Seven Gifts – Talk + Workshop

Course Description

John will lead us on a journey that names “seven gifts” of renewal given to us by poetry and poem-making. The intention is to serve as encouragement and catalyst for your vocation and personal journey. These gifts and this renewal are accessible in the midst of living this life—with its sorrow and joy, travail and adventure, the daily experience of being human and a deeper spiritual current that speaks to a greater mystery—poetry provides a perspective and felt-experience that can be recognized and received as gift. Seven Gifts Discovery of meaning and connection. A way to sharpen the practice of mindfulness. Poetry-as-Healer encourages embodiment. Poem-Making invites play and imagination. A way of asking questions, where a question is not in search of an answer. Questions ask to be held. Relationships infused with compassion, vulnerability and courage. The gift shared with another. The retreat will include gentle, evocative and poignant writing prompts that will reveal to us these gifts. No prior experience with poem-making is necessary—and “beginner’s mind” is welcomed among all participants.