We begin with an assessment of our present Self image by addressing the responses we automatically give when someone asks, “Who do you think you are?” We will listen to the names we have been called, review the habits we have developed and reflect upon the decisions we have made. Thereby, we will bring to light that may have been overlooked. This module will help to:

• Remove the fear of self-expression
• Evaluate and value personal life experiences.
• Gain insights about your present condition.

The Ancestral Line visualization is a process that relaxes the body and mind in order to make contact with the spirit of the ancestors. Here we will identify inherited attitudes and beliefs by recalling and recording childhood memories. This module will help you to:

• Reclaim parts of your Self and expand your sense of wholeness.
• Bring your consciousness into another level of embodiment.
• Connect the undercurrents of your psyche with your emotional life.
• Sink your roots deeper into your lineage.
• Better understand your place in the family stream.

Our ancestors translated their experience of the cosmos into myth; their relationship to the natural world into folklore; and their interactions with each other into legend. We have inherited these archetypal stories and will discuss the ways in which they shape our culture and our personal lives. This will help us to:

• Understand the nature and function of myth and story.
• Discover the complementary nature of solar and lunar myths.
• Experience myths and stories from several cultures.
• Learn how to activate and inhabit mythological characters.
• Provide greater access to your mythic imagination.

At night, when we dream, we experience the time of Eclipse. Perhaps our culture has taught us to avoid looking into the dream’s darkness where the monsters Fear and Pain reside. However, in the mythology of the West African diaspora an Eclipse is perceived as the Sun and the Moon making love to each other. It is a time when the hidden powers embrace and flow into each other. So it is time for us to confront the feelings of isolation and alienation, to feel and heal the hurt, to become aware of the creative potential that sleeps within. In this module you will learn to:

• Recall and record your dreams.
• Enter into your dreamscape with the eyes of a storyteller.
• Confront the traumas lurking beneath the horizon of perception.
• Turn your suffering into art and your hardships into beauty.

Now we breathe deeply and prepare to transform our experiences into works of art. We will begin by creating a series of writing prompts that entice us to rescript our memories and dreams. In this module you will learn to:

• Write freely and consistently to reflect sensory and emotional awareness.
• Court your inner muse, and activate your inner artist.
• Blend poetry with imagery to transform energy.

The Art of Storytelling is the grandmother of the Church, the School and the Theater. It illuminates and preserves the wisdom of the ages. Storytelling demonstrates that we are folk characters and our lives are expressions of Spirit revealing Itself through our stories. When we learn how to share them in community we cast a beam of light for those who come behind us on the spiritual path. In this module you will learn the basic principles of storytelling including:

• How to select which stories to tell.
• Writing stories to be spoken.
• Mythologizing characters from real life.
• Creating props and costumes,
• The Many forms of “Fiction”

The time has come to share your stories in community. How is this to be done? Who is your audience? When and where is storytelling the best way to communicate thoughts, ideas and feelings? In this module we will discuss:

• How to create new guiding myths for yourself and your community.
• How to incorporate your storytelling skills into your spiritual autobiography.
• How to invite others to share in your dreams through the power of story – written and spoken.
• How to apply marketable storytelling skills in schools, churches and corporations.

In this final session, we will review and reflect upon the journey we have taken together. There will be time for celebration and sharing your experience – and we’ll complete the course by going into our visions for the future.

In this transformative conversation, Luisah Teish and Dorothy Randall Gray – author of Soul Between the Lines: Freeing Your Creative Spirit Through Writing – will discuss writing as a process for getting in touch with your spiritual power and understanding your spiritual path.

Dorothy’s publications include Muse Blues, Woman, Fierce With Reality, Family, The Passion Collection and A Taste of Tamarinda. She has also been a contributor to such periodicals and anthologies as Personal Journaling, Heart & Soul, the NY Times, Drum Voices, SisterFire, HealthQuest andConditions.

A former Poet-in-Residence at Hunter College, NYU faculty member, NiaOnline columnist and commentator for National Public Radio, Dorothy is founder of the Heartland Institute for Transformation. In her commitment to global healing, she has shared the dais with the Dalai Lama, served as a UNESCO delegate and conducted educational supply campaigns for schools and villages in Africa.

In this powerful session, Luisah Teish and Nisi Shawl – author of Filter House and editor of Strange Mating – will discuss the concept of “the Other” in the writings of Octavia Butler and other fantasy and science fiction writers of color.

Nisi Shawl is an African-American writer and journalist. She is best known as a writer of science fiction and fantasy short stories, and is an expert authority on the image of people of color in these genres.

Shawl is the co-author of Writing the Other: Bridging Cultural Differences for Successful Fiction. Her short stories have appeared in Asimov’s SF Magazine, the Infinite Matrix, Strange Horizons, Semiotext(e) – and numerous other magazines and anthologies. Shawl is a member of the Science Fiction Writers of America and a 1992 graduate of the Clarion West Writers Workshop. She is a board member of Clarion West and one of the founders of the Carl Brandon Society. Her stories have been shortlisted for the Theodore Sturgeon Award, the Gaylactic Spectrum Award, the Carl Brandon Society Parallax Award and Writing the Other received special mention for the James Tiptree, Jr. Award. In 2008, she won the James Tiptree, Jr. Award for Filter House. In 2009, her novella, “Good Boy,” was nominated for a World Fantasy Award.

In this engaging dialogue, Luisah Teish and Dr. Sonnee Weedn – a psychotherapist and editor of Many Blessings: A Tapestry of Accomplished African American Women – will explore Dr. Weedn’s experiences using the creative arts to help clients overcome depression and addictions. Dr. Weedn specializes in the spiritual recovery of clients with chemical dependency and depression using ritual and the creative arts.

Sonnee D. Weedn, Ph.D. is a clinical and forensic psychologist in private practice in Novato, CA. She has been practicing since 1980. In addition to her psychology practice, Dr. Weedn provides continuing education and training programs for mental health professionals. She has created and produced a wide variety of retreat programs and workshops – ranging from couples enrichment to spiritual development. Having studied with many leaders in behavioral/mental health care, as well as wisdom keepers from many traditions, Dr. Weedn applies traditional wisdom to a dynamic format.

Every participant in this course will be entered into a special lottery – where one lucky person will win a private editorial consultation with Luisah Teish on a short story, poem or play that originates from this work. This special package will consist of 3 one-hour sessions via phone.