Pattern of expanding consciousness in midlife women: creative movement and the narrative as modes of expression
1Graduate Nursing Program, Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Abstract:
This study is based on Newman's theory of expanding consciousness; it expands Newman's method to include creative movement as a mode of expression. The researcher engaged in two in-depth interviews and one creative movement group experience with each of 17 midlife women. Results demonstrate expanding consciousness at midlife, with patterns of meaning identified in relationships with others, self, and spirit as well as challenges of loss, illness, and threats to relationships. Activities of consciousness were choosing, balancing, accepting, and letting go. Concepts of flow, turbulence, and a movement dialectic were identified in study findings. Creative movement supported self-awareness.
Related Concept Videos
The Sense of Self: Reflected Self-Appraisal and Social Comparison
Altered States of Awareness
The ingestion of substances like stimulants or hallucinogens leads to chemical alterations in the brain that...
Structure of Self
Components of the Mind: Id, Ego, and Superego
Cognitive Development During Adulthood
Emerging Adulthood
Social Foundations of Self IV: Self in Digital Communication


