Christian Counseling Symbol: Symbols Communicate

Christian Counseling

Symbol: Symbols communicate directly the subconscious parts of our minds because they bypass language. One of the reasons why Christian symbols are so powerful is that they allow people to suspend the rational parts of their brain and mind so that they can connect to spiritual truths through direct emotional experience. For example, the cross is the central motif of Christianity. The cross immediately invokes the teachings of Christ as well as the meaning behind Christ's suffering, death, and resurrection. Without the symbol, we would be bogged down by lengthy wordy explanations of theology. Therefore, symbols are an integral part of spiritual growth and religious experience.

This exercise enabled us to encounter the meaning of personal symbols. Because we are all used to the core symbols of our culture and religion, we elected to choose symbols that we could interpret on our own. Choosing our own symbol was a way of helping us understand the power of symbolism in evoking emotional experiences and direct spiritual lessons.

Contemplating a personally meaningful symbol from a spiritual perspective offers tremendous insight into the way the mind can either hinder or help communication with God. For example, a person can use the symbol as a starting point for free association of words and images, noting how many different ideas, concepts, feelings, and thoughts accompany a single image. In the absence of a central symbol, a person can become too caught up in words. Since the spiritual realm is ineffable and must be experienced through the emotions and heart, words fall short of delivering the truth. Therefore, symbols can direct a person toward a meaningful experience of God.

2. Internal Experience (Art): Creation is a sacred act. Throughout human history, artists have rendered their spiritual truths and their beliefs in visual form. Art is the act of creating meaningful symbols. The symbols an artist creates on canvas or in a sculpture can be personally meaningful, meaningful to the artist's culture and community, or meaningful to an entire society. Therefore, artistic creation serves a three-part purpose: one, of introducing a person to the power of symbols; two, of offering a therapeutic outlet to channel difficult emotions; and three, of a way to universally communicate with other human beings.

Art is a valuable therapeutic tool because it can provide emotional catharsis. When a person creates art, he or she expresses emotional states in a peaceful form, through color, shape, or sound. When emotions and thoughts are negative, the artist can externalize the pain and is therefore better able to deal with it in a productive way. Rather than keep the negative emotions bottled up inside, the artist can see how anger, fear, and hatred are causing problems and learn how to change those negative emotions into learning experiences.

In order to use art in a therapeutic manner, the artist can also learn how to synthesize creative expression with religious expression. Art can be a form of prayer. When the person picks up the paints or the colored pencils, he or she can approach the paper, canvas, or clay with a sacred attitude, a mind that is wholly directed towards God. With this attitude, the individual will be better able to use artistic creation as a means to become closer with the Holy Spirit. Especially when conducted under the guidance of a spiritual counselor, the individual can experience enormous growth and personal transformation through the internal experience of art.

3. Projected Self and True Self Realities: We all put on masks for the world. Since we are old enough to develop a sense of self, we are trying to please our parents, our friends, our teachers, and ourselves. By adolescence, the various masks we put on can send conflicting messages about our true selves and can cause us to live farther and farther from God. The masks we create in response to peer pressures, social norms, or media suggestions can be highly destructive. Succumbing to social pressures can lead to drug addiction, depression, and social anxiety. By exploring masks of self, we can also see how we have damaged our relationships with other people, with ourselves, and with God. On the other hand, masks serve a definite purpose; we would have a hard time relating with other people in the world without masks. For example, if we feel inadequate on the inside we can develop a mask of self-confidence. By exploring the different masks we have created, we can reach an image of our whole self.

One of the most constructive exercises at the core of spiritual counseling is to explore our masks. By peeling away the false layers of self, we can reach the core of who we really are, and develop true spiritual communion with God. Physically creating the masks that represent our projected self or selves and our true self can help us to distinguish between our inner feelings and the external influences of other people or the media. Finding our true self can be a frightening prospect, which is why the process should be done with the guidance of a counselor. If a subject has trouble creating his or her masks, he can learn how to pray for self-insight and self-awareness, both of which are essential components of spiritual growth.

4. Leaving our Sins at the Cross: The core lesson of Christianity is the meaning of Jesus' death on the cross. We need to incorporate this symbol and its underlying reality into our personal lives. The exercise of leaving our sins at the cross is an external ritual action that can help participants better understand the process of salvation through the Christ. When students use a rock or rocks to represent sins, they can subsequently throw the stone into a body of water or bury it as a symbol of their letting go of that thought, feeling, or behavior. The action can be a transformative and therapeutic first step toward spiritual and psychological healing.

In order to carry out this exercise in understanding sin, the participant sometimes needs to pray for honesty. Occasionally we are in denial of our sin. Through prayer and self-insight as well as through counseling, the person can recognize unhealthy behaviors. Once the behavior or state of mind is recognized, the individual is ready to pray for forgiveness, salvation, and healing. Associating an object like a stone with the sin helps the person to externalize his or her pain and then watch it being physically washed away by the grace of God.

5. Finger Painted Feelings: Finger painting is a visceral way of creating symbolic and therapeutic art. Finger paints are a simple yet powerful medium. They don't require any artistic schooling or talent. They are bright and expressive colors that put the participants in touch with powerful emotional states.

By finger painting a specific event, a person can work out an appropriate response action to difficult situations. This can be helpful especially for individuals who have family troubles or those who have conflicts with other people in general. Rather than resort to anger and rage, the person can explore his or her feelings of fear and pain and learn how to develop patience and compassion. The counselor can work with each individual by discussing the finger painting in depth. Finger painting a specific event can also help participants get in touch with recurring emotional states such as anxiety or depression.

6. Blindfolded: Blindfold exercises usually help participants develop trust. Being blindfolded cuts off the person from one of the most significant physical senses, the one that most sighted people rely on for almost every decision, from whether to cross the street to which sandwich to eat for lunch. When we are blindfolded, we have to rely on -- trust -- our other senses for their input. We therefore learn a valuable lesson about our bodies and we learn how to not take any part of ourselves for granted. When blindfolded, we also have to rely on other people for help and assistance. This reliance on others can bring up powerful emotions in people. First, it forces individuals to trust others, sometimes total strangers. This exercise encourages participants to trust people who they might not know very well. Second, the experience of being helpless can be humbling and frightening and can in itself bring up strong negative emotions in people. The blindfold exercise can be helpful in developing awareness in all of these areas.

Another core purpose of the blindfold exercise is to experience it as a metaphor for our relationship with God. We walk through life as if spiritually blindfolded. Oblivious to God's love in times of stress, we often feel abandoned and alone. Yet God is constantly there by our side. Being blindfolded in the exercise can bring to mind the relationship between God and His creation. Although we may be spiritually blind, He is always there for us. Just as we learn how to trust our partner in the exercise, we must also learn how to trust the Lord. Finally, learning how to rely on and depend on others can help people rely on and depend on God. The exercise teaches the value of trust and shows that we can depend on other people as well as God.

7. Body Outline: Drawing an outline of the body is a helpful exercise for people who have eating disorders. It can help people recognize that their body image does not match the reality of their physical form. In some cases, drawing the body can bring up strong emotions. For this exercise, drawing the body outline enables participants to explore self-image: the lies we tell ourselves and the negative self-talk we bombard ourselves with throughout our life. We can see how some of these lies were perpetuated by parents, by peers, by the media, and by society. By exploring these lies, we can hopefully begin to see the truth: to see our bodies, minds, and souls as they really are: in God's image.

The lies that we tell can be placed at certain parts of the drawing. For instance, if a person believes himself to be stupid he could write that by the head. If a woman thinks that she has a fat belly, she would write that by her belly. When participants write about the lies others have spoken to them, they often reveal interesting truths. For instance, if a person had been told by his mother that he was careless, he could write "careless" in big black letters across the chest. The strength of the lettering and the placement of the words both demonstrate the impact of the lies on the person.

Lies and negative self-image detract from our spiritual path and harm our relationship with God. The goal in this exercise is to develop a self-concept that is more in accordance with spiritual truth. We are created in His image and likeness and we should behold ourselves as a holy creation.

8. Sticks: Sticks are simple objects that can be used symbolically in a counseling setting. By associating one stick with a lifelong lie and another with a lie that continues to affect them, participants can explore their thoughts, feelings, and reactions. While discussing the lie that stemmed from childhood, the person may recall painful memories of verbal or even physical abuse. The counselor must be prepared to meet such painful emotions with compassion. Exploring pain can place the participant in closer contact with God and the true self. The stick that symbolizes the lie that still affects them today can help the participant understand the underlying cause for an addition or an emotional problem. Any means to externalize a lie using physical symbols can help to destroy the power of the lie. Too often, we become clouded by the false images that others have thrust upon us. Seeing how we have succumbed to such lies can be a powerful form of spiritual awakening.

9. Safe Place: We all need to seek places of refuge in times of stress. The church can serve as one safe place, but safe places do not have to be limited to manmade structures. Nature offers people a plethora of safe places to choose from. Each of us has our own special safe places, and we need to learn how to identify where they are so that we can go there in times of need. In the safe place, we can commune with God and release negative emotions.