Introduction    1
    The emotional self
    Emotions and body-mind medicine
    The way of emotions

PART ONE: Embracing Your Emotional Self   9

    1. How Do You Feel?   11
          Emotions: what they are and where they come from
          Emotions: what they're good for
          Emotions and the mind
          Emotions and relationships
          Emotional Literacy
          Negative emotions: releasing the old ones, dealing with current ones
          Learning the language of feelings
          Nine Families of Feelings
          Meeting your emotional self

    2. What Can I Do with My Feelings?   31
          Discovering the art of emotional expression
          But I can't draw a straight line
          Emotions and the right brain
          You ought to be in pictures
          The expressive arts
          The arts as process, not product
          Sometimes art happens
          Two brains, two hands: right, left, write
          Facing the critic
          Answering back
          The three brains
          Expressive arts: matching the medium to the mood
          Materials

    3. Feelings in Your Body   52
          Emotions as energy
          How emotions get stored in your body
          Reclaiming our emotions
          Feeling the body
          What the drawing means
          The body as storyteller

PART TWO: Expressing Your Feelings   67

          The ABCs of feelings: match the medium to the mood
          Directory of emotions: an alphabetical reference guide to emotions

    4. The Color of Emotions: From Red with Rage to Feeling Blue   75
          The ABCs of drawing: color, line, shape and texture
          Drawing out your feelings
          Emotions at the boiling point: anger and rage
          The image of feelings
          The art of collage
          Feeling scattered
          When nothing makes sense: chaos, confusion, and ambivalence
          Exploring pastels
          Painting your feelings
          Scared stiff: fear
          Feeling down: depression, sadness, and grief
          Revisiting earlier activities
          Helplessness and vulnerability
          At home with yourself: happiness, love, and playfulness
          Expressive arts as meditation: peace, contentment, and serenity
          Embracing happiness: joy, enthusiasm, and creativity
          Try a little tenderness: love

    5. Sculpted Feelings: Mad, Sad, and Glad   109
          Preparing the clay, preparing yourself
          Comments about the process
          The hot emotions: anger, sexuality, and passion
          Getting down to earth
          Sexuality and sensuality
          My body self
          Feelings of loss: grief, sadness, and lonliness
          Journaling: a handmand life

    6. The Sound of Feelings: From Sadness to Joy   130
          Emotions and sound
          Sound as environment
          Music as medicine
          Journal entry
          Music as therapy
          Sounds around us
          Drumming and the hot emotions
          Emotions and vocal sound
          Vocalizing our feelings
          Sounding our depths: sadness, lonliness, and grief
          Toning
          Mantra and sound meditation: peace and contentment
          A meditative atmosphere
          Sounds from the heart: happiness, love, and playfulness
          Music for exploring the sound of feelings

    7. Emotions in Motion: Moving Your Mood, Dancing for Joy   153
          Body language and emotions
          The Dancer Within
          Blocks to spontaneous dance
          Moving your feelings out
          The work of Gabrielle Roth and the five rhythms
          Trance dancing: when the spirit moves you
          The inward emotions: sadness, vulnerability, and fear
          Nurturing the self: love and self-care
          Taking a stand: protectiveness and assertiveness
          Outgoing feelings: anger, passion, and sexuality
          Movement as spiritual practice: peace and serenity
          Roots and wings: joy, playfulness, and creativity
          Emotions as energy

PART THREE: Understanding Your Feelings   173

          Insight through words

    8. When Your Feelings Tell Their Story, Pay Attention   177
          In the beginning was the Word
          I found it at the movies
          Writing from the still image
          Writing from feelings
          Writing as medicine
          Listening to the guide within

    9. Facing Ourselves: Mask Making and Inner Dialogues   192
          Finding our many selves
          Subpersonalities and emotions
          Mask making and our many selves
          The woman of darkness and light
          Methods of mask making
          Joy, enthusiasm, and playfulness
          Exploring the selves through Voice Dialogue

    10. Accepting Your Feelings: Letting Go of Judgement   210
          Clearing the emotions by clearing the mind
          A change of mind
          A change of heart: nurturing yourself
          As we believe, so we feel: dropping old baggage
          Clearing old patterns
          Changing your mind about feelings
          Letting your feelings be your guide: changing your life creatively

Resources   237
Materials
Sources for art materials and supplies
Books, audio and video cassettes
Body charts: chapter three