The Art of Spiritual Memoir
with best selling author
Mark Matousek
Saturday, March 10, 2012
10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Here’s what others have to say about Mark’s courses:
“Mark Matousek’s writing instruction is transformative. His classes will change the ways in which you examine your life, and how you think about yourself. He approaches your work with a deep sense of empathy, and his insight, imagination, and precise instruction will push your writing in incredible directions, both creatively and technically. Mark not only recognized that I had the makings of a book when I brought him my idea for Ten Ways to Change the World in Your Twenties, but his mentorship at every step of the process empowered me to bring the project to fruition. No matter what stage of the process you are at, time spent with Mark will yield extraordinary results.”
- Libuse Binder, Author of Ten Ways to Change the World in Your Twenties
Who is this workshop for?
This workshop is for writers, seekers, and individuals interested in learning to express personal experience in the context of their unique
– and uniquely compelling — spiritual journey. No writing experience necessary.
This workshop is designed to introduce students of all levels – from non-writers to professional wordsmiths – to the art of spiritual memoir.
What You Will Learn:
“Every journey has a secret destination of which the traveler is unaware,” wrote Martin Buber. Behind the material surface of our lives is a secret
destination, an awakening, toward which we are moving without our knowledge (and beyond our will). Participants will investigate the trajectory of their own spiritual development, and the “enlightenment story” they are living. When we acquaint ourselves with this secret (spiritual) narrative, we are able to imbue our worldly lives with sacred meaning and purpose.
When we learn to tell the whole truth about experience we come to understand the mythic dimension of our personal struggles, triumphs, confusions, longings, digressions, and so-called mistakes. Through writing exercises, story telling, and group interaction, we investigate the mysterious connection between our worldly self and the witness who sees beyond the world into our hearts. By putting our feelings down on paper, and learning to shape life’s raw materials into art our challenges become our greatest sources of wisdom, our darkest, most unexpected interludes carrying within them the seeds of redemption.
You can download and listen to one of Mark’s previous intensives (right click and save file)
http://www.markmatousek.com/media/OpenCenterTalk.mp3
VENUE: Tribeca, New York City (Details will be delivered after you register)
SIGN UP HERE: Only $147
DOWNLOAD A FLYER HERE!
About Mark:
MARK MATOUSEK has had extensive experience with magazine journalism eventually becoming senior editor of Interview Magazine. He received a National Magazine Award nomination for “America’s Darkest Secret” (about the epidemic of incest in the U.S.) and his essays have been published in numerous magazines, including The New Yorker, Details, O: The Oprah Magazine, Tricycle, The Utne Reader, AARP Magazine, Out, Good Housekeeping, and Harper’s Bazaar.
After working as co-editor and collaborator with authors such as Ram Dass’s Still Here, Sogyal Rimpoche on The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, religious writer Andrew Harvey on Dialogues With A Modern Mystic he wrote his first book, Sex Death Enlightenment: A True Story (1996) which became an international bestseller published in ten countries and nominated for two Books for a Better Life Awards. His second memoir, The Boy He Left Behind: A Man’s Search for His Lost Father (Los Angeles Times Discovery Book, Randy Shilts Award, excerpted in the Sunday supplement of the London Guardian), was published in 2000. Ethical Wisdom: What Makes Us Good was published last spring, by Doubleday.
Mark is also a contributing editor to O: The Oprah Magazine, Tricycle: The Buddhist Review and a frequent blogger for The Huffington Post and Psychology Today.
He collaborates with Eve Ensler as the Creative Director of V-Men (the male arm of VDay, Ensler’s organization for ending violence against women and girls) and curates their online essay series (www.vday.com).
A graduate of University of California, Berkeley, he received a fellowship to Worcester College, Oxford and holds an M.A. in English Literature from UCLA.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING:
“I took Mark’s class because I wanted to refine and redirect my writing a bit. I ended up refining and redirecting my life as well. He has a gift for not only helping writers find their most authentic writing voice – but their most authentic voice period.” – Atoosa Rubinstein, Magazine Editor
“Mark Matousek’s writing instruction is transformative. His classes will change the ways in which you examine your life, and how you think about yourself as a writer. He approaches your work with a deep sense of empathy, allowing him to help you tell yourstory in your voice. Mark’s insight, imagination, and precise instruction will push your writing in incredible directions, both creatively and technically. Mark not only recognized that I had the makings of a book when I brought him my idea for Ten Ways to Change the World in Your Twenties, but his mentorship at every step of the process empowered me to bring the project to fruition. No matter what stage of the process you are at, time spent with Mark will yield extraordinary results.” – Libuse Binder, author of Ten Ways to Change the World in Your Twenties
“Mark Matousek is a truly gifted writing coach. With an interviewer’s ear, he listens deeply and hears what people have to say. With the determination of a midwife, he helps them give birth to themselves, through their words. As my ‘book whisperer’, he is showing me that writing is truly a spiritual path, leading not only to publication, but personal transformation. I’ve been a lecturing in a University classroom for over two decades, and I’ve rarely met such a natural teacher. Don’t miss the opportunity to learn from him!” – Gwenyth Jackaway, PhD., Associate Professor, Fordham University
“Mark started our first class with the words, “You’re all here for a reason, even though you may not know what that reason is.” Over the course of just a handful of short sessions, I’ve come to realize that not only was I there for a reason, but that this reason was more important to my well being and self understanding than I could have possibly fathomed when I first signed on for this class.
Mark’s illuminating assignments, poignant feedback, and seasoned direction within the group setting unlocked many mysteries that had been buried within my psyche. The introspection that resulted was sometimes scary, sometimes difficult, and many times astounding — just what I needed and more. I am deeply grateful for the experience.” – Brian Carr, President, Solid Threads
“I am a writing professor at Manhattanville College who had the privilege of taking MarkMatousek’s writing class this past summer. Mark’s style of teaching creates a safe environment that has a unique way of opening his students up to their inner emotions, thus revealing the hidden writer yearning to be released. I do not have enough words to express the enjoyment, the empowerment and the education that I gained by learning fromMark Matousek. I not only learned about my writing from Mark, but I also learned about myself. I am eternally grateful.” – Mary Mingle, Associate Professor, Manhattanville College
“Mark has a knack for zeroing in on an issue and illuminating it while still allowing you to maintain your voice. He consistently challenges me to improve my writing on multiple levels. It’s holistic coaching that is honest, actionable and brilliant. Also, his extensive experience in the industry allows him to approach a writing project from multiple perspectives, offering expert guidance while still allowing the student to feel free. He inspired transformation in my novel.” – Jason Hagemann, Blogger and aspiring novelist
“When you spend your days using words to craft pithy headlines for clients, creating personal writing that comes from the heart is unfamiliar territory. Mark’s unique blend of compassion and confrontation creates a space where anybody who has a story to share can find a safe place to start.” — Maria Longo, Freelance Writer
“Mark Matousek is an insightful, compelling and incisive teacher…. truthful, direct, compelling, open, and compassionate. He takes students on a provocative journey to places we need to go if we are to live and create from our deepest selves. His deeplyspiritual center and his generosity of spirit combine to make his being, his writings and his teaching magical transformative experiences.” –Marcia Lippman, Photographer
“Mark has been the good spirit of my book project ever since i started it. He has a fine intuition for the potential of students and topics, he asks the right questions to inspire the imagination, and his support and encouragement are great to have in times when the writing gets difficult.” — Birgit Matzerath, Musician
“Mark is more of a midwife than a teacher. In addition to his innate grasp of and experience with storytelling, what makes Mark so great to work with is his very present presence – it’s what allows me to access what I’ve got to share. I’ve been meeting regularly with him for the past six months for help on the story I am writing and the process is so enjoyable I’d rather it not end.” – Jeannie Demers, Freelance Writer
“Mark’s week-long workshop was amazing. He served as catalyst for a group dynamic that allowed each of us to reach new levels of expression as we delved into the unexplored parts of ourselves. My writing improved beyond measure.” — Alma Rutgers, Newspaper Columnist
“Mark’s strengths in teaching are many. His ability to swiftly discern “the hidden agendas” of his students is remarkable. He is able to respond in subtle ways to their different needs (either through setting a certain writing topic, or during discussions), finding ways to challenge that individual – not in a negative or punitive fashion — but simply to encourage him or her to think through a writing problem. It is my privilege to recommend him! Our weeklong course was undoubtedly the most interesting and beneficial week I have experienced on that campus. (And I had just completed a Masters in Writing Degree there!)” — Christine Stiassni- Gerli, Philanthropist
“I’ve learned so much from Mark in the months that we have been working together! He has taught me to trust my writing voice, not to compromise it, and to bring all of who I am to the page; to write as if I’m talking to a friend ensuring that I grab my reader’s attention. I look forward to many more informative sessions and when I make it to the top I’ll have him to thank. Love this guy!” – Trudi Russell, Legal Secretary
“I was looking for a writing experience that focused on self-discovery, and Mark Matousek’s class at the New York Open Center was perfect. His thought provoking and emotionally challenging assignments immediately triggered a journey into my own “stuff” and, at the same time, enabled me to find both resolution and clarity regarding some of my personal issues. I felt really good about this, even before I received Mark’s thoughtful and caring feedback on what I’d written.” – Gwenn Levine, Non-Profit Consultant
“As a teacher, Mark had the unique ability to guide me into the depths of my being to the center of my truth. Rich experiential writing flowed. Then, his insightful, provocative questions challenged me to tell the dark feelings and secrets. His quiet assurance and acceptance created a safe space not only for me, but for all my classmates and our writing became genuine, profound and captivating.” — Diane Harkin, Interfaith Minister
“The writing course I took this past summer with Mark Matousek was an amazing journey into the soul of each of the ten women, and one man, who took it. We found we were able to trust each other, thanks in large part to Mark’s empathy and direction, and did some incredible writing. At times there wasn’t a dry eye in the room, but that was testimony to the “writing down the bone” as well as the love and support that existed from the very beginning. I can’t over-emphasize what an incredible experience it was…a week of writing and bonding I’ll never forget.” — Alida Albert, Interior Designer
“I was most impressed by Mark’s command of the subject, honesty, and deep commitment to getting people to write from their core. I was also impressed by his generosity: willing to give individual attention, and time, to everyone, both in class and outside of class. He really knows and believes that our inner stories are precious and we should give them a voice. He made me believe in myself and in my story.” — Caterina Bertolotto, Fashion Designer
“Mark Matousek teaches writing like it should be taught. He injects feeling, life and emotion into the class. He teaches with a sensitivity that eases you, even in your most vulnerable states. He digs at the core of your writing, uncovering meanings and feelings you hadn’t thought of … and then offers advice like a spiritual advisor. It’s about writing but it’s also about healing. I recommend his classes to anyone who wants their writing to evolve or who wants to tell the story of their lives but is stuck in the muck of their past. This class has influenced me to keep on this journey of healing myself through writing. That’s more than I can say for any other writing class I have taken.” — Melanie Allingham, Media Technician/Aspiring Writer
“Instead of thinking about writing I actually wrote, and am continuing to write with an openness to the truth and freedom from the self censorship and judgment that previously limited my writing. It has opened me creatively, inspired confidence in my ability, and increased my self-awareness as I explore the world through what I write.” — Carol Teitelbaum, Poet