You Don't Remember How Magical You Are

(with sign up details for class)

There are times when I am blown away by the beauty of the person sitting in front of me. I don’t mean their physical beauty, though of course they may be beautiful. I mean the beauty of their effort, largely unseen, to meet the requirements of their inner guides; to become who they are.

To see the beauty to which I am referring, it is necessary to see past all the accidental features of a life. This beauty is a beauty that shines independently of circumstance, irregardless of fortune. It is elegance belonging the one who chooses to listen to the voice of their true self. The listening becomes their path and their path becomes their future. In the midst of the cacophony of moments a stillness can arise; the wonder of the eternal now.

I want to share a poem that I was stirred to write after a session in which I witnessed this essence in a particular person. I have removed the name, which doesn’t matter anyway since the poem is for everyone.

poem for ____ (and everyone else)

you are a freedom

wings spread and airborne

alighting gently on pain

on joy

on the smile of a friend

you don’t need anything more

for this journey-

you only have to listen

to the voice inside of you

and bring it to word

each moment

like a jewel

is an offering-

a call and response

from the ancient one

each moment

is an inquiry

so that freedom

can experience itself

as free

and you can play the music

of your time on earth

The online series of group sessions I am offering begins in February, on Thursday morning the 13th at 9:30 Eastern Standard time.

We will let the 13th be our lucky day.

I hesitated before offering this series. When I enter the flow state in my own art making, I am entering into a kind of contemplation that requires turning away from others. In recent years I have had less inclination to share these experiences. And yet I feel called upon to offer my work to others, and to bring the art of inquiry into the art of responding to the muse one more time. It feels very personal to me; a little bit like inviting people into my private meditations, and hoping, in these deep and secret places, to find a special language we can all share.

So in some ways, this series is an experiment. I have offered retreats and creative process groups for decades, but have withdrawn in recent years into my own private journey. If the series goes well, I may continue to offer it in an ongoing way. But of course this will be a decision made by the gods.

For those of you attracted to the course, I would love learn a little bit about you in advance to our work together. Can you share the answers to one or all of the following questions via the subscriber chat?

• What is your art form? Do you have favorite media you work with? If you don’t yet have a preferred art form, what are you attracted to?

• How would you describe your creative process?

• Are there areas where you get stuck in your process?

• What are your sources of inspiration?

• If you have worked with me in the past, what have your takeaways been?

While you don’t have to be a creative to join this series of sessions, you do need to be committed to learning about your creativity, and willing to undertake practices. It is helpful to me when you have an ongoing creative practice to draw on, but I don’t want to discourage someone new to art as a way of seeing.

The way I will guide this group is based in part on my experiences as a mystic. We will bring together self-inquiry and creative practice. In other words, the group will be contemplative as well as artistic. You are asked to bring your ability to be present along with your craft. In this way, there will be an experimental aspect to our work together. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

There can be a tendency for art groups to become a kind of show and tell. Maybe this is unavoidable. And it’s not a bad thing-very commonly we might learn something from how others see our work, and us. But in this case the sharing of our work will be within the context of the self-discovery process. The artwork is the by-product of seeing. We will not use seeing to make better art, but seeing will make better art. Sound contradictory? I suppose it is. Making good art is a fine motivation. But here the artwork is ourselves, and the material art merely offers clues to who we are.

To secure your spot in the series, you can confirm your registration with the button below. The fee for the 7 sessions is $226.80. I will need your email to send the zoom link when we begin.

And as always, you are welcome to subscribe to my newsletter. I appreciate all subscribers with a special thanks to those who choose to become paid subscribers.

Namaste,

Leslie