Each of our stories is a universe, as unique, diverse, and complex as the greater universe in which we all live. Each one of us is living a story that has psychological, political, ecological, spiritual, and mythic implications. To discover its shape and essence is essential to healing and soul nurturing.
The psyche is a protean entity, elusive, mutable, shimmering, in constant transformation from one element to another. Any event or experience can be a nexus point for the multitude of time lines converging in that moment. To know this is to understand Story, and to follow Story is to understand the direction and path of healing. The task is to step into the stories that we have been given to live, to honor them by investigating their form and meaning. The goal is to understand what they say to us about the direction of our lives and the nature of healing. We can discover the way that story is a path, opening the future before us, individually and collectively.
Deena will guide us through a series of writing exercises into the heart of the creative process. We will be invited to discover the meaning, necessity, healing potentials, and beauty of our own tale. This workshop is for writers and non-writers alike, for the shy and the courageous, for all those interested in story, language, creativity, healing, awareness, authenticity, and rigorous interchange with the true self. It is for women and men who want encouragment to claim the vast field of the imagination as their territory.
We will begin a process of discovering the richness of our real nature - natures which incorporate all of human history and futures, the personal and the mythic. Nothing is required but paper and pen, the desire to see clearly and deeply, and to know oneself. The world of possibility is dazzling. We can know ourselves, the inner world, and the great world.
Deena Metzger is a compassionate healer, passionate woman, political activist, spinner of myths, spiritual explorer, novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, lecturer, educator, and psychotherapist. She is concerned with the ecological relationships between nature, psyche, politics, spirit, and imagination. She has been leading journal and writing workshops and working as a psychotherapist and healer for over 20 years. Lately, she has been training healers for their physical, emotional, and spiritual role in the 21st Century. Deena Metzger's most recent books are Writing For Your Life: A Guide and Companion to the Inner Worlds; Looking for the Faces of God; The Other Hand; Tree: Essays and Pieces; and Intimate Nature: Women's Bond with Animals. Her workshops here have been powerful and deeply moving, as is Deena herself, and we're delighted to welcome her back.