Gathering Courage: Still-Doing, Big Journaling, and Other (Not So Scary) Ways to Begin Accommodating the Soul

If you promised yourself that in 2016 you would make room in your life for what you really want to do (and you haven’t done it), if you are ready to reach beyond previous limitations to make authentic life choices, if it’s high time you started having more joy in your life, then you are invited to join Thandiwe Shiphrah for these exhilarating weekly sessions dedicated to getting in touch with what’s in your heart and charting a path with purpose.

Each session presents a nourishing opportunity to honor who you are and what you value, to acknowledge and share your unique talents, and to make a commitment to your creativity. This is a time for dreaming, writing, setting intentions, planning, shifting, rethinking (as in changing direction) or getting your nerve up in preparation for taking leaps or stepping out on faith. Ideal for artists, writers, activists, innovators and entrepreneurs in any field. See more about this class and Thandiwe in this interview with her on the TLA Network blog.

Week by Week

Week One:  Still Doing & Big Journaling

Establishing a regular practice of inquiry and reflective writing can not only facilitate self-awareness, it can help us access energy and deeper knowledge, identify and transform limiting beliefs, and inspire creativity.  This session introduces a simple integrative journaling method that helps us stay connected to the core of our being, examine our mindsets, and open to inspiration. 

Week Two:  Deeper Listening

In the rush of everyday living, it’s easy to lose touch with our own feelings, needs, and desires. Here are creative writing exercises for clarifying what’s missing in our lives and opportunities to express ideals such as beauty, grace, intimacy, and gratitude.

Week Three:  Self Talk & Visual Affirmations

How can language fuel our hopes and dreams? Experiment with positive ways of speaking and writing about our personal goals and aspirations and learn to make poetry-inspired “visual affirmations” to counter negative self-talk.

Week Four:  Seeing What We Believe

When we see our beliefs in operation, we begin to understand how they shape our decision, actions, and interactions.  What patterns and ways of beings are keeping us from stepping onto the path we desire?  Writing stories and poems help us uncover unconscious blocks to our fulfillment, showing how to observe ourselves closely – our thoughts, feelings, and actions – both alone and in relationship with others. 

Week Five: Answering the Call to Create

We will study those who use play and the art of improvisation to overcome limitations and enhance creative capacity. Through the work of a select group of writers, dancers, and musicians, we will learn what these tools have to teach us about quieting the inner critic and opening to possibility. What talents would you like to expand? What have you always wanted to do but haven’t done? What skills would you like to enhance? What area of your life do you feel is in need of a breakthrough?

Week Six: Improvised Action Planning

Sounds contradictory but it’s not.  When we engage in Improvised Action Planning we draw on our intuitive and imaginative faculties while simultaneously creating a thoughtful and realistic framework and timeline for undertaking and completing goals and projects. 
 
Who Should Take This Class

This class will be useful to writers, performers, visual artists, activists, and anyone else who is eager to discover and make the most of their gifts, talents, and passions.  It is ideal for innovators and social entrepreneurs in any field who are contemplating a new project or considering a career change.

Format

This is an online class.  It offers inspiring prompts, recorded meditations, writing exercises, reading assignments, and some image making/artistic exploration. No previous writing or art experience required.   Participants should expect to spend 3 hours a week on the assignments.

About the Teacher

Thandiwe Shiphrah is a multidisciplinary artist, an independent curator of community arts programs, and a writer and producer of performance events. For the past 25 years, she has been passionately exploring the link between the arts, personal life enrichment, and healthy community development, with a focus on cross-cultural communication and social inclusion of marginalized groups. Her poetry and mixed-media art have appeared in numerous journals, anthologies, and magazines. For more information, watch this video of Thandiwe.  See a Facebook event page for this class.