Writer, speaker, author and storyteller Lindsey Dawson Auckland New Zealand Writer, speaker, author and storyteller Lindsey Dawson Auckland New Zealand
 

WRITING WEEKEND
COMING UP
Learn with Lindsey in Auckland, June 7-8.
Call Out Your Inner Writer!
Click here. Or to hear Lindsey talk about it, click here >>

 

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some Comments from past participants

“I have been to a few writing workshops and encounter groups over the years but ‘Writing from the Heart' was a unique experience.  The integrity and safety of the workshop enabled immense intimacy, revelation and freedom - and respect.  Thanks heaps.”
 - Kaye

“I believe we experienced more than any expectations - I'm so thankful.”
- Patricia


“It was spot on!  Great flow, timing, space, inclusion.”
- Shona

“A wonderful weekend – very rich.”
- Maria

Thoughts that Roar, Words that Sing - Call out Your Inner Writer

A two-day workshop with Lindsey Dawson

Enjoy your creativity, get to know your strength and boost your confidence in expressing your own truth.

Course outline

Welcome to Thoughts that Roar, Words that Sing – a two-day weekend programme that aims to lift your spirits and increase your confidence in expressing what you have to say and write.

This is a time in history when many people are seeking to grow and stand tall rather than just go along with the herd. Because writing is such a great tool for self-discovery, this weekend could be a turning point in your own search for greater fulfilment. I bring to this course all I've learnt in 30 years of writing and editing, along with insights gleaned on my own long search for what it is I'm supposed to be doing in my own life.

That is word spinning. And story sharing. And truth telling. I'd love for you to come and take part in a process that will help all of us take a step up in “owning” who we are, with all our rich talents and interesting foibles.

We should we do this? After all, in these high-tech times, most of us get our entertainment and soul food ready-made, courtesy Hollywood and the news networks.

But many people still love picking up a pen or settling at the computer and filling blank space with words that well up from that mysterious place inside us called “me”.

The trouble is that we're being “got at” every day by modern media and so much of what we absorb is trite and shallow. It still affects us though, whether we're aware of it or not, and so when we sit down to write all that usually comes out of us is a welter of lightweight fluff or bleak cynicism.

Don't you yearn to express yourself in words that are honest, real and true? We have no less need than our ancestors did to pour our hearts out on paper – sometimes just for our own pleasure but also for public consumption. This means including fun and laughter as well as earnest debate. It's important to realise that life is one big sit-com with us playing all the parts!

Writing meaningful words means creating sentences that ring with authenticity. They reveal who you truly are. This workshop will strengthen your courage to record deep feelings, big joys and ardent dreams in a way that comes straight from your soul or higher self.

The weekend will:

  • Discover blocks that may be cramping your flow
  • Affirm your inner strength
  • Create safe space in which to recall and relish your life's experiences
  • Learn to value your wisdom
  • Encourage gratitude for your life – even the hard parts
  • Reveal what a shining light you are

The mood will be relaxed and friendly. I'll supply drinks and snacks for breaks but you bring your own lunch on Sunday, or maybe take a break at a local cafe. There'll be some good group and one-on-one discussions and, of course, time to write from the heart. You can also expect to be ‘heartened' by the contributions of everyone on the course. Somehow, a little magic seems to happen when like-minded people get together like this.

DAY ONE

Session One – Connecting With Each Other and With Language

Saturday, 9.30 am - 4pm

In this first session we'll start to get to know fellow participants and set in place our wishes and intentions. We'll begin to pull out of our head space and more into the heart area as we set out on the voyage of learning to use writing (or indeed any other form of word-based communication) to express our inner wisdom and gain fresh appreciation for the drama of our lives.

During this afternoon we'll also expand our minds to wonder at the development of words and how much they have contributed to the development of civilization. It's all about realizing that a world without language is unimaginable and that when we dismiss, ignore or mangle them, we are depriving our lives of meaning.

Session Two – Cracking the Shell, Going with the Gut

Sunday, 9.30 am - 4pm

Today we'll really get cracking on writing meaningful things. Sometimes, the barriers to creativity and honesty lie in hurtful moments from earlier in your life. During this session we'll hark back to feelings that constrict or limit you and take steps to rid them of their power. We'll explore the close connections between how the feelings in our hearts lead to physical expression, learning how even inarticulate sounds can perfectly and enjoyably express what we're thinking and feeling. We are human and yet so often put our human-ness aside in our bid to be seen as sophisticated and ‘successful'.

The day will also allow time for talking about writers whose work blows us away, and why. We'll also realise what mighty strengths we've also been building as we've lived our lives. And how important it is for us to share the great words that can come out of our own hearts and minds.

At day's end we'll reflect on some of our discoveries and then wind up the workshop in a way that will help you reinforce your strength to keep working at your writing and all the other things you love to do in life.

Best of all, now you'll be penning words that glow.

Hope to see you there! Best wishes,

Lindsey Dawson

PS I recently read Barbara Kingsolver's “High Tide in Tucson” and was struck by a passage on the delights of written expression. In this book of collected articles she writes about how as a teenager she longed to ride glamorously on motorbikes – but those yearnings faded into insignificance when she discovered the even more seductive power of words:

“It came to pass in two short years that the walls of my high school dropped down, and I caught the scent of a world. I started to dream up intoxicating lives for myself that I could not have conceived without the books. So I didn't end up on a motorcycle. I ended up roaring hell-for-leather down the backloads of transcendent, reeling sentences. A writer. Imagine that.”

NB For more info contact Lindsey at lindseyoutloud@xtra.co.nz or phone her at (09) 4264362