Drinking from the River of Light: The Life of Expression
With Mark Nepo
October 18 - 20, 2019
Based on Mark Nepo’s new book, Drinking from the River of Light, this workshop will center on the lifelong process of listening, reflecting, and expressing, and on how bearing witness to the truth of living reveals the mysteries of life.
As no one can live without inhaling and exhaling, no one can live without feeling and expressing. The life of expression is how the heart breathes and how our spirit grows in the life that carries it. The life of feeling, dialogue, and writing, whatever form they take—poetry, story, memoir, or reflection—open us to a personal form of expression, a necessary conversation with the Universe that helps us move through obstacles and transitions. As meditation is an ancient art that deepens our relationship to how we breathe, writing and storytelling are ancient arts that deepens our relationship to all that matters. And just as the reward for practicing meditation is not that we’ll become great breathers but that we’ll become clear vessels of life-force, the reward for practicing a personal form of expression is not that we’ll become great writers or great storytellers but that such practice will help us be more resilient and wake closer to life.
In this retreat, Mark will open a heart space through which participants can discover their own rhythms of expression. Through poetry, stories, and metaphors, Through reflection, journaling, and dialogue, each participant will have the chance to practice listening and expressing. We are constantly being shaped by life into finer instruments of care and expression. The deeper we go, the more attuned we become, and the more we join with everything around us. This workshop will help you to inhabit a personal form of expression, by which you can strengthen your connections and find your way.
Topics include “The Chord in Our Heart,” “What It Means to See,” “Bearing Witness,” “Unraveling the Self,” “Giving and Getting Attention,” “Breaking Surface,” “Understanding Practice,” and “Fitting Things Together.”
My hope for our time together is that we can touch into the miraculous depth of being that is always just below whatever we carry, and that you’ll return to your life having discovered and deepened a very personal form of expression that you can walk with in your days.
—MN
Bring a journal.
About the Leader
Mark Nepo
Mark's body of work explores leaning into life and holding nothing back. Mark is a poet and philosopher who has taught in the fields of poetry, spirituality, and health for over thirty years. In 1987, Mark was diagnosed with a rare form of lymphoma. The heart of that journey and its aftermath has greatly informed […]
Learn more about Mark NepoCategories : All Levels, Main Campus, West Hartford, Mindfulness, Overnight Retreat