This is my SOLAR SYSTEM. I used stamps to and markers to make symbols to represent the important people in my life; how close or important they are to me, and how much influence they have in my life. I included some whom I have never met, whom I would hope to meet one day, and one whom I hope not to. I labelled the symbols with initials so that later on I can reflect on this snapshot of my world and see how things have changed or stayed the same.
Alternate Invitation:
Write: Write your own version of "Are You My Mother?" Include whatever details you wish. This could be your true story, or the story of the character you were invited to develop in earlier lessons.
Explore Symbolism: Visually or verbally, represent your family members as symbols, elements, or animals. Think about their qualities, and ways of relating to you and the world around them.
Reflect:
Take a few moments to reflect on this experience, and on the work you have created. What feelings came up for you during the creation? Was there a sense of judgment, intrigue, insight? Did anything feel surprising to you? Is there anything you have the urge to add or change? Are there people or events that you unintentionally left out or forgot about?
While holding a space of non-judgement, what do you notice? ~Please consider journaling about this if it feels right to you.
Are You My Mother?
Many of us are familiar with the childhood classic, "Are You My Mother?" A bird, fallen from his tree, in search of his mother. Feeling hopefull, he approaches an array of creatures asking, "are you my mother?" only to be disappointed many times.
This too is an experience we may share. I remember searching for biological family and thinking 'is this my brother, sister, father?" It was crazy-making and I felt crazy at times.
Invitations:
Map your world or chronicle your journey. Where ever you are in your story is fine. Perhaps you are choosing not to search, this is good too. Please use these invitations to express where ever you are, and how ever you are feeling.
Map 1: Create a genogram. This is much like a family tree, except it includes a variety of symbols to illustrate different types of relationships. For example, a relationship that was marked by abuse may be represented by a blue zig-zag line, and a relationship marked by manipulation represented by a red line with an X through it. Click the link below to see a larger example, and a printable chart of the symbols. Some family therapists use this as a tool to track family patterns. *tip: I find it helpful to use small pieces of paper to represent each individual at first, these can be easily moved around the large paper and saves having to erase.
https://www.genopro.com/genogram/symbols/
Map 2: Create a solar system to represent the important people in your life, including both friends and family. Place yourself in the center and the people in your life as planets or stars in your universe. This could include bio-family, adopted family, and friends. Use space, size and colour to illustrate their relation to you. Consider using collage, stamps, or stickers to represent individuals or family groups.
Map 3: Family Constellation using rocks. Use rocks, plain or decorated, to represent your individual family members. Play with grouping them together in ways that illustrate the connections members have with one another. Next play with moving the rocks around to make any changes you would like to see in the ways members relate to each other.