The (Inner) Heat of Autumn
Originally Published September 28th, 2017
Friends,
I'm so very excited to tell you now, as September gives sway to October, that registration is open for a very special day-long intensive workshop for creative writing and meditation on October 29 at the beautiful Theodore Wirth Pavilion in Minneapolis. It's called The Heat of Autumn, in honor of the Jane Hirshfield poem, and that's what we intend to do: build inner heat by spiraling through creative writing exercises, sensory awareness and meditation, and gorgeous autumnal sound baths using Tibetan singing bowls, all the while spiraling deeper and deeper into the creative unconscious with each three-part cycle. Our creative pilot lights are always lit. Really, truly. But are our burners firing? That's what this day is about.
I'm co-teaching this special workshop with my friend, Tyler Lewke. Tyler has attended several of my retreats and workshops and has led meditation, chanting, and labyrinth walks for us, so perhaps you have met him! Tyler is an Upasaka (ordained Buddhist vow taker) as well as the president and operational director of the Blue Lotus Temple in Crystal Lake, Illinois. He is the author of Empty, Empty, Happy, Happy: The Essential Teachings of a Simple Monk, which chronicles the core teachings of Bhanta Sujata, and he is currently completing his first spiritual memoir.
As for what you will take away, this workshop provides you the time to produce several short pieces of writing—these might be kindling for longer work to be completed later or simply mirrors into your inner world as it is currently unfolding. You will gain a heightened awareness of the natural world as well as a deeper understanding and appreciation for your body’s place living, breathing place within that world. Finally, you will have the opportunity to surprise yourself with the discovery of new, enlivening, and healing language, images, and metaphors for the precise articulation of inner and outer truths, both light and dark. And you will have the opportunity to ignite your creative fire as deep autumn sets in.
Please join us! And inquire soon because space is limited. Meanwhile, our Fractured class on fragmented is a blast! And our fall session of Write for Your Life is coming up in just over a week, so am very much looking forward to seeing some of you there. Keep writing!
Warmly,
Jeannine
