The Mystic Voice

Week of April 1, 2023

Inspired by the mystics, this series will include poetry readings, writing exercises, guided meditations, creative inquiry, and discussion.

The Magic of The Mystics: An Evening of Poetry, Song, and Conversation
Marisa Handler, author, singer-songwriter, coach, and teacher, will share some of her own mystic poetry and songs, and then facilitate a conversation that touches into the very depths of our being—and the age-old question of how to effectively express these sublime depths through the medium of language. We will begin with a guided meditation to access our true nature, move into poetry and song, and then proceed into a rich discussion. You won’t want to miss this one.

Writing Session 1: The Mystic Voice
Throughout history, the mystics have reminded us how to live a life guided by the soul.  Rumi, Hafiz, Mirabai, Li Po, St. Theresa, Rilke, Dickinson—their magnificent visions have been passed down to us through their words. How can we locate those exquisite depths within ourselves? And, once touched, how may we best express them?

Through writing with clear intention, from a place of conscious intimacy with that which we understand as the divine, we can connect to the tremendous creative force within us. Inspired by the mystics, we will ease into the rhythmic flow between deep listening and expressing, between guided meditation and writing exercises.

Writing Session 2: Writing the Wild
“I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright,” wrote Henry David Thoreau in his essay “Walking.” The wildness of nature, as Thoreau continually reminds us, is paramount to the fathoming of the wildness within us.

In this workshop, we will use writing as a tool to explore the natural world, the wilds within our own minds and hearts, and the relationship between the two. We will go outdoors, taking time to meditatively “listen” to the elements of nature to which we are drawn, and experiment with writing from that perspective and place. And we will go inwards, and write from the wildness of our own fertile depths.

Writing Session 3: The Palace of Memory: Writing Memoir
In his Confessions, Saint Augustine wrote: “I come to fields and vast palaces of memory, where are the treasures of innumerable images of all kinds of objects brought in by sense-perception.  Hidden there is whatever we think about … It is a vast and infinite profundity. Who has plumbed its bottom?”

Saint Augustine refers to the “Memory Palace” used by the orators of Ancient Rome as a mnemonic for the subjects addressed in their speeches. What does your own Memory Palace look like? What waltzes in the ballroom, simmers in the kitchen, huddles in the attic?

Memory is an incredibly rich wellspring of material, and writing is an unrivaled means of exploring it. Using guided exercises and prompts, we’ll write our way into some of the key moments of our lives. We’ll discuss how to locate those memories that wield particular power in the telling, and we’ll also explore the process of crafting them into captivating narrative.

Writing Session 4: The Art of Awakening
“You must find our own way,” said Nisargadatta Maharaj.  “Unless you find it yourself, it will not be your own way and will take you nowhere.” Ram Dass said it a little differently: “I can’t do it the way other people have done it, and you can’t do it as I have, although sometimes we find ourselves traveling together.” The journey of spiritual awakening is as beautifully diverse as we are, and therein lies the paradox—where absolute meets relative, universal the particular.  We may all be going to the same place, but we find our own paths, our own ways of walking. And that is where self-realization becomes an inherently creative process, one in which we are called to play the role of artist.

In this workshop, we’ll do some guided meditating and somatic exploring to connect with breath and body, and settle into forms of knowing deeper than the analytical mind. Then we’ll do some writing and conversing, exploring how to be the artists of our own awakening, drawing on our unique gifts and disposition to reach the fullest expression of our experience of truth.

 

Marisa Handler—writer, singer-songwriter, teacher, and coach—is the author of the memoir Loyal to the Sky, which won a Nautilus Gold Award for world-changing books. Her essays, fiction, and poetry have appeared in numerous publications. Marisa is a longtime spiritual practitioner—studying Insight Meditation in retreats and daily life since 2002 and teaching since 2012, facilitating The Work of Byron Katie since 2015, and practicing Authentic Movement and Somatic Experiencing. Marisa teaches on creativity, writing, meditation, and transformation at places like Stanford, Spirit Rock, Esalen, and the California Institute for Integral Studies. More at www.marisahandler.com.