This week’s blog may seem to contradict last week’s blog about the art of toe dipping, as perhaps your definition of jumping off likely means into water that is deep enough to allow it.
In this context, the jump off point is the place that you choose to begin when you are ready to consciously start unpacking the baggage cancer has left you.
However, I still like to call it a jump off point, because it is an act of bravery and courage to consciously decide that you are going to unpack that baggage. The experience of having cancer is so multi-layered, so complex emotionally, that it is reasonable to feel the desire to avoid unpacking it. It can seem overwhelming to do.
With that in mind, I define the jump off point as:
The jump off point is the entry point, in any given moment, that is going to allow you to begin the process of exploration through dialogue, writing, and art. It is the intuitive place inside of you that knows you are about to strike gold.
The jump off point is the place closest to the surface (ie your conscious mind) in which you are aware you feel something profound- whether it be a memory, a thought or a feeling
When I am in a healing session, the jump off point is one of the first things I guide my clients to feel energetically. It is something that takes practice, but over time it becomes easier and easier.
I often use the image of tentacles or roots to describe what it is like to follow a jump off point. When you are in the process of exploration- it can be so surprising to see how your psyche has interconnected your ‘here and now’ life experiences with the ‘there and then’ of the past. The more comfortable you can become with accepting that reality, the more likely you are to heal.
I often find that healing the present draws certain parallels to the unfinished business of the past- something that we begrudgingly can come to accept. Dang it universe for directing us towards resolving our suffering! (yes, a little humor can go a long way towards loosening the tension this brings)
Where do you feel you are being asked to jump off from? I’d love to hear it in the comments below or send me a private message via email!
PS- When you find your jump off point, I still highly recommend that you practice the art of toe dipping. Slow and steady wins the race!
-Stephanie McLeod-Estevez, LCPC, is an art therapist and breast cancer survivor, and a former oncology counselor at the Dempsey Center. She began Creative Transformations to help others who are healing emotionally from cancer. Through Creative Transformations, she works with people in person and online to offer the self assessment tool, cancer coaching, an Art as Therapy program, virtual workshops, and this weekly blog. Sign up today so you never miss a blog and find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.