Workshop and Class Opportunities
Explore different classes, workshops, and retreats that author Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew offers during the year. Some of these are in collaboration with Eye of the Heart Center, a non-profit that gather seekers and creatives of all generations to explore, express, and honor divine Mystery through vibrant experiences of the arts and grounded contemplative practices that transform self and world.
Bring your creativity, doubts, questions, and willingness to connect into an online community that names the world as gift. Creation thrives in a flow of giving and receiving. In this space, we orient our hearts toward the gifts of writing–insight, healing, growth, and meaningful presence. Each of us is a gift to the whole, and our best gifts to others are hearts widened by creativity.
Eye of the Heart Center Writing Programs
The Eye of the Heart’s writing programs tend to both writer and writing, trusting that the fruits of creative endeavors nourish both our lives and the wider world. Because we do our most effective work within a caring community, all programs build connections between participants. There are many in-person Minneapolis events and groups, as well as online options. Stay up-to-date by subscribing to Eye of the Heart’s newsletter!
Want a taste of Eye of the Heart’s Writing Programs? Try out a FREE writing class with us.
I created a short, 90-minute micro-course, called “The Gifts of Writing.” This online writing course orients our online writing community to the gift economy and will teach you how to flourish in your writing. Although it is a self-paced class, you will be able to share your reflections with others in a private forum who are also taking the course!
*You will be directed to the Eye of the Heart’s online community, which you will join (it’s free) to enter the course, but there is no obligation to stay after you take the course. I can’t wait to see you there!
If you haven’t been able to attend the Writing Your Sacred journey classes in the past, now you can take them at your own pace, online, and with the option to join an online writing community oriented around the same inspiration and themes. You can view all the asynchronous classes here.
Writing the Sacred Journey: Introductory Workshop on Spiritual Memoir
During this self-paced, two-and-a-half-week independent study, writers can view Elizabeth’s video lectures, respond to writing prompts, and immerse themselves in the genre and practice of spiritual memoir through readings and a community forum.
Opens January 5th!
Your Story as Scripture: An Introduction to Writing Spiritual Memoir
Your experiences are unique, significant, and shot through with holiness. Writing down memories is a way to nurture the sacred dimension of your life, participate in the creation of your identity, and offer others through your presence and stories the blessing of your evolving truth. This 75 minute sampler will introduce you to the art and practice of writing spiritual memoir.
Stories to transform self and world
Writing Your Sacred Journey
Join Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew to explore the art and practice of spiritual memoir writing. Each session will give participants the opportunity to write, time for conversation, inspiration from model writers, and insights about craft, content, and practice. These monthly practice sessions are meant for writers of all levels, including absolute beginners. New participants are encouraged to take Elizabeth’s introduction to spiritual memoir workshop or read Writing the Sacred Journey. Because practice sessions are not consecutive, you can drop in as you’d like. Over three years, the curriculum covers the significant aspects of the craft of writing memoir, common themes, and the invitations to transformation inherent in the practice.
Online, monthly on Mondays from 6:00-8:00 p.m. CT: 1/26; 2/23; 3/23; 4/27; 5/25; 6/22
January: Everything Sacred
We’ll mine ordinary objects and activities for spiritual content, learn the difference between showing and telling, and discuss ways for getting started. Bringing attention to our experiences calls forth their holiness.
Online: January 26
February: Discovery in the Details
The right details bring light and life to a story. We’ll practice finding details that work and look through our descriptions to the meaning they uncover.
Online: February 23
March: The Brilliance of Childhood
Our sacred journeys find their source and direction in our youngest years, when our first experiences marked us. How can we explore early memories with compassion, curiosity, and humility?
Online: March 23
April: Courage & Truth-Telling
“Only one thing is more frightening than speaking your truth,” Audre Lorde wrote, “and that is not speaking.” Writing memories is an exercise in truth-telling. We’ll learn techniques to facilitate courageous honesty on the page—and in life.
Online: April 27
May: The World Boiled Down to a Drop
Zora Neale Hurston wrote of one character, “She was the world and the heavens boiled down to a drop.” We’ll explore the holographic nature of memories: Our small stories contain big truths. How can we reconstitute memories on the page so they hold both the vast universe and our beloved particulars?
Online: May 25
June: Holy Resistance
Resistance—to creativity, to spiritual practice—can be a sign that we’re on to something! When we resist the writing process or certain subjects, how can we open our hearts to transformation?
Online: June 22
Seeing self and story with new eyes
The Re*Vision Workshop
The word “revision” means “see again.” Even the act of brainstorming helps us re-see our subject matter, so revision begins long before we assume. Later we can step away from our drafts, change how we understand what we’ve written, and reenter the creative process with fresh perspective. Revision changes both text and writer. We are created as we create.
How can we keep our hearts open to radical re-seeing throughout the writing process? In this monthly drop-in workshop, we’ll engage in collective practices to keep us nimble, find new perspective, bring intention and efficiency to labor, and steer our creative energy toward what matters most—coming more alive, on the page and in our being.
Fridays at Plymouth Congregational Church in Minneapolis, 1:30-3:30: Jan 30, Feb 20, Mar 20, Apr 17,
May 22, Jun 19
Price: $35/single class; 3 options for series
New opportunities in development! Subscribe to my monthly newsletter to stay up-to-date.
