Last Day of Class

This week was our sixth and final week of The Writer's Mind workshop. It feels almost too sacred to talk about. But this is what we did after class. We are planning on uploading some of the portraits to JR's global art project.

The next class will begin in April. I pushed it back from the 6th to the 13th. Six Wednesday nights in Culver City. Online class coming in June. If you want to be on the waiting list, please let me know. It is already half full.

The Opposite of War

The opposite of war is not peace, it is creation. Art. I can't find who to credit for saying this first, but it seems to be well known, and also well ignored most of the time.

I had a realization a few days ago that in The Writer's Mind class, I am helping to heal some very great writers--from fear, from blocks, from the negativity that surrounds us--and in doing so, I am helping to heal the world. When a dictator takes over, the first thing they do is get rid of artists because writers and artists speak truth. We add beauty and clarity to the world. We create out of a place that says, "I must" and through it, there is a transfer of inspiration, wisdom, healing, and a knowningness that one is not alone in this world.

Especially memoir. That which is the most personal is also the most universal. Who said that? It's true. Every time a writer accidentally lapses into the second person "you" I immediately start to want to argue with them. But when they stick with their personal experience and their truth, I see myself on every page.

I am thinking about doing a little social experiment. I can't say too much about it right now, but the goal is greater communication, inspiration, and healing on a community level. If you are fan of this, pass it on. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. I'll keep you posted. We're going to heal a great wound.

Dreamers

Last night was the fourth meeting of my Beta class, The Writer's Mind. After every class I feel so inspired and want to blog about it, but do something else instead, like my own writing, or bathtub reading, or sleeping. Last night one of my students shared a piece about swimming nude and other outdoor water related recreation. She mentioned rope swings, cliff diving. There was one phrase I am thinking of now and that is the "flinging oneself into oblivion." This is how I feel about teaching this class. As far as I know no one has ever combined a writing workshop with hypnosis, imagery, EFT, dream therapy, and all the tools I am using and giving to this cozy group of willing subjects. I have no tracks to follow, I'm just flinging myself into open space. I do this often in life and sometimes there are bruises when I fall on my elbow, but other times, the payoff is wonderful. As in this case.

Basically, we go in and out of trance sometimes several times a night and then we workshop writing and I teach them cool stuff about the mind--like how to re-frame some of those negative internal voices, how to release negative emotion, connect with their muse. Last night I taught them how to interpret dreams and stimulate dreams to give them information. They all left a little skeptical that it would work, but this morning I got 2 emails and one call by surprised and excited dreamers.

The Writer's Mind

That's what I am thinking of titling my new writing class, and the book that I foresee coming out of the class. Or perhaps the Creative Mind--because most writers are also doing a million other creative things and the tools and benefits of this program will be applicable to all creative modalities. I am working on the syllabus now, in a happy trance. Mmm.

If you have been thinking about taking this class, it's filling up.