Connections through the Heart this Fall
Dear Friends,
Recently, I rediscovered these words:
We are all connected to one another and to the mystery at the heart of the universe through our strange and marvelous ability to create […] and when we offer our creation to one another, we close the wound of loneliness and may participate in the healing of the broken world.
-Pat Shneider, Writing Alone and With Others
What a striking way to capture the power of creative expression in community. I initially encountered this passage 10 years ago in divinity school. It was when I began to trust my own instincts as a creator and to envision opening a creative, healing space. And to me, Pat Shneider's sentence precisely distills the spirit of Sophia's Center today.
Since I sent out the first Sophia’s Notes newsletter over a month ago, I’ve been wading through waves of questions related to my own creative life and to the creative direction of Sophia’s Center. How can I, Claire, tune into, honor, and respond to the “mystery at the heart of the universe?” Where might I most wisely focus my energy so that I can “participate in the healing of the broken world,” and what is the role of Sophia’s Center in “the healing of the broken world?”
These feel like high-tide questions—immersive and sometimes overwhelming with their gravitational pull. And yet, as the poet Rainer Maria Rilke suggests, I’m trying to “live” them, even when it feels like I’m wobbling on wet sand, and sometimes, walking in circles. I’m grateful for the ways honest conversations with wise women in my life and other seekers at Sophia’s Center have encouraged me to stay open, listen, and move from a place that is congruent with my own heart. As we all know, the heart is literally, physically the vital location of transformation and exchange within our bodies, where the old is released and the new is received. And of course, the metaphorical significance has the potential to circulate powerfully through our creative processes and in the ever-changing landscapes of our lives.
Speaking of things changing, I'm excited to share some new updates for our fall offerings and pricing. Going forward, we are making the weekly classes (Gentle Flow Yoga and Poetry as Soul Medicine) donation-based. To simplify the process and to make it easier for those wishing to participate in classes, we will be shifting away from our current registration platform and tiered-pricing model to instead allow you to sign up for classes and donate directly through our website. In another update, we will pause our weekly Alchemy of Writing Class during the month of October while our wonderful facilitator Mary Philips walks the Camino de Santiago! Please stay tuned for updated logistical details on this class. Finally, we will also be pausing the Alchemy of Writing & Art Workshop and Quiet Pages Class.
As far as new things coming, I hope you’ll mark your calendars and sign up for our three special happenings this fall: The Kids Books for Grown-Ups Club (we’ll be reading A Wrinkle in Time by L’Engle), Writing as an Antidote for Existential Dread, and SoulCollage® Circle: Images of Grief and Peace. Learn more about these opportunities below!
Of course, if you have any questions about changes in the registration process, plans for the fall, or any big-picture reflections on what I’ve shared, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Your feedback and insight about the minutia and the oceanic things matter to me.I hope your heart follows the generative, healing currents it longs for this autumn. And I hope to participate in the mysterious creative process with you soon at Sophia’s Center.
With love and gratitude,
Claire Coenen
Founder, Sophia’s Center for the Healing Arts
