Therapeutic tattoo recount – Sarah
This was my first tattoo and experience with therapeutic tattooing. I wanted to have a tattoo that would be personally meaningful. It would be more or less a physical “by product” of the values, ideas, life experiences. My ‘mark’ in life at present embodied in a tattoo.
I experienced a sense of transcending, connection beyond just the physical. The flow of an energy cycling back and forth from the artist himself, passing on through the needle and into the physical location of my body where my own energy was met. This was transcending of the body and mind. Such a tattoo, which in itself carries an immense depth of meaning, should be ‘activated’ in that way. In doing so, the artist and his tools become the agent that allow the flow of sacred energy to be instilled. The experience was physically liberating, exhilarating, and at the same time, calming. Spiritually, it was powerful — at one point my mind travelled off into vast spaces of rivers and canyons in my mind. It took me out into far away places where I was reminded of the liberating feeling that comes when one accepts the existence of pain and learns to see the beauty in it. It was rather confronting to be so in touch with the energy that I was consuming me, yet to let myself be totally absorbed and sit in the physical sensation of it, the energy transformed into something Other. It was an extraordinary experience.
To this day, that experience remains vivid. Such an emotional and spiritual experience that I feel is deeply rooted in the tattoo, and having an energy instilled in me in that way will always remind me to connect with my inner self. A transformation has taken place, a shift in my mind’s focus, especially the priority of my thoughts. There is a radiating energy that lives within now, and because of that, it helps ward off negativity and unnecessary concerns. I am a lot more in tune with the connection of my physical and spiritual self. Most importantly, the experience reminds me to accept pain (physical, mental and emotional) as it can be liberating. In doing so, the connection with the outside world and the inner self is at peace…and inevitably, it has made me more benevolent.
Sarah – 21 – Student
