Haiku and simple sitting meditation bring us closer to ourselves and to the world. In three short lines, haiku can shake us awake, give us the experience of an entire lifetime. Sitting in stillness can also give us refuge and clarity—something we all long for, especially in these unsettled times we are living in.
Join Natalie Goldberg in her hometown of Santa Fe, New Mexico along with her teaching team of Dorotea Mendoza and Beth Howard to discover and explore the intersection of writing haiku and meditation.
This unique 4 1/2 day workshop/retreat takes place on the campus of the Academy for the Love of Learning just outside Santa Fe and incorporates their mission to awaken, enliven, nurture, and sustain the natural love of learning in people of all ages. This Learning Exchange with the Academy creates a space to learn, grow, and transform ourselves through meditation and the creative process of writing three simple lines.
During this week in August, we look at works by haiku masters, soak our minds in them. We explore different angles to writing this ancient and modern form. Natalie also instructs us in simple meditation and how to receive the haiku and get out of the way, so that writing does writing. And with the support of the Academy for the Love of Learning, participants reflect upon the creative process of giving expression to the impact of life’s experiences.
It is Natalie’s hope that we all leave this week together in Santa Fe having learned new practices that can steady and give us space to breathe.
Unaware
the place is famous
a man tilling a field
SHIKI
COVID-19 Update: For all in-person workshops and trips in 2023, Santa Fe Workshops highly recommends that all participants, staff, and instructors attending be up to date with Covid vaccinations (per definition of the CDC).
All are welcome. No experience writing haiku or meditation are necessary.
Per request of the instructor, participants are required to wear face masks during classroom sessions. The workshop ends after lunch on Friday. Maximum enrollment is 35.
Some fellowships are available for people of color. Please inquire with The Workshops.
View Payment, Refund, Withdrawal, and Transfer Policies for domestic workshops.
Participants are responsible for making their own housing arrangements in Santa Fe.
Natalie Goldberg is the author of sixteen books, including her just released Three Simple Lines: A Writer’s Pilgrimage to the Heart and Homeland of Haiku. Her other books include The Great Spring: Writing, Zen, This Zigzag Life, and Let the Whole Thundering World Come Home. Natalie’s bestselling Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within sold a million and a half copies, has been translated into 20 languages, and started a revolution in the way we practice writing in this country. Natalie has been painting as long as she has written and her book, Living Color: Painting, Writing and the Bones of Seeing, describes painting as her second art form.
Natalie has led seminars on writing as a practice for the last thirty years. People from around the world attend her life-changing workshops and she has earned a reputation as a great teacher.
Website: nataliegoldberg.com
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