Offer a welcoming space where everything is invitational.
Hear all voices.
Introduce a “third thing” that bridges connection between people.
Build community and witness each other.
We come together, open to weaving together who we are, our experiences, reflection, and creativity. The insights that get harvested are treasures that may have been laying in wait and can surprise even the participants.
I am drawn to facilitating inclusive processes where people are able to bring themselves fully into the space, create, and find their own inner wisdom. Poetic Medicine, SoulCollage®, and guiding labyrinth walks with creative processing options have been my offerings at the Benedictine Center over the past year. I am so grateful for souls who have come in the door, open to an experience. This fall, I invite you to join us for guided labyrinth walks and Poetic Medicine.
For the labyrinth walks, we meet as a group, introduce ourselves, and delve into a theme. I share about the history of labyrinths and potential intention setting for the walk. I am grateful for my training and experiences with Veriditas, an over 30-year-old organization founded by Lauren Artress, whose mission is to introduce and engage people with labyrinth walking as a pathway to enrichment,
healing, and growth. After walking the labyrinth, we return inside to a variety of creative options to deepen the messages you may have received on the walk. I love pairing an embodied experience with a creative reflection. No experience is ever needed and everything is optional.
Poetic Medicine is based on the work of John Fox, a bibliotherapist, who founded the Institute for Poetic Medicine over 20 years ago. Each session has a different theme, such as Self-Compassion, Choices, Our Stories, which asks us to see how our lives interact with that theme, all with a focus on well-being. We read quotes and poems and reflect on ideas or lines that resonate with us. We spend time writing, following suggested creative prompts, and have tried our hand at writing haiku, six-word memoirs, and personification among other poetic offerings. We share what we’ve written, if we choose, and participants witness and reflect back what has touched them. No advice or critique is given. No experience with reading or writing poetry is needed. We have three sessions coming up this fall. Come to one or all three. There is a 20% discount if you register for all three.
SoulCollage® is another way to follow our intuition into a doorway of inner wisdom. It’s a system developed by Seena Frost in the 1980’s and currently has over 7000 facilitators worldwide. We make 5” x 8” collaged cards that we can turn to for guidance and reminders for support and answers to our life questions. The creative process alone is a way of embracing a flow of trust in allowing symbolism from the images to emerge. These images, from recycled magazines, can speak deeply to us and bring sacred synchronicities and surprises in their messages.
I get great joy out of setting the stage for participants with spirituality and creativity at the helm. As a former middle school teacher, this kind of “lesson planning” animates my own creativity and I don’t have to do any grading! I hope to see you soon in an offering!
“Lisa’s events at the Benedictine monastery are consistently uplifting and healing. She creates a sense of community while guiding us through simple activities that are accessible to beginners or more advanced practitioners of spirituality or art. Whether it is Poetic Medicine or SoulCollage®, the beautiful, welcoming, and quiet spiritual space is perfectly suited for her well-designed activities that help us find the words or the images to express our conscious thoughts and our subconscious impressions. I have come away each time enriched by the sacred space, her skilled facilitation, and the creativity and kindness of the other participants. It is a blessing.” – Ann
“Lisa has a wonderful ability to help us find our creative and mystical selves. Her classes are fun and liberating!” – Reva
–Lisa Mer
