The littleDog Project

Origins

Paula Jensen was a friend, an inspiration, and one of the most gifted people I have known.  This page used to be her page, speaking to the work she did when she came to Tulsa, Oklahoma to work and live part time.  Her other residence was in Santa Fe.   

In 2019, Paula was diagnosed with cancer.  She used the last eight months of her life to delve even more deeply into her art.  littleDog and Mother:  A Medicine Story, filled with magic and mystery, tells the story of our journey through the eyes and heart of Harley Joe, our four-legged companion.      

(littleDog and Mother:  A Medicine Story)

The littleDog Project is emerging out of the desire to continue Paula’s generous, creative work with people. It was born as a process, an experience people can go through, a doorway.  Sprinkled in is the joy that Harley Joe represented and my own passion for bringing people together in ways that are meaningful, inspiring and creative. 

As a living process, I imagine The littleDog Project will find its form again and again.  

 

The littleDog Project is inspired by the lives of Paula Jensen and Harley Joe.

Over a year and a half after its inception, the first littleDog gathering took form.  In the summer of 2021, four women friends joined me as we opened the first doorway.  We held, listened, and supported each other through an experience that continues to guide The littleDog Project today. 

Elements

Family/Systemic Constellations

Family Constellation Work creates a larger context for beliefs that bind us — allowing them to move, shapeshift, settle differently inside, be challenged/understood from a different view, and held with more compassion….all allowing for more.  This is experiential work, enabling us to see, present time, some of the past family, societal and environmental forces that are perhaps continuing to impact our development and emergence.  Family Constellation Work brings that systemic field alive through representation by other participants, giving us the opportunity to acknowledge what is.  That acknowledgment can provide a doorway into a new narrative and more creative possibilities.

Creating An Accompaniment

Each person will create a felted and eco-printed piece for:

  • What is emerging 

  • Healing

  • Celebration

  • Grief

  • Life

  • Dying and death

  • Birth

  • Honoring

  • More capacity

  • Connection

  • Whatever you like….

Storytelling

For the storyteller:  Speaking to be received and supported

For the listener:  Listening to learn and to meet

The littleDog Project encourages coming together to support each other in looking at more…more possibilities, more context for the issues we carry, more understanding, more creativity…In so doing, we help each other stand on more ground.  Ideally, relationship and community support us in being more of who we are.  That was at the heart of Paula’s work, and is also at the heart of The littleDog Project.  

Jennifer’s Accompaniment

Testimonials

The circle created by the littleDog project held a deep support.  Unexpected pieces of my linage emerged during the constellation that continues to bring strength and connection to my inner and outer life.  The accompaniment created would be a treasured addition to my home for its beauty alone— but even more, it carries the essence of all the gifts and insights I received, as well as hints of unfoldings  which are not yet formed. 

—Jennifer Powers, mother, LifeWays practitioner, storyteller, bodyworker, herbalist.

I was lucky enough to participate in Lynda’s inaugural experiment with The littleDog Project, stepping deeply into her vision for transformation through creativity, art, and through sharing with one another in a safe and expansive space as our small group participated in the Family Constellation therapeutic process. Over the immersive weekend, Lynda guided us easily through the fascinating and rewarding experience of felting and plant-dying altar cloths, giving each participant an unusual and artistic (no experience required!) Accompaniment to take home with us, to commemorate and remember our journey into healing. If you long for a deep dive into the adventures of the soul, The littleDog Project might be just the thing you are craving.

—Annie Heartfield, LPC, poet, artist, musician.