What do you do when you know the devil is alive in you? When Ol' Georgie comes blowing through at the wee 3rd hour, is the screaming coming from outside of you, or is it actually just behind your eyes? There have always been little fires everywhere, and before it felt as if one needed the right frame of mind, ears, or hue to catch that particular view (for better or for worse), but 2020 has come to show that humanity is currently experiencing a collective dark night of the soul, and the shadows of the night have become rude, reckless, and raw enough to manifest in the light of day.

This workshop is meant to help harness those shadows in ink, to find a way to catch what spins in the head at night and examine & embrace them on paper.

This is not meant to feel like a drill. This is facing the 9 of Swords, an emergency 3 am mental workout of the reflections etched on the essence, to liberate the spirit from the judgements and doubts that cripple it from its mission. The mad prophets are beginning to sparkle louder in the night, for Earth's sorrows, the shadows do what they do best: seek out eyes and ears that offer absolution. How do we understand and forgive one another’s shadows as we try to do the same for our own? May we discover the answers in our collective Hermit lights.

My goal for this workshop is to hold fellowship with individuals who struggle with understanding what’s considered the “darker” emotions, the feelings that society, and possibly even family & friends, have condemned as too unsavory or confusing to hold space for better clarity. We will release our triggers onto the page and explore what it’s like to view them beyond the conditioned perceptions made by others and eventually ourselves. As we allow ourselves room to explore and face the joys and sorrows that have shaped who we have become thus far, the time spent together will hopefully inspire stronger levels of compassion and empathy for ourselves and others around us. 

Materials: What you will need is any kind of writing tool of your desire: pen, pencil, marker, etc., any writing surface of your choosing: paper, laptop, etc., and a willingness to allow words to nurture what the soul needs to be acknowledged.

There are fewer pains in the world more excruciating than recognizing how unwanted you are, or at least, perceiving that you are unwanted by those around you because of who you are. Whether or not it’s due to circumstances that you control, the experience of that pain can linger and reverberate throughout one’s being and possibly shape the perception of future encounters, for better or for worse. As an African-American mystic who has always had one uncomfortably awkward foot each in Black and White culture, I have always been considered the “token X-factor” in every environment I inhabit, to the point where I’ve been inclined to “prove” the validity of my personality and overall existence. The repeated experiences have instilled within me the belief that everyone deserves a place where they feel safe to exist, to express themselves without shame or worry, and to believe that breathing is worth the battle, no matter who they are, what they look like, or what they’ve endured. My hope is to make this class that place for you.