2012 Workshops
Your Untold Story: The Art of Spiritual Memoir
Thursday September 27th – Sunday September 30th, 2012
ABOUT OUR PRESENTER
Mark Matousek is a popular writing teacher and memoirist. He is the author of Ethical Wisdom and The Boy He Left Behind as well as other books. He is a contributor to Huffington Post, O:The Oprah Magazine, AARP, Common Boundary, and was senior editor at Interview Magazine. He has taught all over the country, from the Omega Institute to The New York Open Center, Manhattanville College, Hollyhock Institute, and elsewhere.
For more information go to Mark’s website... www.markmatousek.com
ABOUT THE WORKSHOP
This long weekend intensive (given to thousands of students around the country) is designed to introduce students of all levels – from non-writers to professional wordsmiths – to the art of spiritual memoir. When we learn to tell the whole truth about experience, to discern our own soul’s odyssey, we come to understand the mythic dimension of our personal struggles, triumphs, confusions, longings, digressions, and so-called mistakes.
Through writing exercises, storytelling, and group interaction, we investigate the mysterious connection between the person we believe ourselves to be and the internal witness who sees beyond the conscious mind into the secrets of our hearts. By putting our feelings down on paper, and learning to shape life’s raw materials into art, we discover that our challenges are also our greatest sources of wisdom, and that even our darkest (or most unexpected) interludes carry within them the seeds of redemption.
Goals
- Improved writing technique, narrative skill, language use, and descriptive ability
- Increased insight, mindfulness, and capacity for self-discovery through truth-telling
- Accelerated understanding of the art of memoir and spiritual autobiography
- Interpersonal connection through shared writing, critique, and group revelation
- Clarity of artistic purpose, whether literary or psychodynamic
- Deepened awareness of wisdom traditions
- Clarification of the writer's path: inception through germination, completion, and publication
- Identification of personal artistic strengths and areas for improvement
- Dissolution of personal inhibitions, including fear of public speaking and sharing work in progress
- Understanding of the writer's path as it feeds (and is fed by) the path of spiritual seeking and transpersonal awareness
The fees are all inclusive (unless otherwise noted) and include the workshop instruction, administrative fees, grounds use, lodging, and meals. The workshop begins with dinner at 6pm on the day of arrival and ends with lunch at noon on the date of departure. Guests should arrive between 1PM and 5PM on the first day or call to make special arrangements.
EARLY BIRD SPECIAL...REGISTER By August 9th, 2012
Shared Room $545 per person
Private Room $650 per person
REGULAR FEE... August 9th, 2012
Shared Room $595 per person
Private Room $695 per person
PLEASE READ BEFORE REGISTERING
Please register early if you want to attend the workshop. Workshops are cancelled a couple of weeks prior to the start date if minimum enrollment is not reached. DON’T DELAY: REGISTER TODAY! And get the Early Bird Special! In addition, our events sometimes sell out because of the small and intimate size of our facility and space is limited. Don’t delay!
To Register please call us at 575.278.3002.
We are currently working on an online registration option but in the meantime please call us to register for this workshop. If you have a coupon, scholarship award, discount to apply to your workshop, or would like to check availability for additional nights with our “extended stay discount”, please mention that when you call. Please review our cancellation policy prior to registering.
Note about Private Rooms
Due to the small size of our facility, private rooms are available on a limited basis and are not always guaranteed. We will make every effort to accommodate all requests but if we are unable to do so we will notify you as soon as possible after your registration and prior to the workshop.
Donations
We are a non-profit organization and subsidize large portions of our overhead costs for our workshops. While there is no obligation to pay more than the basic workshop fee, your tax deductible donation to help us cover our true costs is greatly appreciated. If you would like to make a donation in addition to your workshop fee, mention the donation when you call or go to our Giving Page where you can donate online.
About Our Workshops
Our workshop prices are all inclusive unless otherwise indicated. Our prices include a unique and relaxing environment on the grounds of The Mandala Center, a full workshop experience with exciting and experienced facilitators, your lodging, meals, and supplies. Full payment is required upon registration. You may register online and pay with a credit card or pay pal account. You may also call to register with a credit card or mail us a check or money order. MOST of our workshops begin with dinner on the date of arrival and end with lunch on the day of departure. Guests are asked to arrive between 1-5 p.m. on the date of arrival. Please check with us for special arrangements if you cannot arrive between these times. On the date of departure most workshops end with lunch at noon. Guests may remain on the grounds until
3 p.m. on the day of departure. There are times we will request rooms be cleared by noon if we have another retreat beginning.
Early Bird Specials ~ Extended Stays ~ Scholarships
We offer an EARLY BIRD price for those who are able to plan ahead so take advantage of that special discount! If you would like to extend your stay for additional rest and renewal, check about our availability and come a day early or stay an extra night for a 15% discount off our regular lodging fees! For anyone in need of financial assistance, you may submit a scholarship application and you can access that here on our website. Our scholarship fund is limited and we cannot provide full scholarships but will review all applications for partial awards. If you would like to contribute to our scholarship fund to help others attend, please call us or go to our Giving Page online.
Cancellation Policies
Please review our Cancellation Policies prior to registration.
Our workshop policy is as follows:
Cancellations for workshops prior to 30 days result in a refund minus a $100 cancellation fee. (Our reduced price individual weekends have a $75 cancellation fee.)
Cancellations made within 15-30 days prior to a workshop result in a 50% refund only.
Cancellations made less than 15 days prior to a workshop result in no refund. We make financial commitments to our own workshop leaders and vendors.
We understand emergencies arise but we cannot offer refunds beyond the policies listed. We also are not able to give refunds for anyone missing events due to bad weather conditions. FULL Refunds ARE given if an event is cancelled by TMC for any reason.