Write So Far: Giving Voice to Your Spiritual Journey at Prairiewoods (in person)

Saturdays, beginning Aug. 16, 9:30 a.m.–1 p.m. U.S. Central Time

To paraphrase author and teacher Natalie Goldberg: In knowing who we are and writing from that knowledge, we have a chance to bring the reader deeper into our own heart. Even when that reader is our self. What’s more, she says, such writing can teach us the dignity of speaking the truth, allowing that truthful dignity to spread out from the page into our life. In this five-week series at Prairiewoods (120 East Boyson Road in Hiawatha), we will gain skills and experience in process writing that can be employed in discerning and expressing our way well beyond this program. These skills and experiences may strengthen our ability to tolerate and even appreciate the circuitous nature of the journey, deepen our trust in Spirit’s abiding, and expand our capacities to discern the ways in which guide posts and Presence are revealed. We will also gain experience in the value and reciprocal relationship of an empowering and encouraging contemplative writing community. Such a community is dedicated to seeing each other through the challenges of revision, which contemplative writing teacher Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew says “is the spiritual practice of transformation—of seeing text, and therefore the world—with new eyes.” In this series, we will use writing as a method of discovery. We’ll explore the elements of our spiritual lives in our own voices, and then shape at least some part of that journey into a shareable form. That form might be anything from a poem to a letter to the opening pages of a memoir. The intended audience may be small and chosen or the wider world of fellow seekers. In every case, the focus is on a process that engenders truth-telling and can serve us as we continue to grow in self-knowledge and the discernment of our spiritual journey. Each session is designed to explore techniques that expand our agency and ways of knowing as we seek a fuller relationship with the Source of all Being, ourselves and others through writing. The process begins with tapping into the creative flow of questions, feelings and insights. Practiced in the space of sacred circle, these exercises and courageous conversations about them help reveal to us both the form our writing will take and its intended audience. Navigating the circuitous process toward shareable pages involves revision and may take us back into the earlier steps or bring us face-to-face with our inner critics. Seeing each other through these challenges and listening intently for the truth in each other's voices, writers find themselves more deeply connected to each other and come to understand that their personal journey is part of a much larger community of contemplative writers and seekers throughout time. Facilitator Cheryl Conklin holds a bachelor's degree in English with an emphasis in creative writing and a master’s degree in counseling. She has collaborated on writing and producing stage plays, published a few poems, given poetry readings and was a regular contributor to Colorado Gardening magazine. Most recently, she completed the Living School program through the Center for Action and Contemplation, through which she became dedicated to addressing the need for contemplative writing practice and communities. The cost of this five-week series is $175 and includes lunch. For more information or to register, contact Prairiewoods at www.Prairiewoods.org or 319-395-6700.

You may also like the following events from Prairiewoods Franciscan Spirituality Center:

• This Friday, 1st August, 06:30 pm, Active Hope for Troubling Times Retreat at Prairiewoods (in person) in Hiawatha
• Next Monday, 4th August, 09:30 am, Metta Yoga at Prairiewoods (in person) in Hiawatha
• Next Monday, 4th August, 06:30 pm, Going Inward with Sounds & Vibrations at Prairiewoods (in person) in Hiawatha

Also check out other Arts events in Hiawatha, Literary Art events in Hiawatha.