Dealing with grief is difficult. We asked contest entrants what activities or methods have they used to help move through trauma and grief? 

Here is Yon's response:

Yon-  I've used Person-Centered Expressive Art Therapy techniques and approaches for working with Grief. I love the watercolor painting wet-on-wet paper technique that assists clients with processing stuck or numb areas of grief related to losing a loved one. 

The watercolor medium put onto wetted paper (with a brush) facilitates movement of color when making contact with the paper that often evokes the release of repressed or blocked emotions. This is especially effective when working with children, as they're beginning to process the concrete reality of physical death. 

Dawn - I used the power of personal narrative both by journaling and by sharing with other survivors. I also turned to process painting of dream images, as well as putting to paper the way I felt and/or the internal dialog I was being dogged by. I also found introspection very helpful and I did this through meditation (and more often through nature) as I created a memorial garden which provide a lot of solace.  

Through all of this, I discovered that my thoughts about the death were decidedly the most powerful and because of this, I changed my dialog from "why me" to "why not me"?  Through my creative engagements, I also learned that there was a opportunity to create something new, so my new mantra was to look for the opportunity in my tragedy. 

This lead to the creation of an online support group for suicide survivors, which now supports over 3,000 members where I share my story and teach others how to transform their grief into something imbued with meaning and purpose.

We asked contest entrants to share their thoughts on what attracts them to Sufism or this book. What do you think you will learn or discover by reading this book?

Here are some of their thoughts:

Kathy shares:  I took the Sufi Stories elective during my two years at ITP and loved the wisdom, humor and spirituality of Sufism. I can't think of a better presenter of this ancient tradition than Bob Frager. Loving him and Sufi Stories makes his book sound like a double prize. 

Larry shares: I was a student of Bob's at ITP, receiving my masters in 1982. We shared a love of Aikido, and it was the time Bob was becoming a serious student of Sufism. I am interested in how Sufism, which I know little of, applies to my path of personal growth.

Rebecca Faye Hall shares: At the Vallambrosa seminar in March 2018, we were treated to a wonderful presentation by a Sufi master. I enjoyed so much the way he related to us with humor and grace.

The Sufi way interests me because of its emphasis on moving through stages of spiritual growth, keeping a focus on love for the Divine and a love for the community. When I was a child, we used to spin in circles until we became dizzy, and sometimes would have ecstatic experiences while doing that. Also, when I was in my twenties I used to "trance dance" wildly. I admire the Sufi way of whirling or spinning while maintaining constant awareness of the body as an expression of the soul. Even just to watch the dervishes brings a sense of the sublime.

I don't think it is possible to reach our goals when focusing on problems and "neuroses" - to address psychological problems, it is necessary to grow spiritually. I would love to have this book because I would love to get into Dr. Frager's mind a little more, to learn from his expressions more about how I can heal myself.