AUG 3-5, 2012, San Anselmo, CA and
AUG 24–26, 2012, Whittier, NC:

Writes of Passage as a way to heal through the process of writing about the various cycles of personal development grew out of Marjorie’s teaching of this class over many years. During that time her recognition grew that writing one’s personal stories can bring about a deep healing and self-renewal, leading to an authentic enthusiasm for life and one’s unique purpose.

This is a weekend workshop designed to let you relax in a beautiful retreat setting, giving you ample time to walk, reflect, write in the peacefulness of nature, and share your words with others. There is also writing instruction from Marjorie based on the theme of important life events, or rites of passage, that occur in each person’s life.  During rites of passage as practiced by traditional cultures, specific rituals such as the vision quest are used to assist individuals in becoming aware of their life’s purpose by returning to nature and asking for a vision. Before Marjorie began teaching creative writing, she guided women’s rites of passage through wilderness vision quests.

Once Marjorie began to teach creative writing, she wondered if peoples’ life experiences during cycles of personal development could be assisted and integrated more easily by combining the two healing processes of rites of passage journey experiences with that of journal writing. Realizing that not everyone could physically go on a vision quest, she worked to combine the two forms of healing and self-expression as a way to give people a means to explore, understand and accept their life’s experiences while also giving them a written record of their lives, much like a visual road map, that could provide insightful ways for moving forward.

The guided journal experience turned out to be the perfect way to give people the unique opportunity to write, and reflect on what they’d written, deepening the experience and leading to creative insights. The guided journal process opens people up to new possibilities for responding to others and to events in their lives with a truer sense of an authentic self, allowing for clarity regarding their life’s purpose. Journal writing became an important tool to engage participants with their creativity as a guiding force in their unique writes of passage journey.

With these ideas in mind, Marjorie wrote a workbook, Writes of Passage: Journaling for the Soul, as a way to help people navigate through six distinct phases, or rites, of passage. In the Writes of Passage workshop, in addition to writing exercises, there are opportunities to make art for pleasure and to get in touch with the imagination. The blending of writing, art and imagination allows participants to give expression to a greater creative potential that exists in everyone.

The six phases or writes of passage covered during the workshop are:

1. Youth, Identity & Finding Your Way
2. Gathering Wisdom & Honoring Your Ancestors
3. Letting Go & Writing Through to Completions in Your Life
4. Finding the Soul of Your Work: Writing Past Fear to Your Passion
5. Putting Your Wisdom to Work: Making an Act of Power
6. Becoming an Elder: Loving Yourself and Serving Others.

The stories that emerge during the six distinct phases of one’s life as covered in the workshop have often served as core stories for a memoir, personal narratives, and short stories.

San Anselmo, CA: AUG 3-5, 2012

Total Price: $150
Deposit due to Register: $75, due by July 18, 2012

Place: San Anselmo, CA.

Join us for a 3-day writing retreat/workshop in a lovely, airy home with lush garden, and open space trails for meandering through the rolling hills and bay forests. The workshop will begin on Friday evening, continue all day Saturday, and end on Sunday afternoon. Housing not included. Meals will be potluck.

To register, call Susie Dodge at (415) 320-0072 or register online now.

Whittier, NC: August 24–26, 2012  

Total Price: $199 (includes 3 catered meals)
Deposit due to Register: $100, due by July 23rd

The 3-day writing retreat/workshop will take place at: Isis Cove Retreat Center, in Whittier, near Asheville, NC. and will begin on Friday evening at 6pm, with a catered supper; Saturday we will meet all day followed by dinner in the evening; Sunday, we’ll meet from approximately 10am with a break for lunch and close our time together around 4pm. Lodging onsite is available at an additional $35 per night, shared accommodations. The retreat center is located in a beautiful setting nestled in the Great Smokey Mountains! Perfect for a writing retreat and a summer get-away! To arrange for lodging, call Kathy at Isis Cove Retreat Center (828) 631-2305, or visit the Retreat Center at www.shamanicbreathwork.org

To register, call Yvonne Scott at (505) 907-9070 or register online now.