The Method in Madness Institute
Writing Practice & Mindfulness Events
A Study of the Mind
Feel What You Feel
Half-Day Sit Walk Write Retreat
Sunday April 7
If you want to experience heaven, work with your thoughts and emotions.
If you want to avoid hell, work with your thoughts and emotions.
PEMA CHÖDRÖN
Welcome to the new MiMi writing season!
We're kicking it off with the first online Sit Walk Write Retreat in a series of three monthly spring events created around the question of how to deal with difficult emotions, as writers and/or meditators: the "Feel What You Feel" Retreat, taking place on SUNDAY APRIL 7.
When emotions become too overwhelming, we tend to experience them as hindrances, mental states that either we try to get rid of or that force us to abandon our writing or meditation practice altogether.
Writing practice, as described in Natalie Goldberg's Writing Down the Bones, invites us to do what sounds counter-intuitive: to turn towards difficult emotions and create a "mindful gap" that allows us to truly feel them, WITHOUT having to give in to our propensity to be bothered and push them away or act out.
How to create such a mindful gap?
That's what we'll see during the April 7 "Feel What You Feel" Retreat, which will alternate writing practice and reading aloud in breakout rooms with the study of a first passage from Buddhist teacher Pema Chödrön's latest book, How We Live Is How We Die.
PRACTICAL INFO
The event begins at
9 am PT, 10 am MT, 11 am CT, 12 pm ET, 5 pm UK, 6 pm Paris-Amsterdam
and ends 3.5 hours later.
FEE: 49 USD
A recording of the retreat will be available within five days after the event.
The MiMi Scholarship Fund has a limited number of places for those who need financial assistance to be able to benefit from our community's activities too.
This is only possible thanks to the generosity of our donors, so if you can afford it, please add a donation to your order during checkout. Every little bit helps!
FOR WHOM?
MiMi retreats are open to anyone interested in writing, literature, and mindfulness. No meditation or Natalie Goldberg writing practice background is necessary. Whether you're a seasoned writer or simply curious about the intersection of mindfulness and writing, this event is open to any level of experience. All that's required is an open heart and a willingness to explore.
FACILITATOR
Anja Van Rompaey is a published author, philosopher, and certified Trauma-Sensitive meditation teacher (trained in teaching Jon Kabat-Zinn's MBSR, Mark Williams' Mindfulness, and Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach's Awareness meditation programs). She led the writing practice community EU Writing Down the Bones for more than four years and founded The Method in Madness Institute (MiMi), a MindX SRL division dedicated to helping participants learn how to meditate, read the classics in world literature, philosophize, and use writing practice as an authentic Zen "study of the mind" - or to take their practice to the next level.
At this time, Anja teaches The Compassionate Writing Year program as well as a weekly seminar on Suzuki Roshi's classic Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. Passionate about writing, reading, mindfulness, and sharing her knowledge and expertise wherever possible, she has organized more than fifty Half-day and Full-day online Sit Walk Write retreats. She's currently a student of Mingyur Rinpoche.
To apply for a scholarship click HERE.
The Spring Writing Practice Retreat Program
$147 $119
Sign up for the 3 Spring Sit Walk Write Retreats before Saturday April 6
to save $28!
Feeling sad or anxious is natural when we reflect on the passage of time and the fading of all our experiences. (...) It can be heartbreaking to notice how death and loss are occurring continually. It can make us feel shaky to realize that we're always in a gap. But these feelings aren't a sign of something being wrong. We don't have to push them away. (...) In that very fear, in that very melancholy, is our compassionate heart, our immeasurable wisdom, our connection to all living beings on this planet.
HOW WE LIVE IS HOW WE DIE
Pema Chödrön
Turning Poison Into Medicine
SUNDAY MAY 5
- Starting at 9 am PT, 12 pm ET, 5 pm UK
- Ending 3.5 hours later
- How to transform difficult emotions into wisdom and compassion
$49
Beautiful Monsters
SUNDAY JUNE 2
- Starting at 9 am PT, 12 pm ET, 5 pm UK
- Ending 4 hours later
- How to see the wisdom and compassion inside difficult emotions, so we can "let them be"
$49
Combine all three events for the most transformational effect (and save almost $30)
or feel free to sign up for only one event to see whether or not this is for you.
If you are a writer or meditator, learning more about how to "roll out the welcome matt" (as poet Rumi calls it) for our "beautiful monsters" is a key skill to develop and THE secret to continuing under all circumstances with effortless effort.
Therefore, we strongly encourage you to use this opportunity to enroll in the entire season.
100% Money-Back Guarantee
We guarantee a full refund until 24 hours before the day of the event.
In the words of a regular retreat participant...
Clarity, kindness, compassion, curiosity, patience, and humor:
these are the qualities that Anja's retreats embody.
Thanks to them, I have begun to go for the jugular and explore my darkest fears in a much more profound way. I see now how I can hope to find real happiness for myself and others.
So if you are living your life in a way that feels smaller than who you know you are,
join MiMi retreat programs.
They could change your view of life (and death) - and in the process, your writing.
Lynn
Support Us
Writing, literature, and meditation should be available to all, regardless of background or financial circumstances.
We're deeply grateful for any donation to the MiMi Scholarship Fund (one-time or recurring)
helping those who may need it to benefit from our educational services and community too.
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