Saturdays from 9:00am-11:15am
June 20 & 27; July 11 & 18; August 1, 15, 29
The process of “waking up” spiritually can be jarring, isolating, and even scary. Strange dreams, auditory messages, repeat animal visits, and unexpected interactions with the spirit world can have us questioning our sanity—and attempts to talk to others about it can make things worse. Furthermore, the awakening of shamanic or psychic abilities often comes on the heels of shattering crises that rearrange our lives, leaving us reeling.
In this summer-long class held over Zoom, we’ll read three “spiritual awakening” memoirs and write generatively about our own initiatory processes, sighting where our lives align with more archetypal understandings, while digging into where our experiences have been unique to us. We’ll talk explicitly about some of the craft challenges of this type of writing, including: speaking truth about something you’ve kept a secret; telling stories that sound outlandish or fictional but are real; making sense of multiple layers of reality; describing otherworldly sensations; explaining phenomena we barely understand or that go against prevailing cultural views; wrestling with how spiritual gifts relate to trauma; facing the impostor syndrome of not coming from a lineage, or the intimidation of stepping into an existing ancestral tradition; and integrating a “spiritual” story with the story of the rest of your life in a modern, materialist culture.
Near the end of the class, you will have the opportunity to workshop some of your writing in a small group of your peers. (Kati will give guidance for this activity but will not be providing feedback individually during these class sessions.)
We will read three books together over the course of the class (as well as some shorter passages). If possible, I ask that you purchase these books—both to support the authors and to foster the literary landscape that each of us wants for our own work.
June: Ingrid Rojas Contreras’ The Man Who Could Move Clouds
July: Amanda Yates Garcia's Initiated
August: Kinari Webb’s Guardians of the Trees
Ten seats total in the class.
Payment plans are available to paid Substack subscribers.
EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT: $575 (paid in full before May 1)
One payment of $650
Three payments of $225
Four payments of $175
For $150/month extra, turn in 10 pages of your work to Kati monthly for feedback. This is a good option for someone who knows writing spiritually is a part of their book project or who intends to publish some of our generative work as essays, Substack posts, etc. Three spots remain.
All payment plans must be completed by September 30. When you initiate a payment plan you are agreeing to the total amount of the plan, regardless of your continued participation in the class. I cannot give refunds within five days of the start of the class or after it has begun.
FAQ:
Will these classes be recorded?
Yes. However, I ask that participants do everything they can to attend live and let me know with at least 30 minutes notice if they are unable to make the class. This is not intended to be primarily a recorded offering,
