124 NATURE-BASED EXPRESSIVE ARTS THERAPY
built fences, stacked wood or made fire. As they engaged with the
elements to meet basic needs, they began to develop self-respect and
to move from labeling themselves as the problem to seeing themselves
as a vital and essential part of the community. The community and
environment were the primary counselors and teachers and, as the
therapists, my coworkers and I became the midwives, helping to
make sense of the experience, integrate the lessons and translate
them to life.Teaching stories
Teaching and learning involve cultivating presence and openness,
bringing the body/mind/soul into the work with courage and
integrity (Palmer 1998). More than simply acquiring information,
the goal is to awaken and nurture an aesthetic sensitivity to self, to
each other and to the world. Our teaching is an extension of who we
are, as illustrated in the following stories.Teaching as ceremony
The class sits on cushions arranged in a circle. The windows of the
studio open to a view of the mountains. The leader stands, carefully
unfolds the deerskin she carries and places it in the center. She
places four stones on the skin, explaining that each one is for one
of the four cardinal directions: yellow for the east, red for the south,
black for the west and white for the north. In the east she places a
pottery cup filled with sage. In the south she puts a candle. She places
a shell filled with water in the west and a wooden bowl of soil in the
north. “This is to find our place in relationship to the landscape, to
everything bigger than our little selves,” she says.
Then she explains that in many traditions the directions are
associated with stones, colors, the time of day, the season of the year
and the characteristics of animals. “For example, this is the time of
autumn, associated with sunset in the west, and the element of water.
This is a time of introspection and transformation. It is the teaching
of the black bear in our area.” She lights the candle and the sage and