Writing With Spirit: Meditation And Creative Writing
Nancy Kilgore
For any level of writer, this class is about opening to a deeper creativity through combining meditation and writing. Keats talked about learning to be open to “uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason.” Meditation helps us to get in touch with the parts of ourselves that we normally avoid, the painful as well as the joyful. To let go of what we think we ought to write and be free to play and create from our most authentic self. We’ll draw on inspiration from visionaries and writers like Rumi, Hildegard of Bingen and Flannery O’Conner. We’ll use practices from contemplative traditions and mindfulness-based therapy as well as a variety of writing prompts to delve deeper into our own spirit, and lead us into writing our stories, memoirs, novels-in-progress, poems, sermons or creative nonfiction.
Nancy Kilgore, MDiv, DMin, is a writer and pastoral counselor in Vermont and New Hampshire. Winner of the Vermont Writers Prize 2016, Nancy’s first novel, Sea Level (RCWMS, 2011,) received several awards including Book of the Year through ForeWord Reviews.
Her most recent publication is a memoir in TIMES THEY WERE A-CHANGING: WOMEN REMEMBER THE 60S AND 70S (She Writes Press, 2013.) She is working on her second novel. Formerly a parish pastor (PCUSA and UCC,) Nancy is a longtime meditator certified in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. She received her doctorate in pastoral psychology from Boston University and studied writing at the Radcliffe Writing Seminars, Bennington College, and through many writing groups. Drawing on the Christian contemplative tradition, Eastern meditation practices, psychotherapy, and creative writing studies, Nancy leads workshops for clergy, therapists and writers throughout the US. Nancykilgore.com
Cost $400 includes double occupancy room board and tuition.