Guided Writing Session Directory
Below, you will find recordings for each Guided Writing Session dating back to August 2021 when the sessions were began.
Take a moment to review the Usage and Guidelines Folder below for information on how to post work and use the directory.
Use the Independent Entries Folder for submissions not specific to a monthly program or Guided Writing Session.
More About Guided Writing Sessions
Is happiness possible in the midst of a global pandemic
Quote from Deleted user on April 2020, 4:00 pmAbsolutely happiness is possible in the midst of the pandemic . I have been afraid of being alone since my husband died four years ago. When the pandemic began, I woke up one morning and thought, "Why be afraid of being alone?" "We have been alone for four years and we are thriving." "I am alone and it's okay." "Living alone is what is..."
I'm alone and I've decided to be on a spiritual retreat - a sabbatical of sorts. My meditation practice has grown to two 20 minute sits a day. I am cleaning closets and drawers and I am "in the moment" thinking about nothing else while I'm cleaning. There is a purging of the closets going on and I am lightening up as this is happening. I appreciate my closets immeasurably.
Out in the garden, I notice that the cherry blossom trees are in full bloom. I stand before them in awe. It's as if I never saw them before. Eleven bright yellow daffodils are blooming. Tulips are preparing to show up in the next few days. I have a dozen rose bushes with no buds yet, but they are healthy and vibrant. The hollyhocks can barely be seen above ground. Iris are just beginning to open. My fruit trees don't yet have buds. I've given my garden a spring cleaning and a new watering system.
My inner life is full. When feelings come up I am able to sit with them and welcome them. Tell them they can stay a while. I invite them to live inside me as long as they like. Before the pandemic I was all up in my head and I could very seldom stay with a feeling. I'm active on zoom, connecting with friends around the world,. I have one friend I dance with, one I write with and another with whom I do yoga. I say a prayer of gratitude many times a day. Just a little bit of Trump is more than I can handle so I rely on friends to keep me posted on news of the pandemic. A trip to the grocery store is quite an adventure. I'm trying out new recipes. My little dog has never had so many walks. We're closer now - he sleeps under the covers.
It's not that I don't have fearful, anxious or even impatient moments - it's just that they are part of the process and I don't expect myself to be different. My compassion for those who really suffering grows incrementally and they are in my prayers every day. Living with thew pandemic is my spiritual path today.
Patricia Flasch, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Absolutely happiness is possible in the midst of the pandemic . I have been afraid of being alone since my husband died four years ago. When the pandemic began, I woke up one morning and thought, "Why be afraid of being alone?" "We have been alone for four years and we are thriving." "I am alone and it's okay." "Living alone is what is..."
I'm alone and I've decided to be on a spiritual retreat - a sabbatical of sorts. My meditation practice has grown to two 20 minute sits a day. I am cleaning closets and drawers and I am "in the moment" thinking about nothing else while I'm cleaning. There is a purging of the closets going on and I am lightening up as this is happening. I appreciate my closets immeasurably.
Out in the garden, I notice that the cherry blossom trees are in full bloom. I stand before them in awe. It's as if I never saw them before. Eleven bright yellow daffodils are blooming. Tulips are preparing to show up in the next few days. I have a dozen rose bushes with no buds yet, but they are healthy and vibrant. The hollyhocks can barely be seen above ground. Iris are just beginning to open. My fruit trees don't yet have buds. I've given my garden a spring cleaning and a new watering system.
My inner life is full. When feelings come up I am able to sit with them and welcome them. Tell them they can stay a while. I invite them to live inside me as long as they like. Before the pandemic I was all up in my head and I could very seldom stay with a feeling. I'm active on zoom, connecting with friends around the world,. I have one friend I dance with, one I write with and another with whom I do yoga. I say a prayer of gratitude many times a day. Just a little bit of Trump is more than I can handle so I rely on friends to keep me posted on news of the pandemic. A trip to the grocery store is quite an adventure. I'm trying out new recipes. My little dog has never had so many walks. We're closer now - he sleeps under the covers.
It's not that I don't have fearful, anxious or even impatient moments - it's just that they are part of the process and I don't expect myself to be different. My compassion for those who really suffering grows incrementally and they are in my prayers every day. Living with thew pandemic is my spiritual path today.
Patricia Flasch, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Quote from DevonB on April 2020, 10:40 amPatricia, your piece was like your garden, filled with all those glimpses of beauty. I’m also finding that this time is renewing. Weeding is a meditation, I’m having fun cooking , and spring cleaning releases space. Considering how many of us are going through our closets, we ought to have a fine potlatch when the pandemic subsides. Thanks- Devon.
Patricia, your piece was like your garden, filled with all those glimpses of beauty. I’m also finding that this time is renewing. Weeding is a meditation, I’m having fun cooking , and spring cleaning releases space. Considering how many of us are going through our closets, we ought to have a fine potlatch when the pandemic subsides. Thanks- Devon.
Quote from Deleted user on April 2020, 12:59 pmPatricia, I learned so much from your post. Thank you. Unfortunately I am in another state of being. Everyday I get dressed, put on my earrings and go out into my living room and realize I have no place to go. Sometimes this thought cripples me as if I am standing right up against a blank wall unable to move in any direction. Eventually someone calls or I come into the present moment and do laundry. I have come to love doing laundry the sense of accomplishment when everything is clean, folded and put away is comforting. I have decided to use the Writers Circle as a practice to change the story I am telling myself that there is nothing I have to do. Thank you for the inspiration. Madeline
Patricia, I learned so much from your post. Thank you. Unfortunately I am in another state of being. Everyday I get dressed, put on my earrings and go out into my living room and realize I have no place to go. Sometimes this thought cripples me as if I am standing right up against a blank wall unable to move in any direction. Eventually someone calls or I come into the present moment and do laundry. I have come to love doing laundry the sense of accomplishment when everything is clean, folded and put away is comforting. I have decided to use the Writers Circle as a practice to change the story I am telling myself that there is nothing I have to do. Thank you for the inspiration. Madeline
Quote from Mark Matousek on April 2020, 8:00 amDear Patricia,
What a lovely meditation on happiness in extremis. Thank you. Your experience of deepening through crisis, transcending old fears, "lightening up" by bringing order and improvement to your home and garden, increasing your spiritual practice(s), and finding hope rather than cruelty (thank you, T.S. Eliot) in the coming of spring in painful times, is truly inspiring! Many of us, despite this suffering time, find ourselves increasingly grateful (and happy) in the midst of so much falling apart, which is a beautiful irony and an important teaching.
It's great to have you with us. I look forward to reading more of your writing. Enjoy your weekend,
Mark
Dear Patricia,
What a lovely meditation on happiness in extremis. Thank you. Your experience of deepening through crisis, transcending old fears, "lightening up" by bringing order and improvement to your home and garden, increasing your spiritual practice(s), and finding hope rather than cruelty (thank you, T.S. Eliot) in the coming of spring in painful times, is truly inspiring! Many of us, despite this suffering time, find ourselves increasingly grateful (and happy) in the midst of so much falling apart, which is a beautiful irony and an important teaching.
It's great to have you with us. I look forward to reading more of your writing. Enjoy your weekend,
Mark