When I look at a piece of writing, I take it in as a world with itself as a reference point—not according to a standard that comes from outside the work itself.
I tune into the piece as though it were a child, and rather than imposing an idea on it, I see what it wants to be as best I can and try to align with that. With this attitude as a basis, my job is to sense where you are in the writing process and what “mind” will be most helpful at that stage to cultivate — whether generative, reflective, or discerning.
I tune into the piece as though it were a child, and rather than imposing an idea on it, I see what it wants to be as best I can and try to align with that. With this attitude as a basis, my job is to sense where you are in the writing process and what “mind” will be most helpful at that stage to cultivate — whether generative, reflective, or discerning.
- In the generative stage of writing, I give you ideas and prompts for creating work from a place of spontaneous ease and help you to cultivate the generative attitude so that your writing time can be experienced as enjoyable, deep play, instead of a frustrating and chaotic struggle.
- Once you’ve generated material, I help you reflect on your work by acting as a mirror — asking questions, pointing out embryonic areas that might be explored, and offering encouragement for sinking into a deeper layer of truth. I also help you work with inner demons that keep you from your work, and address the habits of mind that undermine your ability to tolerate the practical and psychological challenges of staying with the creative process.
- If the piece is one you intend to share with others, then in the discernment stage, I help you to refine and polish your work, lending a careful eye to the coherence and aesthetic of the piece as a whole while helping you to recognize and clear the voices of your judging mind that can often derail our work at this stage. I can also help you to sort through the various paths toward publication and choose which direction to pursue.
For those who intend to publish, it is important to understand that I see myself as facilitating your own deep creative process rather than acting as a traditional editor. While there are plenty of fine editors who will help you to refine your work to an outside standard, reshaping it with their own ideas or even ghostwriting it for you to help you get a book contract, that is not my style. I won’t write your book for you, but I will help you connect to your inner source of material, sharpen your attunement to your own aesthetic, give you tools and insights into crafting your work and support an inner-directed process so that you come to trust yourself as a writer. The work will be entirely yours.
It doesn’t matter whether you intend to publish your work with a traditional publisher, self-publish for a large audience or for a few close friends, send it to magazines, put it on a blog or use it as a private process just for you. These are all equally legitimate avenues, none better than another, when you are committed to using writing as a tool of spiritual integration and awareness. In that case, I’d be honored to serve as your guide, mirror and mentor as you tangle with your writing demons, celebrate your insights, and realize your work.
It doesn’t matter whether you intend to publish your work with a traditional publisher, self-publish for a large audience or for a few close friends, send it to magazines, put it on a blog or use it as a private process just for you. These are all equally legitimate avenues, none better than another, when you are committed to using writing as a tool of spiritual integration and awareness. In that case, I’d be honored to serve as your guide, mirror and mentor as you tangle with your writing demons, celebrate your insights, and realize your work.
take the leap.
I am available for single sessions or ongoing mentoring via Skype or phone to anywhere in the world. In addition to working with individuals, I periodically hold writing circles as well as immersions and retreats, and have guided writers as they took individual retreats in a location convenient to them. Special package rates are available.
Schedule a FREE 30-minute consultation
to explore together how my style of working might take you to a new level in your writing.
Schedule a FREE 30-minute consultation
to explore together how my style of working might take you to a new level in your writing.
Combining writing with other spiritual practice?
You might want to read about my approach to spiritual mentoring, which informs my work in this context. These sessions provide resources and encouragement for developing and sustaining an enlivening personal spiritual practice that integrates transcendent insight with earthly life.
You might want to read about my approach to spiritual mentoring, which informs my work in this context. These sessions provide resources and encouragement for developing and sustaining an enlivening personal spiritual practice that integrates transcendent insight with earthly life.
