most of all the courage
 To choose to live in my highest capacities.

When Alex said that the 6PSM actually tells a lot of our shadow. Oh my.. the 1st instant POP UP in my mind.
Shadow = Dark side = something evil, deceitful, bad, harmful and etc. cold and I know it is not TRUE. Why put it into a DARK SHADOW where I have the power and capacity to put it instead to A GOLDEN SHADOW

My own formula: GOLDEN SHADOW = something warm, kind and creative

The shadow is always at the losing side, always unaware push or put away by our own unconscious because it has been considered as a threatening to the integrity of our perceives self.

So, beware and move aside, I am waking up my GOLDEN DRAGON.

ISSUU

http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:w2X0pYo0BUW5sM:http://images.vimeo.com/11/35/11/113511194/113511194_300.jpg

ISSUU provides platform and service for people to publish their books, magazine, journal and etc online. I think that it is a very useful site for us, especially when we need to do storybook.

Their mission:
Issuu turns your documents into beautiful online publications. Publish to an audience of millions and get your message across to anyone, anywhere. It only takes a minute and it's free.

Features and benefits

•Upload your documents and we turn them into professional online publications.
•Enjoy the best reading experience online (fullscreen with crisp vector graphics).
•Explore a living library with the web's most interesting publications.
•Post/embed your publications anywhere online (Facebook, MySpace, Blogger, etc.)
•Get a high rank on Google and receive detailed statistics about your readers.
•Create a custom viewer design and integrate your publications on your website.

X10 has created a CPPD programme group for us, just click the link and join.

Have fun.

Online discussion on Friday 22, 2009

We are all so excited into doing the storybook and myself felt that I am so eager to transform our storybook into a real version. Just imagine a real co-writer/author which I have dreamed of so many times to put my imaginary into words then story. Most of all I really need to thank Alex for giving me this opportunity to take my 1st step into storywriting. Hopefully I will be able to continue and expand from here.

After everyone input of idea on what to put into this storybook, we detoured to our report which Alex wanted us to reflect on our group using this 6PSM pictures. I tell you I have a blank mind at 1st, even X10 with alots of experience in this sector keep on saying, headache-headache. However, with 'Tai Kai Chei' (Pris) on board everything can, she took us round the maze one-by-one. Without feeling dissapointed everytime she asked why no response from me and in her she knew that I did not get it, but she keep on going, until POP there it is - in front of me. One by one it falls into place, then I keep on pouring out my reflection on the 6PSM pictures.

Picture 1 - The Lady
Why is the water so milky and dirty, what is underneath there, something harmful ? Anything anytime danger is going to jump up at me? Better don't go near...

I have already get more of the learning from the CPPD'09 modules. Armed with these resources, I will need to use these on the children. Can I do it, is the way clear for me to walk? The fear is still in me whether will it be successful, will I able to juggle with my busy schedule, my job, my family, my center and etc. To be able to recognize; "What will be the worst thing if it happen?" Be able and ready to face the worst thing that will happen. Be courageous to take this up. I know there are a lot of "rescuers" and they will not let me drown. I will stay focus and positive.

Picture 2 - The Mountain
The Mountain is so huge and I am so small, if I am to climb up can I manage to go up. It is so beautiful from here. How to make it. Fear of whether can reach to the other side and up the top.

Firstly I need to cross this wide river, upon reaching the shore I will make small steps to the foot of the mountain and find the trail that others have taken. I will use the trail provide and make small steps one by one, climb slowly toward the top. Reflects on my mission to 'heal the children' even it will take many many years but I will be patience and positive and no rush job.

Picture 3 - The Witch
Can the witch be the uncontrolled environment that hinder me from taking the 1st step.
The witch will be saying, that "Hey, why wake up the shadow, you can go on without it. It has been so for so long, why want to disturb the schedule." I need to stop the witch, that is my fear, acknowledge it and be able to accept my small progress through out the course.

Picture 4 - The Waterfall
Here is so peaceful, the water is so clear compared to the lake. Bright flowers everywhere, I feel so calm, relax and in peace, the sound of water is so pleasing.
Can it be the sweet success that I looking for? Must be with bright and colourful future.

Picture 5 - The Unicorn
Unicorn, my savior, my hero, my prince, save me and my day. Brings me joy, peace and love.

Can it be my SET MEMBERS who disguised as unicorns be my savior, my hero - lead, save and rescue me. And will always be there for me.

Picture 6 - Gaia
Why is the girl not smiling? Even though everything is so colorful, she seem not to be happy where everything is at peaceful, why? Is the duty of holding the globe too heavy?

The duty of 'Healing the children' will be very heavy but the action is worthwhile, in the end I know I help the children, and if I heal 1 child when he/she grow-up and he/she is able to follow my foot step in heal others and in the end the world will be a better place to live in.

It takes deep courage to face my shadow, it will not be small feat to integrate it. I do not know how difficult the process can be or how I feel down the road, but inorder to get the best part of me I need to do it.

Even my 'home-minister' always commented "You have everything deep inside you but how to lure it out it always make me so helpless, sometimes you are too humble and downgraded yourself." Maybe this is the moment and time to break the gate.