so, i admit it's been awhile. ok, ok. a looong while. but it appears my long lost friend of yesterday is still here and is still welcoming me back with open arms LOL

started my second semester of postgrad studies a couple of days ago. i made sure i slept enough and as i am going through a healthy regime i've been exercising heaps and eating a full hearty breakfast. so surprisingly (or not so surprisingly) i actually got the opportunity to PAY ATTENTION and understand what the lecturers and tutors were talking about. i truly hope this lasts longer than the first week haha.

postgraduate studies in counselling psychology has been an interesting ride for me. this week has certainly been interesting. at certain types i felt myself look down upon the 'jamie' sitting in class and look around. what a hippie, interesting and mixed bunch of students here in counselling psychology. heck, what an interesting lecturer!!! robyn bett is the head of counselling psychology at murdoch university in perth, western australia. she comes across as a very soft spoken and caring lady. this semester she is taking the experiential counselling classes. however, she also works in private practice with family and children.

mandy browne takes the principles of counselling 1 lectures. initially, i recieved an email from her giving us the unit outline and the reading list for that priniciples of counselling unit with a suggestion to have a read of it BEFORE the first lecture. and in that instance i saw a very strict and structured obeying lecturer and i groaned inwardly. i walked into the lecture room and was surprised to see and experience what i got to experience. she waited with no sense of  impatience for everyone to come in even the late stragglers, she shared a few experiences from her personal past with us, she laughed and joked and was very carefree. she comes from a psychoanalytical background and also works in private practice counselling in the specialty of psychotherapy in fremantle, western australia.

the last couple of days has involved me trying to find some quiet time to be self reflective and be connected on a different level with my thoughts and views and opinions. it involved a lot of trust in the group and open honesty. it was explained to us students that to be a relatively good counsellor we need to be intune with our inner thoughts and opinions so as to be able to put them aside with a client so as to walk their journey with them during counselling.

one of the most memorable activity occurred in mandy's principles of counselling class. she got us to close our eyes, get comfortable and take long deep breathes. she then put on some flowing, music whereupon a lady sang in hindu or a similar language. it was flowy and bought images of slow flying silk in the air. soft, flowy but strong. after 5 minutes we were then asked to draw. draw what? anything that comes to mind.

the black space is my mind, the unknowns or the unconsciousness. the bright colored blocks in my mind are the knowledge i've gained growing up, learnt from life and university, through people and experiences. as you can see it is very structured each block going in the same direction each roughly in a block shape. here i am trying to show that in my 20yrs of schooling we have always been taught on a structured basis and thus our learning and hence our knowledge appears to be structured. there is a thin black line surronding my mind from the other colorful bits. this represents how my mind is in a sense quite closed to certain ideas and viewpoints. its not VERY closed to ideas but there is still that barrier there. i am hoping that soon enough the black line will dissappear and more colorful parts will enter my mind. the colorful parts on the outside represent the knowledge and experiences of my tutors and lecturers. as you can see their knowledge is not structured and interact with each others. there is also another color on the outside that does not exist in the blackness of my mind. it acknowledges that there are things out there that others have learnt and know about but i am yet to even hear of it. i am to hope that one day my mind will become colorful and be able to interact with the ones on the outside.

is it silly of me to want to frame this and put it up one day when i get my own office?