On Embracing Longing & Workshop News
I believe we yearn for wonder. Yet when the human world in which we find ourselves becomes frenetic—distracting, chaotic, overwhelming—and at the same time grey and flat, we may yearn for longing itself. For the wakeful, ageless potency of it. True longing greens the soul.
There’s a difference between the desires of the ego and the longing of the soul. Learning to discern that difference takes time. A lifetime for some of us. Does the process of making such a distinction keep calling you back to it?
This fall, I’ve been continuing to read and work with Frank MacEowen’s The Mist-Filled Path, and I think his chapter titled “The Spirit of Longing” may be my favourite. Here, MacEowen imparts his view “that although the desires of the ego almost always lead to suffering and separation, the longing of the soul always strives toward peace and beauty. The thing to remember is that the longing is something we can trust.” He elaborates:
“If we want to discern the difference… we can rest in the knowledge that the longing that calls to us will always facilitate a deepening relationship to our lives, while ego-driven desires only serve to separate us from our potential. The longing promotes a glorious life journey of shaping and being shaped that results in holiness and wholeness, whereas the ego almost always leads us into the land of distraction, disconnection, and fragmentation.”
What impulse deep within you guides you toward peace and beauty? Toward a deepening relationship with life itself? What is it you truly long for?
As I get older, I still revisit those questions. For any of us, they may surface repeatedly, even cyclically, guiding us back to our own most essential journey of understanding. Once we awaken to our longing, it becomes our constant companion—one we know we must learn to follow.
I love the idea that we are called by our soul’s true longing. While heeding that call may be unsettling at times, since it invites us to dance beyond the sleepy trappings of “comfort,” it takes us deeper into what Jungian psychologist James Hillman calls, “the soul’s code.” Hillman’s book by that same title is one I draw upon in my own work, Birdlight: Freeing Your Authentic Creativity. We are all creative. The most important thing we create is the weave and wonder of our own human life. To be authentic in that creation is to be true—not to the external stimuli of a mainstream modern culture which may or may not fully align with us—but to our own higher self, our centre and soul. To the stars and earth that formed us. When we create from our centre, both the process and fruition of our work may have a healing effect—not just upon ourselves, but upon others. Our life is entwined with all of life.
I remember, years ago, being challenged by a man I dated briefly, one who took issue with my use of the word “healing” in relation to art. And I have worked with writing teachers who, when discussing craft, also balked at the term. That dismissive tone—as though writing and healing, and writing fine work must be siloed like so much else in our culture into different categories. Doesn’t reading, viewing, or listening to the arts ever have a healing effect upon the soul?
I hope so.
Crane-Magic
I’ve chosen the crane for the title of this short reflection, since through my ongoing journey in core and Celtic shamanism, it’s a bird I’ve come to associate with discernment. If ever I write a sequel to Birdlight, I’ll write a chapter on Crane. In Celtic mythology, the animal often appears, a harbinger of otherworldly wisdom. In a blog called “Return of the Cranes” (Emerald Isle), the author describes the Celtic god Lugh of the silver arm doing a crane dance. Lugh is one of a pantheon of gods, goddesses, and “supernatural” beings known as the Tuatha Dé Danann, once sacred to the Celts in Ireland. He dances to prepare his warriors for battle with their enemy, the Fomorians—giants who had “bound them under heavy taxes and weighty duties like slaves.”
Embodying the crane’s energy, “Lugh danced around his warriors on one leg, with one eye closed and one arm outstretched, chanting…”
In the context of discerning and embracing one’s true longing, this detail from the story stays with me:
“The one open eye was meant to be able to see into the other worlds, while standing on one foot like the crane, or corr in Irish, was meant to allow one to walk between the worlds, just as the crane stepped between the earth, water and sky with ease.”
In our complicated human world, when at times we may feel like we have a taxing enemy within us—one that shapeshifts into deadening states of distraction, disconnection, and fragmentation—we would do well to dance with the magical crane. That is—to call for our own clarity and inspiration from a place and power both within and beyond us.
Writing can be a way of moving between worlds.
In that spirit, I am offering an online workshop called Writing with the Ancestors. It will take place via Zoom on Sunday, November 30th, from 1 – 3:30 p.m. Eastern.
Our emphasis will be on ancestral explorations, writing between the worlds, and story finding.
In our culture, where for countless valid reasons so many of us seek to strengthen our sense of focus, deep connection, and wholeness, I believe good stories are companions to our sacred longing—important guideposts pointing us to the wishes of our soul. I also believe that writing in community, where we can concentrate and also feel the dynamic energy of the group, is both healthy and natural. There is no such thing as a completely “solo” human creator.
Your Invitation
This generative writing workshop is open to all who feel drawn to it. In a dark moment of the year, I hope the event will be a green blossoming branch for any of us feeling pulled to explore stories of the past. Together, we’ll probe such stories for their magic and relevance to the only time there is: now.
Our focus will be experiential. In other words, this won’t be a workshop about performance (arriving at a product) or craft. Those things have their place. But above all, as a writer and teacher, what I seek to facilitate are conditions for inspiration and deeper meaning-making. Catalysts for compelling journeys. You may find yourself doing your most powerful writing after our gathering has ended.
What does it mean to write with the ancestors?
Exploring details from the lives of family members who have passed on can be a way of evolving self-understanding and a sense of belonging to a greater story. It may bring healing across generations, stimulate insights, and help you cultivate new reserves of inner strength. It may also lead you along new paths of imagination and storytelling. That being said, not everyone knows or feels inspired by the histories of their biological forebears. If that’s the case for you, then I invite you to consider ancestors simply as those who have gone before. The lives of people in the past with whom you feel a connection.
We will establish a warm, safe space for all participants to create. Come prepared to give yourself uninterrupted time to write and journey to an imaginal realm that is both your birthright and a creative portal. I will share curated readings and resources, along with questions and exercises designed to take you deeper into story-finding and expression. You will also receive a hand-out before we meet, to help you prepare, and another one to take away afterward as you continue your writing journey.
Will we get into ghostly material?
While that will not be the main focus of this workshop, the answer really depends on the tales you find and bring. Each person’s interests and experiences are unique.
A Few More Thoughts…
The stories sparked and developed during our time together may be expressed through any genre. Some may arrive unexpectedly. Some may be ancestral tales already familiar to you that have been calling to be revisited and voiced. In our troubled human world, more than ever, we need good stories. Ones that offer us passage to greater awareness and empathy, life’s mysteries, and the wonder of what’s possible.
Registration Details
The investment for this workshop is $45 CAD. If you are currently experiencing financial difficulty, you’ll find a sliding scale on the registration page. Reach out if you have any questions. I want everyone who feels drawn to this gathering to be able to attend. The workshop will be recorded, and I will provide replay access (available for 30 days) to all who enroll.
Important note: If you purchase an Annual subscription to Awakening Wonder ($80 CAD), you will automatically receive the workshop at NO additional cost. Also included in the full-year paid plan is a 60-minute private Zoom consultation with me. (This one-to-one meeting is not the same as the strategy sessions I have given in the past.) During our hour together, we will focus on the area of your creativity where you would MOST love greater clarity and support.
As a multi-genre, traditionally published author and working writer, as well as a longtime teacher and coach, I offer a unique skill set. If this invitation resonates, I hope you’ll join me.
To purchase an Annual paid subscription and enjoy all the benefits, including the upcoming Writing with the Ancestors workshop, go here.
To enroll in the November 30th Writing with the Ancestors workshop, visit the event registration page.
Do you know others who may be interested in this event? If so, please share.
As always, thank you for being here.
