Creative
Workshops
Sept/Oct 2010
Writing
Newsletter
Re-story and re-imagine
your Life and Work
A man is a bundle of relations,
a knot of roots,
whose flower and fruitage is the world. (Ralph W. Emerson)
Trees resemble the story “The House that Jack
built.” These are the leaves that draw the rain that
feed the roots that grow the stem
that shoot the branches that create the leaves. There is a cycle here. “Though a tree grows so high, the falling
leaves return to the root.” (Malay proverb)
No wonder trees are beings that feature in world mythology. The drama of Genesis begins
around a tree - the knowledge of good and evil. In Norse mythology the world tree, yyggdrasil,
binds heaven and earth. It is the giant ash that links and shelters
all the worlds. Three wells lie at its base: the Well of Wisdom, the Well of
Fate and the source of many rivers. In
the shamanic journey through the three worlds - underworld, middle world and upperworld - we often find the tree as the symbol for those
worlds and their interconnection.
Take the baobab for example. According to
mythology the gods planted this tree upside down. The branches look like roots.
Here is a verse from a poem ‘Baobab Myths’ from my
collection Aquifers and Dust which
celebrates a particular baobab in
a kingdom of creatures seeks
its
succulent gravity
its rope stems and healing leaf.
at night, fruit bats suck
luminous white blossoms
from palms and fingers.
by day, animals crack pods
in search of monkey bread
while buffalo birds weave nests
and web the sticks in song.
Words too form an ecosystem. The roots of the text lie
in the earth of our experience and tap deep underground into the unconscious - our dreams and memories and forgotten moments. This is
not only the personal unconscious of an individual life journey. It is also the ground that we share with all living creatures – with our ancestors, with other writers who have gone before.
The roots ferret among the soil, binding (in the sense
of belonging) us to certain traditions and ways of thinking. Searching for the
waters of life to feed our writing . We are in the
underground kingdom of the archetypes, those giants, where myths and spirits
dwell.
The trunk could be the body of the text, the
way it shapes itself on a page, spreads out, stands in the forest of other writing . Our own copse and those groves of fellow writers. And there is movement inside it as a sap rises and falls.
So the rings in the trunk could be layers of meaning. The leaves cluster as
words on the stem offering us their seasonal shades.
And perhaps each branch is a
paragraph bearing its fruits and offering them to the sky, to the air of ideas, giving off
oxygen. Dropping the words ripe in the reader’s hands. Feeding the bird intellect. Attracting moisture in the rain cycle. So the moisture at the tip of the leaf is
reabsorbed into the roots in the way the end and the beginning of a piece speak
to each other, are in conversation with other parts.
So many writers have
trees standing in the middle of their reflections. In Song of the Open Road Walt
Whitman muses, “Why are there trees I never walk under but large and melodious thoughts descend upon me?” Matsuo
Basho the great 17th century Japanese Haiku master writes: “Go to the pine if you want to learn about the
pine, or to the bamboo if you want to learn about the
bamboo…. Your poetry arises by itself when you and the object have become
one, when you have plunged deep enough into the object to see something like a
hidden light glimmering there.”
Our writing too is is in conversation with a
great mythical texts that bind heaven and earth.
The poet Stanley Kunitz reminds us, "Solitary as
you are in writing…, you are in touch with the whole chain of being."
Dorian’s Sept/Oct Storyshops/ Writeshops/Conversations
If you want
any of these workshops in your area speak
speak.
Western /
1.
Knysna Thurs 2 Sept Montessori school – a day with
students staff and parents
2. Knysna Fri 3 Sept
Rekindling
the Fire - 18:30 - 21:30 - R110pp including wine/coffee/tea/hot chocolate An Evening to revive our Creativity, Imagination and Love of stories
I know that there is room in
me for a huge
and timeless life (Rilke)
During this
interactive evening we enter the world of story to recover our creativity,
zest, energy and passion. We allow the imagination to lead our search for a
myth to sustain and transform us. We consider how attention to life
stories and fiction, so rich in image, symbol and rhythm, can release us from
traps and create a more abundant life. Curious folk, lovers of life, healers, artists, seekers. coaches, teachers, magicians, tricksters,
ecologists gardeners, come one come all and raise your story IQ.
Cell: +27(0)82 456 1338 Fax: 086 613
7819 (SA) bookings@forestedge.co.za
There might be
a Sat 4 Sept workshop
Writing yourself Alive. R340 Contact me
3. Betty’s Bay
Walking with your Story
- A Creative Retreat R650
workshop only (see accommo below)
Fri 10 to Sun 12 Sept (7 pm Fri to 1.30 pm Sun)
On this retreat we explore our life stories through our connection to
nature. Betty’s Bay will be our writing home for the weekend. We walk to
waterfall, dark wood, mountain, grotto, lily pond, beach and dune. We draw from
these places the images, symbols and themes for our life journey. We celebrate
our belonging to the universe and to
· the art of storytelling
· creative outdoor activities
· creating and crafting our life stories
Book early as space is limited.
Beginner writers are welcome.
Venue: The Retreat,
Accom: Avail at venue if you are quick or
many B and B’s in Pringle and Betty’s
Meals: Light supper Fri/Sat.
Tea/coffee. Bring own Sat lunch or pop up to the deli.
Bring: Pen, paper, shoes for beach
+ mountain. Membership card/fee Bot Gdns
Contact : Mea Lashbrooke
074 101 1927 or 021 797 9916 Workshop bookings only
4. Waterfront
Sat 25 Sept 16h00 – 16h45
Living
a Storied Life: an interactive talk
KZN
5.
Rekindling
the Fire: An Evening to revive our Love of
Stories
Wed 15 Sept
6 :30pm - 9:30pm R100 pp (includes a light supper)
Ever
since I heard my first love story I have been looking for you (Rumi)
Stories
start a conversation with ourselves and with our
community. We enter the world of story to recover our creativity, zest, energy
and passion. We allow the imagination to lead us. We consider how
attention to life stories and fiction, so rich in image, symbol and rhythm, can
rekindle joy, help us heal and create a more abundant life.
Everybody
is welcome for everybody has a story. Come and raise your story IQ.
All
you need do is change the
name and it's about YOU, this story'
(Horace)
Venue:
RSVP: 031-2028262 or office@mrmc.co.za
6. Pietmartizburg
Seminary
Thurs 16 Sept
Exploring the stories of the Old
Testament via myths and the imagination of misrash
7.
The
Great Metaphor Hunt A Storyshop for Coaches
Mon 20 Sept 2010
08.30 - 12.30 R 430
I love metaphor. It provides two loaves where there
seems to be one. Sometimes it throws in a load of fish. (Bernard Malamud)
This
experiential workshop (rich in story, words, images and symbols) explores the
connections that help make sense of our lives and work. It aims to enrich the
personal and work experience of anyone involved in any form of coaching or
mentoring. It will help you create a more dynamic practice and widen your
repertoire of skills. We consider how
attention to the world of metaphor:
·
moves us from stuckness
·
restores our innate creativity and
imagination
·
releases energy for the journey
·
connects us to an enlarging process
·
activates emotional and physical
healing
·
creates a more abundant life
Venue: Cathy Yuill, 70
Here
is something with my co-writer of Halo and noose, I highly recommend it.
|
I will be working in
Ongoing activities (some repeat info here)
Email Courses: Writer’s/ Poet’s Voice Course – one-on–one
tuition
Some folks respond to structure, assignments… if so,
ask and it shall be negotiated. Here is one possibility: Do you love reading and writing? This one-on-one apprenticeship
aims to take you further up the writing mountain and offer you a deeper
engagement with your craft. This course is structured in the nature of an
ongoing conversation with a few chosen writers or poets, (ancestral or alive)
with me and with yourself. I encourage you to keep a journal to record your
observations and reflections.
Speaking Engagements
Be still
when you have nothing to say but when genuine passion moves you, say what
you've got to say, and say it hot. ( D. H. Lawrence) In August I created and presented a myth of
the berg at the Drakensberg Sun for Southern Sun
executives.
Development Work
During
2010/11 hope to be working alongside Dr
Laura Campbell of the HSRC facilitating
training of home-based caregivers and grannies - - through stories and creative play - who
care for children who are dying.
Bosman
and Nasrudin under starlight
This winter season I will be a story-ing
…an evening, wine, cheese, breads and tales for the telling. This kind of
evening is a bit like the old days - singing around the piano at
home. -Except I use stories and creative activities to get folk
interacting and to prompt conversations. Themes… Chinese, South African,
Mentoring – one-on-one
“You make me sound like myself” (various clients.)
Walk with me in words. You put on one shoe, I wear the other. Memoirs,
mindfulness adventures, work in the word… genres tumbling out of folk on the
one-on-one path. Such a richness of story here.
5-
Corporate Work
The Halo and the Noose, the Power of
story-telling and story listening in Business Life R195
Want to
source a 100 plus stories? co-written with
Graham Williams (Graysonian Press). We run corporate
story workshops based on our book. Roma Howard, a training
practitioner in leadership and team effectiveness, writes:
I was
utterly captivated by The Halo and the Noose, and now regularly recommend it
when I am facilitating my Train the Trainer & Presentation Skills
courses. )
For orders:
from the authors or Graysonian Press Inspirational books that change
the world www.graysonian.com 0836101113
We've established a website in order to offer The Halo and the Noose as an eBook, and to create a Member's facility for those who are
serious about their story-telling and listening prowess in business. Members
can access various resources, audio streams, article archives, their own
newsletter, questionnaires, communicate with the authors and will get
ongoing offers. The site is http://www.haloandnoose.co.za
In response to a growing demand we offer an eWorkbook, discounted to
members (Story Matters @ Work) that contains many new stories and exercises covering elevator,
personal, business issue, corporate, crucial conversation and other stories.
New
Poetry CD
The Stone on the Stomach - a Poetry CD with 30 of my poems old and new
read by me and by son Dominic… R120
Friends at Work and Play
Elma
Pollard: Write for Earth email based writing course
Learn the
art of eco-journalism with energy and passion. Offer your voice to help craft a
better future.
More information at this link http://thegreentimes.co.za/index.php?id=63
Aneta Shaw: Creative relaxation in a small group context
Enhance personal growth and honour your soul through creative techniques. Aneta is
a clinical psychologist and hypnotherapist, has integrated years of experience
and life in other countries with ancient ways of being in this world.
Aneta
082 686 8118 or 021
8555415 aneta.shaw@vodamail.co.za
Juliette
Gyure : Coaching
Far Sight
Change and Transition Coaching cc provides a
framework, creative processes and support mechanisms for people negotiating
significant changes and transitions. I have a passion for co-creating innovative pathways to change, transition and
transformation with my clients. For a free consultation contact me, Juliette Gyure, on 0726353818. (I am based in
“ If nothing ever changed, there would be no
butterflies”
Marguerite van der Merwe: Karoo Retreat
Fellow-traveller, Marguerite van der Merwe, will be leading a small group through a precious
6-day Workshop-Retreat at her brother's farm, (Antony Osler, author of STOEP ZEN ) near Colesberg, October
9-15. Healing, enriching and learning, "DIMENSIONS OF SPACE" will
enfold you in Alexander Technique, Tai Chi, Walkings. Relaxings. Chill-out times, musical-poetic times.
Contact her: tel 028 271 4555 ;
margsmerwe@telkomsa.net
Writer-sites
and News (see site news on my web. see new web address
dorianhaarhoff.com
So may your
texts be as trees in
the forest of words
Dorian