It’s that time of year when the writing circles begin again. I always look forward to seeing old friends and welcoming new ones. Writing has been my spiritual practice for a long time and I can’t help but encourage it in others.
There are a couple of opportunities coming up. If you are in Nanaimo or not too far away, I invite you to join me either for a four-week Writing Life women’s writing circle, in my home, or for a seven-week writing circle called Writing Home: A Whole Life Practice that will take place at Bethlehem Centre in Nanaimo.
The Writing Life Circle‘s theme this time is “Stitching Our Stories, Following the Threads.” We’ll meet from Wednesday, January 17 to Wednesday, February 7, 2024 (four Wednesday mornings), 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Our weekly themes will be: To Begin a Practice (Again); Piece by Piece; The Way of Memory; and Grounded in the Present.
To learn more about the Writing Life circle, have a look here.
The Writing Home circle, open to everyone, is based on my book of the same name with its seven chapters related to the chakras. We’ll meet for seven Monday mornings at Bethlehem Centre in Nanaimo: January 22 to March 4, 2024 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. There will be tea, coffee and snacks available each Monday morning and on the last day we’ll have launch together in the centre dining room.
The new year seems an ideal time to embark on a heart-opening and creative journey through writing. I find that people gathering in a circle to write are encouraged by the jewels they discover in their own life story, assisting them in the awakening of the wisdom and creativity they already possess.
The Writing Home circle is an opportunity to embark on a heart-opening and creative journey; embrace your personal story; be encouraged and inspired; envelop yourself with your own wisdom; and live your life from that heart-opening place.
Writing Home is a writing pilgrimage consisting of seven exploratory stages following the seven chakras. Here are the weekly circle themes:
At the Threshold;
The Longing for Home;
The Sacred Call;
Departure: Leaving Home to Find Home:
The Pilgrim’s Way;
Arrival: At Home in the Body: and
“Bringing Back the Boon.”
The fee for seven weeks is $589 payable through Bethlehem Centre. You can visit their website for further information and to register.
In a writing circle, we apply the ancient wisdom of the circle to a modern application: a sacred ceremony of writing, sharing and listening where each person is respected for their presence and contributions. The ceremony offers a container to acknowledge each person in the circle; to create a sense of safety; lessen any anxiety; and honour the writing shared.
The Tibetan ting sha is rung to offer some grounding in the present moment. We take three deep breaths. I read a poem to begin which relates to the theme for the circle. There is a “checking in” for each person to share how they’re doing or perhaps I’ll pose a question to think about. I may ask for one word to describe how each person is feeling that particular day. We use a talking piece for this checking in to remind each person to take a turn to speak and the rest of us will listen.
There are also guidelines for the circle that include Four Laws of Respect including: “What we say in the circle stays in the circle.”
A writing circle has a theme and writing is done following a question or possibly, a line in a poem. Writing for ten minutes up to twenty minutes, participants can see just how much ground can be covered when one drops any judgement about what they’re writing and gets in touch with what matters to them.
Following the reading of one’s writing if they choose to do so, no judgement or critique is given. Rather, other participants offer support and encouragement by echoing back a word or phrase that resonates with them. The writing circle is meant to affirm what each person is getting in touch with through their own writing.
Following some time to write there is a “checking out” so that each person can say how they’re feeling following the writing and sharing. I read a final poem to close. The intentional beginning and ending are aspects of the structure that help to create a ceremony, an oasis in one’s day.
I remind people to be gentle with themselves as they leave this time devoted to the inner journey and they return to social and/or work time.
At times, I offer writing circles via Zoom so you can join in wherever you are. In the meantime, I trust you have found some inspiration to write your own story in your daily observations and reading a poem perhaps that reminds you of your own story.
If you are interested in my book, Writing Home: A Whole Life Practice, you can read more here.
If you’re in Nanaimo, Windowseat Books in the Old City Quarter has copies available.
As I’ve said about the writing circles since I began them in 1997 in Toronto: Be seen. Be heard. Be amazed at what comes out of the stillness.