The Art of Feeling at Home
A Practical Mindfulness and Creativity Framework for Resilience and Growth after Trauma
Summary
Through personal storytelling, practical exercises, and reflections on coping, this book offers tools for self-discovery and resilience. QR codes provide access to meditations and exercises, enhancing the reader’s journey towards deeper transformation. Art therapists will find innovative methods to incorporate into their practice, embracing the art of feeling at home within oneself and fostering a renewed sense of inner peace and belonging.
«The Art of Feeling at Home is a uniquely exciting manuscript inspired by the personal journey of the author that also weaves in the old wisdom of mindfulness and compassion with current psychological practices and creative expression. The book offers valuable tools for practitioners, particularly art therapists seeking to integrate mindfulness and creativity in their work. I thoroughly enjoyed it and happily recommend it to anyone struggling with everyday life’s ebbs and flows.»
Dr. Rony Berger, Educational Director, Center for Compassionate Mindful Education, Tel Aviv University
Excerpt
Table Of Contents
- Cover
- Halftitle Page
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Praise for The Art of Feeling at Home
- Preface by the Editor
- Dedication
- Table of Contents
- Foreword: The Journey to The Art of Feeling at Home
- Introduction
- What, indeed, is the “Hero’s Journey”?
- When Trauma Makes You Feel Homeless
- Phase 1: A Call to Adventure: Into the Unknown
- Wrapped in Light
- Understanding Our Brain and the Impact of Trauma
- How Trauma Affects the Brain
- A Gradual Healing
- Phase 2: Venturing Forth
- Initiation: Navigating Unfamiliar Terrains with Mindfulness and Creativity
- Why Does the Terrain Feel Unfamiliar?
- Mindfulness as a Compass
- What Is This Navigation?
- Emotionally
- Physically
- Cognitively
- Imagine the Terrain
- Why Are We Here?
- The Challenge of This Phase
- Neuroplasticity and Mindfulness for Healing
- Awaken Your Inner Adventurer
- More Than Recovery, a Journey of Discovery
- What next?
- Our Physical Brain: Exploring Emotional and Physical Responses
- Wandering Eye
- Navigating Dualities on the Hero’s Journey: A Flavour Discovery
- Grounding Through Sensation: Balancing Body and Mind
- Explore Taste Practice
- Body Sensation
- Awareness Through the Senses
- Observe How Sensory Experiences Affect Your Reactions
- Mindful Communication
- Communication Practice
- Awakening Femininity
- Rediscovering Intentions
- When Less Is More
- Creative Limitation Practice
- Mindfulness Moments for Decision-Making
- The Silence of the Senses
- Awakening Desire
- Why Do Our Desires Often Lead to Suffering?
- The Pendulum’s Arc: Desire, Release, and Liberation
- Life’s Pendulum and the Four Noble Truths
- Essence and Nourishment: Body, Soul, and Being
- Phase 3: Facing Trials
- The Spiralling Journey Within
- My Journey Continues
- The Challenge of Transitions
- Unity Echoes: Vulnerability to Connection
- Ripples of Fragility: Journeying Through Life’s Mirror
- How Fragile We Are
- A New Beginning
- Navigating Life’s Imbalance
- Finding Equilibrium: The Artful Practice of the Middle Way
- The Middle Way: Balance in Life
- The Middle Way and the Art of Healing
- Balancing Act: Mobile Making
- Rooted in Equilibrium—Lessons from Trees
- Phase 4: Into the Abyss
- Emotional Tides and the Heartbeat of Survival
- Mindful Navigation: Confronting Anxiety
- The Journey of Acceptance Beyond Balance
- Illuminating Trauma’s Dark Corners
- Square Breathing Exercise for Vagus Nerve Stimulation
- Embracing Shadows: A Universal Journey Beyond Fear
- Confronting the Shadows
- Guidance Through Darkness
- An Intuitive Journey Through Anxiety in Nature
- Wild Fields of the Mind: Toward Birth and Beyond
- Neural Plasticity and The Power of Spontaneous Practice
- Science Echoes Intuition
- A Return to Roots
- Morning Routines: The Touch of Renewal
- Embracing the Here and Now
- Birth, Home, and Beyond Transformative Journeys .
- Embraced by the Elements
- Control’s Secret: The Art of Letting Go
- Birth: The Resonance of Emotional Home
- The Circle of Thoughts, Emotions, and Behaviour
- How Can We Recognise a Thought Without Becoming Identified with It?
- A Mindful Guide to Emotional Healing: A.C.O.R.N. and the Art of Possibility
- Seeds of Resilience: Trauma Therapy
- Navigating the Challenges of Loss: The Importance of Playfulness
- So, How Receptive Are We to Adding Play Into Our Lives?
- Navigating Emotional “Mud”
- No Mud, No Lotus
- Mandala Creation for Coping with Intergenerational Trauma Transfer
- Navigating Dualities
- Buddhism and the Balancing Act of Doubt and Trust
- Zen Philosophy: Embracing the Paradox
- Creativity Through Doubt: The Hero’s Path
- Navigating Dualities: A Path to Wholeness
- Science: The Interplay of Doubt and Trust
- Personal Experiences: The Trial of Growth
- Embracing Doubt and Trust: Pathways to Mindful Self Discovery
- Exploring Doubt and Trust with A.C.O.R.N. Practice
- Phase 5: Arriving Home
- From Challenge to Growth
- Realization
- Core Elements of the Gaya Method
- Emotional Anatomy: Exploring the Emotional Landscape Within Us
- Creative Awareness Model: The Spiral of Transformation
- The Awareness Circles: Trusting the Unknown
- Integrating Awareness: From Stagnation to Flow
- Applying the Practice to Daily Life
- Space, Trauma and Growth
- How Can We “Feel at Home” Amidst Change and Transitions?
- The Power of Presence
- A.C.O.R.N.: A Guide to Growing Your Inner Forest
- Artistic Expression of Generosity
- Let’s Begin this Transformative Experience Together
- Continuing Our Journey: The Path Ahead
- Bibliography
- Afterword: Revisiting The Hero’s Journey against the Backdrop of a Timeless Vision Quest, a Postmodern Metaphor of the Unconscious and a New Concept of Purity (by Dagmar Reichardt)
- About the Author
Foreword
The Journey to The Art of Feeling at Home
In crafting The Art of Feeling at Home, my journey extended well beyond initial expectations. It covered eight years of profound exploration, introspection, and the meticulous integration of mindfulness and creativity into a narrative harbour. This voyage transcended the act of writing, evolving into an odyssey of personal and communal transformation, deeply influenced by intense human experiences and the confrontation with collective trauma.
On October 7, 2023, a devastating terror attack struck with unimaginable cruelty, killed 1,200 people and kidnapped 230 babies, young children, women and men, including old people. This was a marking of the beginning of a continuous war that plunged an entire region into chaos.
This catastrophic event shattered the sense of security for many, destroying homes and tearing apart families. Survivors of the music festival where the terror attack begun, and countless others were left to grapple with the grief of lost or kidnapped loved ones and the wreckage of their communities. This wave of collective trauma challenged the very foundation of post-traumatic growth, a theme central to my work, as the essence of home—something I had long sought to define—faced its most severe test.
In a region already weighed down by ongoing pain, the trauma seemed never-ending, deepening the wounds of those who had already suffered so much. During this challenging time, while the future of my book was unclear, I stayed committed to supporting people through trauma. Although this work isn’t directly mentioned in the book, the results and outcomes are reflected in its pages, as it strengthened my understanding of trauma, recovery, and post-traumatic growth. By volunteering, I helped provide grounding and calming support, using mindfulness and creativity to bring some stability.
When The Art of Feeling at Home was finally completed, four months after the war began, it was deeply influenced by these efforts, showing how resilient we can be and how mindfulness and creativity can help us begin to heal.
The healing journey and the path toward post-traumatic growth are neither immediate nor linear. The support provided during the crisis marked the beginning of a lengthy and complex journey toward understanding, acceptance, and transformation. It emphasized that healing is an ongoing process encompassing individual and communal efforts.
Therefore, The Art of Feeling at Home is more than a collection of insights on creating a sense of home; it is a centred invitation to engage in the relentless pursuit of peace, healing, and belonging amid adversity, mindful of the profound impact of collective trauma. This book bridges the comforting familiarity of the past with the tumult of the present and explores how compassion in action stimulates trust and hope for those navigating the aftereffects of collective suffering. It encourages readers to embark on a journey of recovery, illuminated by mindfulness and enriched by creative expression, rediscovering the essence of home amidst chaos. Acknowledging post-traumatic growth as a natural, though gradual, response to adversity, it highlights the continuous nature of healing and the resilience required to forge new understandings of home, both individually and collectively.
Introduction
Welcome to The Art of Feeling at Home, a heartfelt guide inspired by personal experience that acknowledges how profoundly life’s challenges, including trauma, can affect us. This book celebrates our journey towards discovering a sense of “Home” within ourselves, spotlighting our incredible capacity for transformation, resilience, and growth.
This narrative taps into our inherent longing to feel at home, addressing our basic needs for belonging, trust and a sense of security that encourages curiosity and creativity. It invites us on a dynamic journey that shapes our experiences and perceptions, profoundly influencing our identity and place in the world. This book is a comforting companion, here to help us meet our deepest needs.
In our quest for “Home” within, we navigate the complexities of our physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual selves. This journey mirrors the Hero’s Journey, an archetype for personal growth and self-discovery. It’s not just a journey; it’s a call to action, propelling us from the known into the unknown, through trials, and back again, enriched with new insights and wisdom. This process teaches us to confront our vulnerabilities and draw upon our inner strength and resilience, empowering us to take control of our narrative.
Mindfulness and creativity are introduced as qualities of being and doing, providing a broad foundation for development and change (cf. Chen et al., 2022).*
Jon Kabat-Zinn, who introduced to Mindfulness approach for recovery in the late 80’s describes
mindfulness as a practise [that] provides endless opportunities to cultivate greater intimacy with your own mind and to tap into and develop your deep interior resources for learning, growing, healing, and potentially for transforming your understanding of who you are and how you might live more wisely and with greater well-being, meaning, and happiness in this world. (Kabat-Zinn, 2012)
Tara Brach (2020), a psychologist and a mindful awareness teacher, describes mindfulness as a way to communicate with everything in the present moment, expanding our choices and freedom to act from a less reactive place. Viktor Frankl (1984), a Holocaust survivor, psychiatrist, and founder of the so-called Logotherapy, wrote movingly about the human capacity to find meaning even in the harshest conditions. His life’s work was rooted in his personal experience of surviving Nazi concentration camps, where he lost his parents, his brother, and his wife. What stayed with me from Frankl’s story—and what echoes throughout my own journey and this book—is his deep understanding that even when we cannot choose our circumstances, we can choose how we meet them.
Frankl’s teaching, “between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom,” is a guiding thread in trauma therapy and mindfulness practice. For those of us who live with the echoes of trauma, this space can sometimes feel painfully small or hidden. When our system is overwhelmed, our reactions are often immediate, driven by survival. But mindfulness, creativity, and gentle, sustained attention can help us rediscover and gradually expand this space.
In The Art of Feeling at Home, I explore how this space—this pause—can be a place of refuge, a doorway back to ourselves. It is not about changing what has happened but about softening our grip on the automatic responses that keep us stuck. Frankl’s words remind us that our healing is not about control but about ‘reclaiming the quiet power of choice’—moment by moment, breath by breath—until we can feel at home within ourselves again.
Details
- Pages
- 158
- Publication Year
- 2025
- ISBN (PDF)
- 9783631930755
- ISBN (ePUB)
- 9783631930762
- ISBN (Hardcover)
- 9783631926390
- DOI
- 10.3726/b22563
- Language
- English
- Publication date
- 2026 (February)
- Keywords
- Emotional Well-being Art Therapy Practical Exercises Meditation Inner Peace Resilience Self-Discovery Healing Creativity Transcultural Mindfulness Post-Traumatic Growth Inner Home Coping Strategies Personal Transformation Spiritual Journey
- Published
- Berlin, Bruxelles, Chennai, Lausanne, New York, Oxford, 2026. 158 pp., 2 fig. col., 34 fig. b/w.
- Product Safety
- Peter Lang Group AG
