Every Breath Brings Me Closer to Home—Auto-Ethnographic Reflections About the Meaning of Somatic and Creative Practices in Facing Challenging Life Events
Stjernswärd, Sigrid LU
(2026)
In Anthropology of Consciousness
- Abstract
- Death is the prerequisite of life, life the prerequisite of death, just like chaos and order, light and shadow, joy and despair, love and grief, are each other's premises. When life breaks into pieces, despair may ensue, but darkness offers possibilities to tap into the light. The use of experiential somatic practices and creative expressions can reach deep and help illuminate conscious and unconscious processes, shedding light onto deeply rooted beliefs, emotions, and longings. This paper argues for the potential of exploring experiential somatic and creative work and expressions using arts-based research methods, facilitating the exploration of the complexities of experiential intra- and inter-subjective embodied spaces and processes in... (More)
- Death is the prerequisite of life, life the prerequisite of death, just like chaos and order, light and shadow, joy and despair, love and grief, are each other's premises. When life breaks into pieces, despair may ensue, but darkness offers possibilities to tap into the light. The use of experiential somatic practices and creative expressions can reach deep and help illuminate conscious and unconscious processes, shedding light onto deeply rooted beliefs, emotions, and longings. This paper argues for the potential of exploring experiential somatic and creative work and expressions using arts-based research methods, facilitating the exploration of the complexities of experiential intra- and inter-subjective embodied spaces and processes in healing. Through an auto-ethnographic and a/r/tographic approach, the current exploration delves into the meaning of experiential somatic work and creative expressions, combined with witnessing, for dealing with challenging life events. It tentatively explores the potential of such work to bring hope where there is despair and life where there is death, which can be befriended. Such work can help move through suppression and closedness towards expansion and openness, promoting the appreciation of every breath and what it means to be in a physical body, with its human messiness and divine perfection. This paper shows that innovative research approaches can provide insight into complex experiential dimensions of somatic and creative work in supporting wellbeing. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/b2e41d19-e5bb-4f5d-be1d-377f625cf8a9
- author
- Stjernswärd, Sigrid
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2026
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- epub
- subject
- keywords
- a/r/tography, artography, creative expressions, experiential, somatic practices, wellbeing, witnessing
- in
- Anthropology of Consciousness
- article number
- e70046
- publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- ISSN
- 1053-4202
- DOI
- 10.1111/anoc.70046
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- b2e41d19-e5bb-4f5d-be1d-377f625cf8a9
- date added to LUP
- 2026-06-05 14:22:56
- date last changed
- 2026-06-09 09:20:01
@article{b2e41d19-e5bb-4f5d-be1d-377f625cf8a9,
abstract = {{Death is the prerequisite of life, life the prerequisite of death, just like chaos and order, light and shadow, joy and despair, love and grief, are each other's premises. When life breaks into pieces, despair may ensue, but darkness offers possibilities to tap into the light. The use of experiential somatic practices and creative expressions can reach deep and help illuminate conscious and unconscious processes, shedding light onto deeply rooted beliefs, emotions, and longings. This paper argues for the potential of exploring experiential somatic and creative work and expressions using arts-based research methods, facilitating the exploration of the complexities of experiential intra- and inter-subjective embodied spaces and processes in healing. Through an auto-ethnographic and a/r/tographic approach, the current exploration delves into the meaning of experiential somatic work and creative expressions, combined with witnessing, for dealing with challenging life events. It tentatively explores the potential of such work to bring hope where there is despair and life where there is death, which can be befriended. Such work can help move through suppression and closedness towards expansion and openness, promoting the appreciation of every breath and what it means to be in a physical body, with its human messiness and divine perfection. This paper shows that innovative research approaches can provide insight into complex experiential dimensions of somatic and creative work in supporting wellbeing.}},
author = {{Stjernswärd, Sigrid}},
issn = {{1053-4202}},
keywords = {{a/r/tography, artography; creative expressions; experiential; somatic practices; wellbeing; witnessing}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
series = {{Anthropology of Consciousness}},
title = {{Every Breath Brings Me Closer to Home—Auto-Ethnographic Reflections About the Meaning of Somatic and Creative Practices in Facing Challenging Life Events}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/anoc.70046}},
doi = {{10.1111/anoc.70046}},
year = {{2026}},
}