Mindful Living Guide

February–March 2012 Writing Courses & Workshops

2012-02-08T15:07:00.011Z

February–March
Courses & Workshops

Saturday Workshop, Creative Writing Courses,

and Novel Planning & Plotting Course

Just tweeted the following: "Went adventuring in the sunshine with @mufidah this afternoon, and then returned home for a yum late lunch/early dinner. #satisfied #relaxed." And, so, what better time to take a few moments to write to my faithful newsletter subscriber folk?

And since I'm not herein limited to a 140-character tweet, I have space to divulge, too, that our late afternoon meal consisted of cannellini bean & cavolo nero soup and the remains of a pagnotta which we baked last night while the soup was simmering, served up with olive oil and balsamic vinegar with a dash of sea salt, and a glass of chilled Chardonnay. Doesn't get much better, particularly after a long walk in the winter sunshine.

Here's a photo which Mufidah took while on our walk ...

Anyhow, all is well Behind the Blue Door. Not that I'm putting in a plug for such things!, but there has been a recent spate of incoming food offerings brought to class, including a baked cheesecake, a likewise homemade ginger cake, some tasty chocolate biccies just last night, as well as a baked rice pudding which magically appeared from our cupboard at the end of a recent Monday evening class. So there's been no real shortage of eats, nor fine bits of writing which have emanated from our time together.

Speaking of which, before moving on to the upcoming new round of course offerings, a quick reminder that the Write from the Heart workshop is this coming Saturday, 11 February. And while there's been three new bookings during the past 24 hours, there are still a few places available if you'd like to throw all caution to the wind and join us for a lovely five hours in Lewes, for what I like to think of as a creative Saturday retreat — writing and sharing with fellow warmhearted folk. The workshop runs from 11 am to 4 pm, with a lunch break from 1 to 2 pm. The fee is £45. Click here to book your place.

Now, three more course offerings for your consideration, all beginning the week of 20 February:

Firstly, the next round of: 1) Monday evening (7 to 9 pm) and 2) Wednesday morning (10 am to 12 noon) Creative Writing courses begin, respectively, on 20 and 22 February. As usual, the 6-week course fee is £95. I'm looking forward to these classes, with a renewed commitment to getting lots of writing done while leaving plenty of space, too, to share the pieces we write.

And — fresh on the heels of the highly successful December course — I'm pleased to be offering another Novel Planning & Plotting course, this one meeting on Friday evenings (7 to 9 pm), particularly as I know there were several folk who had wanted to join us in December but weren't able to make it. The 6-week course will run from 24 February through 30 March. And we'll meet for a workshop halfway through the 6-week course on Saturday, 10 March (11 am to 4 pm, with a lunch break from 1 to 2 pm), during which we'll have an opportunity to write and otherwise continue working together on our stories. As with the December course, the fee is £245. However, if your payment is received — via online bank payment — by this Saturday, 11 February, you can save £50, bringing the fee for this 16-hour course down to £195.

We'll be using Larry Brooks' highly acclaimed book, Story Engineering: Character Development, Story Concept, Scene Construction, available via Amazon.co.uk (£9.59 with free shipping). You'll want to have your own copy of this book to read and consult outside of class so that we can make the most of our time together during each class meeting. I'd recommend ordering your copy right away.

Thank you for your continued support, and we'd greatly appreciate your passing along this newsletter to other folk who you think might be interested in joining us for one or more of these offerings. Now to the just-out-of-the-oven blueberry clafoutis with a cuppa black chai for pudding!

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10 Steps to Writing Mindfully

2012-01-27T10:52:00.007Z

(click image to enlarge)

This article was originally written for and published by ProBlogger on 8 November 2011.

These past few months—in my summer and early autumn creative writing classes—I’ve not focused so much on the mindfulness aspect of my teachings. Perhaps this had to do with the energetic pace of summer, which only recently faded here in the South East of England. Just last week autumn seemed finally to arrive and with it the cozy, heartwarming smells of wood and coal smoke rising from the chimneys of local cottages. The end of our unseasonably warm Indian summer ushered in that back-to-school feeling of my childhood days growing up on the South Shore of Massachusetts.

And so it was just last week that I made explicit the intended theme of the six-week course which got underway in mid-September. That theme’s perhaps best conveyed by the course title, Write Your Way into Autumn. I had everyone spend about ten minutes in class writing a list of autumnal-inspired words, phrases and snippets of language. We then read aloud the words we each gathered.

This brief exercise promoted a feeling of turning within, of slowing down, of simply witnessing the world around and within us. And this brought that sense of presence, that magical spark, back into our shared time together.

This week, in both my Monday evening and Wednesday morning classes, we read from Deng Ming-Dao’s Everyday Tao, specifically the “Source” and “Return” entries of this book, which is chockablock with wisdom. Here’s how Deng (last name) closes the former entry:

If you want to know Tao at its most fundamental, go back to the source. If you do go back to the source of Tao, you will also find the source of all your questions.

To help my writing students better understand what Deng means by source, we then read the “Return” entry which closes thus:

Our essential nature, our innocent self, is always in us. Everyone has one, and we need only return to it in order to understand it. Just as the spiral eddies toward the center, we proceed from outer to inner to find the ultimate source.

I then asked my students to write for ten to fifteen minutes on the following question: “What is our essence, our original nature, our innocent self?” As with last week’s autumnal word hoard, this brought mindfulness back to center stage, and, again, the results were magical.

Here’s what one of my students, writer-animator Carl Sullivan, said about yesterday’s class:

The last session for me had the most depth. To breathe into the now and find a moment of stillness before the pen starts moving gives you a chance to bypass the person who wants to be a writer, and to just write. Much as when I draw—I really don’t have an idea of what’s going to appear. To approach writing from a no-mind ‘now’ point lets the words be as free as a doodle. To doodle words in playful creativity with just a gentle expectancy, no pressure, just wondering what’s going to be revealed is as fun and free as drawing.

What else is there to say, really?

Well, here’s what Carl wrote in response to the aforementioned question about our essence, our original nature, our innocent self, this final piece marking the end of our six weeks together:

inner smile purity
the Adventure of the Heart in child felt wonder,
joy springs dancing inside,
still as Now
mind at rest—being at peace,
real eyes to see
releasing tears of
remembering
cleansing the wounds
to be
held whole and happy
grateful and true
home again

10 Steps to Writing Mindfully

Find a still, quiet place within which to write.
Before you begin writing, take a few minutes to ground yourself in the present moment by bringing a simple, uncomplicated awareness to the whole of your physical body.
Simply observe what it feels like to inhabit your body, without mental comments or judgments.
If you notice your mind wanders, that’s fine. Gently return your awareness to your body.
When you feel centered, relaxed, and reconnected with your essence, slowly begin to move your fingers, toes, and limbs, and with a feather-light touch begin—with all your senses—to observe your surroundings while positioning yourself comfortably to begin writing.
As you start writing, promote a sense of doing so with the whole of your being, with the whole of your physical body, rather than purely with the intellectual, wholly rational mind.
Allow for writing to flow in imaginative, playful ways. Be curious, childlike.
Try to maintain a general, global awareness of your body throughout the time you’re writing.
Reawaken your mind, body and spirit by taking frequent breaks to stand, stretch and bring movement back into your body.
When you’ve finished writing, gently take this mindful approach into the rest of your day.

As a Creative Writing & Mindful Living Guide, Sean M. Madden offers Writing, Literature & Mindful Living courses and workshops in the UK, and one-to-one guidance & mentoring worldwide. Sean invites readers to follow him on Twitter @SeanMMadden.

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From the MLG Archives — For those who wonder, "What is your lineage?"

2012-01-25T03:17:00.014Z

(click image to enlarge)
Photo © 2012 Sean M. Madden

My mindful living lineage is the Massachusetts forest-dwelling tradition of Henry David Thoreauji, my primary philosophical school that of hard knocks and soft whispers, and my practice an abundance of personal experience and places, great books — East and West — sweet dreams, great teachers, long walks and lonely winters, the woods and the waters, mountains and valleys, the glorious sun and just-fallen snow, stillness and silence, and, perhaps most importantly, great trust in the wisdom within and without, whispered by the greatest teachers of all — the breath and the ten thousand things — such that only the subtlest of listeners can hear their truth.

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Mindful Living Guide — Presently being Re-Designed

2012-01-24T17:57:00.001Z

These changes — particularly to the Courses & Workshops page — will continue to be made over the course of today and tomorrow (Tuesday and Wednesday, 24–25 January). So please continue to check in periodically to see how things are coming along.

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Mindful Living Guide QR Code

2012-01-22T16:43:00.001Z

(click image for "QR code" Wikipedia page)

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Imagine a World Without Free Knowledge (A Message from Wikipedia)

2012-01-18T13:34:00.005Z

For over a decade, we have spent millions of hours building the largest encyclopedia in human history. Right now, the U.S. Congress is considering legislation that could fatally damage the free and open Internet. For 24 hours, to raise awareness, we are blacking out Wikipedia. Learn more.

The anti-SOPA blackout is supported by Mindful Living Guide

'Write from the Heart' Creative Writing Workshop: Saturday 11 February, Lewes (East Sussex)

2012-01-16T11:44:00.008Z

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Write from the Heart
One-Day Creative Writing Workshop
Saturday, 11 February, 11 am to 4 pm

Folk have been asking me when I'll next be offering a one-day creative writing workshop. This is it, the first Saturday workshop of 2012 ...

Whether you live in London, Sussex, Kent or elsewhere in the South East, you can easily join us for this 11 am to 4 pm workshop which leaves plenty of to-and-fro travel time for a day trip to lovely Lewes. Indeed, for those of you who live farther afield, you could visit Lewes for the weekend and stay in one of the many bed & breakfasts or fine hotels which surround us. If you've yet to join us Behind the Blue Door, we're located smack in the center of town, just a five-minute walk from the railway station, with direct trains from London, Hastings, Eastbourne, Brighton/Hove, etc.

This workshop is ideal for those who are brand-new to writing as well as for experienced writers. We'll focus on the creative process throughout, and enjoy brief meditation sessions and inspiring readings to help us ground ourselves in the present moment and discover, or rediscover, the writer within. We'll also pave the way for you to develop an ongoing writing practice.

As countless of my students have discovered, a writing practice can help us to center ourselves within the craziness of our day-to-day lives, and to reawaken our naturally creative selves. For instance, we can begin to ask and respond to questions, big and small, in an open-ended way which can, in turn, help us to bring awareness to those parts of ourselves that might well benefit from a good airing out. We can thereby begin to process through those sometimes stuck aspects which limit us, which keep us unnecessarily constricted, and feeling less than whole.

The workshop fee is £45. To book, click here. As always, you can pay via cheque or online bank payment (if the latter, please email me to request my bank details).

The workshop also includes a one-hour break (approx. 1–2 pm) during which you're free to go for lunch at any one of a number of splendid restaurants, cafés or sandwich shops which are located in the center of Lewes. Or, you're welcome to go a-wandering around town if you'd prefer to spend some quiet time alone before the second half of the workshop.

In closing, please remember that the I Ching course begins this Friday (8–10 pm). Click here to book for this or the above writing workshop. And, as always, I'd greatly appreciate your helping us to spread word of these classes as well as my one-to-one creative writing & mindful living guidance and mentoring services. Thank you.

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6-Week I Ching Course (Lewes, East Sussex)

2012-01-03T11:00:00.011Z

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Friday Fling with the I Ching
6-Week Course
Fridays 8–10 pm 20 Jan–24 Feb

Click to read book description and reviews via Amazon.com
(where there are more reviews than on the UK site)

Beginning Friday, 20 January (through 24 February) I'll be leading a 6-week exploration of the I Ching, or Book of Changes, the 3,000-plus-year-old Chinese classic. Although traditionally considered a tool of divination, a more philosophically mature engagement with this manual for living entails an inner cultivation, an active positioning of oneself within and without as a means to navigate the ever-changing, cyclical nature of life. As most of you know, I also led this fully booked course last year, likewise during the winter, and it was tremendously enjoyable and fruitful — a time of coming together each Friday evening, leading to new friendships and new understandings of ourselves and how we can tap the wisdom of the I Ching to strenghten our intuition, and to live well, with wisdom.

I first studied the I Ching as part of my M.A. in Eastern Classics program at St. John's College in Santa Fe, and was thrilled to return to the text last year to explore it with others while continuing to use it in my own life as well as to offer one-to-one consultations with clients. As regular readers of this newsletter might recall, I wrote here and here this past October about my then-present I Ching consultations.

Just as we did last year, we'll be using Deng Ming-Dao's brilliant translation and guide, entitled The Living I Ching. Deng (surname) is also the bestselling author of the contemporary classic 365 Tao, Everyday Tao, Chronicles of Tao and Scholar Warrior. I received the below from him last year, via email:

Thank you for using my book [The Living I Ching] in your courses. I'm glad that it can be used in this way. I appreciate you using 'The Voice of the Oracle' as a reading because I intended it that way. It's great to see its purpose finally fulfilled.
Yours, Ming-Dao

Meeting Behind the Blue Door from 8 to 10 pm each Friday evening, we'll explore the principles of change by way of the I Ching, and learn how to access this rich source of wisdom as a means to strengthen our intuition and to make intelligent decisions over the course of our lives. Rumor has it there might even be a selection of Chinese/Taoist teas served up each Friday evening!

Far from throwing ourselves to the winds of fate or using the book as a modern-day fortune cookie, we'll explore this timeless, world-renowned classic together, and consider deeply how we might best respond to various situations. A great deal of the benefit of working with the I Ching comes from contemplating how best to phrase a particular question which we might be struggling with in our day-to-day lives, as well as, then, interpreting the resulting commentary of the I Ching as it might relate to the question we've posed. In the process, we'll be challenged to consider the question and our present circumstances in fresh, new ways, and to make this consideration conscious or explicit, thereby enabling us to live more deliberately, with greater wisdom.

If you'd like to join us for this exciting, hands-on course, please book your place as soon as possible, as spaces for this popular course are limited and will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis. The 6-week course fee is £95, the same as last year. You'll also want to buy your own copy of the I Ching for out-of-class readings as well as to refer to in class. And, of course, this will be a book which you'll want to keep, to treasure, and to consult as you continue along the path of your life journey. Click here to buy the book via Amazon.co.uk. I'd recommend ordering this as soon as possible so that you'll have it in plenty of time before the course gets underway.

And a final reminder that the ...
Mindfully Creative Writing Courses
begin this coming Monday evening (7-9 pm) and Wednesday morning (10 am-12 noon)

Though we have a splendid group of folk who've already booked, there are still places available in both the evening and morning classes. Click here to book your place. And remember you can pay for all of my courses, workshops and one-to-one sessions via online bank payment. Email me and I'll send you the bank details.

In addition to paying as above or by cheque, you're also welcome to pay using your PayPal account or your debit/credit card by clicking on the gold Donate button in the right-hand column of this website. Please note, however, that you'll need to add 5 percent to any payments made via the PayPal button in order to cover the fees they charge me.

Thank you, folks. With the intensive novel planning and plotting course coming to a successful close tomorrow evening, I'm looking forward to the writing/mindful living courses beginning next week as well as the I Ching course beginning two weeks from Friday. And I hope you'll be joining us for one or both of these new-year courses. Regardless, Happy 2012 to all!

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Mindfully Creative Writing Courses, A Holiday Consideration & Organizational Courses/Workshops

2011-12-08T14:37:00.009Z

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_________________________

Seaford Beach, 27 November 2011
Photo © 2011 Sean M. Madden

Winter Writing: Mindfully Creative Writing Courses
January – February 2012

Many creative goings-on have been happening Behind the Blue Door, even as we make that shift from autumn to winter.

Too often we generalize about what the winter's going to be like, and too often we assume it's going to be cold, dull and grey-skied. Yet as the above photograph shows, there's so much beauty and life emerging all around us all the time. But when we fall into that space of generalizing and, thereby, assuming how we think things are going to be, we can so easily miss out on these energizing and nourishing moments which are continuously aswirl, both within and without. If only we remember to witness these heart-warming, soul-enriching moments in our day-to-day lives.

Well, that's what the next two 6-week courses are going to be all about ...

Beginning with the Monday evening course on 9 January — and the Wednesday morning course on 11 January — we're going to focus on the two seemingly dualistic but in reality wholly interconnected paths of creative writing and mindful living. I could as easily, and as appropriately, say mindful writing and creative living. Creativity is awakened when we are mindful. And mindfulness likewise blossoms when we live creatively. In short, we start paying attention to the world within and without, and this makes us curious, returns our natural childlike wonder, and nurtures us.

And, so, throughout our six weeks together, we'll simultaneously embark upon a winter-time mindful living and creative writing adventure, intertwining the two with in-class meditation and writing, both of which you'll be able to carry with you into your day-to-day, moment-to-moment life right from the start of the new year.

If you'd like to join us for this, and start 2012 from a place of sacred groundedness and creativity, click here.

While the 6-week course fee is £95, if you register by Tuesday 13 December, you can pay just £75 to reserve your place. This means payment must likewise be received by the end of the day Tuesday. This gives you plenty of time to post a cheque. However, since more and more folk are paying me via online bank transfers, this can be accomplished quickly and easily without any delay whatsoever. If you don't already have my bank details, just send me an email letting me know which course you'd like to register for, and I'll reply with my bank details.

And if you'd like to come with a friend or two, I'd greatly appreciate your forwarding on this information to them, ideally right away so that they can also benefit from the £20 course fee reduction.

A holiday season consideration ...

Would you or a loved one benefit from one-to-one guidance and mentoring heading into the New Year — with regard to creative writing and/or mindful living?

If so, you can book a block of time to be used over a specific period and, thereby, save as much as a third off my regular hourly fee. This guidance and mentoring could prove to be an invaluable gift to enter into the New Year with direction and support, either for yourself or for someone close to you. My hourly one-to-one guidance and mentoring fee is £60, or £50 an hour if you book a 5-hour retainer (to be used within one month of the initial appointment) or £40 an hour if you book a 10-hour retainer (to be used within two months of the initial appointment).

Courses & workshops for your organization ...

I'm also available to lead creative writing and mindful living courses and workshops for business, community and other nonprofit organizations. Just email me and we can discuss how I can best position such a course or workshop to meet your organization's particular needs and interests. As 2012 is going to be a busy year within the Mindful Living Guide realm, the sooner you contact me the better so that we can book, well ahead of time, dates which work for the members of your organization.

And, as always, please let me know if you have any questions. You can also reach me on 07971 774151.

With warm regards,

Sean

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NaNoWriMo 2011 Winner — not word count-wise, but in far more far-reaching ways

2011-12-01T00:51:00.006Z

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NaNoWriMo comes to a close today, 30 November.

One month ago, on 31 October, I announced my decision to participate, to push forth to the 50,000-word goal which gives one the right to call oneself a NaNoWriMo winner.

Well, I didn't hit 50,000 words. I wrote 25,000 not including many pages of story concept notes handwritten in the two notebooks I've used the past month. But I can wholeheartedly announce tonight that I'm a NaNoWriMo winner. Not word count-wise, as I've said. Rather, in what has transpired over the course of November as a direct result of my having participated in NaNoWriMo.

Around the middle of the month, my writing stalled. Not because I couldn't keep up the word count. But because I realized that word count isn't enough for me, despite the fact that I emphasize freewriting in my creative writing classes — simply putting pen to paper, fingers to keyboard, and writing without a destination in mind. As Natalie Goldberg reminds readers in her Writing Down the Bones, it's good to give yourself the space to write for a long time, if necessary years, without a destination in mind. Write for the sake of writing. Be inspired in the doing, by the act of creating.

But I already do that, have been doing it for years, having written countless articles that way (including this one), poems, literary essays, stories, my master's thesis on Hume and Kant, etc. And while that's how I jumped out of the NaNoWriMo starting gate — and was enjoying the fast and free ride of bringing my two protagonists to life — I reached a point in the first couple weeks when it wasn't sufficient to keep galloping away. I wanted to consider, closely, what story these two characters were going to tell.

It's not that I was concerned that their story wouldn't ultimately emerge. I long ago learned to trust in the process of writing, and the creative process more generally. However, I decided to stop where I was, and rather than to keep writing like the wind, to consciously consider story structure.

This was a definite "Mind the Gap" moment. And rather than to be carried away on rails to some place utterly unforeseen, I decided to stop and consider exactly where I wanted to go, what my destination was to be.

At the time, I was using Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird in my creative writing classes — as I've been doing for about two-and-a-half years — specifically, the chapters on character, plot and dialogue. These are good, but they're not enough.

While I had been out to the site before, @suddenlyjamie reminded me of Larry Brooks' storyfix.com. Larry is Jamie's story structure "guru" who "opened [her] eyes to the beauty (and sanity!) of structure." Immediately realizing the benefit of Larry's Six Core Competencies model for successful storytelling, I began considering how best to apply this model to my NaNoWriMo novel.

This rediscovery was huge, and has led me to return to Christopher Vogler's The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Storytellers and Screenwriters which my partner Mufidah had suggested I read a while back but which, in my organic, freewriting frame-of-mind at the time, I semi-pooh-poohed. This time, we both delved back into the book, as we have into Robert McKee's Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting, both books dealing primarily with screenplays, but which apply, too, to novels.

All this convinced me that my time would be infinitely better spent in the latter half of the month continuing to dig into story structure, considering which story I most wanted to tell, and then applying this rich knowledge of structure to that story, before continuing to write a first draft. The story is thereby far more likely to be successful and to be written much more efficiently — and even more creatively — than if I were to keep marching forth with a lengthy first draft, NaNoWriMo-style.

Furthermore, I shifted gears with regard to my own upcoming creative classes, and decided to run a five-week intensive novel planning and plotting course (or four weeks, not including the ten-day break during the holidays), from 5 December to 5 January. As we'll be meeting for two hours twice a week throughout the four weeks of class, we'll be together for a total of sixteen hours. During this time, we'll not only discuss the theory of successful storytelling but also nail down our game plan for our respective novels, working together to hone ideas we've been developing on our own between classes.

The goal is to emerge at the beginning of January with a fully structured novel — complete with a scene-by-scene story map, or beat sheet — such that we'll be ready to begin writing a first draft of our novel thereafter, a draft (and, thus, a novel) which contains all the crucial elements of a successful story.

And so, in summary, none of this would have happened had I not decided late Saturday night, 29 October, to participate in my first NaNoWriMo event without a fleshed out novel idea in mind, let alone a full-fledged story concept with mapped out, compelling plot points. I knew this then, but understood as well that this challenge would no doubt spur on good things in countless ways, and it has, indeed, done exactly that.

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A Novel Approach: An Intensive Novel Planning & Plotting Course (Lewes, East Sussex)

2011-11-19T13:52:00.009Z

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A Novel Approach:
An Intensive
Novel Planning & Plotting Course
5 December through 5 January

Give yourself or a loved one the gift of a lifetime!

A Writing Course Like No Other ...

Are you working on a novel that's getting nowhere fast? Have a long-held idea for a novel but haven't started it? Or, would you like to develop a brand-new novel idea to take to fruition?

Regardless of which of these situations might best describe where you are, this one-month intensive course is an ideal opportunity to go from idea inception to having your novel fully planned and plotted so that you'll not only be perfectly positioned to write but already be writing your novel by the start of 2012, just a month-and-a-half away.

** And you'll still have a full ten days off during the
holidays when classes will not meet. **

We'll meet Behind the Blue Door (an hour train journey from London, 15 minutes from Brighton) from 7 to 9 pm, every Monday and Thursday from Monday 5 December through Thursday 22 December, and then break for the holidays. We'll then reconvene the first week of January, on Monday the 2nd and finish up on Thursday the 5th.

This is an incredible opportunity to flesh out the structure of a novel in a month's time, and to do so such that you'll have a highly defined story ready to be written at the beginning of 2012.

If that seems like a stunning possibility, it's perhaps because it's nothing short of that.

Together, in just four weeks of classes — or five weeks including the ten days off during the holidays — we'll not only cover the theory but also actually strategize and plan/plot our novels such that they're ready to be written with a beginning, middle and end established. Not only that, we'll work through what bestselling novelist and writing coach Larry Brooks calls the Six Core Competencies of Successful Storytelling: 1) Concept, 2) Character, 3) Theme, 4) Story Structure (plot), 5) Scene Execution, and 6) Writing Voice.

Included in Story Structure, #4 above, is the Four Parts of a Story: a) Set-Up, b) Response, c) Attack, and d) Resolution. In addition to nailing down these four key parts of our novel, we'll also chart our novel's First Plot Point — during which the story really gets underway with the protagonist picking up the gauntlet, so to speak — the Mid-Point Shift/Twist, and the Second Plot Point, which leads our protagonist to actively bring the story to a resolution, whereby the main characters and ideally the reader are left changed in some real way.

As part of the structuring of your story, you'll develop a scene-by-scene 'beat sheet' which will give you not only the movement of the story from beginning to end, but will also empower you to make creative shifts at this crucial plotting stage before the novel is written so that when you begin the writing process you'll know where the story is leading, scene by scene. This is the real beauty and power of this story planning process, which can greatly facilitate the writing of a successful novel while saving incalculable time and heartache trying to stitch an organically grown story together.

That said, there's just as much room for that organic creative writing process to unfold at each stage along the way, including very much in the planning and plotting stages when we decide what the various conflict points are going to be, how these might be rearranged to make the story more powerful, or find, lo and behold, that something else needs to change and, thereby, save us days, weeks and months of rewriting.

And there's plenty of room, too, for the creative process to continue to unfold as you're actually writing the story. However, with your beat sheet developed ahead of time, you'll be able to make such creative changes far more efficiently. And you'll be making the changes because you see that doing so will improve the story, rather than out of a sense of panic seeing that the story is broken.

So, come January, you'll be well on your way to writing a novel that not only sees the light of day — that is, in actually coming to fruition — but also one which will contain all of the critical elements of a successful story.

We'll be using Larry Brooks' highly acclaimed book, Story Engineering: Character Development, Story Concept, Scene Construction, available via Amazon.co.uk with free shipping. You'll want to have your own copy of this book (£10.49) to read and consult outside of class, so that we can make the most of our time together during each class meeting.

Although the course is just four weeks long, because we'll be meeting twice each week, we'll be spending a total of 16 hours in class, working together to understand and to apply these storytelling concepts to our own novels. It should go without saying that, as a writer, you'll need to make a strong commitment between classes both to reading the book and to applying what we learn together to complete the creative process of planning and plotting your novel. Our meeting twice a week will help tremendously to facilitate this commitment.

The course fee for these eight classes, or 16 hours of class time, is £245. However, IF YOU BOOK BY Wednesday 23 November, I'll reduce this fee to £195, saving you £50.

Furthermore, while my hourly Creative Writing (and Mindful Living) Guidance fee is £60, for the duration of this course, I'm offering participants virtually unlimited one-to-one writing guidance for £40 an hour. So, throughout our month together, we can also work one-to-one specifically on the planning and plotting of your novel — above and beyond our in-class time — so that come the first week of January, you'll have everything in place to begin writing the novel with clear direction as to where the story is heading.

To book your or a loved one's place in this course, click here. You can pay via cheque, online bank transfer or PayPal (using either your PayPal account or your debit/credit card of choice). If you'd prefer to pay via one of the latter two options, please send me a brief email and I'll respond with the particulars.

If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to write or to telephone (07971 774151) me.

I'm looking forward to this novel planning and plotting adventure, and hope that you or perhaps a loved one will be joining us too!

And, as always, I'd greatly appreciate your forwarding this mailing to others whom you think might be interested.

With warm regards,

Sean

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Living Creatively, Writing Mindfully ...

2011-11-07T13:21:00.014Z

Creative Writing & Mindful Living Guidance

One-to-One Guidance & Mentoring:
worldwide via telephone, Skype and email
and in person within the United Kingdom

(click image to enlarge)
Photo/Text © 2011 Sean M. Madden. All Rights Reserved.

What do creative writing and living mindfully
have to do with one another?

Everything. As we begin living more mindfully, more grounded in the present moment, our monkey mind begins to settle down, to settle in. The berserk wild animal within us all—ever worrying about things to come and things gone by—becomes available to work with us rather than to constantly divert our natural creative intelligence into moment-to-moment obsessions and day-to-day worries and anxieties.

We literally free ourselves to create in the moment by letting go of our tendency to harshly criticize ourselves, to psych ourselves out of doing because of worries we may not be good enough, that writing (or painting, singing, etc.) is for those other, obviously more talented folk. Those who have certain degrees from particular universities, those who come from high-minded literary families, those who earn their living writing.

When we’re living and creating within the present moment, we can drop the stultifying credentialism which has fallen like a lead balloon upon our naturally creative selves. We can write for the simple joy it brings, without concern about what others might think of our work. We do for the sake of doing. The doing becomes an end in itself. We’re no longer writing to please others—not our school teachers, not our parents, siblings, friends or bosses. That said, we might very well choose to share our writing with our loved ones. But the decision to share is separate from the act of creation.

We write to honor the truth of our lived experience.

To give voice to those thoughts and feelings which have been running amok within us for far too long, which keep trying to make themselves known, wanting to be listened to, to have their day, to be recognized. We slow down and begin to shine the light of our simple, uncomplicated awareness onto those parts of ourselves that we might have denied. In the process, those acquired neuroses which we all have begin to unwind, to unravel and we emerge more whole, more complete, more in touch with our innocent child within, which might have been forgotten within the muck and mire of modern-day life.

And when we write from our heart, from our whole being, a surprising thing happens …

The moment we stop writing for someone else and, instead, give ourselves license to voice the truth of our own lived experience, good writing comes of its own accord. Writing, that is, which resonates, which carries with it a message deeper than the individually expressed words. A message, a shared experience, which will touch others—those who are ready to hear it—those for whom you might have articulated a simple truth which has lain dormant somewhere within them, or which they hadn’t yet managed to put into words.

A simple suggestion:

Take ten or fifteen minutes today to put pen to paper—fancy notebooks and pens not required—and give yourself license to write in response to the present moment, whatever the present moment holds for you. Bring a simple, uncomplicated (by which I mean a gentle, non-judgmental) awareness to everything within and around you. Notice how you feel, acknowledge your state of mind, pay attention to the rich details of life all around you—the things of everyday life which often go unnoticed, which are taken for granted, which we overlook in the mad-dash rush of living without presence.

Start with this simple witnessing of the world within and without, write in response to it, and nurture a childlike curiosity and sense of wonder which is allowed to flow through you and onto the page. You might start in one place and then find yourself exploring terrain far afield from your original intentions. That’s not only fine, it’s to be treasured. Open to that spontaneity, and keep the focus on the whole-bodied process of penning it onto the page, without any concern whatsoever of what others might think. If external validation comes, fine, but don't seek it out or become dependent on it. Simply write, let go, and enjoy the process.

Writing makes the writer—not the wish to be a writer.

Writing is a verb. If you’re writing, you’re a writer. Let go of the heavy burden of being a writer, and simply be, writing. And keep this simple suggestion in mind: Write freely expecting to rewrite, perhaps completely rewrite (and perhaps over and over), whatever comes up. If you truly give yourself freedom to write whatever flows onto the page, knowing that you’re free to rewrite at a later date, then you’ll be much more fresh, much more fluid on the page, things will be revealed which may not have come were you editing as you write.

American writing teacher Natalie Goldberg humorously reminds us that no one she knows has ever died from the inherently safe practices of meditating (for our purposes herein, simply bringing awareness to the world within and all around us) and writing. So within these safe, supportive practices, give yourself the freedom to let go, to acknowledge the truth of your own experience, and to make things up with wild abandon.

If you’d like to work with me on a one-to-one basis—either on embarking upon a creative or reflective writing practice, or with living more mindfully, you can reach me via any of the following means, and we’ll take it from there ...

Email: sean@mindfullivingguide.com
Twitter: @SeanMMadden
Phone: +44 (0)7971 774151
Skype: Sean.M.Madden
Web: MindfulLivingGuide.com

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NaNoWriMo & Short Story Workshop, plus Saturday's Weather Forecast ...

2011-11-03T15:37:00.007Z

NaNoWriMo & Short Story Workshop
plus Saturday's Weather Forecast ...

Writing a 50,000-word novel in November
and other such crazy goings-on
Behind the Blue Door

For those who don't know about National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), I've written a brief post on Mindful Living Guide to illuminate the essentials, as well as a 650-word article which will soon be published as a guest blog post to a few websites on both sides of the Atlantic. But even more briefly, those who sign up to participate in this long-since-gone-global literary phenomenon commit to writing a 50,000-word novel in a month.

A first draft that is.

For the curmudgeonly naysayers amongst you (there aren't really any of you out there, are there?!), you'd do well to hold your sneers and snorts. Thus far, more than 90 novels have been published which emanated from this mad-dash month of throwing buckets of words onto the page. More sniggers, still? Okay, if that's not enough, you should know, too, that this includes two #1 New York Times bestsellers. The latest of these is already making a huge splash—Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus—despite it only having been published in mid-September.

And it's not too late! to sign up and throw yourself into November novel-writing madness.

The 50,000 word commitment divided by 30 days means you need to write, on average, 1,667 words a day. After two days, my novel stands at 3,412. And I intend to add another 1,700 to 2,000 words to that after writing this combined MLG mailing/blog post. As in addition to writing this 50,000-word draft novel in November, I'll also be posting regular updates about the NaNoWriMo writing process to MLG.

So, if you've not already subscribed to receive Mindful Living Guide posts via email (not to be confused with the MLG newsletter), click here. That way you'll receive an email in your inbox each time I post an update to the website.

These first two days have been a wonderfully wild ride. Not only in the smashing of the champagne bottle against the bow of my novel-writing ocean liner—well, perhaps more a novel-writing dinghy launched into the tidal (yet deadly: Virginia Woolf's far from the only person to meet her demise in the) waters of the River Ouse—but also in the organizing and promoting of other nifty goings-on Behind the Blue Door, such as: 1) this Saturday's 5th of November Lewes Bonfire Pop-Up Party (I'd suggest booking ASAP, particularly as RAIN is forecast for Saturday, and here, Behind the Blue Door, you'll be safe, warm and dry two floors above absolute mayhem on the High Street below ... and you'll be served yummy autumnal eats by two of the, ahem, finest home cooks in Sussex!) and 2) next Saturday's 12th of November 'National Short Story Week' Writing Workshop (10 am-3 pm, with a one-hour lunch break).

For those of you who are visiting this post from the local Brighton-area NaNoWriMo community, the above Short Story Writing Workshop is an ideal, enjoyable way to spend five hours with other writers who want to crash through some supportive and nurturing—yet fast-and-furious—flash fiction writing exercises and such to get the pen flowing more freely, less self-consciously. And what better way to treat yourself to the nearly halfway point of NaNoWriMo than to take yourself off to lovely Lewes (we're smack in the center of town, just a 5-minute walk from the Lewes Railway Station) and to join, in person, other warmhearted writerly folk from the realm! The remaining places are sure to fill quickly. So, again, I'd recommend booking ASAP.

Oh, one final announcement: I have another article—entitled "Tao and the Art of Autumnal Writing: Bringing Mindfulness Back into Blogging"—which is scheduled to be published by ProBlogger this coming Tuesday, 8 November.

That's all for now, folks. And thank you, as always, for your support.

With warm regards,

Sean

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NaNoWriMo: Haven't started writing yet? Well, you're not alone!

2011-11-02T12:34:00.005Z

Lindsey Grant, NaNoWriMo Program Director

Not yet started writing your NaNoWriMo novel? Or perhaps have yet to even commit to signing up to the website? Here's an excerpt from a post by Lindsey Grant, Program Director for NaNoWriMo, explaining her own late start ...

Happy November!

Lindsey here, Program Director for NaNoWriMo. If you saw my tweet today, or have looked at my profile page at all, you already know that I haven’t started my 2011 NaNo-novel yet. And from looking at the Twitter replies to my confession, I see that I am not alone.

I’d like to tell you a little story about not starting, starring me. It’ll only take a moment, and I think it will help us all break the seals on our November novels.

Ahem.

For much of my life, I have suffered from a fairly spectacular case of social anxiety, especially whenever I insert myself into a new situation. Excessive sweating, full-body blushing, steamed up glasses, choking on my own saliva ... it’s something to behold.

Continue reading Lindsey's post here (Please Note: You must sign up, and be signed in, to the NaNoWriMo site to read this article)

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NaNoWriMo: A Novel Adventure

2011-10-31T17:01:00.011Z

(click above image to visit Sean's NaNoWriMo page)

A brief announcement: Late Saturday night, I decided to sign up and commit to participating in this year's National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) literary event, which requires the writing of a 50,000-word novel during the month of November. That means first thing tomorrow morning I'll begin writing a novel, with a daily average commitment of 1,667 words. Click the above image if you'd like to visit my NaNoWriMo author's page.

You can quickly get the gist of what this event is all about via the NaNoWriMo 2011 press release. Or you can visit their website.

And the good news is that there's still time if you'd like to sign up and join us for this novel adventure. Perhaps it's best, just as with writing generally, that you not think too much about it ahead of time!

In addition to my daily fiction commitment, I intend to publish regular blog entries to Mindful Living Guide—reflections on the process of penning my first novel, and the attempt to do so in just thirty days.

The novel is paramount. That said, I'm looking forward, too, to writing the story, here on MLG, of the story's unfolding. So, stay tuned, and thank you, as always, for your support.

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Lewes Bonfire Pop-Up Party: Saturday 5 November

2011-10-28T03:43:00.002+01:00

The place to be on Lewes Bonfire Night!

Lewes Bonfire Pop-Up Party

Saturday 5th of November

Join us Behind the Blue Door @ 177 High Street
on Saturday 5th of November
for a pop-up party with lots o' good eats ...

Photo taken from Behind the Blue Door, 5th November 2010

In short, there's no better place from which to watch the Lewes bonfire procession. We are located smack dab in the center of town, directly across from Caffe Nero and HSBC, near the Post Office.

We're on the second floor, and have two large windows in our spacious open-plan living area overlooking the High Street where the bonfire societies process below.

If you've been to Lewes Bonfire Night, you'll likely understand how good a location this is, and appreciate how brilliant it would be to watch the procession from the comfort and safety of a lovely second-floor apartment overlooking the High Street. If you've not visited Lewes on Bonfire Night, then you'll very quickly understand the benefits of watching the procession from a safe, comfortable height just above, where bangers won't be blowing up in your face, underfoot, or right next to your ears.

Have a look at the above photograph, taken from Behind the Blue Door last year. This year is destined to be even crazier, with Bonfire Night falling on a Saturday. The streets are packed, you can barely move, bangers are going off all around you, and, well, it's mayhem—as crazy as any festa major in Barcelona, New Year's Eve in Amsterdam, or whatnot.

But Behind the Blue Door, you'll be a part of the action while sufficiently removed to be safe, comfortable and—perhaps best of all—treated to good homemade eats!

Here's what's on the menu ...

Autumnal red lentil & sweet potato soup
Baked potatoes with the fixings—lots of butter, cheese, sour cream and chives
Locally produced artisan bread served with olive oil
Homebaked apple crumble with cream
Hot cups of heartwarming chai

And you're welcome to bring your own bottle of wine, beer, cider, etc.

IMPORTANT! Doors open at 5.00 pm. We suggest arriving before 6.00 pm, as the High Street quickly becomes congested. Also, please note that roads leading into and within Lewes will close at 5 pm sharp! So please make travel arrangements accordingly.

There are six bonfire sites to choose from . Each bonfire society will light its bonfire and hold a firework display at about 9.30 pm, so you'll want to begin making your way there around 9.00 pm, at which point the Pop-up Party Behind the Blue Door will come to a close, so that folk can enjoy the bonfire and firework display of their choice, and return home as they see fit.

Bookings

Pop-Up Party £37.50 Per Person. For the comfort and safety of all Pop-Up Party participants, please note this is an adult-only party. As the Pop-Up Party is limited to 14 guests, accommodated on a first-come, first-served basis, we recommend booking your place as soon as possible. To do so, telephone Sean on 07971 774151 or email him at sean@mindfullivingguide.com. Information will also be posted to www.MindfulLivingGuide.com.

We're really looking forward to this lively evening together, and hope you'll be joining us. Also, if you know of others who might like to join us, we'd greatly appreciate your forwarding this email, or the above contact information, to them as soon as possible, as Bonfire Night is only a week away!

With warm autumnal regards,

Sean & Mufidah ... also, please see the below list of useful contacts ...

Useful Lewes Bonfire Contacts:

Lewes Bonfire Information Line 01273 484004

Lewes Parking Shop 0845 680 1129 (option 2)

Rail Services: www.southernrailway.com

Brighton and Hove Buses 01273 886200

Lewes Tourist Information 01273 483448

www.lewesbonfirecouncil.org.uk

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Slaked Thirst

2011-10-27T12:01:00.000+01:00

(click image to enlarge)
Photo/Text © 2011 Sean M. Madden. All Rights Reserved.

Below is the second of two poetic pieces written in response to the above photograph which were exhibited, along with the image, during the Artwave Festival this past August and September. The first poetic response was published yesterday.

Slaked Thirst

I stare into your depths
unable to tell if I
dive headlong

or am right-side-up

A fish, I
swim in your remedy
replete

Feel my own weather-worn wooden heart
and see how fresh is yours —
pomegranate-ripe, spring-flowing

Like Rumi’s well-wined Sufi soul
into
ever-widening
rings of being

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Forbidden Fruit

2011-10-26T17:41:00.000+01:00

(click image to enlarge)
Photo/Text © 2011 Sean M. Madden. All Rights Reserved.

Below is one of two poetic pieces written in response to the above photograph which were exhibited, along with the image, during the Artwave Festival this past August and September. The other poetic response will be published in the next day or so.

forbidden fruit

a ring, a finger
a stain upon my breast
a ruby-red, crystal kiss
a lure, a temptation
the blood of Christ
a benediction

fruit of the vine
teardrops & ambrosia
a melted dervish dream

a milky way, a whirl
a girl, an offering
a liquid areola

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Writers & Editors: Tweeps, Klout & Other Creepy-Crawly Considerations

2011-10-14T02:09:00.025+01:00

I've just signed off from Twitter.

Okay, so I've not exactly signed off as I still want to be connected to the internet while writing this blog post, and I don't want to have to go through the hassle of logging out of my various Twitter app's only to have to log in again later. But I just sent my 651 followers the following tweet:

Dear follower folk, time for me to sign off to get down to some writing. I'll check in again later. Thank you for your support. #amwriting

Before going any further, do you follow me on Twitter? If not, here's your chance.

Now, as someone who earns his living as a self-employed writer-educator — and, more specifically, as both a writing and mindful living guide — I recognize that micro-thin line between the need to proactively market your wares, 24/7, and slipping into obsessive compulsive stat-checking disorder (OCSCD).

You know what it's like — so, how many new Twitter followers have I racked up in the last ten seconds?

Right? Do I lie?

Then, we click over to check our website stats, then the whole array of stats for our latest email marketing campaign — how many opens? how many clicks? which links were clicked? who clicked what? — and even knowing our Klout score is, at least for now, updated just once a day, OCSCD knows no bounds.

So, we ignore our rational mind's monotone, bored-to-tears warning that nothing's going to have changed (we, our whole selves, know that with absolute certainty!), but the OCSCD part of our brain says something to the effect of, "Hey, man, who knows? Maybe Klout has finally decided to roll out real-time Klout profile updates." And we don't want to miss out on the fact that our Klout score just might have inched up another three or four one-hundredths of one percent.

Or, gutted!, dropped by that much, revealing to the entire global online community that we're certified losers. What the banksters — you know, those philanthropic guys running the show behind the, likewise micro-thin, ultra-flimsy veneer of democracy — cheerfully refer to as useless eaters.

And what happens when Klout stats start pushing and shoving their way into our home, our family dynamics, and your pre-adolescent kid refuses to wash up after dinner because he knows you're a useless eater and your True Reach score provides absolute, quantifiable proof that your place in the family has been usurped?

So, in a nutshell, this Klout and stat thing, generally, is serious business. Nothing's to be taken for granted — not our relationships with our children, not our love life, certainly not our standing in the aforementioned global online community, to say nothing of how we look in the eyes of our local social media adepts who pride themselves on being members of the parish literati and who dole out follows and retweets, if at all, like miniscule breadcrumbs hastily shaken from a moldy plastic bag onto a dark and dank pavement for the untouchables — nasty creepy-crawly folk like you and me — to feed upon.

Are you still with me, or doth thou thinketh I exaggerate the importance of Klout and such?

I kid you not. After all, I'm a Mindful Living Guide with plenty of credibility. Yet, I hear you say, "You've only got, what, 651 followers? That's nothing!"

I agree, sorta.

But, although nearly five hundred of those followers have come in just the past month, it's exactly this hard-earned, small-potatoes achievement which has informed me of the way not to go about things, it really only hitting me tonight, post-walk along the River Ouse in my lovely hometown of Lewes, East Sussex, England.

But as both an advocate of living mindfully as well as of honoring, truly honoring, the whole creative-process enchilada — including those times when words trickle out of your fingertips like blood from beneath your fingernails — I know that this past month has not only been an absolutely crucial part of the learning process, but has, likewise, connected me with hundreds of warm-hearted writers, editors and publishers, and other good folk, whom I'd otherwise not be in touch with, who wouldn't have come across my own writing, my website, nor the inscrutable fact that I baked a dozen popovers at midnight while writing my last blog post.

So what is one to do in this twenty-first-century Klout-imperative existence of ours? Is it really a matter of choosing, on the one hand, between acceptance as an untouchable or, on the other, becoming a scarcely human device in the iCloud, our necks chained like those in Plato's Republic not to face the cave wall but our own backlit laptop screens, working our fingers to the bone typing up thank-you messages to our followers?

No, I'm here to bring you good news, brother!

And before you ask, thinking perhaps that the so-called recession has become a Klout-certified depression, no, I can't spare a dime. But one day, when my social media marketing prowess has paid off, I hereby promise to give you a tip o' the hat in the social medium of your choice, so long as it's one I am, at that time, plugged in to; I killed my Facebook account and others just before the start of 2011, and only returned to the Twittersphere this past May.

What I can give you now is this tiny tidbit of advice which has the potential to give you a third option, one infinitely more useful (and far less creepy-crawly) than the Clinton-Blair Third Way. In short, why shackle yourself to your laptop when the whole reason you've got one is to live the writerly life? How much writing can you get done when you're, as Rousseau said, pre-SMO, "everywhere in chains"?

As with countless other things I've learned, only to forget five minutes later, something made its way into my pea-brain this evening, something so basic that's it's easy to overlook — it's about working smarter, not harder. Duh!

It was only in looking back through my various website stats — specifically, at those periods of time when I was writing for various online publications and my stats skyrocketed literally overnight — that it dawned on me, yet again!, that rather than to lure followers like curmudgeonly badgers into my Twitter den, I'd do what I used to do and focus at least part of my writing on penning articles for publication, online and off.

Somehow in the teaching of creative writing and mindful living courses and workshops, and giving my clients one-to-one writing guidance and mentoring, I'd fallen away from writing articles. Stupid, I know. Yet, it wasn't without its own logic, the leaving behind of journalism for a tighter focus on more imaginative writing.

One thing I have learned, however, is that many of those 651 followers of mine are extremely well-connected within the writing and publishing world, SO ...

I'm going to ask, by way of this very blog post, WHO AMONGST YOU would like me to write a guest blog for your website? Only editors of relatively to insanely high-volume websites need respond to this blatant attempt at maximizing my online reach.

The rest of you, I hope, can learn from my temporary amnesia, and begin writing articles for other blogs. In fact, you're welcome to submit your highly polished articles for possible publication on Mindful Living Guide. But, as with any submission, please first spend some old-fashioned, quality time on MLG so that you will have a good feel for the sort of content and style (or total lack thereof!) that is likely to appeal to sensitive, Buddha-like readers of this creatively mindful corner of cyberspace.

Oh, and one last thing — will each of you please retweet this blog post to your respective follower folk! The Carrot: Doing so might very well increase your Klout score as well as, ahem, my very own. Also, if you rather cheekily skipped over that first opportunity to follow me on Twitter, now's a most auspicious time to do so.

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Autumnal skies and auspicious signs

2011-10-11T04:47:00.027+01:00

I took the above photograph with my iPhone on Sunday evening. Mufidah and I were both working, sitting on the couch with our respective laptops, when we noticed an eerie eclipse-like light cast upon the creamy white walls of the building opposite. We hurried outside, looking around for the optimal lookout from which to see the horizon. That place was the west-facing benches between Lewes Castle, just a few doors down from our flat, and Castle Banks, the steep, short road leading down to the Elephant & Castle pub.

Another couple who were likewise in pursuit of the best vantage point jogged up the hill and joined us, and, together, we shared those final glorious moments gazing upon this sunset.

From 2004 to 2005, I lived alone in a casita on Mt. Atalaya in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where I was studying Eastern philosophy and classics for my second master's degree at St. John's College, my first, the Western version of the same, having been earned a year before in Annapolis, Maryland. Most evenings that I wasn't in class I'd climb further up the mountain to a place I called Sunset Rock — to watch the sun set across the Rio Grande Valley, a sprawling expanse far below — and I would meditate while watching the ever-shifting skies. These skies would remind me that nothing stands still nor is replicable. Every moment is fresh, a new beginning, the start of a new cycle.

And this takes me back to The Book of Changes, or the I Ching, and in particular Hexagram 50, the inspiration for my previous post.

Hexagram 50

This hexagram, symbolized by a cauldron or empty vessel (as discussed in that previous post), advises one to let go of the old and tired, and to create something new which serves all of society, to "transform the raw into the beneficial". But in this forging ahead, it also counsels the noble person to serve with the greatest humility, to be as empty as the vessel itself.

Zhouyi points to the writing of words worthy of being cast into bronze, to the serving of others, and to the creating of a vessel which unites all our concerns. In addition to my strengthened commitment to my own writing, this might very well also point to my Mindful Living Guide work, my working with students and one-to-one clients to guide and mentor them with regard to their writing and living mindfully. Yet, I know myself, and Hexagram 50 suggests as much, that this work must grow. Some of my long-term students have recognized this need to take my work and expand it beyond its present form, that which has provided for my daily bread and inspired and nourished me in countless crucial ways these past few years.

And over this past year I have been doing exactly that, expanding the horizons of the work I do in the Mindful Living Guide realm in fresh, new ways, as well as over the past month or two reaching out far more proactively to folk inhabiting shores distant from my local stomping grounds here in the South East of England. But a definite shift is in the works, a discarding of some old ways of doing things which no longer serve, with a simultaneous move beyond the tending to a relative few scattered seeds to the raising of a full-fledged crop.

That task, the casting of new seeds and a new cycle, is the work of the present moment. How exactly it will play out no one knows, least of all myself. But that is the endeavor at hand. And autumn — with its seasonal reminders for us to slow down, to take stock, and to reconsider and regather our resources — is an auspicious time to complete, or draw down, one cycle so as to embark upon a new, perhaps more ambitious, more thunderous one.

Sean also facilitates one-to-one I Ching consultations.

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Blame it on the midnight brewing up of the Bialetti — Or is there something else at work here?

2011-10-08T03:49:00.017+01:00

This impulse to be irreverent to the possible detriment of one's bank account, at least in the short-term. The desire, that is, to throw caution to the wind and to create with (relative) reckless abandon. An impulse fueled by a number of recent happenings, some of which shall herein go undivulged, others, like the titular brewing up of the Bialetti and the textual urgings of the I Ching, propelling me to live life more fully, more wholeheartedly, more courageously.

Two nights ago Zhouyi counseled me to craft a vessel which unites all our concerns, to complete a revolution, to cast a new order. And to write words worthy of being cast into bronze, words to be inscribed upon a ding, or cauldron, which as a vessel from which to feed the many once symbolized legitimacy to rule over a land, over a people. But with this came a responsibility to rule with wisdom, humility, and compassion for the well-being of those people.

Far from being fueled by a late-night infusion of caffeine, the ideal person who held a bronze three-legged ding, and who thereby held the right to rule, was to serve others while being, himself, an empty vessel, one who could integrate all levels of society with Heaven and Earth. In being this empty, the noble one emulates the ding, solidifies his command, much as the bronze solidifies the writing and the magical motifs on its surface. This sage-ruler is advised to melt his own honor "in the crucible of change, and cast it into the mold he makes by his daily activities."

A tall order, no?

But this has come up again and again, this cauldron, the vessel of Hexagram 50. And in recognition of its truth, I have decided, just tonight (though like the Bialetti this has been brewing slowly for some time), to live more fully, more courageously, much more wholeheartedly within the territory of this simple blog which, for too long now, has served mostly as a repository for my various course and workshop offerings. These will no doubt continue to be a motif engraved upon the surface of this place we have for five years now referred to as Mindful Living Guide, sometimes with, sometimes without, the dot-com. However, beginning with this very post, a more lively brew shall begin simmering in this cauldron which shall integrate, if not all levels of society with Heaven and Earth, my own thoughts and imaginings beyond course particulars.

This post owes its existence, in substance and in phrasing, to Deng Ming-Dao, the author of The Living I Ching, which I had the pleasure of using in the I Ching course I led this past February through March. Additionally, Ming-Dao (his first name) sent me, via email, the following further explanation: "The cauldron, or ding, is a deep symbol of Chinese culture. It symbolizes stability, antiquity, ceremony, and sacrifice. In the past, possessing certain cauldrons was tantamount to legitimacy of rule. From a creative standpoint, it is the container for our investigations and ambitions." In this way, I intend for Mindful Living Guide to be a container for my own investigations and ambitions, both writerly and spiritual/philosophical. And I hope this container shall, in turn, provide some nourishment and nurturing for those who come here to visit and, ideally, to share.

Sean also facilitates one-to-one I Ching consultations.

Please leave comments, and share via social buttons, below.
Also, to receive MLG blog posts via email, click here.

October-November Courses & Workshops (& National Short Story Week) Lewes, East Sussex

2011-09-23T14:32:00.008+01:00

Upcoming Courses & Workshops
(October through November)

I've just put the finishing touches on two new 6-week courses and a one-day workshop which have been designed to run during National Short Story Week, from the 7th to the 13th of November. You might have seen or otherwise heard of the recent campaign, supported by the Society of Authors, which is in opposition to BBC Radio 4's announcement to cut some of their short story programming. The timing is rather ironic given that this is slated to happen in the lead up to National Short Story Week (NSSW).

Anyway, in support of NSSW as well as the short story literary form, in general, I decided to organize the following: 1) 'The Best British Short Stories 2011' (on the NSSW recommended reading list) reading and discussion course, 2) a 'Short Story Writing, from A to Z' Course, and 3) a 'National Short Story Week' Writing Workshop. All three of these will run during National Short Story Week, though the first two begin in mid-October, while the writing workshop will be held on Saturday, 12 November. I've been put in touch with Nicholas Royle, the award-winning editor of the book pictured above, and he wishes us all the best with the Best British Short Stories 2011 course. So that's quite auspicious!

Full details, including dates and times, are included via the links above, or visit the fully updated Courses & Workshops listing.

I've also decided to run the next Friday Fling reading and discussion course on Eckhart Tolle's international beststeller, The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment. As usual, this 6-week course will run Fridays from 8 to 10 pm, a most cordial time for an end-of-week gathering.

There's plenty of time to order The Best British Short Stories 2011 (£5.96) and The Power of Now (£5.49). Click either of the two previous links to go directly to the relevant page on Amazon.co.uk. Both books include free Super Saver Delivery within the UK. Mufidah's and my two copies of The Best British Short Stories 2011 recently arrived, and we're enjoying the stories which Nicholas Royle collected into this one pocket-sized anthology. For the course, we'll read three to four stories to discuss in class each week. That amounts to thirty to forty pages a week of pleasurable reading which can be taken in bite-sized chunks when the time suits you, one of the great advantages of the short story form.

Also, we'll be exhibiting our Creative Writing & Mindful Living Guide wares at the Mind Body Spirit Festival in Hove this Saturday and Sunday. As I've been invited to give a half-hour talk, I've decided, as I did at the same event held earlier this year, to turn this talk into a (free) mini-writing workshop. This is scheduled to run from 12.30 to 1.00 pm tomorrow, Saturday 24 September. So, if you'll be in Hove this weekend, or would like to make a little day trip there, please join us for the workshop or just stop by our table and say hello. The festival is in Hove Centre at Hove Town Hall.

And, finally, I've just posted a short short story. I wrote this in honor of a dear friend who's just turned 92.

Aesculus Hippocastanum: A Story

2011-09-23T11:58:00.010+01:00

(click image to enlarge)
Photo/Text: © Copyright 2011 Sean M. Madden. All Rights Reservd.

Aesculus Hippocastanum

An aged man, a veteran of one of an incessant stream of foreign wars, sits in his summerhouse in a compact flint-walled garden. A small patch of sweet peas grows nearby, as does a solitary cherry tree which for lack of bees this year bore no fruit.

Inside, he can be seen working, bent over a mid-century oak draughtsman’s table. The French doors of the summerhouse are open, a slight breeze carrying hints of wild rose and sage, and with these, courage. His legs grown wobbly when once they would march him in a day through twenty miles of Italian countryside, he seems now an earth-fallen Hephaestus, toiling on the task he set for himself for the simple reason that no one else seemed likely to do what needed doing. In shirtsleeves and a flat cap, he hammers a metal stamp, tapping out characters upon small aluminum plates.

He worked in near-obscurity identifying each of the two hundred trees in the public garden. And he sits now with this self-imposed burden heavy upon his breast, stamping each character of the common name for each of these trees.

Where once his heraldic calligrapher hands were steady and willing, today they’re less certain. And where once his eyes would look out to the English Channel in search of enemy aircraft, he struggles now to line up the metal stamps such that the individual characters form a tight-wrought word. One eye dead, the other is almost lost to the slow creep of macular degeneration. Out-of-doors, he is very nearly blinded by the sudden contrasts of sun and shade, unable to recognize even the young woman who just the other day waved to him as she walked past. He turned to look back at her and could see her arm still waving on the outer perimeter of his pocked vision, but it was a disembodied arm waving somewhere above youthful legs and a summer dress.

This treacle-slow stamping of name plates is a race against darkness and an any-day end which he hopes, when it comes, will bring him back to his beloved wife. He dreams of her still, and the relived ache of their far-too-soon parting is as likely now to awaken him as it did when cancer stole her away after just nine years together.

For now, his irregular though kindly companion is his middle-aged liaison with the Council who every once in a while checks in to see how things are coming along. And during one such recent meeting it was relayed to him that while the common names are all well and good, the botanical names are likewise a must.

But the stamps are too large and the name plates too small. And so he went back to the beginning, and began painstakingly to pen with a permanent marker each botanical name, just above the common one. For good measure, he would slide the black felt tip along the tiny grooves of the characters he’d stamped months ago, a simple movement in which he felt held by a guiding hand, and he would smile within.

His mind slips now, as it is wont to do, to the distant past, to his childhood, son of a village vicar, to carefree games of conkers and jacks with friends no longer living.

'National Short Story Week' Writing Workshop (Lewes, East Sussex)

2011-09-22T23:38:00.002+01:00

(click above image to enlarge)

book your place now

'Short Story Writing from A to Z' Course (Lewes)

2011-09-22T23:19:00.001+01:00

(click above image to enlarge)

book your place now

'The Best British Short Stories 2011' Course (Lewes)

2011-09-22T23:15:00.006+01:00

(click above image to enlarge)

The Best British Short Stories 2011
via Amazon.co.uk

book your place now

'The Power of Now' Discussion Course (Lewes)

2011-09-22T23:09:00.003+01:00

(click above image to enlarge)

book your place now

Creative Writing & Mindful Living Courses (Lewes): September through October 2011

2011-09-05T14:07:00.006+01:00

September
Creative Writing &
Mindful Living Courses
(beginning next week ...)

As mentioned in the September issue of Viva Lewes, our new Creative Writing & Mindful Living courses begin one week from today. So if you've found that you've wandered from your writing, would like to reconnect with fellow writerly folk, or might benefit from a burst of creative inspiration, the back-to-school days of autumn are a wonderful time to embark upon or to further develop an ongoing writing practice. Likewise with an ongoing mindful living practice.

The two Creative Writing courses which begin next week are entitled Write Your Way into Autumn. The Monday evening class, beginning 12 September, runs from 7 to 9 pm. The Wednesday morning class, beginning 14 September, runs from 10 am to 12 noon. As always, these classes are ideal for folk brand-new to creative writing as well as for seasoned professionals, as the focus is on the process of writing, or the creative process more generally, and learning to break through those pesky obstacles which can sometimes keep our writing from flowing freely.

And as I've said countless times, and as those of you who've come to my clases have witnessed for yourselves, to the extent we open up to the process, truly honor it, then good writing comes of its own accord. Writing, that is, which resonates with others because it's writing which has come from an authentic place, from the truth of our own lived experience.

Also, the popular Friday Fling series of Mindful Living courses starts up again next week with The Art of Mindful Living: Tapping the Creative Well-Spring. This reading, writing and discussion course can be taken as a standalone class or as an excellent accompaniment to the above six-week Creative Writing course. Specifically, we'll look at ways to live more artfully, to open ourselves to the freshness of the present moment, and to find seeds of inspiration in the details of our day-to-day lives which can energize and inspire us to live creatively. This course begins a week from Friday, on 16 September, and runs on six consecutive Friday evenings from 8 to 10 pm.

All classes meet Behind the Blue Door which, as most of you know, is also housing our Artwave exhibition, Witnessing the World Within & Without: Photographic & Poetic Musings. We've had a brilliant response since Artwave opened two weekends ago, with scores of folk venturing Behind the Blue Door @ 177 High Street, Lewes, to see our photographs as well as our poetic responses to these images. The accompanying writing includes short stories, poems and vignettes. This coming weekend, 10-11 September (11 am to 4 pm), will be your last chance to see the exhibition as part of the open-house Artwave festival, though we intend to keep the exhibition in place for a while so that our September students will be able to view it.

Here's an online map, though if you know Lewes, we're smack in the middle of the High Street, directly across from Caffè Nero.

If you'd like to book a place in one of the above courses, please click here for registration details. Also, as the classes begin next week, it would be helpful if you can please send me a very brief email letting me know that your registration materials are on their way.

These courses also make great gifts for your loved ones if you'd like to book on behalf of someone whom you think would benefit from such a class but might not take that first, sometimes scary step of actually booking themselves on a course. Once on the course, any initial fears naturally fall by the wayside within the supportive and nurturing environment of these classes, as you can see from reading through some of these (unsolicited) written testimonials.

I'm looking forward to the autumn ahead, a most auspicious time for gathering together, to slow down, take stock and ground ourselves after the sometimes fast-and-furious days of summer. If you'd like to join us in this endeavor, it will be made all the more special.

And if you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call on 07971 774151.

With warm regards,

Sean

MLG Update: 1) Artwave Opening, 2) September Course Listing (Lewes)

2011-08-26T19:38:00.004+01:00

Artwave Exhibition Opening
&
Course/Workshop Listing
(Sep through Oct)

After a most creative August Behind the Blue Door, there are lots of exciting things happening ...

Mufidah's and my Artwave 2011 photography and writing exhibition — entitled Witnessing the World Within & Without: Photographic & Poetic Musings — opens tomorrow, Saturday 27 August. This Lewes District-wide visual arts festival runs weekends through 11 September. We, Behind the Blue Door, will be open weekends from 11 am to 4 pm, and from 11 am to 2 pm on Bank Holiday Monday, 29 August.

Light refreshments will be on sale, and rumor has it (yes, I trade rumors with myself on such occasions) that we'll be baking a couple dozen New England-style blueberry muffins each morning, as if we don't have enough going on already! As with the below classes, these Madden-touch muffins are likely to go fast, so do come on the early side if you'd like to indulge.

Also, I've just this afternoon published the new Creative Writing & Mindful Living course and workshop listing for mid-September through mid-October. As we'll be promoting these courses throughout Artwave, and as the brand-spanking-new September issue of Viva Lewes includes a brilliant little writeup (p. 7) of our Artwave exhibition as well as my various course offerings, these autumn classes are likely to fill very quickly. So, I'd suggest booking your place in one or more courses, and/or the October writing workshop, as soon as possible.

In the meantime, we look forward to having as many folk join us Behind the Blue Door for Artwave as possible, so please do stop in. And we'd greatly appreciate your helping us to spread the word amongst your friends and family members.

Here's an online map if you need directions.

You're also more than welcome to give me a call on 07971 774151 if you have any questions.

With warm regards,

Sean & Mufidah

Mindful Living & Creative Writing Classes (Lewes)

2011-08-26T14:11:00.003+01:00

(click above image to enlarge)

book your place now

'Write Your Way into Autumn' Course (Lewes)

2011-08-26T14:07:00.002+01:00

(click above image to enlarge)

book your place now

'The Art of Mindful Living' Course (Lewes)

2011-08-26T14:03:00.004+01:00

(click above image to enlarge)

book your place now

Artwave 2011: 'Witnessing the World Within & Without: Photographic & Poetic Musings'

2011-08-16T18:49:00.007+01:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ARTWAVE 2011:
Witnessing the World Within & Without:
Photographic & Poetic Musings

by Lewes Writer-Photographers
Sean M. Madden and Mufidah Kassalias

LEWES, East Sussex (August 16, 2011) / MindfulLivingGuide.com /

Two writer-photographers from Lewes are making a splash in this year's celebrated Artwave visual arts festival running throughout Lewes District from August 27 to September 11. In fact, they are the only Artwave exhibitors listed under the writer category, though they're also listed as photographers.

Sean M. Madden and Mufidah Kassalias are known primarily for their day jobs. For the past few years, Sean has been leading popular creative writing and mindful living courses and workshops in Lewes and the surrounding Sussex area. In this capacity, Sean is known as the Mindful Living Guide and promotes his services via his MindfulLivingGuide.com website. His partner, Mufidah, is known locally as the Mac Woman, helping her clients learn to use their Apple Mac computers more efficiently. Mufidah has hung out her online shingle at MacMadeEasy.biz.

Earlier in the year, they opened up their home — a spacious second-floor apartment smack-dab in the centre of Lewes, on the High Street directly across from Caffè Nero — to teach their respective courses and workshops as well as to meet privately with one-to-one clients. Sean says, "We realised how ridiculous it was to be hiring venues in Lewes, Brighton, Eastbourne, etc. when we live in a lovely flat which can easily accommodate a dozen or more students in our open-plan living space. No venue hire fees, no need to work around the availability of busy venues, and it's economically feasible to run smaller, more intimate classes."

Mufidah adds, "While we enjoy holding events at various Sussex venues, it's wonderful to have our clients join us in our home. And Sean and I are continuously told how much students love coming here, that there's an open, relaxing quality which supports us in our coming together to write or what not."

They call their at-home venue Behind the Blue Door, and it's located at 177 High Street (Flat 4).

Both writers and photographers, Sean and Mufidah are now collaborating on an Artwave 2011 photography and writing exhibition entitled, Witnessing the World Within & Without: Photographic & Poetic Musings. They plan to exhibit eight photographs in total, each of which will be accompanied by a brief piece of writing, written as a creative response to the image.

Sean says the exhibition title comes from a phrase which he has used often in his writing and mindful living classes to express the life skill of "taking time out during our hectic day-to-day goings on to simply witness, without judgment, the world around and within us. This simple act of noticing the world, as well as our response to it, is an incredibly powerful way to ground ourselves. And it's particularly useful for creative artists who can thereby find tiny yet explosive seeds of inspiration from the small details of our lives."

Sean and Mufidah's Behind the Blue Door venue will be open to the public throughout the three weekends of Artwave — August 27, 28 and September 3, 4, 10, 11 — from 11 am to 4 pm. They will also open on Bank Holiday Monday, August 29, from 11 am to 2 pm. Light refreshments will be available, and limited-edition photographic prints will be on sale.

To learn more about the Witnessing the World Within & Without exhibition, visit MindfulLivingGuide.com. Or telephone Sean on 07971 774151.

- ends -

For further information or other media enquiries, please contact Sean or Mufidah, both of whom are available for in-person, telephone or email interviews:

Sean M. Madden / 07971 774151 / sean@mindfullivingguide.com / MindfulLivingGuide.com
Mufidah Kassalias / 07595 257852 / mufidah@macmadeeasy.biz / MacMadeEasy.biz

Behind the Blue Door venue location: view map

NEW! Summer Writing & Mindful Living Courses & Saturday Workshop (Lewes, East Sussex)

2011-07-07T15:24:00.003+01:00

Summer Writing & Mindful Living Courses
& Saturday Workshop

In addition to the Hemingway Summer Soiree, beginning a week from today (Thursday, 14 July, 8 to 10 pm), the following new courses and Saturday workshop are coming up this month:

Saturday Writing Workshop: We'll dive straight in as a means to free up our writing through as many creative writing exercises as we can fit in during our afternoon together. This workshop is an ideal way to get the words flowing in preparation for the other two writing classes, below. Saturday, 16 July, 12 to 4 pm.

Short Story Writing, from A to Z: By way of inspiring in-class writing exercises and on-topic readings, we'll learn to develop possible story ideas, explore the elements of successful short stories, write in class as well as out, and share our work each week as a means to get gentle, positive feedback. 6-Week Course: Monday evenings, 7 to 9 pm, beginning July 18 through 22 August.

Writing One's Own Life Story: Working together, we'll consider ways to tell our unique story, whether purely for our own enjoyment, to share with loved ones, or to develop for possible publication. 6-Week Course: Wednesday mornings, 10 am to 12 noon, beginning 20 July through 24 August.

Who Am I? Coming Home to One's True Nature Amidst Everyday Concerns: We live crazy, hectic lives, no? Well, in this latest Friday Fling course, we'll take much-needed time each week to come together, to rest in the moment, and to explore who we really are, behind our everyday concerns. 6-Week Course: Friday evenings, 8 to 10 pm, beginning 22 July through 26 August.

All classes will meet Behind the Blue Door @ 177 High Street, Lewes, directly across from Caffe Nero.

Pre-registration is required. Book your place here for one or more classes. As usual, the 6-week course fee is £95; the Saturday workshop fee, £35.

Please let me know if you have questions or anything you'd like to discuss: a) send me an email or b) telephone me on 07971 774151.

And I'd greatly appreciate your helping us to spread word of these summertime goings on by seeing if a friend or two might like to join us as well!

With warm regards,

Sean

Summer Soiree: Selected Hemingway Short Stories

2011-07-02T11:30:00.004+01:00

Hemingway's 1923 Passport Photo

Selected Hemingway Short Stories
for 6-Week Summer Soiree
beginning Thursday 14 July, 8-10 pm

I got lucky yesterday. After sending out the Hemingway Summer Soiree mailing, Mufidah and I trawled a half-dozen or so used bookshops in Lewes in search of the Hemingway books we'll be reading over the course of our six weeks together. I already had A Farewell to Arms. In fact, it was my beginning to reread this over the past few days which inspired the Soiree.

We came up dry with the first two bookshops, but were delighted to see that the first Hemingway we came upon, at the Bow Windows Bookshop (just a few doors down from us, though we had decided to start from the top of the town and work our way down), was a 1960 hardcover edition of The First Forty-Nine Stories.

I also have a lovely edition of Hemingway's A Moveable Feast, a gift from an old friend who bought it at Shakespeare and Company, Sylvia Beach's bookshop on Paris' Left Bank, from which Hemingway used to borrow books (the bookshop was also a lending library) upon first arriving in Paris in 1922. I was considering our discussing A Moveable Feast in our final class, on 18 August, but decided, instead, to include a selection of Hemingway's early stories in Week 1, prior to our moving on to his novels. This will provide a better sense of Hemingway's development as a writer.

And, so, true to the subject line of the present mailing, below is the selection from The First Forty-Nine Stories which we'll be reading for the first class, on Thursday evening, 14 July, in order of original publication:

Indian Camp (his first published story, 1924)
A Very Short Story (1925)
Big Two-Hearted River, Parts 1 and 2 (1925)
Banal Story (1926)
Now I Lay Me (1927)
A Clean, Well-Lighted Place (1927)
A Day's Wait (1933)
The Gambler, the Nun, and the Radio (1933)
Fathers and Sons (1933)

Just before heading home, after visiting the used bookshops at the bottom of Cliffe High Street, we stopped in to the charity shop across the street from Boots, and, lo and behold, they had a used paperback edition (the very same edition which I linked out to in yesterday's mailing) of The Sun Also Rises, for which I paid a whopping £1.25. The corners of many of the pages had been folded as placemarkers, but this was easily rectified.

That leaves my only needing to find a copy of The Old Man and the Sea, a book I first read as an eighth-grader (12-13 years old), at Carroll Middle School in Southlake, Texas, when I was in desperate need for a book short enough for me to both read and crank out an essay on to be handed in the following day. The length of The Old Man and the Sea fit the bill perfectly. So, my debt to Hemingway goes way back!

If you'd like to have a poke around the bookshops near you, or consider buying used editions (check out BookFinder.com), there's plenty of time for you to do so, particularly for the novels. Also, there's a good chance you could find the short stories online for Week 1, if you'd prefer to just print these out rather than buy the The First Forty-Nine Stories collection.

Here's an example.

I'm really looking forward to this course. If you'd like to join us for this summertime reading adventure, click here to book your place.

With warm regards,

Sean

Hemingway Summer Soiree (Lewes, East Sussex)

2011-07-01T15:17:00.005+01:00

Hemingway Summer Soiree
Thursdays, 8 to 10 pm
14 July—18 August

Join us Behind the Blue Door for a summertime adventure exploring some of Ernest Hemingway's finest creations. Throughout this 6-week course, we'll delve into Hemingway's work as engaged readers as well as from a writerly point-of-view, considering the lifetime sweep of his literary output while grounding our discussions in the specifics of his stories.

What better way to spend a summer? There's something about Hemingway's style, something about the cleanliness of his sentences which makes him the perfect summertime read.

We'll spend Week 1 discussing a selection of his short stories, collected in The First Forty-Nine Stories, with a focus on those written early in his career, before becoming a novelist. In Weeks 2 and 3, we'll explore Hemingway's first novel, The Sun Also Rises (1926; published in Britain in 1927 as Fiesta), considering the first and second halves of the novel during these two weeks. In Weeks 4 and 5, we'll discuss A Farewell to Arms (1929), again covering the novel over the course of two sessions. And, finally, in Week 6, we'll explore the whole of the novella The Old Man and the Sea (1952). In 1953, Hemingway won the Pulitzer Prize for this final major work of fiction published in his lifetime. The Old Man and the Sea was cited, too, when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954.

Each of the above titles links out to an inexpensive copy readily available via Amazon.co.uk, for between £3.66 and £6.13, with free Super Saver delivery.

Please Note: As this course begins in just under two weeks, it is essential that you pre-register as soon as possible in order to secure your place as well as to have time to order and begin reading at least the short stories mentioned above.

The 6-week course fee is, as usual, £95.

Also, a brief reminder that we'll be holding the Friday evening Meeting in Presence tonight from 8 to 10 pm, and 'twould be wonderful to have you with us. And with the Monday evening and Wednesday morning creative writing classes finished for the time-being, we'll also be holding these drop-in Meetings in Presence, throughout July, on Monday evenings from 7 to 9 pm and Wednesday mornings from 10 am to 12 noon. Click here for additional details.

And, as always, Mufidah and I would greatly appreciate your helping us to spread word of both the Hemingway Summer Soiree as well as the drop-in Meetings in Presence. The more the merrier!

With warm regards,

Sean

Meetings in Presence: Lewes, East Sussex

2011-06-16T23:35:00.016+01:00

A Summertime Shift:
(Drop-In) Meetings in Presence

Monday Evenings, 7 to 9 pm, beginning 4 July
Wednesday Mornings, 10 am to 12 noon, beginning 29 June
Friday Evenings, 8 to 10 pm, beginning 17 June

** Please Note: Effective, 6 July, these drop-in
Meetings in Presence have been cancelled. **

As many of you know, over the past two-and-a-half years, I have been running back-to-back 6-week creative writing courses and regularly scheduled workshops of various sorts. Earlier this year, the Friday evening courses were added to the mix — Exploring the I Ching, Looking Beyond Loss & Grief and The Art of Living in Awareness — and these have been particularly inspiring, and a real treat to lead. Moreover, each of these mindful living courses has included a creative writing element, just as my creative writing courses are grounded in bringing meditative awareness to everything we do.

In short, there's little foundational distinction between the creative writing and the mindful living classes, recognizing, of course, that the focus differs according to the subject at hand.

And as some of you likewise know, as the 6-week Art of Living in Awareness course got underway and began to draw to a close, which it did last Friday night, I have been honoring an intuitive feeling to not name the next course right away, to instead allow for some quiet time within which new possibilities, new directions might arise. And this intuitive feeling seemed to well up during a time in which I had a bunch of new course and workshop possibilities in mind, all of which I remain excited about and intend to carry forth at some point. Perhaps they'll be announced in a future edition of MLG Update.

For now, however, I want to take advantage of the summer season now upon us to further relax the boundaries of my various course offerings. And as part of this new summertime shift, I want to experiment with a fresh approach. Rather than to continue to offer courses in 6-week increments on a given subject, from now through the end of July, I'm going to offer Meetings in Presence during the regular class times, as follows:

Monday Evenings, 7 to 9 pm, beginning 4 July
Wednesday Mornings, 10 am to 12 noon, beginning 29 June
Friday Evenings, 8 to 10 pm, beginning 17 June

As usual, we'll meet Behind the Blue Door at 177 High Street (Flat 4), Lewes, directly across from Caffe Nero. The reason for the staggered start dates, above, is that there are two 6-week creative writing courses still underway, on Monday evenings and Wednesday mornings, though these will be coming to a close in the next week or two, with the Meetings in Presence beginning the week thereafter.

The focus of the Meetings in Presence, as the name implies, will be a simple coming together in presence, just as we've been doing the past two-and-a-half years, but without an underlying sense that we're there to accomplish something, to get from A to B, or to have completed a course in XYZ, which is never what my classes are about to begin with; and the vast majority of folk who join us appreciate that. That said, that's not to say that the courses are not valuable in and of themselves, as a quick glance at the Testimonials page of the MLG website will indicate.

And making explicit this non-doing, non-outcome-based philosophy of education (etymologically noted as the drawing out of oneself, not the cramming in of facts and false notions) will leave things wide open to arise in the moment, for our time together to be what it will be rather than to direct it toward a fixed goal. We'll likely spend time in meditative awareness, simply resting in the moment. And it is likely to involve our reading from one or more relevant and inspiring texts (my having ready access to all of my books is one of the most splendiferous things about our meeting Behind the Blue Door), and perhaps a creative/reflective writing element (so please bring along: a) a notebook and a couple of pens, just in case, b) a pair of slippers or extra pair of thick socks to protect your more fragile socks from our rather rustic wooden floors, and c) a bottle of water or some such liquid to wet your whistle).

But the particulars are not as central as the simple act of coming together in presence, to meet with one another in authenticity, just as we've been doing all along. And there'll be opportunities, of course, to ask questions, to engage with the books we read together, and to discuss with other warm-hearted folk what it is to live mindfully, with a keen awareness of the world within and without.

So, from the dates shown above through to the end of July, the summertime Meetings in Presence will be offered on a drop-in basis. Therefore, registration is not required. Simply arrive a few minutes before the scheduled time, and pay on the day (cash or cheque). The drop-in fee for each two-hour meeting is £15, and you're welcome to come as often as you like, including to multiple meetings per week if you so desire.

I look forward to the possibility of having you join us, and would greatly appreciate your helping us to spread word of these Meetings in Presence. For your convenience, you can simply forward this email to folk whom you think might be interested, or point them to the Mindful Living Guide website, where the contents of this email will soon be posted.

Also, I'd love to hear your thoughts on these Meetings in Presence if you'd like to drop me an email, text or telephone call. My mobile number is 07971 774151.

As always, with warm regards,

Sean

Saturday's 'Write from the Heart' Workshop & Other Good Stuff ...

2011-05-19T23:28:00.009+01:00

Write from the Heart Workshop
and several other good reasons
to join us Behind the Blue Door ...

This Saturday, 21 May
12.30 to 4.30 pm

It is only with the heart that one can see
rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.
~ Antoine de Saint Exupéry (from The Little Prince)

Join us this Saturday for a four-hour workshop on writing from the heart, and giving authentic voice to the truth of our experience, while truly honoring the creative process within a supportive group. No previous creative writing experience is required or assumed. Come just as you are, with a notebook and a couple of pens, and see for yourself how this four hours spent together can radically change your life by awakening or reawakening your heart, your spirit, and your writing.

We'll be reading from Pema Chödrön's Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living, a book which I initially stumbled upon at the Forbes Library in Northampton, Massachusetts in 1999. I used to spend ages in this public library, reading from Thoreau's journals, writing out whole passages from these and other books, giving myself in the process a true liberal arts education, as well as license to begin to write, myself, creatively and reflectively. I also met Kurt Vonnegut just outside the front entrance one day, as he stepped out to smoke a cigarette.

I asked him if he had read a book which I'd recently read — a book which I ordered on my lunch hour while in the middle of a nine-month consulting engagement with American Airlines in Miami, Florida and which helped to propel me beyond the business world. He hadn't, and so I loaned him my copy. Imagine loaning Kurt Vonnegut a book to read! Moreover, I arrived home one day to find that he had left a voicemail message telling me he had read the book, how to retrieve it from him, etc. I thought it a most splendiferous thing at the time to check my voicemail and to have a personal message from the author of Slaughterhouse-Five.

Anyway, I can still remember the exact moment when I was walking past a reshelving cart and Pema Chödrön's book caught my eye. I plucked it from the cart, took it home and devoured it, and kept renewing it over and over until I, finally, had to return it. And then I checked the book out again, and continued to renew it, and so on, until it arrived as a Christmas gift in 2000. It was also Start Where You Are which spurred me on to begin formally meditating and, ultimately, to complete my first ten-day vipassana meditation course in August/September 2001.

The book is chockful of passages to inspire us to begin to let the world in, to let it touch us, to reach our soft spot, and to, thereby, find our wealth of spirit, our source of innate wisdom and compassion.

If you'd like to join us for this heartwarming workshop, please email or telephone me on 07971 774151. You can either pay (£35) on Saturday — so long as you confirm your booking beforehand — or pay via bank transfer. If you'd prefer the latter, just let me know and I'll send you the relevant bank details.

Also, there are still spaces for this coming Monday evening's (23 May, 7-9 pm) start to the next 6-week Creative Writing Course. To book, click here.

And finally, two other topnotch reasons to make a day of coming to Lewes this Saturday: 1) there's a special Saturday Lewes Food Market at Market Tower which starts at 9 am, just a one-or-two-minute walk from the Write from the Heart workshop location Behind the Blue Door @ 177 High Street, and 2) the annual Lewes Book Fair, at Lewes Town Hall, which begins at 10 am (50p entry fee, or free with a copy of Viva Lewes), and this is just around the corner from Market Tower. And as the workshop doesn't begin until 12.30 pm, you could easily go to the Saturday Market, spend some time perusing books, have lunch at any number of yummy cafés or restaurants in town, and then slip in Behind the Blue Door for a wisdom- and heart-inspiring workshop. You could even get one of your battered used books rebound at the Book Fair, as I intend to do with my well-and-lovingly-thumbed copy of Deng Ming-Dao's 365 Tao.

I'm really excited about Saturday's workshop, and would love to have you, and perhaps a friend, join us to bask in the company of other warmhearted folk ...

Until then, with warm regards,

Sean

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2-for-1 Offer on Upcoming Writing Courses ...

2011-05-15T16:17:00.002+01:00

For MLG Update subscribers only ...

2-for-1 Offer on Upcoming
Creative Writing Courses

In appreciation for your continued support as an MLG Update subscriber, you can now join us for one of the two upcoming 6-week Creative Writing Courses — beginning this Wednesday 18 May, for the morning class, or next Monday 23 May, for the evening class — and bring along a friend for the price of one!

Simply register yourself, mention this MLG Update offer, and include with your registration information the name and contact information of your friend, and you can both join us for the one £95 course fee.

Please note, however, that at least one of you must be a new student. You decide how you'd like to share the course fee with your friend ... split it 50/50, gift the course, or what have you.

So, whether you are: 1) an existing student who would like to bring along a friend, family member, colleague or mere acquaintance, 2) a new student who knows an existing student who would like to join us for one of these two upcoming courses, or 3) both you and your referral are new students, this is an ideal opportunity to put pen to paper within an incredibly supportive group Behind the Blue Door, and benefit from a late-spring or early-summer infusion of inspiration by way of meeting with others, in presence, to write from the heart.

Details for both the morning and evening 6-week writing courses follow, along with information about this coming Saturday's (21 May) four-hour writing workshop ...

Upcoming 6-Week
Creative Writing
Courses

Monday Evenings:
7 to 9 pm,
23 May—27 Jun
Wednesday Mornings:
10 am to 12 noon,
18 May—22 Jun
Book your place now!

This Saturday's
Creative Writing
Workshop

Write from the Heart:
Saturday 21 May,
12.30 to 4.30 pm
Book your place now!

Thoughts from the Night: Monday, Sep 16, 1996

2011-05-11T15:24:00.003+01:00

Thoughts from the Night

Monday, September 16, 1996

(rediscovered Wednesday, May 11, 2011, as a 45-year-old)

Learn (and unlearn) as much from 30 to 45 as I did from 15 to 30. Anything that was possible from the outlook of a 15-year-old is just as possible now, as a 30-year-old. Stay near the bottom of the learning curve, with the same open, fresh and excited frame of mind as when I was 15. Remember, 45 is still young. Everything doesn’t have to fit into the next two to three years . . . maintain a longer-term focus.

Learn (and unlearn) as much running the business this year as the first year. Try as many new, creative things with the business. Try to have as much fun (if not more of it). Try to meet as many people as I did last year. And, pursue opportunities as fervently as I did last year; with a year’s worth of these experiences with me, I am in an even better position to make the most of them. Blue-sky . . . and don’t discard ideas that, at first, may sound idiotic. Try to always question everything as if for the first time . . . unlearn.

Laugh more! :-)

Mindfully Decadent Monday (Lewes to Hamsey walk, writing & picnicking workshop): A Snapshot

2011-05-10T13:52:00.015+01:00

This is what Mindfully Decadent Monday looks like, less one of our fellow travellers who had to, well, visit the outlying bushes at the time this photo was taken. What a bunch of layabouts, you say? Hey, someone's got to do it. And why not do it in the Hamsey churchyard, with the blessing of the good Rev. Derek Bastide himself?

We met Behind the Blue Door, introduced ourselves to one another, and shortly thereafter headed out into the wilds of Lewes High Street, turned left up Pope's Passage, walked along Castle Ditch Lane and down St. John's Terrace to the Pells, and met up with the riverside footpath just where Willey's Bridge spans the Ouse.

And this on the most gloriously beautiful of days! What a way to spend a Monday ...

We read from Deng Ming-Dao's Everyday Tao, sitting in a circle alongside the river, all the while doing our best to avoid any Mr Toads, stoats and weasels who might not have our best interests at heart. Though we did welcome an incredibly cute black and white spaniel into our midst, until she put her nose into my lunch bag.

The simple act of reading (and rereading) a couple of pages from Deng's beautifully written book, specifically, the 'Sun' and 'Water' entries, led to a long, fruitful discussion on what it means to emulate water as a way to move towards wisdom.

We continued meandering slowly upstream, talked of the Lewes flood of 2000 — a poignant reminder of the power of water — spied a cluster of horsetail (Equisetum arvense), meant to be 300 million years old, and stopped to peer over the bridge which leads to Hamsey Church, officially called St. Peter's.

We picnicked in the churchyard, considered such profound questions as whether Jaffa cakes are, in fact, cakes or biscuits. And we basked in the sunshine, learned of the miraculous work of the leaf-cutting bee, and forged personal connections via such topics of conversation as the Cookham artist, Stanley Spencer.

Throughout, we wrote and shared our writing, and observations, with one another. And we began to reveal who we really are beneath the surface. This is where the magic comes in, where authenticity arises, as well as a certain presence, a collective spirit, which supports us in our shared endeavor.

In all, we spent six hours together, an additional hour tacked on to the planned 10 am to 3 pm outting so as to fit in a final reading, on metaphor, from Everyday Tao, and for an afternoon poetry writing and sharing session suggested by a long-time student who comes to us from the High Weald heights of Crowborough.

The folk who joined us have already asked when we'll do it again, so if you'd like to be kept apprised of this and other future workshop and course offerings, the best way to do so is to sign up to receive MLG Updates via email. I'll be announcing our next outdoor workshop adventure soon ...

Write Day & Night: 6-Week Morning & Evening Creative Writing Courses (Lewes)

2011-05-08T21:06:00.003+01:00

(click above image to enlarge)

book your place now

Write from the Heart: Creative Writing Workshop, Saturday 21 May (Lewes)

2011-05-08T20:52:00.006+01:00

(click above image to enlarge)

book your place now

Exciting New Developments in the MLG Realm ...

2011-05-06T18:30:00.003+01:00

Dear Friends,

Several exciting developments within the Mindful Living Guide realm follow, along with a few reminders of upcoming courses and workshops ...

MLG Goes Bananas!

As you might have noticed, this mailing has a different look and feel from previous ones. That's because we've finally decided to enlist the help of an email service, called MailChimp, to help simplify the management of subscriptions, etc. That means folk in the MLG community can subscribe or unsubscribe automatically, and we can focus our energies on, well, living mindfully!

Mindfully Decadent Monday

Just a very brief reminder that our riverside walk, writing and picnic workshop will be held this coming Monday, 9 May. We'll meet Behind the Blue Door just before 10 am, and make the short stroll together down through the Pells to the River Ouse. We'll then make our way slowly upstream towards Hamsey Church, stopping along the way to read from inspiring literature, to write and to share our writing with one another within an incredibly supportive group. And we have special permission from Rev. Bastide to picnic and to linger within the lovely Hamsey churchyard! For planning purposes, we'll return to Lewes roundabout 3 pm. The workshop fee is £35, as usual, and we'll each bring along our own eats and drinks to keep things simple.

If you'd like to join us for this leisurely start to the week, please contact Sean via email, text or telephone (07971 774151) as soon as possible.

Saturday, 21 May
Creative Writing Workshop

For less outdoorsy folk, or for those who for whatever reason can't join us this coming Monday, there's the regularly scheduled third-Saturday-of-the-month workshop which will meet Behind the Blue Door, from 12.30 to 4.30 pm. Workshop Fee: £35. As always, places in each workshop (and course) are limited and are, therefore, booked on a first-come, first-served basis. Thus pre-registration is required. To book your place, please click here .

MLG now on Google Places!

It's easier than ever to find us, both within the real and virtual worlds via Google. As of just yesterday, Mindful Living Guide is listed on Google Places, meaning that folk can easily find us Behind the Blue Door, or online, via various Google searches (e.g., mindful living guide lewes).

Click here to check out the listing. And if you're an existing student or one-to-one client, I'd greatly appreciate your taking a few moments to provide a rating or review of my MLG services. Simply scroll to the bottom of the Mindful Living Guide page on Google Places (after clicking on the previous link) until you come to the section entitled 'Reviews by Google users'. Then click on the 'Rate and review' link or the 'Sign in to rate' link if you're not already signed in to Google. Again, thank you in advance.

NEW! Monday Evening
Creative Writing Course in Lewes ...

In addition to the two-plus-year-old Wednesday morning Creative Writing class in Lewes, there's now a second offering on Monday evenings. Both classes now meet Behind the Blue Door. The 6-week course fee is £95, and the upcoming course details follow:

Monday Evenings: 7 to 9 pm, 23 May—27 June (book your place now)
Wednesday Mornings: 10 am to 12 noon, 18 May—22 June (book your place now)

Simplified Courses & Workshops Listing

This past Tuesday, I greatly simplified the Courses & Workshops page of the Mindful Living Guide website to make it easier for folk to read. As you might have noticed above, there are as many offerings as ever, but they've all literally been brought home to Lewes now that both Mufidah and I are teaching Behind the Blue Door. So, the complexity of the old multi-venue course and workshop listing is history! All part of the overall simplification of processes which are already helping both Mufidah and me to simplify our lives while still running a tight ship!

That's all folks. In less than two hours, the very first Friday Fling to gather Behind the Blue Door will kick off with the 6-week Art of Living in Awareness course. And there's much to do between now and then, so must run ...

Enjoy your weekend, and please let me know if you'd like to join us for Mindfully Decadent Monday. Although rain's expected over the weekend, the forecast for Monday looks splendiferous!

With warm regards,

Sean
--
Sean M. Madden
sean@mindfullivingguide.com
MindfulLivingGuide.com
tel. 07971 774151

Mindful Living Guide is now listed on Google Places

2011-05-05T19:09:00.004+01:00

As of today, Mindful Living Guide is listed on Google Places, meaning that folk can easily find us Behind the Blue Door via various Google searches (e.g., mindful living guide lewes).

Click here to check out the listing. And if you're an existing student or one-to-one client, I'd greatly appreciate your taking a few moments to provide a rating or review of my MLG services. Simply scroll to the bottom of the Mindful Living Guide page on Google Places (after clicking on the previous link) until you come to the section entitled 'Reviews by Google users'. Then click on the 'Rate and review' link or the 'Sign in to rate' link if you're not already signed in to Google.

Thank you in advance.

With warm regards,

Sean

Courses & Workshops: Creative Writing, Mindful Living & Philosophical Literature

2011-05-03T22:12:00.008+01:00

An Announcement: I have just greatly simplified the Courses & Workshops page of the Mindful Living Guide website to make it easier for folk to read. There are as many offerings as ever, but they've all literally been brought home to Lewes now that both Mufidah and I are teaching Behind the Blue Door.

A copy of the course and workshop listing as it stands on 3 May 2011 follows. However, please visit the actual Courses & Workshops page for a complete, always up-to-date listing.

*****

Unless otherwise noted below, all courses and workshops (as well as One-to-One Guidance sessions) now meet Behind the Blue Door @ 177 High Street, Lewes BN7 1YE. This central Lewes location, directly across from Caffe Nero, is just a few minutes' walk from the Lewes Railway Station, and, so, is easily accessible from London, Brighton & Hove, Worthing, Newhaven, Seaford, Eastbourne, Hastings and the surrounding Sussex area. We're also easily accessible via car or bus from Uckfield and Tunbridge Wells.

2011

Creative Writing Courses

(6-Week Course Fee: £95)

NEW! Monday Evenings: 7 to 9 pm

23 May—27 June (book your place now)

Wednesday Mornings: 10 am to 12 noon

18 May—22 June (book your place now)

Creative Writing Workshops

(1-Day Workshop Fee: £35)

Unless otherwise noted, all workshops run from 10 am to 3 pm,

with a lunch break from 12 to 1 pm.

Mindfully Decadent Monday (Riverside Walk to Hamsey Church, Writing, Picnic): Monday 9 May (book your place now)
Creative Writing Workshop: Saturday 21 May, 12.30 to 4.30 pm (book your place now)

Various Mindful Living &

Philosophical Literature Courses

(6-Week Course Fee: £95)

The Art of Living in Awareness: Friday evenings, 8 to 10 pm, 6 May—10 June (book your place now)

Looking Beyond Loss & Grief: Friday evenings, 8 to 10 pm, 25 March—29 April
Exploring the I Ching: Friday evenings, 8 to 10 pm, 4 February—18 March

For more info email or telephone Sean on 07971 774151.

'The Art of Living in Awareness' course (next Friday, 6 May) & much, much more ...

2011-04-29T16:14:00.010+01:00

Dear Friends,

The Friday evening courses have been unspeakably rewarding, for myself, I know, and I've received similar responses from others who have joined us for these. Below this email, I have included some of the written comments which have emanated from these classes; many times more such responses have been shared in conversation.

We opened the first of these 'Friday Fling' sessions (all of which run from 8 to 10 pm) with the Exploring the I Ching course. And this was followed by the Looking Beyond Loss & Grief course which comes to a close this evening. Both of these courses have helped to bring about big breakthroughs for various folk who have been with us. Again, see the comments below.

Next up is The Art of Living in Awareness course, which begins next Friday evening, 6 May. This will be the first of the Friday courses to be held Behind the Blue Door @ 177 High Street, Lewes. Those folk who have already joined us Behind the Blue Door -- via the Wednesday morning writing course, Saturday workshop, etc. -- have given glowing reviews of our at-home venue. And I love teaching here.

(Mufidah's courses and one-to-one sessions are also held here.)

The Art of Living in Awareness course is the granddaddy of all I do. It is the foundation of every one of my courses and workshops, whether they're creative writing-intensive, a combined writing and walking workshop (like the 9 May Mindfully Decadent Monday workshop which will take place along the idyllic riverside setting between Lewes and Hamsey Church), or one of the aforementioned 'Friday Fling' courses. The art of living in awareness is also the very underpinning of my own day-to-day existence, my vocation and avocation, if you will.

Together, we'll explore what it means to live in awareness, and we'll do so (both in and out of class) through the nurturing of bringing our moment-to-moment awareness to all that arises within the present moment. I repeat, all that arises. This includes 'the good, the bad and the ugly'. In the process, we'll likewise nurture our own inherent ability to live with wisdom.

We'll also read from inspiring literature from various wisdom traditions which have in common this art of living in full-frontal awareness, living within the whole caboodle that this present moment offers, rather than pushing away those bits of reality we'd prefer not be there, or wishing things which aren't present were.

Countless writing students and one-to-one clients have asked me when I'd be running a meditation course. This is it, but we'll move beyond the learning of meditation technique, into a domain in which the witnessing of our world within and without is a part of our moment-to-moment lives, a witnessing with a spirit of effortless effort. A relaxation into the moment, an opening of one's heart, one's mind, one's whole being.

And we'll write as part of this exploration into the now. So, as always, please bring your notebook and a couple of pens. This, as with all my writing classes, is ideal for both experienced writers as well as those who've perhaps never put pen to paper to write creatively or reflectively. And though the classes are incredibly supportive, there's never an obligation to share what you write.

Speaking of writing, the next 6-week Wednesday morning (10 am to 12 noon) creative writing course begins on 18 May and will run through 22 June. This and all other courses and workshops in Lewes will continue to meet Behind the Blue Door, tonight's final class of the Looking Beyond Loss & Grief course being my last scheduled booking at the Subud Centre.

One more exciting announcement: Again, in response to countless requests, I'll be teaching an evening 6-week creative writing course in Lewes beginning Monday 23 May (7 to 9 pm). This will likewise meet Behind the Blue Door, and will replace the evening course which is presently running in Brighton. However, as we're just a few minutes' walk from the Lewes Railway Station, and Lewes is just a 13-or-16-minute train ride from Brighton, folk who come from Brighton and Hove can easily make a relaxing evening of joining us in Lewes. The trains run frequently from Lewes to Brighton right through to 00.18 (which arrives in Brighton at 00.34). In all, there are thirteen trains from Lewes to Brighton after this evening class finishes. Trains also run regularly to Eastbourne, with the journey taking between 19 and 25 minutes, depending on which train one catches. Seaford and Newhaven are, of course, just a hop, skip and a jump of a train ride away. And both London and Hastings are very doable journeys, particularly given that the Monday evening class ends at 9 pm and the Friday class at 10 pm.

To reserve your place in any of these 6-week courses (£95) or for the Mindfully Decadent Monday riverside walk, writing and picnic workshop (£35), please click here.

Please let me know if you have any questions. And, as always, I'd greatly appreciate your helping to spread word of these goings-on, including my one-to-one Mindful Living Guidance services, regarding which a recent testimonial is included below this email, along with the various other written comments mentioned above.

With warm regards,

Sean
--
Sean M. Madden
sean@mindfullivingguide.com
MindfulLivingGuide.com
tel. +44 (0)7971 774151

Dear Sean, I can think of nothing finer than Rumi and Rilke Behind the Blue Door (or indeed on the riverbank). Your classes are very special and provide vital nourishment. Please keep me fully posted with all that you have going on. I WILL BE BACK!

Hi Sean, Our [one-to-one] time together more than fulfilled my expectations and has proved extremely helpful with your insights and wonderfully relaxed approach to everything. I was amazed to find that time had passed so quickly. Also, this morning's class was vast for me — like a huge weight has lifted from my shoulders in such a warm, accepting and comforting environment. Thank you so much.

Morning Sean, Last evening['s Looking Beyond Loss & Grief class] was huge for me and allowed me the dignity of grief after all these years. I was only able to do this because of the safe haven you provide in which to explore, and acknowledge, our feelings of loss and grief. Intuitively, you allow the luxury of silence and the class takes its lead from you. The grief was trembling and shaking out of my body, and the blessed silence gave me permission not to do and to just sit with my feelings until they had run their course. Hugs were not necessary. Indeed, nothing was. For in that silence was the support and validation I needed and that was enough — more than enough — for I've found, in the past, that hugs can stop the much needed process, however well meant or intended. So, I just wanted to let you know what a big step forward this has been for me and to say a much needed THANK YOU.

Thank you for using my book [The Living I Ching] in your courses. I'm glad that it can be used in this way. I appreciate you using "The Voice of the Oracle" as a reading because I intended it that way. It's great to see its purpose finally fulfilled. It certainly appears to me that you are living an ideal life helping others, being in nature, and pursuing your own personal path. I'll be interested in your progress and would welcome any feedback you might have in the future. Yours, Ming-Dao

~ Deng Ming-Dao is the bestselling author of the contemporary classic 365 Tao, The Living I Ching, Everyday Tao, Chronicles of Tao and Scholar Warrior. (published by permission of author)

Dear Sean and Mufidah, I absolutely love your Behind the Blue Door e-mail. Inspiring. I want to come to everything. Am against the clock now but wanted to say how beautifully presented this is and wish you well with a wonderful venture. I am so glad I found you. I know sensitive-souled folk will be flocking to the blue door and its salubrious and welcoming environs in the forthcoming months and look forward to sharing with them. I have some ideal sock shoes for that rustic floor too!!

Hi Sean, Thanks for notification of change of venue to your home for future courses. I think that's a lovely idea to share your home with others. The classes that you offer are so inspiring and rich it seems fitting to provide a warm, loving environment to accommodate everyone. I hope to join you at some point and will be sure to bring my slippers/extra socks.

Dear Sean, Thank you so much for your kind email. I am much in need of your course and the soothing environs of the Upper Hall! With gratitude for your patience and huge appreciation of your wonderful teaching style. I look forward greatly to tomorrow evening and will most certainly be there. You will see that tomorrow shines as a beacon before me.

Mindfully Decadent Monday: Riverside Walk, Writing & Picnic (Lewes to Hamsey Church)

2011-04-22T17:39:00.006+01:00

(click above image to enlarge)

Meeting Place: 177 High Street, Lewes

book your place now

Please Note: In the event of inclement weather,
we'll meet Behind the Blue Door @ 177 High Street
for a less outdoorsy writing workshop and picnic lunch.

Spontaneous Creative Writing Class: TODAY, 18 April, 10 am to 12 noon

2011-04-18T00:07:00.003+01:00

I spent nearly seven hours in nature on Sunday. I took a couple hundred photographs, recorded two-plus hours of the sounds of nature — including the cuckoo overhead — and uttered just one sentence during this time, a simple acknowledgment of the cuckoo to a fellow walker. Apart from this walker, two teenage girls who rode past on horseback, unaware that I was sitting on a log near an adjacent footpath, and two mountain bikers who likewise had no idea I was nestled just below the crest, amidst trees, grazing rabbits and the glow of the golden hour, I saw no one. I spent hours sitting in various small woods, and yet more hours lying alone in a huge, wide-open field, basking in the sun, listening to a skylark singing just above me and, later on, to two albums at low volume via the two tiny external speakers of my iPhone: Cat Stevens' Greatest Hits and The Best of Nirvana. Nirvana it was. Bliss, simplicity and stillness.

And, so, I'm inspired to run a Spontaneous Creative Writing Class in the morning, from 10 am to 12 noon.

We'll meet Behind the Blue Door @ 177 High Street (Flat 4), Lewes, directly across the street from Caffe Nero.

No preregistration is required, though I'd appreciate your sending me a brief text message (07971 774151) or email, if possible. And then just bring along: 1) a notebook, 2) a couple of pens, 3) a bottle of water or some such liquid to wet the whistle, 4) an extra pair of thick socks or slippers (due to sock-destroying rustic wooden floors), and 5) the £15 fee (cash or cheque).

And just ring our bell, again Flat 4, a few minutes before 10 am. You're welcome, too, to bring along a coffee from Patisserie Lewes, Caffe Nero, etc. Perhaps bring along a friend or two as well!

I look forward to seeing all who can join us ...

With warm regards,

Sean

Artwave 2011: Behind the Blue Door (Lewes)

2011-04-16T20:08:00.005+01:00

Behind the Blue Door is making its Artwave debut this summer, with Sean M. Madden and Mufidah Kassalias' shared exhibition, Witnessing the World Within & Without: Photographic & Poetic Musings.

We'll be showing a selection of our photography and writings in our living space which is also home to Sean's Mindful Living Guide courses and workshops. You might have seen Mufidah's 2009 Reflections in the River Ouse exhibition at Phoenix Gallery on North Street, or the follow-on exhibition during Artwave 2010 at Patisserie Lewes. Sean's photos have appeared regularly in Viva Lewes as well as here on MLG.

We'll be open every Saturday and Sunday from 11 am to 4 pm throughout the three weekends of Artwave — Saturday, 27 August through Sunday, 11 September — as well as the Bank Holiday Monday, 29 August, from 11 am to 2 pm.

Behind the Blue Door is located at 177 High Street (Flat 4), directly across from Caffe Nero. We look forward to welcoming you into our home, and to being a part of the almost two-decades-long Artwave event which grows more exciting with each passing year.

NEW! Mindful Living Guide Business Cards

2011-04-13T22:21:00.001+01:00

Behind the Blue Door @ 177 High Street, Lewes

2011-04-02T15:04:00.023+01:00

Beginning this coming Wednesday 6 April — with the exception of the ongoing Looking Beyond Loss & Grief course — all Lewes courses and workshops as well as one-to-one guidance sessions will be held in our 2nd floor living space overlooking Lewes High Street. We live smack dab in the middle of town, directly across from Caffe Nero and HSBC, just a few minutes' walk from the Lewes Railway Station.

Click here to locate 177 High Street via Google Maps.

Facing the front entrance of our building (pictured above), Fat Face clothing store is directly to the left, while Hartley's off-license is just to the right, framed with the same color blue as the door which leads to our flat. Our doorbell is clearly marked (Flat 4), and there is an intercom system as well.

This marks an inspiring shift from hiring venues, and gives both Mufidah and me optimal flexibility in scheduling our respective classes and one-to-one sessions, which means we're also better able to serve our students and clients according to their needs.

The many other pluses include ready access to all the books which I regularly use in my various classes, and proximity to Caffe Nero should you like to stop in before or after class for a coffee or what have you. Likewise, if students want to dine out before or after class, there are a variety of restaurants within a minute or two from our flat: e.g., Beckworth's (which is ideal for taking made-to-order sandwiches to the Grange Gardens), Patisserie Lewes (for French pastries and coffee served up by Carole), Pelham House, Prezzo, Famiglia Lazzati, ASK, Spice Merchant, Dilraj, Pailin (Thai), Beijing, and within a few more minutes' walk, Pelham Arms, Bill's Café, Chaula's, The Buttercup, and many other cafés and restaurants.

There are also fine hotels and B&Bs to host overnight visitors, not to mention countless charming pubs for those who might like to go for a pint or glass of wine with others after class.

As for the living space itself, it's a lovely south-facing room with large windows, rustic wooden floors (we, therefore, recommend you bring an extra pair of thick socks or slippers to protect your favorite socks!), and the warmth of a well-loved, lived-in home. There's also a much wider range of seating possibilities for your comfort.

And, so, we look forward to welcoming you, new and old student-friends alike, into our home behind the blue door at 177 High Street.

With warm regards,

Sean
--
Sean M. Madden
sean@mindfullivingguide.com
MindfulLivingGuide.com
tel. 07971 774151

One-to-One Mac Tuition: Mac Made Easy

2011-03-29T22:30:00.001+01:00

Mufidah Kassalias

A brief announcement that my partner, Mufidah Kassalias, has recently left the Lewes Subud Centre house manager role — a position she held for five years and by way of which we met in early 2009 when I first began teaching my classes there — to focus on her Mac Made Easy business which she founded last summer.

In a nutshell, she offers one-to-one tuition on how to use your Mac more effectively. So, if you, or someone you know, uses a Macintosh computer, Mufidah and I would greatly appreciate your forwarding on her above website, or this blog post, to the relevant folk.

Thank you for your help ...

With warm regards,

Sean & Mufidah

The Art of Living in Awareness: 6-Week Meditation, Writing & Discussion Course (Lewes, E. Sussex)

2011-03-26T15:39:00.007Z

(click above image to enlarge)

New Venue: 177 High Street, Lewes

book your place now

One-to-One Mindful Living, Meditation & Writing Guidance: In Person or Worldwide

2011-03-23T21:37:00.019Z

photo by Sean M. Madden, © 2011

Mindful Living, Meditation & Writing Guidance
in person or worldwide via Skype, telephone or email

"Hi Sean, Our [one-to-one] time together more than fulfilled my expectations and has proved extremely helpful with your insights and wonderfully relaxed approach to everything. I was amazed to find that time had passed so quickly. Also, this morning's class was vast for me — like a huge weight has lifted from my shoulders in such a warm, accepting and comforting environment. Thank you so much."

click here for more testimonials

Living, Writing & Growing in Awareness ...

Re-awaken to the present moment through meditative awareness

Reduce stress, learn to still your mind, relax your body

Learn to embrace and grow through difficult/challenging times
Acknowledge, honor and explore loss and grief through writing

Develop skills to assist with depression and anxiety

Manage life, relationship and career transitions more effectively

Develop your intuition and learn to listen to your inner intelligence

Reconnect with yourself and others in an authentic way

Discover and nurture your inherent creativity
Develop an ongoing creative/reflective writing practice

Sean also facilitates extended I Ching consultations,
typically lasting between 45 minutes and an hour,
should you like to work together on a one-to-one basis.
This can be particularly useful as a means to strengthen
your own intuition should you be on the verge of having
to make a difficult decision, or if you're wondering
which way to go, which path to follow.

Contact Sean to arrange an appointment,
or for more information, including fees ...

Telephone: +44 (0)7971 774151

Email: sean@mindfullivingguide.com
Skype: sean.m.madden

MindfulLivingGuide.com

NEW! Register and Pay Online via Bank Transfer

2011-03-22T14:49:00.010Z

I've just updated the 'How to Register' page to include an option to register and pay online via a bank transfer. I've held off doing this for years. However, thanks to requests from new students over the past few days, I have finally decided to make this available. It makes good sense, all around.

So, if you'd like to take advantage of this new registration and payment option, please click here for details.

This Friday (8-10 pm): 6-Week 'Looking Beyond Loss & Grief' Writing & Discussion Course (Lewes)

2011-03-21T17:25:00.003Z

(click the above image to enlarge)

Dear Friends,

The above 6-week course has evolved out of a recognition that so many of my students have come to my writing classes by way of personal loss or grief, and have found solace in coming together as part of a supportive group to write from a place of presence or awareness.

To be clear, the process is not about reliving or wallowing in loss or grief, but in recognizing that we can begin to move through and see beyond the pain of loss and grief by: 1) acknowledging its presence (rather than "just getting on with it" or repressing it), 2) honouring the truth of our experience, and 3) exploring our inner wealth through meditative awareness, creative/reflective writing and supportive discussion. In this way, we can begin to process the pain and free ourselves from its grip, as well as strengthen our capacity to manage effectively the difficulties and complexities of day-to-day life from a place of inner calm or presence.

Such personal loss or grief can come from any number of life experiences, but while the particulars may differ the underlying nature of loss and grief is universal. Therefore, this course is open to anyone who has suffered from loss or grief no matter the specific circumstances. And the loss or grief needn't necessarily stem from any one traumatic life experience. It can, in fact, come from the slow-drip of lifelong loss of trust or innocence, or from an unnamed longing.

All the course details are available in the above graphical image which can be enlarged simply by clicking on it, as noted above.

As the course begins this coming Friday, 25 March, this is a final reminder. If you'd like to join us, or perhaps know others who might be interested in doing so, please click here for registration details. Also, it would be most helpful if you can please send me a quick reply to this email, or telephone or text me, to let me know that you're in the process of registering.

And, as always, please let me know if you have any questions, and thank you for your consideration.

With warm regards,

Sean

NEW! 6-Week Creative Writing Course: Monday Evenings (Brighton, Add the Colour Café & Gallery)

2011-03-20T15:33:00.006Z

(click the above image to enlarge)

Dear Friends,

As a lot of folk have been asking me about running an evening creative writing course -- and as I have, likewise, had a lot of Brighton and Hove folk ask about my running more classes there -- I have just organized a new Monday evening course at the Add the Colour café and photo gallery in Brighton, a short walk from the Brighton Railway Station. So, it's also easily accessible from Lewes (15-minute train journey), London and elsewhere in the South East, just as my Lewes teaching venue (the Subud Centre, on Station Street) is easily accessible from Brighton, etc.

To be exact, Add the Colour is located in the Laines at 64-65 North Road. You might know this location as the old parking permit office.

The 6-week course, entitled Write Your Way into May (just like its Lewes Wednesday morning cousin), will run Mondays from 11 April to 16 May, from 7 to 9 pm. The 6-week course fee is £95. Pre-registration is required, and places will be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis. Therefore, to book please click here.

As always, I'd also greatly appreciate your forwarding on this information to others who might be interested in joining us. No previous creative writing experience is required, or assumed.

And please let me know if you have any questions.

With warm regards,

Sean

Spirit of the Millennium Festival: Mind, Body & Spirit (Hove Town Hall, Saturday 26 February)

2011-02-26T10:00:00.004Z

You're welcome to join us today, Saturday 26 February, at the Spirit of the Millennium Festival at the Hove Town Hall.

The Mindful Living Guide table is located right at the front entrance as you walk in. In addition to lots of information concerning our just-announced courses and workshops -- including the 6-week Looking Beyond Loss & Grief course, the 6-week Write Your Way into May course, and next month's one-day Writing Marathon -- I'll also be facilitating I Ching consultations throughout the day today.

To register for any of these classes, please click here.

Also, at 1.30 pm, I'll be leading a 25-minute talk / mini-writing workshop, entitled 'Awakening the Writer Within'. We'll be meeting in the Hove Town Hall Council Chamber.

The festival runs Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm, though we'll only be participating today. Admission is £2.50 for a one-day pass, £3.50 for a two-day pass, and children under 12 are admitted without charge.

Upcoming Courses & Workshops (LEWES): 1) Looking Beyond Loss & Grief, 2) March Creative Writing Marathon, 3) Write Your Way into May

2011-02-25T23:20:00.005Z

(click any of the below images to enlarge)

I Ching (this Friday, 8-10 pm), and other reminders

2011-02-02T09:09:00.002Z

Click Here for Book on Amazon.com

Dear Friends,

For the sake of brevity, a simple listing of upcoming courses and workshops ...

1) Our 6-week exploration of the 3,000-plus-year-old Chinese manual for wise living, the I Ching or Book of Changes, begins this Friday, 4 February. We'll meet in the Upper Hall of the Lewes Subud Centre, 8 to 10 pm. Please note that as we will not be meeting on Friday, 25 February that the 6-week course will run through Friday, 18 March. If you'd like to join us for this hands-on exploration of this timeless classic, please register as soon as possible, as spaces are limited and will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis. The 6-week course fee is £95.

2) Writing Marathon in Hastings on Saturday, 12 February. We'll meet in the Reading Room of 12 Claremont from 12 to 4 pm. Click here to register. Workshop fee: £35.

3) Writing Marathon in Lewes on Saturday, 19 February. We'll meet in the Upper Hall of the Lewes Subud Centre from 12.30 to 4.30 pm. Click here to register. Workshop fee: £35.

4) Next 6-week Creative Writing course, Spring Write into March, begins on Wednesday, 23 February. We'll meet, as we have continuously for two years now, in the Upper Hall of the Lewes Subud Centre from 10 am to 12 noon. Click here to register. The 6-week course fee is £75.

As always, I'd appreciate beyond words your forwarding on this information to anyone you know who might be interested in joining us for any of these classes or workshops. No previous creative writing experience is required, or assumed, for any of these writing classes, nor is familiarity with the I Ching or Book of Changes.

In closing, a bow of great gratitude to each of you ...

With warm regards,

Sean

Two Announcements: 1) New 'I Ching' Course (Lewes), 2) Writing Marathons (Hastings/Lewes)

2011-01-25T15:44:00.018Z

Dear Friends,

Two exciting announcements, and a reminder ...

Firstly, beginning Friday, 4 February I'll be leading a 6-week exploration of the I Ching or Book of Changes, the 3,000-plus-year-old Chinese classic. Although traditionally considered a tool of divination, a more philosophically mature engagement with this manual for living entails an inner cultivation, an active positioning of oneself within and without as a means to navigate the ever-changing, cyclical nature of life.

Meeting in the lovely Upper Hall of the Lewes Subud Centre from 8 to 10 pm each Friday evening*, we'll explore the principles of change through the prism of the I Ching, and learn to tap this rich source of wisdom, so that we can not only strengthen our intuition, but also make intelligent decisions for the future.

Far from throwing ourselves to the winds of fate or using the book as a modern-day fortune cookie, we'll explore this timeless, world-renowned classic together, and consider deeply how we might best respond to various situations. A great deal of the benefit of working with the I Ching comes from contemplating how best to phrase a particular question which we might be struggling with in our day-to-day lives, as well as, then, interpreting the resulting commentary of the I Ching as it might relate to the question we have posed. In the process, we will be challenged to consider the question and our present circumstances in fresh, new ways, and to make this consideration conscious or explicit, thereby enabling us to live more deliberately, with greater wisdom.

If you'd like to join us for this exciting, hands-on course, please register as soon as possible, as spaces are limited and will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis. The 6-week course fee is £95.

Secondly, after a sold-out writing workshop in Hastings last October, I have decided to run a four-hour Writing Marathon in Hastings on Saturday, 12 February. We'll meet in the Reading Room of 12 Claremont from 12 to 4 pm. Click here to register. Fee: £35.

And, as a reminder, in follow-up to this past Saturday's fully subscribed Writing Marathon in Lewes, the next one will be held on Saturday, 19 February. We'll meet in the Upper Hall of the Lewes Subud Centre from 12.30 to 4.30. Click here to register. Fee: £35.

* Please note that the 6-week I Ching course will not meet on Friday, 25 February, and so will extend through Friday, 18 March.

Friday Fling with the I Ching, Lewes ...

2011-01-23T16:53:00.010Z

Click here for the 2012 I Ching course.

(click above image to enlarge)

A lovely weekend at Lewes Wellbeing Fest ...

2011-01-17T22:35:00.004Z

Dear Friends,

Thank you for stopping by the Mindful Living Guide table at this weekend's Lewes Wellbeing Fest.

There were more than a few exhibitors who were disappointed in the number of folk who attended the festival, particularly yesterday. And I understand their concern, the likelihood of their losing considerable money after paying for their stalls and investing at least a few days in preparing for and working the event.

That said, however, I felt grateful throughout the festival that I had made the rather last-minute decision, just this past Thursday night, to participate as an exhibitor, as my partner Mufidah and I met so many wonderful people, exhibitors and attendees alike. And as I wasn't selling a product or offering a service during the festival, I was just happy to talk with folk who stopped by our table, whether they're already active writers, are interested in taking their writing further -- whether, ultimately, for publication or simply for themselves -- or interested in exploring the possibility of taking a creative writing class for the first time, to perhaps nurture an ongoing writing practice, and to see what might come of it.

As I had no expectations for the weekend, everything came as a gift, a bonus. In fact, I had told Mufidah on Saturday morning that I felt that the exhibitor's fee was already more than accounted for prior to the start of the festival, as it had inspired us to pull together so many things beforehand that would continue to be of benefit well beyond the festival itself.

And, then, we were touched by so many folk ...

Beyond those who stopped by the table to talk with us, we were touched by many healing hands over the course of the weekend. I shared a lovely conversation with Mia Sampietro, an animal healer whose life story resonates with me, her leaving the world of television to train as an animal healer. Mia listened to my story of this past year when I came upon a dying sheep on the Downs between Lewes and Mount Caburn after having been meditating on a hillside with Mufidah. After looking to see whether there was anything I could physically do to help the sheep, I simply stayed with her as dusk faded to night and the cloudy weather shifted to a downpour, and stroked her ears, her face and her body. After about fifteen minutes or so of being with her, I felt a really strong surge of energy moving through my right arm. As a longtime meditator, I'm used to being highly aware of the sensations running throughout my body, but this was something new, an involuntary, unconscious flow of energy which was flowing through me, down my arm and between the sheep and myself. It was as if there were an almost unbelievably strong magnetic force between the dying sheep and myself, a feeling which was particularly strong when I moved my hands over various parts of the sheep's body. This was the beginning of my awakening to the energy which flows through all of us but which, I guess in most of us, goes unnoticed. And, so, it was good to talk with Mia about this experience.

Right after I said goodbye and walked away from Mia's stand, Shirley, from the Brighthelm spiritual healing group, graciously offered herself as a conduit for a healing treatment. This was a beautiful, relaxing and spiritually opening experience. Afterwards, I talked with Adele Penn, founder of the Brighthelm Healing Trust, who promised to look for an exhibitor's place for me at their Spirit of the Millennium mind, body and spirit festival at Hove Town Hall in February (Saturday and Sunday, the 26th and 27th), and by Sunday she had come through. She also invited me to attend their group meetings at the Brighton Friends' Meeting House on Ship Street, the venue at which I regularly teach my creative writing classes in Brighton. So this was a real honor.

Meanwhile on Saturday, Sarah Yearsley gave Mufidah a Bowen Technique treatment to help her with her rather chronic shoulder and neck pain. And Miranda Wilson offered Mufidah a Trinfinity8 healing treatment on Saturday, and then offered the same to me on Sunday.

Earlier in the day yesterday, I had walked over to Stuart Gardiner's Chinese Medicine Acupuncture stand, and talked with him about my ongoing knee injury which has put a real damper on my walking these past few months, an activity which is a crucial part of my daily practice, fulfilling both my need to engage with nature, to be in wide-open spaces, and as an integral part of my meditation practice. I had intended simply to talk with Stuart about how acupuncture might be able to help. But he immediately asked if I had the time for a treatment, then and there. I had never had acupuncture before, but had long wanted to try it and have been told by countless friends recently that I should try acupuncture, specifically, for my knee. Stuart was brilliant, asking all the right questions, taking the time to carefully explain his diagnosis, what he was looking for in checking my pulse in both arms, and what he was doing each step of the way while putting needles in me. The immediate effect was amazing. My knee felt better right away, and, as importantly, I felt that Stuart had really listened to me and took an unbelievable amount of time to try to understand the underlying issue and to both offer and explain his diagnosis and treatment.

Also on Sunday, Magnus the Masseur worked his magic on both Mufidah and me, and ended his treatment with a great big, loving hug. I recalled while he was holding me firmly from behind during the massage, with his chin resting on top of my head, that another healer, Maya Morgan, who is also one of my writing students, told me on the last morning of the writing and yoga retreat which I co-organized/led at Tilton House this past August that she felt I needed a really big bloke to stand behind me and hug me for a long time, to have someone big and strong enough to hold me, to nurture me as one who nurtures others in my own work. And that's exactly what Magnus did for me yesterday, and for this I am most grateful.

I'd also like to thank John Bailey and his Cashew Catering folk for the gorgeously prepared food throughout the weekend, as well as for the lovely touch of bringing a free glass of hemp milk and some chocolates by our table yesterday afternoon. I first met John in his capacity as chef at Tilton House during the aforementioned writing and yoga retreat.

Finally, just before beginning to pack up our things yesterday evening, I stopped by Dathan's Aromaire stall on my way back from buying a slice of carrot cake from Seasons of Lewes. Earlier in the day I had been pulled like a moth towards his glowing rock salt lamps, and he had taken a lot of time to tell me all about them, how the rock salt formations came to be, what some of the known benefits are, etc. I had no intention of buying one of his lamps -- not because I didn't want one, but because I didn't feel like I could really afford one -- but by the time I was back at our table eating the carrot cake something switched in me, and I decided to do what I rarely do, buy something like this for Mufidah and myself. And not only did that decision come unexpectedly and with clarity, I ended up deciding to buy the most expensive one he had on offer, the pure white heat lamp (rather than one of the reddish orange ones) with the massage therapy stone which had been cut from the same piece of rock salt. Dathan gave me an exhibitor's discount, and threw in an additional therapy stone, a jar of bathing sea salts, and a few bottles of his AromaCel air and fabric therapy sprays. And he gave me a good deal on a beautiful cherry wood bowl to place the rock salt lamp in. It's glowing just a foot or so away from where I now sit writing this.

And so, in summary, a splendiferously nurturing weekend, a sort of working retreat for which I am grateful.

For those who are interested in joining us for either this Saturday's four-hour Writing Marathon or the next 6-week Spring Write into March creative writing course, both held in Lewes at the Subud Centre on Station Street, please click here to go to the 'How to Register' page of my Mindful Living Guide website. You're all on my mailing list and, so, will be kept apprised of all future course, workshop and retreat offerings. You might have seen, too, that in addition to my writing classes, I offer one-to-one Mindful Living Guidance, both locally and worldwide via telephone or the internet. You can learn more about this by clicking here.

Thank you for a wonderful weekend. I look forward to keeping in touch, and please let me know if there is anything which I might be able to do for you.

Until then, I wish you all the best ...

With warm regards,

Sean

This Weekend's Lewes Wellbeing Fest, and What is a Writing Marathon?

2011-01-14T22:33:00.004Z

Dear Friend Folk,

Firstly, a quick announcement that there'll be a Mindful Living Guide exhibition table at this weekend's Lewes Wellbeing Fest. The festival runs tomorrow (Saturday) from 10:30 to 18:00, and Sunday from 11:00 to 17:00, at the Lewes Town Hall (the Corn Exchange building) on Fisher Street, right at the top of the town. Click here for a map.

So, if you'd like to stop by and say hello, please do. We're meant to be located on an island table somewhere in the middle of things. Also, there'll be lots of other exhibitors, workshops, talks, etc. See the above Lewes Wellbeing Fest link for additional information.

I've been asked to talk for fifteen minutes about "how creative writing can be the key to unlocking your inner potential". And as my talk runs from 16:10 to 16:25 (both Saturday and Sunday), the penultimate performance, 'twould be splendiferous, indeed, if some of you might like to come and stand in as an end-of-the-day audience!

At the festival, we'll also be taking bookings in person for the Saturday 22 January Writing Marathon in Lewes, as well as the next 6-week creative writing course, Spring Write into March, which begins on 23 February. I've already received a handful of bookings for these and, so, would highly recommend stopping by the Mindful Living Guide table this weekend or sending off your registration materials as soon as possible to reserve your place in either or both of these.

Secondly, closely related to the above consideration, I have just this evening published a brief post which responds to the question, "What is a Writing Marathon?". Hopefully this will give you a good idea as to what to expect. If not, please feel free to hit me up with any follow-up questions. In short, though, I'd suggest not worrying too much about the exact nature of a writing marathon, and, instead, just register, come along on the day, and find out for yourself why these workshops are proving to be wildly popular, with both experienced writers as well as those for whom this might well be their first foray into the world of creative writing.

With warm weekend regards,

Sean

What is a Writing Marathon?

2011-01-14T19:37:00.008Z

People are nervous the first time they do a writing marathon. They fear they won't have anything to say or can't keep writing for that long. They are amazed when it is done that the time went so quickly—"I could have written all day!"
~Natalie Goldberg, Writing Down the Bones

So, you might be wondering, what exactly is a Writing Marathon?

The Writing Marathons which I run on an ongoing basis are inspired by a brief chapter by that same name which comes near the end of Natalie Goldberg's bestselling book, Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within. First published in 1986, this book has been a part of my life for a dozen years now, about the same amount of time I've been formally meditating. And as Natalie's genius in Writing Down the Bones is her juxtaposing her own experience with writing and meditation practice, this is relevant. Although my writing classes are not meditation classes, per se, Natalie and I are coming from a similar experiential understanding as to how the mind works, based upon direct inquiry, and, therefore, share a common approach towards freeing the writer within.

In short, we recognize the power of writing in mindful presence, writing from a place which lies beyond the purely logical, rational mind. Instead, we suggest letting go of the heavy onus of trying to overly control our writing, and, rather, nurturing a sense of writing through the whole of our being, the whole of our body, simply following wherever the pen leads us, and trusting wholeheartedly in the creative process. And it's been our shared experience that to the extent to which we do this, and truly let go, good, authentic writing flows onto the page. We get writing which resonates, writing which is full of life, unexpected details and fresh, untried metaphors.

And this, in a nutshell, is what we're nurturing in the four hours of intensive writing during a Writing Marathon. We practice entering, fully, into the present moment, responding with our whole being to whatever might be triggered, at least initially, by way of a particular writing prompt. But once we've put pen to paper and begin to write, we needn't necessarily stick to the initial topic at hand. As Natalie says elsewhere in Bones, "You might start with 'this moment' and end up writing about the gardenia you wore at your wedding seven years ago. That's fine. Don't try to control it. Stay present with whatever comes up, and keep your hand moving."

That's the practice, the discipline and the tremendously enjoyable and rewarding essence of what it is we do in a Writing Marathon.

If you'd like to join us, check the writing class schedule for upcoming marathons. If you don't see one coming to a location near you and would like to initiate one where you live, please email Sean or telephone him on +44 (0)7971 774151.

Mindful Living Guide

February–March 2012 Writing Courses & Workshops

10 Steps to Writing Mindfully

10 Steps to Writing Mindfully

From the MLG Archives — For those who wonder, "What is your lineage?"

Mindful Living Guide — Presently being Re-Designed

Mindful Living Guide QR Code

Imagine a World Without Free Knowledge (A Message from Wikipedia)

'Write from the Heart' Creative Writing Workshop: Saturday 11 February, Lewes (East Sussex)

6-Week I Ching Course (Lewes, East Sussex)

Mindfully Creative Writing Courses, A Holiday Consideration & Organizational Courses/Workshops

NaNoWriMo 2011 Winner — not word count-wise, but in far more far-reaching ways

A Novel Approach: An Intensive Novel Planning & Plotting Course (Lewes, East Sussex)

Living Creatively, Writing Mindfully ...

NaNoWriMo & Short Story Workshop, plus Saturday's Weather Forecast ...

NaNoWriMo: Haven't started writing yet? Well, you're not alone!

NaNoWriMo: A Novel Adventure

Lewes Bonfire Pop-Up Party: Saturday 5 November

Slaked Thirst

Forbidden Fruit

Writers & Editors: Tweeps, Klout & Other Creepy-Crawly Considerations

Autumnal skies and auspicious signs

Blame it on the midnight brewing up of the Bialetti — Or is there something else at work here?

October-November Courses & Workshops (& National Short Story Week) Lewes, East Sussex

Aesculus Hippocastanum: A Story

'National Short Story Week' Writing Workshop (Lewes, East Sussex)

'Short Story Writing from A to Z' Course (Lewes)

'The Best British Short Stories 2011' Course (Lewes)

'The Power of Now' Discussion Course (Lewes)

Creative Writing & Mindful Living Courses (Lewes): September through October 2011

MLG Update: 1) Artwave Opening, 2) September Course Listing (Lewes)

Mindful Living & Creative Writing Classes (Lewes)

'Write Your Way into Autumn' Course (Lewes)

'The Art of Mindful Living' Course (Lewes)

Artwave 2011: 'Witnessing the World Within & Without: Photographic & Poetic Musings'

NEW! Summer Writing & Mindful Living Courses & Saturday Workshop (Lewes, East Sussex)

Summer Soiree: Selected Hemingway Short Stories

Hemingway Summer Soiree (Lewes, East Sussex)

Meetings in Presence: Lewes, East Sussex

Saturday's 'Write from the Heart' Workshop & Other Good Stuff ...

2-for-1 Offer on Upcoming Writing Courses ...

Thoughts from the Night: Monday, Sep 16, 1996

Mindfully Decadent Monday (Lewes to Hamsey walk, writing & picnicking workshop): A Snapshot

Write Day & Night: 6-Week Morning & Evening Creative Writing Courses (Lewes)

Write from the Heart: Creative Writing Workshop, Saturday 21 May (Lewes)

Exciting New Developments in the MLG Realm ...

MLG Goes Bananas!

Mindfully Decadent Monday

Saturday, 21 MayCreative Writing Workshop

MLG now on Google Places!

NEW! Monday EveningCreative Writing Course in Lewes ...

Simplified Courses & Workshops Listing

Mindful Living Guide is now listed on Google Places

Courses & Workshops: Creative Writing, Mindful Living & Philosophical Literature

'The Art of Living in Awareness' course (next Friday, 6 May) & much, much more ...

Mindfully Decadent Monday: Riverside Walk, Writing & Picnic (Lewes to Hamsey Church)

Spontaneous Creative Writing Class: TODAY, 18 April, 10 am to 12 noon

Artwave 2011: Behind the Blue Door (Lewes)

NEW! Mindful Living Guide Business Cards

Behind the Blue Door @ 177 High Street, Lewes

One-to-One Mac Tuition: Mac Made Easy

The Art of Living in Awareness: 6-Week Meditation, Writing & Discussion Course (Lewes, E. Sussex)

One-to-One Mindful Living, Meditation & Writing Guidance: In Person or Worldwide

NEW! Register and Pay Online via Bank Transfer

This Friday (8-10 pm): 6-Week 'Looking Beyond Loss & Grief' Writing & Discussion Course (Lewes)

NEW! 6-Week Creative Writing Course: Monday Evenings (Brighton, Add the Colour Café & Gallery)

Spirit of the Millennium Festival: Mind, Body & Spirit (Hove Town Hall, Saturday 26 February)

Upcoming Courses & Workshops (LEWES): 1) Looking Beyond Loss & Grief, 2) March Creative Writing Marathon, 3) Write Your Way into May

I Ching (this Friday, 8-10 pm), and other reminders

Two Announcements: 1) New 'I Ching' Course (Lewes), 2) Writing Marathons (Hastings/Lewes)

Friday Fling with the I Ching, Lewes ...

A lovely weekend at Lewes Wellbeing Fest ...

This Weekend's Lewes Wellbeing Fest, and What is a Writing Marathon?

What is a Writing Marathon?

Saturday, 21 May
Creative Writing Workshop

NEW! Monday Evening
Creative Writing Course in Lewes ...