Experience the transformational power of
guided contemplative writing
at your own pace, in the comfort of your own home.
All you need is ~
a journal or notebook
a pen & a few colored pencils
your computer or device.
Each day for 21 days, I’ll guide you
through a writing experience that is
new, surprising, revealing and liberating.
✤ provide brilliant clarity
✤ allow you to rediscover your voice and your true self
✤ help you to come to accept, embrace and love who you really are, just as you are
✤ support you as you honor YOUR authentic path
21 full-length guided prompt sequences for self-inquiry, because there is so much freedom in clarity, in knowing who you are and how you want to be in the world! Whether you've written forever and are looking to shake things up a bit or you haven't quite been able to find your way into journaling but are longing to begin, I'll guide you through the unique, powerful prompt sequences in this program to help you access clarity through your own writing. We'll explore each day's concepts from many angles, which helps us get to the bottom of how we really feel and what we really believe, even if we didn't realize it before.
Anticipate lots of ah-ha moments! ♡
Several years ago, the word "clarity" began making a frequent appearance in my journals. I realized that I was searching for truth with my practices and with my writing.
I wrote, "Writing brings me clarity, unexpected revelation and insight. I'll write a question one day and then be absolutely amazed and grateful to receive a response, to have the answer appear later in the day or even a few days later." This has happened countless times over the years and continues to be one of my most treasured experiences in writing.
Writing your way through the prompt sequences in this program, and through the reflection process I'll lead you through, will help to grow your familiarity with asking questions and your trust that the answer will follow.
You have everything within you already,
right now as you read this, to be whole, fulfilled, flourishing and at ease.
This program will allow you to discover yourself as your own best teacher, healer and wisdom.
The contemplative writing prompt sequences I'll guide you through are so powerful because of the unique process that keeps you writing freely and naturally without effort.
We'll approach our writing together from a stance of curiosity and allowing. I'll prompt you through with timed writings, visualizations, surprising prompts and an assortment of writing styles that will allow you to simply be in the moment with your writing.
This writing is all about learning to hear, know and honor your own voice. The guidance of the prompt sequences allows you to do so in a way that feels nurturing and supported.
When women hear that I create contemplative writing opportunities, I often hear:
"Oh, I want to write but then I sit down and I
don't know where to start."
or
"I've got bunches of journals and they all have
about one sentence in them."
or
"I feel like all I do when I journal is complain."
So this is for you if you ~
✤ want to write but are intimidated by the blank page.
✤ are feeling called to a form of journaling but the idea of open-ended writing fills you with dread.
✤ have been writing for a long time but find that you always seem to write the same thing and it's not really getting you anywhere anymore.
✤ would like to start a morning practice and sit down with the best intentions, only to sit there not knowing what to do with yourself or how to begin.
Why do a program? Couldn't I just write on my own?
Absolutely. This is simply a tool to help you get started or help you maintain and complement your own practice. There are a lot of things that I have wanted to try to learn or practice, and I have found that I have been most successful when there has been a specific system or program for me to follow consistently without having to wonder about what to do next. If I have to wonder, that can sometimes be just enough to make my motivation take a nose dive. Having a guide to walk you through the elements that make this program so powerful allows you the freedom to just write rather than being unsure of where to start or repetitively free writing, which doesn't always serve us as well as it could.
How is this different from journaling?
I have been a journaler forever. What I’ve often found with straight-up, open-ended journaling AND with journaling prompts that come in the form of a question to think about and answer, is that I tend to write the same thing repeatedly and sort of spin myself around in circles not getting anywhere new.
This is why I have been so excited to watch as the concept of guided contemplative writing has taken shape, because I see how the specific techniques exponentially increase the power of our writing.
The format of our guided contemplative writing is designed to trip up your thinking brain, allowing us to write completely new things and make new discoveries. We approach from a stance of curiosity, wonder, non-judgment, allowing. Using timed writings, visualizations, surprising prompts and an assortment of writing styles allows us to bypass thinking brain, getting us out of our own way, out from under a lifetime of stories we have been carrying around with us, that we didn't even know were there.
Thanks to this format, we will be writing new things and making new discoveries. The processing is a vital part of contemplative writing.
Just writing something once and then putting it away isn’t necessarily going to get you a lot further than you were before you wrote it. But writing it and then continuing to process through it with the guidance provide in these sequences allows you to really uncover what's there, and that's what helps you to learn from it and either incorporate your new understanding or release outdated, unhelpful beliefs.
How will this help me?
In our modern lives, "What do you want?" has become a potentially overwhelming question that is fraught with a lot of emotions: guilt, uncertainty, doubt. Some of us answer that question by exclaiming or moaning, "I don't KNOW what I want. I don't know how I FEEL. I don't really know who I am anymore." I believe that when we peel away the layers, what we really WANT is simply to feel peace. We wish to be free. Free from limiting beliefs, free from a mind that constantly jumps from worry to worry. At the end of the day, I believe what we're all wishing to feel in our lives is peace. Calm. Comfortable with who we are and our place in this world, and hopeful and excited about our lives; that's freedom.
I want us to take a gentler approach to growth, to get away from the idea that we must WORK harder all the time or that there is something that must be FIXED. Being able to really see yourself from a more gentle perspective and approach life in a new way by incorporating nourishing practices that allow you to become more fully in balance and more in line with your True Self is what this practice is all about. You will be getting to know Authentic You, you will come to a place where you can easily answer the question, "What do you want?"
We aren’t our self-limiting beliefs or the untruths that have been piled on top of us since we were children. So much of what we think about ourselves or experience in our lives is sort of just a stuck perception of what's happened that distracts us from the truth and tricks us into thinking that how we perceive it is real, when it's not. My part is to help you to uncover and dig yourself out from all of those things. Very often we can’t even see what holds us back because we’ve been hanging around with these stories, perceptions and beliefs that aren't ours, for so long, we don’t think anything of them; we drag them around with us as if they are truth. And they're not. I am interested in helping you peel back the layers of untruth and limiting beliefs so that you can discover who you really are and live your most content experience of life.
Why have a guide?
The element of surprise cannot be overlooked when talking about the benefits of this program. This is why I decided to make this into an audio program rather than a printed journal.
You wait with pen poised above your paper, this already enhances your feeling of wonder. You're ready to write, you're waiting with anticipation, it brings the spontaneity that is necessary for contemplative writing. It gives thinking brain no chance to take over.
You know how when you wake up you're a clean slate before the thoughts of yesterday stream in and start to become what you're focusing on? That's the "why" for this guided contemplative writing process. Because you're a clean slate as you are sitting awaiting the prompt; you feel a sense of anticipation about what it's going to be and even hope that it's going to be a really beneficial prompt. If we bring thinking brain into the mix, we've interrupted what True Self has to say. Having the process be guided enhances your experience because you are not repeatedly asking yourself the same questions. Usually we don't even know we have these stories and beliefs buried deep within and it takes a SURPRISE prompt to get it out. Asking the same old questions reveals the same old answers.
Why was this program created?
There have been many times during writing circles when I have wanted to be able to continue helping a woman work through what is coming up for her in her writing. I consistently see women surprising themselves with what they've put on the page, and I want to be able to allow them to delve more deeply into these pieces, to not move on too quickly to the next writing prompt and leave this blossoming revelation behind, but to continue working with it. This has been the inspiration for putting together this guided writing experience.
I will be providing you with opportunities to go even deeper with your writing, to be able to stick with a theme or prompt and to be able to explore it from many angles. Guided contemplative writing will help you see your life experience in entirely new ways.
I'm Vicki. I wrote the prompt sequences in this program to help you make new discoveries and connections through your writing.
Everything you’ll find within this program, within each of the programs I’ve created, am creating and will create, first found its way into my journals, sometimes in the form of a question, maybe an ah-ha moment, and sometimes, gorgeously, as a fully-formed prompt sequence. I believe that what appears for me isn't just for me - it's for all of us. We're in this together. I hope this program supports you on your journey. ♡
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is the format for this program?
This is a full-audio program. There are no videos included, and there's not much text, other than some examples for certain days. The prompts are in audio-only form because the element of surprise is part of what makes this process so powerful.
When does the program start and finish?
The course starts as soon as you purchase it and is yours to work through in your own time.
How long do I have access to the course?
Once enrolled, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like.
Is this available on mobile devices?
Yes, this program is hosted on Teachable, and you can download the Teachable app in order to listen and view on mobile devices - directions for how to do so are in the program.
Other Ways to Connect
website ᐧ vickihathorn.com
etsy ᐧ etsy.com/shop/writecolorstitch
insta ᐧ instagram.com/vickihathorn
email ᐧ [email protected]
