Helping Highly Sensitive, Deep Feeling, Neurodivergent People Explore Unconscious Biases
Just under 300 journaling prompts and 40 expressive art activities were tested and refined amongst several cohorts since 2015. The workbook contains quotes and case studies from people, just like you, who needed a sustainable way to go on a self-exploration.
The author is a counselling psychology graduate student studying to become a therapist. Her work as a mental wellness advocate was pushed into the limelight when a blog post containing nine writing prompts went viral in 2017. She has a large social media platform and a highly engaged membership community.
Readers will do one chapter a day over 30-days. Each chapter begins with an overview of the theme followed by a 15-minute expressive arts activity and 15-minutes of journaling. A mood tracker is included so readers can spot patterns and check their progress.
It can be hard to admit that you hold unconscious biases about other people’s social, ethnic, biological, or behavioral identities. The workbook contains instructions on how to doodle or draw your Inner Oppressor helping you express complex emotions using colors, shapes, symbols, and images.
Not everyone can attend a march, sit-in, or other forms of visible protests. Quieter forms of direct action, such as self-reflection and self-inquiry, matter as well. Being introspective is a form of gentle protest because you’re prioritizing healing over urgency, rugged individualism, and other damaging traits of the dominant culture.
Focusing on becoming an ally is a noble cause. Yet, allies are transactional, time-limited, and present-focused. Becoming a better ancestor helps us develop what the Iroquois nation calls 7th generation thinking. There are four ancestors you can become, even if you’re childfree, and you will choose one based on the guidance in the workbook.
The Inner Field Trip® started as a group on Facebook in 2015, then moved over to Patreon in 2017. After six years, the community found its new home on Mighty Networks in 2023. The online community is now known as the Inner Field Trip® Basecamp to differentiate it from the workbook. The Basecamp opens to new trekkers 3 times a year.
The Basecamp attracts Highly Sensitive, Highly Perceptive, Deep Feeling, and NeuroDivergent People. Members within the Basecamp are known as Brave Trekkers who explore their unconscious biases using expressive arts, guided prompts and self-reflective journaling. They also participate in 30-day challenges, following the 30-day quest in the workbook, and attend monthly expressive arts classes held by Licensed Navigators.
Self-inquiry inspires direct action and many Brave Trekkers find unique and innovative ways to shake the status quo and disrupt the dominant culture while honoring their quiet, introverted, and gentle personalities.
Trek bravely!