“Out of Body” by Linda Ness

Although initially, I painted this image to rid myself of its haunting presence, I discovered after reading, “Courage to Heal” that I was not alone in seeing this view from the corner of the ceiling. I learned that leaving my body was my only escape. At the time, while I was being incested by my father, I remember trying to numb my body so much that there would be no way that he could hurt me. I became as dead as a log.

The image has helped me see that this is not from the mind of a crazy person, but a witness to the creativity of survival.

“Rage-a-holic” by Linda Ness

The seeds of hate and anger are symbolically reflected in this image. I inherited the seeds of these hurtful, evil spirited monsters and their slimy, perverted companions from my abusive, tyrannical father. As I became an adult, it was painful to witness these monsters of rage explode from me, hurting those closest to me. The words and emotions that came out of my mouth seemed beyond my control, coming from deep inside, exploding at their will – not mine.
By creating and understanding this image, I am able to recognize these ugly parts of myself. I see that although they are inside, they are NOT me. I need not fight, react to them or give them power. By examining these scary parts, I learned to recognize the triggers that give these monsters power and how to pull the plug so they no longer control my emotions or life.