DOTWW
DRAWING ON THE WRITER WITHIN is creative and dramatically transformational work that is intended for anyone who has ever wanted to write, but thinks he or she cannot, or does not know how to begin.Anyone can write. We all do. We write lists of shopping, notes and reminders and e-mails every day, for example.
The idea of consciously putting words onto paper, however, often causes us to freeze, or panic. Why is this? It is the terror of thinking of ourselves as creative beings, with a voice to be heard. It is the terror of Art, of being A Writer. *
DOTWW is designed to alter our perception of ourselves as writers, by quietening down the brain’s Left Lobe (which pursues its own logic in telling us what we can and cannot do) and encouraging Right Lobe to flow freely with creative confidence.
DOTWW accomplishes this in two ways, designed to compliment one another. It uses a variety of exercises, some based on Julia Cameron’s pioneering book ‘The Artist’s Way: A spiritual Path to Higher Creativity’ (Penguin Putnam Inc., 1992) plus an increasing number original to DOTWW, together with the highly acclaimed and powerful meditative methodology, Proprioceptive Writing (PW).
PROPRIOCEPTIVE WRITING (PW)
Proprioceptive Writing has been developed over the last 30 years by Linda Trichter Metcalf, PhD and Tobin Simon, PhD in America. Their book, Writing the Mind Alive: the Proprioceptive method for Finding Your Authentic Voice was published by Ballantine Books in 2002. PW is now a respected and highly valued practice not only in the US but in many other parts of the world also.Proprioception is from the Latin proprius, meaning ‘ones’ own’. Proprioceptive Writing is therefore a form of process writing that allows us to touch base with our sixth sense, synthesizing emotion and imagination to generate authentic insight and joy. Some students have - very perceptively - likened it to soul searching on paper.
PW is a quiet, disciplined and - very important – an exceedingly safe practice. You write for 25 minutes (the average length of a meditation session) with several aids to concentrate attention and free the writer within: Baroque music (the rythmn of which matches that of the human heartbeat and pulse), a lighted candle, paper and pen or pencil. The main focussing tool is a question, ‘What do I mean by…’ This allows you to go deeper, moving forward with genuine curiosity and self-revelation.
The safety comes from the fact that the starting point of each WRITE (from PW as a form of ritual writing) is your own, you ask the question (What do I mean by…) when you choose to, and you supply your own answers. This is why and where PW is so insightful.
Linda and Toby are co-founders of the Proprioceptive Writing Center, now in New York, but founded in Maine in 1982. For more information, go to web site: www.Proprioceptivewriting.com
OMIYAGE
DOTWW requires an open mind (the highest form of intelligence), commitment and strength of purpose. To gain the full benefit from courses especially, students are advised to attend each and every session and do the required omiyage - the word we use instead of homework, with has negative connotations for so many.In Japanese, omiyage means ‘obligatory gift’. I prefer to think of it as a gift I give to students as a means towards further exploration and practice, the results of which they bring back to class and share with the rest of their group: a return gift.
As another Ancient once wrote (but again don’t ask which one): Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift, and that’s that it’s called “the present”.
HOW TO STUDY
To date there are four levels: ‘Initiation’ (for beginners) - ‘Exploration’ (for those students who completed ‘Initiation’) - ‘Affirmation’ (’Initiation’ & ‘Exploration’) - ‘Confirmation’ (’Initiation’, ‘’Exploration’, ‘Affirmation’)You can experience this material in two ways:
a) 8 WEEK COURSES in central Tokyo.
b) ONE-DAY WORKSHOPS (in creative writing or PW alone) at my home in Zushi (mostly on a Sunday).
c) WEEKEND COURSES - Level 1.
d) CORPORATE WORKSHOPS (on request).
e) SAMPLE CLASSES and/or WORKSHOPS - at conferences, for example
e) RETREATS are available to writers who have completed level 1 and beyond. There is always a theme to the weekend, such as Awakening, Time or Memoir.
THE 8-WEEK COURSE IN DETAIL
Each lesson is in two parts:
DRAWING ON EXTERIOR WORLD from 19:00-20:10: Uses exercises based on observation and sensory perception to inspire confidence, stimulate the imagination, make writing fun and rewarding on any number of levels.
DRAWING ON INTERIOR WORLD
from 20:15-21:30 Uses the Proprioceptive Writing method of finding your authentic voice . It synthesises emotion and imagination to generate authentic insight and joy, using music, meditation and one simple question (a focusing tool): “What do I mean by…”The methodology helps you to:
* Focus awareness, dissolve inhibitions, build self-confidence
* Unburden your mind and resolve emotional conflicts
* Connect more deeply with your spiritual self
* Write and speak with strength and clarity
* Awaken your senses and emotions
* Liberate your creative energies
* Supports psychotherapy
You can go to any number of writing courses to learn the structures involved in writing copy, articles, columns, plays, novels, short stories, scripts, and the best ways in which to get work published. But if you cannot bring to life your true inner voice, then all is a waste of time, effort and money. This is where to start: knowing what you want to say and how to say it. The rest - your writing life, a more meaningful life - will naturally follow on….