Spiritual Autobiography: Exploring the Story of Your Life Through Writing (Online Program)

Irish poet Pádraig Ó Tuama affirms that we are all “story full and lovely.” Indeed, these stories are how we remember and share the journey of our lives, both collectively and individually.

Through four sessions together-and reflective time between sessions-participants will respond through writing (and other creative modes) to gentle prompts that can help us to write the stories of our individual spiritual journeys. We all live this spiritual journey every day, whether or not we are grounded in a specific religious tradition. Indeed, most wisdom traditions affirm that we live this spiritual-or inward- journey in the daily moments that we need to take time to notice. By writing with and for other attentive writers, we will honor the things that make us human together and share, as Ó Tuama invites “the things that do not fade: generosity, truth-telling, silence, respect, and love.”

This program invites us to explore the arc of our life’s spiritual journey. Join us to remember, write, and share the journey that is uniquely your own. No previous writing experience is required!

DATE: Mondays – 1/22, 1/29, 2/5, and 2/19/2024

TIME: 6:30 – 8:30 PM ET

COST: Early Bird Discount (purchased prior to 12/1/23) – $135; Regular Cost (purchased 12/1/23 and after) – $150

REGISTRATION is required; please register here.

CANCELLATION POLICY: Please read our cancellation policy, here.

LOCATION: Zoom – You will receive an email from Well for the Journey the week of the program, (usually 2 days in advance) with the Zoom Link. Please be sure you have received and read this email a minimum of 24 hours in advance of the start of the program. If you are unable to find the email, please search your email folders, including your spam folder. Thank you.

FACILITATOR: Amy Schmaljohn

FACILITATOR BIO:
Amy Schmaljohn enjoyed a 35 year career as a leader and teacher in both higher education and at Friends School of Baltimore (Quaker). Her classrooms offered students opportunities to explore world literature and art, movements for nonviolent social transformation, and the human experience of religion across global traditions. A member of Gunpowder Friends Meeting (Quaker), she leads contemplative spiritual retreats in the tradition of the Religious Society of Friends and offers spiritual deepening programs for seekers in the Baltimore region. She is enlivened by the sharing of our stories, by the mystery and power of the written word, and by her daily encounters with the natural world just outside her doorstep. Amy and her husband Alan, a retired virologist, live in northwestern Baltimore County, where they steward seventeen acres of woodland, meadow and streams that have been placed in the Maryland Environmental Trust and serve as a gathering space for those seeking immersive experiences in nature.