Inspirational Quote of the Moment

"Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake." -- Thoreau

Resource of the Moment: SARK

SARK (who has written many excellent books on subjects related to creativity and self-care) has a couple of wonderful Transformational Programs available to those interested in the power of Journaling. Juicy Journaling with SARK and Juicy Journaling with SARK Volume 2 both offer a rich collection of prompts and inspiration for daily journaling. Sounds like a great way to kick-start your journaling and have fun along the way! You never know what you might discover... maybe this is just what you have been looking for. Check it out!

HAND

HAND is the Health Arts Network at Duke, and it's a nifty organization. I particularly like the work they do with writing, poetry, healing and medicine. There are some neat interviews on the topic on their web site. Check it out!

Lifelong Learning

Not that I'm necessarily planning on going back to grad school any time soon, but I recently ran across a graduate program that sounds absolutely amazing -- Pacifica Graduate Institute's M.A. in Engaged Humanities and the Creative Life. The program description is completely fascinating and I am totally intrigued. Off to check out some of their recommended reading!

Other grad programs that I think sound really neat and interesting (maybe some day...):

MA, Reading in Practice -- Univ. of Liverpool
MSc in Creative Writing for Therapeutic Practices -- Metanoia Institute (London, UK)
MS, Narrative Medicine -- Columbia University
Expressive Arts Therapy -- App State Univ.
More: http://www.poetrytherapy.org/training.html

Life long learning opportunities abound...

Resource of the Moment: Poets & Writers

The Poets& Writers web site -- http://www.pw.org/ -- is a fantastic resource for anyone who loves words. It is full of tools, information and resources for all writers, with listings of everything from MFA programs to writing contests to conferences, workshops and residencies. My favorite section, though, has to be The Time is Now -- a collection of wonderful writing prompts for both poetry and fiction. In addition, the section highlights 'The Best Books for Writers,' which is a great listing of books that are of interest to those who lead the writing life.

If you choose, you can also sign up for their e-newsletter. I could mine this web site endlessly for ideas and inspiration -- check it out!

Lessons From Poetry

There is a lovely piece by Deepak Chopra on "Lessons From Poetry" -- it can be found here and here. I love this piece because it so eloquently captures the power and beauty of poetry in our lives. My favorite quote: "Poetry is illumination, insight, inner vision, epiphany, and at the same time it is the inspired expression of that illumination."

I want to be a "passionate lover of life" -- and poetry helps me do that.

Food for thought, food for the soul - happy reading.

Poetry Therapy

If you are interested in the healing power of words, then you may be interested in poetry therapy. The National Association for Poetry Therapy is a wonderful resource for information about poetry therapists and their work in a variety of health, therapeutic, and community settings. What is poetry therapy, exactly? Well, according to the NAPT "the term "poetry therapy" encompasses bibliotherapy (the interactive use of literature) and journal therapy (the use of life-based reflective writing) as well as therapeutic storytelling, the use of film in therapy, and other language-based healing modalities." The National Federation for Biblio/Poetry Therapy trains and certifies people to work as poetry therapists.

Words that heal -- this is the power of language at its best.

Poetry Web Sites

There are a couple of favorite poetry web sites that I always turn to for poems, information on poets, articles, and of course, plenty of beautiful words and inspiration. Both Poets.org (from the Academy of American Poets) and the Poetry Foundation's web site are wonderful resources that I visit often. If you haven't already, check them out!

Quote of the moment: "My work is loving the world." -- Mary Oliver, from her poem Messenger.

Forward, into Beauty

I have decided to try and reactivate this blog. I still believe in the premise, in the power of sharing the beauty of words.

To that end - if you haven't read the poetry of Mary Oliver, start now. Stop what you're doing, and go read Wild Geese. Or Poppies. Or Breakage. Or anything she has ever written, really.

Seriously, start now.

And if you don't believe me, read this lovely article about her work that I just ran across - it is a wonderful summary of the power of her poetry.

You're welcome.