Growing together, EFAT

Shared humanity, lecture and workshop at the art therapy conference in Riga.

This story began in 2020 and brought me to give a lecture and workshop at the European Conference of Art Therapy, held in Riga. It all started during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic when we were all in lockdown. Despite the pressure and worry, inspiring initiatives started to emerge, promoting connection even in a time of isolation.

New opportunities were created, how to find freedom within limitation. Teaching and providing therapy through Zoom to women living in various remote locations around the world. The most influential initiative was the longest online retreat ever, led by Professor Jon Kabat-Zinn, the renowned expert in mindfulness meditation.
Three months retreat, we gathered 1,000 men and women, meditation practitioners, five days a week, guided by Jon from his home office. Shortly after Jon's birthday, which we celebrated as a community, he announced that he would likely take a break.

It was clear that the community must continue. Groups and shared practices started forming in various fields, including my initiative of establishing the "Mindfulness & Creativity" group. Women worldwide joined, including Germany, Spain, Rome, London, the Netherlands, New York, Buenos Aires, Chile, and more. Gradually, we discovered how meditative practice and creative expression increase the sense of belonging and provide significant healing experiences in personal and social traumas.

Time passed, and by the end of 2022, Beate, a wonderful friend in our creative sangha, a certified mindfulness teacher, and an experienced therapist invited me to join her at a conference in Riga. I was delighted and grateful for the initiative. We decided to co-facilitate a workshop at the conference.

Excited I embarked on a journey to Riga, looking for the meeting with Beate, when we met, there was an immediate sense of connection, despite never having met face-to-face before. It was a profound experience. Beate was born and raised in Germany and currently lives in the Netherlands. We discussed the intergenerational trauma that both of us experienced from World War II and how it would serve the workshop that we have planned.

A peak of the revelation was when it turned out that the apartment Beate had rented, without prior knowledge, was located in an old building that had served Jews before World War II and now houses the Jewish Museum of Riga.

The shared sense and connection continued to unfold in the lecture and workshop with researchers from academia, and art therapists from European Union countries and Sri Lanka. Powerful women who were curious and interested in the workshop experience that bridged the past to the present and continues in the group we formed.

"The Art of Feeling at Home," a book offering tools for dealing with trauma and post-traumatic growth, will soon be published. It includes stories and practices from the workshop, along with recorded meditations that will serve as part of the tools offered in the book on a journey to healing. I invite you to experience and learn the art of feeling at home through the tools and insights the book offers in a journey that will renew and enrich your life.