“Narrative activities in eco-art therapy invite clients to create a personal narrative with his or her relationship with nature.” (Gornowicz, 2019)
One such eco-art therapy exercise that allows you to create a personal narrative is the Bell Branch. The Bell Branch is a branch selected from a tree that is meaningful to you. To begin this activity, find a nearby tree that seems to call to you. It can be any tree for which you have developed an affinity.
Next, ask the tree for permission to take a branch, and wait for a reply. This reply make come as a physical manifestation in the environment (such as a gentle swaying of branches in the breeze) or just as a feeling in your heart and spirit. There is no right or wrong way to tell if the tree has given its permission. It’s like being in love…you’ll know it when you feel it.
When the tree has given permission, select and cut a branch about the length of your own arm. Once you have selected your branch, you may adorn it with colorful ribbons, feathers, or other decorations. This branch is also adorned with bells. Each bell tied to your Bell Branch should represent a significant event in your life. The birth of a child might deserve a bell. A wedding might also call for a bell to be tied to your bell branch, as might a graduation, the passing of a loved one, a new job, or a new home.
Select your tree and ask its permission to take a branch, then express your thanks once permission is received. Make an offering to your tree in the spirit of gratitude, and select your branch. This offering could be in the form of a libation (an ale or other beverage poured on the ground by the tree) or a food offering for the creatures dwelling in the tree, such as bird seed or a bit of bread.
Once your branch has been selected, write or carve your name on it and decorate it with symbols that are meaningful to you. Thank your tree for granting permission to take your Bell Branch by speaking a word of thanks, a brief prayer, or by meditating for a time beneath its branches.
Each time you have a significant event in your life, add a bell to your Bell Branch. Each bell you add to your branch is an element in the narrative of your life because the Bell Branch is a living record of the significant events in your life.
When you shake your branch, all of the bells will remind you of all of those significant events. The music that they make will be the rites of passage of your life singing back to you.
Gornowicz, Nicole (2019). The Benefits of Using Eco-Art Therapy and Healing Trauma. Master’s Thesis, Adler Graduate School, Adler University.
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