Some fear we will see more wars, planetary catastrophes and the ending of political and social structures as we know them. They question what that could mean to them personally, to their families and communities.

Others are excited about new possibilities and potentialities of a more humane world and the unlimited creative opportunities that can come as a result of auspicious imminent change.

One thing is for certain, no-one really knows what is to come. Uncertainty has been said to be one of the greatest causes for people to become fearful. Yet there is a way of reframing uncertainty that, when we apply it, we see within its very framework the seeds of safety and a sense of all being as it should be.

It is when we allow the mystery of life to unfold and watch it as a child might with curiousity and wonder that we feel more at peace. From this place, rather than getting caught up by “the news of the day” that seduces us into fear, we take our direction from our inner compass that guides us safely to our next step. A compass that shines light on compassion, understanding and optimistic outcomes.

This is a big leap for people who are used to making decisions on the spot, often knee-jerk reactions to life’s circumstances, rather than observing, reflecting and then responding with discernment.

Although our ego likes to trick us into believing it knows the answer and wants to take control, peace ultimately comes from surrender, letting go and allowing God or Universal Intelligence to be our guide. Every moment is an opportunity to remember to breathe, be still and ask inside for guidance.

I know when I do this, a peace washes over me. My challenge doesn’t come from not believing it will help, it comes from not remembering to do it. One way that helps me is to include this surrender in my morning journaling practice. When I do, I often feel an immediate tingling course through my body telling me I am being heard … and I give thanks.

TIPS FOR TODAY
GET OFF THE TREADMILL AND B R E A T H E

I often hear people talk about being in overwhelm. There is an urgency to get things done. It’s all about do-ing. The lists are endless and often that which feeds our soul is last on the list. More often than I would like to admit, I fall into that category. I forget I am just one person when I am trying to “do it all.”

If this also describes you, would you like to join me in a self-honouring practice? If so, let’s begin 2012 by stepping off the treadmill and feeding our souls with what is precious to us.

For me, rather than leaping out of bed to the first “to do” of the day, I envision myself beginning each morning in quiet reflection. Whether it be meditation, reading passages from books that inspire me, journal writing or a walk in nature, doing this will be giving myself the greatest gift I could receive. By filling my soul’s longing for connection with the Divine, I enter my day with renewed vitality and an open heart, receptive to my surroundings and all who become part of the day’s tapestry.

Why don’t we do this together. Apparently it takes 21 days to create a habit. Would you like to take up a 21-day challenge of beginning each day with an hour of spiritual practice? Write me in the comment section below and let me know how you are doing.

CREATIVE EXPRESSION – SAY YES!

2012 is a blank slate ready to be filled by your highest dreams and aspirations.
What could possibly be a better time than now to listen to your hearts desires, to feed the yearnings of your soul?

Whatever it is, just SAY YES!

“Eat. Drink. Sleep. Write. Repeat. OR
Or Eat. Drink Sleep. Sing, Dance, Paint, Join a club, Create Music, Repeat.

Whatever feeds your creative impulse, follow it. And repeat! Make it part of your lifestyle. Be like that curious, adventurous and free spirited child. Spread out those toys across the floor. See what they look like upside down, sideways and coloured right off the page! Oh, you have work to do, you say? Can’t put those crayons down? Oh well. ?

…However…Perhaps you are one of these people who have an abundance of energy and creative projects in mind but too many options keep you from doing any of them. OR perhaps you have lost sight of your creative aspirations.

For those of you who need to focus and those who have lost touch with your creative dreams, UNLEASH YOUR PASSION, CREATIVITY AND HIGHEST POTENTIAL is a set of 3 meditations on one CD that will help bring your creative dreams alive and set you on a new course of action. Available here

“I thought I had lost my dreams after my husband died. Since listening to June’s meditations on a regular basis, I have a new found sense of well-being inside me and I have begun painting again … something I thought I lost decades ago.”
Mary Chambers

Are you ready to dream big and watch your dreams become manifest? I am!

ACHA – ACADEMY FOR CREATIVE AND HEALING ARTS!

The premiere showing of Madness, Masks and Miracles at the Victoria Truth Centre on December 11th was a brilliant success. Thank you to the volunteers who made it possible and to Sally Glover who hosted the event.

There was a full house and it was the first public discussion about ACHA – Academy for Creative and Healing Arts.

This is my dream! My Vision. Please join the hundreds who are already dreaming it with me. Let’s make it thousands and make this dream a 2012 Reality. A Dream Whose Time Has Come!

Victoria Premiere Screening of Madness, Masks and Miracles
followed by a discussion
Sunday, December 11, 2011 6:45 p.m.
Truth Centre, 1201 Fort Street, Victoria, BC

Join June Swadron, Victoria writer, actor, playwright, psychotherapist and author of Re-Write Your Life, in an evening of exploring the link between creative expression and wellness for people living with a mental illness.

The evening begins with Swadron sharing the story behind the writing and producing of the play Madness, Masks and Miracles, co-written with Victoria Maxwell and co-produced with Hub Productions and Lee Clarke. The talk will be followed by a screening of the play.

“This play is about the types of madness or dark nights of the soul most people go through,” says Swadron. “But it’s not just about mental illness, it includes the masks all of us wear to avoid being criticized, ostracized and marginalized. Ultimately, it’s about shared struggles, compassion and the miracles that let us shed our masks and be who we really are.”

The play was first performed and filmed at the World Assembly for Mental Health in Vancouver. Dr. Michael Meyers, president of the Canadian Psychiatric Association called Madness, Masks and Miracles “a must-see for every Canadian.” He praised it for showing “what it’s like to have a mental illness…. the anguish and confusion… and the denial in co-workers and family.. . .This production is not cynical or depressing. It is moving, inspiring and intensely evocative.”

Following the screening, Swadron will share her vision for the establishment of a facility in the downtown core of Victoria where people with mental health challenges can take part in an array of creative and expressive arts and healing modalities: The Academy for Creative & Healing Arts. Swadron envisions a downtown Victoria centre where people can “work and play” with trained, caring staff to unleash their creative potential. “People’s lives can be transformed as they move from mental illness to mental health,” says Swadron. This Academy project is “…about people accessing a special place within where serenity, love, courage and truth reside, where we begin to know our true spirit and begin to heal.”

The evening will end with a chance for people to informally share their own experience and creative ideas during a reception.

In my last newsletter, the tip I offered was to buy yourself a special journal.

Today, being the 10th anniversary of 9/11, I’m going to share some personal entries that I wrote in my journal on September 11th, 2001.

I had set that day aside to write an article for Vancouver’s Common Ground magazine. The theme for October was WRITING and the deadline was approaching fast.

I believe what you will read below will demonstrate the reliable and undeniable value of putting pen to paper when your heart is flooded with emotion.

“If you did not write every day, the poisons would accumulate and you would begin to die, or act crazy or both – you must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.” –Ray Bradbury

Journal Entry…

Tuesday, September 11, 2001

I woke up with good intentions today to write an article about how writing can be used as a profound therapeutic tool—how it can help us move from pain to catharsis. It’s something I know well. I’ve been using writing to help me work things out since I was given my first diary at age 8. Over four decades ago, journaling wasn’t in vogue like it is today, so I learned of its value through usage. Also, I have been eyewitness to the many transformations borne out of this medium through facilitating creative/cathartic writing groups for over 10 years. I also frequently use it as a relevant tool with my psychotherapy clients. It’s a subject I know well and feel confident to write about. Not today.

Instead I have spent this day like thousands of others—in shock. I woke early this morning—day eleven on my newly acquired piece of paradise—in a cottage set in the spacious woods of Bowen Island and overlooking the gulf islands, mountains and ocean.

In these several days I have watched eagles flying gracefully over my home, herons resting on my dock; earlier today, a hummingbird came to visit my hanging geranium and a bluebird began singing to me from the fir tree next to my bedroom window.

And from this peace and paradise, still I woke with a heavy heart. I wasn’t sure of its origin but knew I needed to connect with someone—someone very close to me. I called my friend Dale who instantly and sensitively revealed to me what was going. I let the tears flow as she described the gruesome details. The very next thing I did was e-mail my partner, who just a week ago, flew to Korea, to take a contract there. I needed to tell him of my horror and how grateful I am that he has landed safely and is not on a plane en route. I spent the rest of the day in silent prayer, grief, fury and questioning God. Why? But I haven’t heard any answers. And so I didn’t come to the computer to write that article, which has a close deadline, and I’m not writing it now—at least not the way I thought I would. Instead I do what I do when I need to release. I write what is there in front of me—I simply tell the truth…

I was on my dock a little while ago. I took a candle and the meditation prayer that was e-mailed to me earlier in the day by the people who put on the Prophet’s Conference. They asked that we join them in a unified prayer—to pray for those who passed on, for their families and friends and for us all upon earth; to pray for those who orchestrated this event, so that they are filled with peace instead of fear and anger and to pray for the politicians—that they act from divine wisdom and not revenge. This is a time to move away from blame and seek to understand cause. Caesar, my black cat and the most affectionate and wise creature I have ever known, followed me down to the dock to bring his energy into the fold. Together we meditated for world peace.

I don’t think I wanted to blame. I wanted to help—to make a contribution to the lives of those who are suffering. Here I am in this incredible God given sanctuary while at the very same time, thousands of people have just died, perhaps are still dying—being buried under rubble—and thousands of families and friends of these people are in grief and disbelief.

I remembered years ago during the Gulf War how isolated I felt—how alone while watching television from my living room and watching bombs flying through the air ready to land on who knows what target. A decade earlier I had spent the year in Israel, arriving there during the Yom Kippur War. I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to do something now, today. I called people to hold a vigil at my house at sundown. They will arrive shortly. Perhaps our unified prayers will help. They will help me, I know.

Tuesday, September 18, 2001

A week has passed since I originally came to my computer to write about writing. I have been unable to until now. I have been involved with my world—walking around numb, anxious, strong, vulnerable, and above all, once again grateful to feel – to be alive. I have been e-mailing back and forth to many friends. I have been the recipient of dozens of e-mails sent by spiritual leaders. Each message holds the same Divine Truth—we must elevate our energy to our highest self at this time—and not be seduced into fear.

And these writings and my own journal have once again, served as my best friend. My partner and I are 15 hours apart and thousands of miles away and we can’t speak in real time very often. My journal is there right now, when I need it—a constant and reliable companion. It plays witness to my tears, remorse, anguish, uncertainly, and to my gratitude. It has seen it all. It judges nothing. How does it work? It works because I tell the truth. It works because I release what needs expression.

Sometimes I think it’s too simple. But then I realize that’s exactly why it’s so powerful. Writing from where we are right now puts us in the state of being authentic, which frees the energy to move. It is liberating to express ourselves. It is a letting go process that allows us to breathe ourselves back home.

As we spill onto the pages what is pertinent in the moment, neither embellishing, nor denying, simply stating it the way it is, we free ourselves from confusion and false voices. We may be flooded with emotion as we impart our truth onto the page—sadness, grief, rage, excitement, love, joy. Allow it all to unfold, to gently come forth. Don’t force it—it’s there. You needn’t strive—it’s there. Just allow the words to come. Don’t judge. Don’t go into your head and say this sounds too awful, this doesn’t make sense, what if someone sees it; just write. Edit later if you must. But for now, just be kind to yourself and do not stop the flow. Do it that way and you’ll be astounded by the results. It’s the energy of now that carries the might. Even when you’re writing about something that happened twenty years ago—it’s your relationship to it at this very moment that matters. And your writing will show you what matters even when you yourself are not sure because the truth will always emerge as you ask your ego to step out of the way.

I believe each of us needs a private place where we can express ourselves without censorship, without judgment, without someone telling us it’s wrong, impolite, unforgiving or anything else. Each of us needs somewhere to state our truth at any given moment and know it’s completely safe to do so. And to express the written word without fear of doing it wrong—a place to put all the old grammar books away.

Still the most common element I have seen over the years in my writing classes is the lack of confidence people have in themselves. Their fear of doing it wrong and saying it wrong surfaces again and again. They qualify their writing.—“Well, I was tired, so I don’t really think it’s very good.” “I was confused and…” or “I had a terrible day today and…” Then they are encouraged to read it anyway, and are often astounded by what they wrote. So if you find yourself criticizing yourself, don’t get discouraged. It’s normal. Just keep your pen moving across the page. Eventually you won’t care if it’s good or bad, right or wrong, you will just write. You will stop being attached to the outcome. You simply write. And that’s when it becomes a meditation. That’s when it becomes a way of life. That’s when it becomes as natural as getting up and brushing your teeth. And when writing is that for you, you will notice a shift in your life. You will notice that things are working out better. You will observe that the voice on the page becomes your voice in the world. Even if you change your mind about what you say a few days later and a new truth emerges, that’s okay. In fact, that’s what happens when we write from our authenticity. The truth sets us free. We move the energy around instead of staying stuck in it. We find a healthier, newer way to relate to the situation. Clarity emerges. Life energy emerges. Strength, confidence and self-love emerge and as you continue to write, you will begin to achieve things that you never thought possible. Your journals can and will be the starting-off point to poems, plays, song lyrics whatever. But mostly you will have your voice. And that… is worth every word.”

And ten years later, my journal is still my best friend. I never know what will emerge on the page. But what I do know is when I allow myself to go naked, my soul feels reborn.

Please do not miss the opportunity of joining me and like-minded others on Saturday September 17th, for a fabulous one-day writing retreat! BY DONATION.

More info at
Write Yourself Home

I remember when I was a young teen in Toronto, the summer holidays seemed long and the hot, humid days felt almost interminable. My friends and I hung out in the park under the shade of the chestnut trees listening to our transistor radios. Later we’d check out the latest LPs or 45s—am I’m dating myself or what!—at Tommy Common’s Record Store and then we were off to Puppy Palace on Bathurst Street for cherry cokes and root beer. Oh how innocent we were!

Eventually summer came to an end and the day after Labour Day was the first day of school.

My most exciting memory of returning to school was when I had graduated from Public School to Junior High School. Instead of one classroom and one teacher all day long, we changed classes every 40 minutes and had different teachers for every subject. We were even given our very own lockers. Now that was cool!

I did very well that year. The best subject for me was English composition. I loved writing creative stories and I was lucky enough to have a teacher, Miss Gola, who encouraged me. She was one of the first teachers ever who complimented me on my writing and made me feel as though I could write. She gave me the confidence to keep exploring this medium which set me on a writing path that I could never have known back then.

Many people have not been so lucky. They had teachers who criticized their creative efforts, destroying their belief that they could ever write. Did you know that Mark Twain said, “If we taught our children to speak the way we teach them to write, everyone would stutter”. How painfully true that is. I hope today teachers help inspire and nurture the creative process in their students.

For 20 years now I have had the privilege of being a “Miss Gola” to countless people. Some were disheartened early in life and had let their creative dreams die in those darkened classrooms. I live in gratitude for having the privilege of watching people’s lives transform while they re-discover their voice on the page and their voice on the page soon becomes their voice in the world.

May this fall and all your new beginnings be blessed with the innocence, wonder and joyous spirit of a young child. Dare to explore wherever your heart leads you.

All blessings,
Junie

What if there was a way of returning to those same stories that when you thought of them, you felt empowered rather than disturbed? A way that would transform how you felt about yourself as well as certain people and events from your past?

Read More

Divination Readings provide a roadmap to accessing your Higher Self. It is here where truth, beauty, creativity and love reside.

Read More

It is called Julia Cameron Live, and includes access to hours of videos, where she shares exclusive insights and anecdotes fuelled by more than two decades of teaching her creativity tools. Julia does this in a relaxed and easy way from the comfort of her living room in Santa Fe, New Mexico, creating a very intimate and inspiring experience.

By joining Julia Cameron Live you also get access to the Active Artist community, a social network where artists can form groups and engage in conversations. Julia takes part in the community by answering artists’ questions, hosting live chats and blogging about the things that inspire her.

I am extremely excited to tell you about this because Julia Cameron and The Artist’s Way have profoundly changed my life.

Let me share with you my personal experience.

In the early ‘90s, I bought my first copy of The Artist’s Way and began to read it.

I quickly learned it is not a book to “read”. It is a book to “do”. It’s a 12-week program that deals with deep core issues as to why people get creatively stuck and disheartened and why they are not doing what they would really love to do in their life. Somewhere along the way they let go of their creative dreams and settle for less.

Some of them become what Julia describes as “shadow artists”. Although highly creative themselves, they live “in the proximity of people who have been crowned creative” instead of pursuing their own creativity.

I learned early in the book that I was one of those people. Many of my friends were artists, and I both admired them and envied them at the same time.

I worked my way through about five chapters of The Artist’s Way and then stopped. I had hit a vulnerable place and didn’t want to continue. The book sat on my bedside table for months with other books stacked on top of it. I didn’t even want to look at it because, every time it caught my eye, it reinforced the fact that I had missed the mark. I had let my dreams of becoming a writer, singer and actor die on the vine many years before and thought it was too late to change this. I was already in my 40’s. (As if that were old!) Yet, I also knew deep down that the wisdom in The Artist’s Way was exactly what I needed to move me past my negative beliefs about myself. Still, it was a huge leap.

At the time I was working as a psychotherapist and facilitating writing workshops. I was suggesting to many of my students, who were creatively stuck, to work through the processes in The Artist’s Way. I figured it was time to take my own advice as well and, as I did, I also began to facilitate The Artist’s Way support groups, which Julia generously encourages people to do.

And so began a 15-year journey! Over the years, I watched students who were blocked, sad, angry, hopeless or apathetic transform their lives. They would show up at the first class not even able to stutter the word “artist” as it may apply to them and 12 weeks later were acknowledging their bravery, new found creative spirit and could authentically say, “Yes, I am an artist.” Whether they intended to put their work “out in the world” or do it as a healthy, self affirming process, they were transformed and knew it. It was exhilarating to witness. As well, several became published authors, poets, singer-songwriters and acclaimed painters.

Years went by and while I watched my students and therapy clients move forward in their creative lives, I remained a shadow artist enjoying the successes of others but not believing I could share the stage.

One day in 1999, only 9 months after moving to Vancouver from Toronto and following another unanticipated visit a mental health facility, I knew I had to do things differently. I couldn’t race back on the treadmill pretending nothing had happened as I had done many times before.

I chose not to go back to work. I had no idea what to do but continually asked the Universe for guidance. It didn’t take long before a message came through loud and clear. “You must tell your story in a play or a book or a one woman show,” the voice insisted. I refused. I argued with The Universe. I shouted, “No, not me! That’s what other people do.” The voice was relentless. Eventually I felt I had no choice but to follow what my deeper guidance was telling me.

Julia Cameron’s encouraging words, “baby steps”, would enter my mind. Or, “Just show up. Put one foot in front of the other. You don’t need to know what it will look like. You are responsible for the quantity. God will handle the quality.”

This was the moment that I began re-reading The Artist’s Way. I re-committed to the morning pages—three pages of longhand writing of whatever showed up. It wasn’t about great writing, it was about allowing. After a few months of this, what showed up was a play with original music called, “Madness, Masks and Miracles”. It was about the madness or the dark night of the soul that most of us go through at some time in our life, about the masks we wear to hide it so we’re not ostracized and marginalized and finally… it’s about the miracles that let us take off our masks and be real. It is a play to help dispel myths and stigmas about mental illness.

Throughout the process, I kept returning to The Artist’s Way for courage and support. I began to stop judging myself so harshly and the terror I felt in exposing myself as someone with bi-polar illness started to dissipate. In time it was replaced with enthusiasm and drive as ideas kept leaping into my head. As well, people I would never have expected to meet serendipitously showed up wanting to get involved.

Some also lived with bi-polar illness and we co-wrote the play together. One year later it was staged at the World Assembly for Mental Health at the Vancouver Conference Centre to an audience of hundreds of psychiatrists, psychologists and other mental health workers as well as the general public including people living with a mental illness and their care givers.

The feedback was outstanding. In fact, Dr. Michael Myers, the then president of the Canadian Psychiatric Association had this to say, “This play is a winner. June Swadron and her writing team and actors engage the audience immediately and throughout with what it’s like to have a mental illness in contemporary society. We feel the anguish and confusion, we witness the denial in co-workers and family, we experience the shame of the sufferer and the multiple losses and we learn painfully about the limitations of our treatments. Yet this production is not cynical or depressing. It is moving, inspiring and intensely evocative. A gift. A call-to-arms. A must-see for every Canadian citizen.”

I attribute my ability to go the distance to Julia Cameron and The Artist’s Way. Without the brilliant processes, the encouragement that comes with every page, the exercises and the artist’s dates (which I resisted the most, yet found to be the most valuable). I may not have succeeded. I may never have had the courage to move past my many fears. Yet I did. Not only did I co-write the play, I co-produced it, wrote the lyrics to all the songs and played the leading role. WOW!

Two years ago I published my first book called Re-Write Your Life, A Transformational Guide to Writing and Healing the Stories of Our Lives.

I certainly learned to re-write my story. I reframed my story of shame about living with bi-polar illness and came to realize that by sharing my truth, I would be set free. I stopped identifying myself as my illness. I have an illness, but I am not my illness. I am so much more. Not only did I free myself, I inadvertently inspired countless others to have a voice and let go of their shame.

My next project is creating a centre of creativity for people with mental health challenges to participate in every art form available. I can honestly say that by doing our art, we become alive, restored, and have a renewed sense of self-worth.

The centre is called The Academy for Creative and Healing Arts for People with Mental Health Challenges. The first centre will be located in Victoria, British Columbia.

Watch for more information on my website. It is, to-date, the most exciting vision I’ve ever had. And I couldn’t do it alone. Once again, people are coming out of the woodwork to support me.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Esther Hart. Esther is my dear friend and now business partner who has been there for me both personally and professionally since we met in 2003. Esther lovingly holds my hand when I get ill, and in my well times (which gratefully are many) we play together and most of all, she dreams my dreams with me, knowing their viability, and is my champion in bringing them to fruition. I wish everyone had an Esther in their life.

My life continues to be abundantly blessed by the people who have come to love and support me on my path. We all need teachers, friends and mentors.

My life has been profoundly affected by Julia Cameron. I am tremendously grateful for her teachings. But please don’t take my word for it. Pick up her book, The Artist’s Way. And to further support you on your creative journey, join Julia at Julia Cameron Live.

Jessica was only 19 years old when she died. As a high school graduation gift, Jan’s sister and brother-in-law took Jessica to Australia. After a couple of weeks seeing the sights, Jessica’s aunt and uncle returned to Victoria. Jessica stayed on because her best friend, Erin was flying in to accompany her. They intended to enjoy a summer of adventure before returning to university in the fall.

Erin arrived only to learn that the evening before Jess had been in a serious car accident and was lying in a coma in hospital.

Jess had been at a party. She left with a male friend who, unbeknownst to her, had been drinking excessively. Their car crashed.

Upon hearing the news, Jan caught the next flight to Australia. He arrived at the hospital to find his beloved daughter hooked up to life support machines. He was informed by the doctors that Jess would not likely become conscious again and, even if she did, her brain was damaged beyond repair and it would be a life-less life.

Jan left the hospital and took a long torturous walk. When he returned, he made the unimaginable and unbearable decision to take Jess off life supports and donate her organs to others.

Six years later Jan joined my group… six years that he described were filled with rage, hatred, alcoholism and a spirit that had died along with Jess. Guilt pervaded his every day as he had a 13-year-old daughter to take care of.

Sixteen years before this latest tragedy, Jan had lost his wife after a long battle with cancer, leaving him to raise their girls alone.

After Jan’s second round of Re-Write Your Life workshops, for the first time in six years he began to feel a sense of hope, of new possibilities. One day he came to class and read a letter to Nick, the man who was responsible for the death of his daughter. It was a letter of unconditional forgiveness. In this letter he expressed a desire to one day meet, put closure on the pain they were both feeling and move on with their lives.

Within a couple of weeks he posted the letter. Nick, still in prison, responded with deep and unabashed gratitude. Since that time there has been a string of letters between them.

CBC Radio featured a 20-minute documentary with Theresa O’Leary on Jan’s healing journey back to life. It aired on Tapestry Sunday, May 29, the last 20 mimnutes of a one hour program on Forgiveness. It is available  here.

You can also watch and listen to Jan reading part of this letter on YouTube in an interview with Karen Elgersma on The Daily:

Register for an upcoming series of the Re-Write Your Life workshop here.

What a beautiful, heartfelt afternoon it was! It seems all of them are, but what other than music could bring us into an instantaneous opening of our hearts?

All participants but one did the homework. The others, after much deliberation, were able to choose a “favourite song” or at least one they resonated with the most at that time.

After our usual settling in meditation, followed by a go-around to give each person a moment to check in about their week, we addressed the musical homework. One at a time, each person played the CD containing the song they chose. As we all listened carefully, some of us had gentle tears, evoked by the lyrics, or the poignant music, that accompanied each song.

When the song ended, the person who brought it in, followed our sacred ritual of making eye contact in silence, with each person in our sacred circle to feel their support and love. Then she or he read what they had written. Wow! That in turn evoked more visceral responses from the rest of us. Then we shared our thoughts and feelings with the writer, always with respect, love and encouragement.

During our initial go-around, one of the members of the group told us he didn’t find time to do the homework. Immediately inspired I told him, “No matter. I have something in mind”.

After everyone had their turn, I said to the gentleman who had not chosen a song to write about, “So, Russ (not his real name), if you were to choose a song right now, what would it be”?

Without a moment’s hesitation, he wistfully answered, “Dave Brubeck, Take Five”.

While moving toward the computer I inquired, “Can you tell us about it”?

He said, “Oh, there are no lyrics”.

A moment later, by way of the invaluable YouTube, we were watching and listening to a 1972 live performance of Dave Brubeck’s Quartet playing Take Five in Greenwich Village, New York City.

I looked over at Russ. His eyes were closed and he looked like he was in bliss. When the song ended, with eyes still closed, he took us into the story of when he was a 14-year-old boy, leaving his home in Prince Rupert to spend the summer with his sister and brother-in-law in Manhattan. He said he never would have known a place with the urbanity of New York City existed. He became immersed in the extremes of the commerce culture of Wall Street and to the Beat Generation of Greenwich Village. He then shared his most outstanding memory. The time, his sister and brother-in-law took him to a smoky blues and jazz club in the heart of Greenwich Village where Dave Brubeck was actually playing, Take Five.

I’ve been considering taking out stocks in Kleenex.

Authors June Swadron and Esther Hart offer an opportunity to be mentored by them, meet with others, like you, and be supported by the whole group to get you to the finish line.

Find out more about upcoming Authors Support Group workshop dates in Victoria, British Columbia.