Commandments of Connection

Thirty weeks ago, I flew home, at the beginning of a pandemic lock down that at the time I naively thought may affect my life for maybe a month or two at most. As I sit here today, that feels like an absolute lifetime ago.  These last thirty weeks have contained some of the loneliest and darkest moments as I have navigated some of the most difficult changes in my life. 

I know I have written before about the angels that have shown up for me during this time, showing up in text messages, Zoom calls, Marco Polo messages, WhatsApp and even Voxer voice notes; these angels have been there through my tears, fears and questioning and I don’t mean to sound dramatic when I say that they have saved my life because they have. 

When I reflect back on this journey however it wasn’t the pandemic that started it at all, it was just an accelerator.  I think this journey started almost two years ago, when I was first introduced to a way of writing that is like a personal therapeutic practice. I learned this practice in the living room of Laurie Wagner (www.27powers.org), she calls it Wild Writing, a name that I recognize as the perfect reflection of how she approaches this work.  In that living room I learned to trust the others in that circle with my deepest wounds, with my unanswered questions and they trusted me, that was the beginning. I would eventually take Laurie’s Wild Writing Teacher training and learn to teach this practice in my own way, using my own flavoring finding my own meaning in it. During that teacher training I became part of a tribe of women who were all looking to start something that would help people, bring about positive change and be of service. 

During those months of teacher training, writing each week with those women I continued to pull back the layers of my own onion and begin to acknowledge the deepest yearnings of my own soul. The practice that I now call Writing Wisdom brought me back to my own inner knowing, it helped me build a relationship with my intuition and the more I gave that knowing a voice, the more it spoke to me. 

In August, I wrapped up my second class teaching this practice and felt so utterly fulfilled by the blossoming that was happening before me with each of the participants. I was going to take a little break, I needed time to navigate a move, have a surgery and regroup a little from all that has happened this year. I also needed time to connect with what this work is really all about. I often hear people refer to this as a writing class but while writing is the tool that we use it is not a class about the writing. One evening about a month ago, I had done my nightly meditation and was journaling, my intention for that night was to describe what Writing Wisdom brings to me.  What ended up coming out that night I am calling the Commandments of Connection because it is ultimately Connection that has been the biggest gift of this practice. 

These are not commandments in the traditional sense, a list of “thou shalt not”.  These commandments are what it requires of us as individuals to fully show up in connection to ourself and to others. These commandments and the journey to showing up for them is the truest gift of Writing Wisdom.  This practice connects us to ourself and to others when we show up fully in the requirements of these commandments of connection. 

Today, I am really excited to announce that I am going to host a free event on Friday, October 16th from Noon to 1pm Pacific Time.  This free event is based on Commandment #1 – Getting Real with You! 

During this free event I will give you a brief introduction to the practice and cover how we can focus on Commandment #1 Getting Real with You!  I will cover some techniques for diving into tough areas that you may want to avoid. We will do a practice writing and reading.  

My goal is to give you the tools to begin getting real with yourself whether you decide to take a regular Writing Wisdom course or not.  I believe that the world needs us all, now more than ever, to be fully connected to ourselves, our own thoughts, emotions and desires so we can operate from a place of what is really true for us and not be as influenced by outside voices but let our guide be our internal voice, our own knowing. 

To join me on for this free event, click here to register. 

Please follow this link to download all 12 of the Commandments of Connection! 

As always, if you want to register for my next Writing Wisdom class that starts on October 21st you can do so by clicking here.