The Alchemy of Writing- 1.5 day workshop

“Ring the bells that you can ring, forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything–that’s how the light gets in.”
Leonard Cohen

• Date: Sat. Oct 16 - - Sun. Oct. 17
• Location: ManiStone Centre, Nelson
• Tuition: $110-$150
• Phone: (250) 352-7908

The Alchemy of Writing is a practice, a way of being. You discover this way of being when you are present, open, and willing to receive what emerges from the unknown depths of your being. This is not like school, where you get good marks for being right. This is a way of diving into the wildness, the unpredictability of life itself, and discovering resources, capacities that want to make themselves known to you.

These resources might express themselves in the form of grief, of longing, of unexpected delight—who knows? To be whole means connecting with essence, with your core, this being that rejects nothing, and embraces every part of who you are.  We might have ideas about the power of acceptance, of the full embrace– in this writing, we feel what that actually is. We let go of our need to know, to control, to achieve specfic outcomes. We meet ourselves, without defenses, and we discover that we are not who we think we are.

“I am vast, I contain multitudes,” sang Walt Whitman. You are no different than Walt. You are also a being of infinite dimensions. Writing is a river; it carries us into places we have never been, places we have never imagined, far beyond the limits of our little conditioned mind.

This workshop will give you every opportunity to rest in the freedom, in the power, in the compassionate warmth of presence, and to express yourself fully in this openness. When you express, when you find the courage to allow your authentic being to emerge, you become more and more fully yourself. And as yourself, you are a gift to this world.

This is the good news. We don’t have to run around searching for good things to do. We just have to learn how to be fully and freely expressed. Then our natural goodness shines. We find the courage to take risks, to be transparent, to love more, even when it’s not safe. To be fully alive, vulnerable, tender, juicy. Not needing to prove anything. Just here as we are.

Sessions will include sitting, inquiry, gentle energy work, and dialogue. Sometimes alone, sometimes with a partner, sometimes in small groups.

Tuition is a sliding scale: $110-$150. Pre-registration required.
Workshop times:

Sat. Oct. 15 1:00-5pm
Sun. Oct. 16 10-5:30pm

For more information, or to register, visit http://www.barefootjourneys.net

Shayla is a coach, teacher, mentor and writer. She supports those who are ready to awaken to the intimacy, power and natural creativity of presence.