Mark Matousek – Writing as a Spiritual Practice

Have you ever felt a sense of freedom from pouring your heart’s deepest truths into the pages of a journal? Or in a personal piece of writing?

If you answered “yes” – you’re not alone. Those of us who are committed to spiritual growth often turn to the written page, where we can explore our true feelings, “taboo” thoughts and boldest visions. We may dialogue with our higher Self, or even examine our darkest shadows.

Often our raw, vulnerable and “out there” truths aren’t ready (or even appropriate) for public sharing, yet they still need to be expressed, felt and released in some way.

Exploring your unsanitized emotions, uncensored thoughts and wildest ideas in a safe way can be a profoundly liberating experience. You can learn to open to more of yourself, love parts you once found unlovable, heal past hurts – and even access the highest states of consciousness connected to spiritual awakening.

It’s a pathway into deeper relationships, enhanced creativity, and more powerful manifestation in the world.

In short, writing can be a potent practice that enhances your life in ways that are both personal and transpersonal, intimate and sublime. Your intimate writing can serve as your trusted confidante, Zen master and psychotherapist – all rolled into one.

On the other hand, if you don’t know how to foster a truly transformative approach to writing, you can get stuck in emotional ruts, feed negative thinking and cycle through old stories in ways that leave you frustrated.

The difference between this and writing as a path of liberation, lies in treating it as an actual spiritual practice – one that is every bit as potent as meditation, prayer or yoga. In fact, writing can help free areas of yourself that most conventional spiritual practices never touch.

When you start to see your writing as a place where you do some of your deepest inquiry into who you are, why you are here, and what’s holding you back – that’s when the true power is realized.

When you look back at history’s greatest pioneers – spanning the spectrum, from social change agents like Gandhi, to artists like Michelangelo, to scientists like Thomas Edison – you see that their personal writing journeys are often foundational to their leadership skills and creative breakthroughs.

Your journals and personal writing are portals into your greatest depths – which are the wellspring of true love, creativity and innovation.

Writing for Transformation

It’s not enough to simply write anything that pops into your head, as you might end up rehearsing and believing the old, limiting stories you tell yourself. Unstructured writing can reinforce that which binds you, rather than help you discover that which frees you.

So the liberating practice is to use writing as a way to probe your depths – going beneath the surface truths to the most vulnerable truths, exploring the hurt behind the anger, digging away at the ego to expose the spirit that is orchestrating experiences.

This takes truly skillful inquiry, as well as the kind of discipline we usually associate with other enlightenment practices. As you venture into areas that generate resistance, it can be easier to dismiss them and stick to familiar terrain.

The rewards of a deep and powerful writing practice are immense – providing you with a daily way to access, examine and release your innermost Self, your most profound truths and your most innovative insights.

You can use these practices to bring greater clarity to your lifepath, fuel your creativity and deepen your personal relationships. You can embrace your shadows and mine them for their gifts – while expanding the depths of love and compassion.

More than anything, you will be able to access more and more of your unique genius, and receive deep wisdom on how you can manifest it in the world (as well as transform the “blocks” we all experience).

When you learn to utilize the transformative power of writing, you do two things simultaneously:

• You gain a powerful tool for your spiritual path – one that is always available and essentially free.
• You access your depths in ways that greatly enhance all of your public writing and speaking – making you more compelling as a teacher, leader, activist or entrepreneur (or any profession that requires communication).

Why do you see real shifts in the public arena? Because people respond more powerfully to someone who is clear, integrated, and whole.

When you know yourself fully, you tend to be more heartfelt, insightful, truthful, funny, and creative. You’re not imprisoned by social roles, but are able to relate from your depths. And others find that compelling– as they also yearn for more freedom and authenticity in how they engage.

Think of how great actors are able to convey so much meaning with a single glance. They can do so because they are in contact with their rich inner lives, and have learned to be transparent with emotions – which makes them far more compelling.

The same is true of many entrepreneurs. Or therapists. Or teachers. When we sense someone is integrated and at peace with themselves, we trust them more, and are drawn to work with them.

So writing as a spiritual practice will take you into the brightest (and darkest) parts of yourself to experience a kind of liberated wholeness, which is the ultimate goal of spiritual practice. And it also enhances how you can show up in the world – more comfortable with who you are, more able to access your depths.

The Importance of a Master Guide

As with any genuine spiritual inquiry, it is vital to have a master guide – one who knows the territory and the actual sequence of practice – far better than you do. A master guide can keep you on track, and help you avoid the many pitfalls that emerge on any journey.

Fortunately, you have such a guide available to you for the 7-module course, Writing as a Spiritual Practice. Over the last three decades, Mark Matousek has become one of the world’s foremost chroniclers of the spiritual path – as an author (of the bestselling Sex Death Enlightenment), journalist (for publications, such as The New Yorker and O), collaborator (on seminal books like the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying) and editor.

Mark is a master of language and, more importantly, a genius at marrying the depth of spiritual practice with the practice of writing. He is a dynamic, funny, self-revealing, and profound teacher who will be sharing the practices and disciplines that make for a liberating, life-long practice of writing.

He’s also been teaching students worldwide about the discipline of writing as a spiritual practice – in a way that is profoundly liberating and very enjoyable.

In Writing as a Spiritual Practice, he will take you on a structured journey through seven key areas in which writing can help free you from old limitations related to your identity, your relationships, and your genius. In this special course, you will enter a very safe and supportive container for your honest inquiry, within a global community.

You’re in good hands to take a deep dive into your liberation through writing, and learn skills you can utilize for a lifetime.