Write Where You Are: Part Two - An Audio Book

Junie Swadron is reading Part Two from her book "Write Where You Are", a book for those who dream of writing but don't know where to begin. It offers fool-proof and humorous solutions to get even the biggest skeptics writing. It's a guide book that takes away all the fears you have locked in the closet. Junie invites you to write from what's in front of you right now - in reality and in your imagination. Toss out perfection and replace it with colours, shapes, anger, joy, humour, heartbreak, and whatever else that wants to come out of hiding. This approach to writing will stop the judging and allow you to rest your heart on the page with your words. This brings about spaciousness, creative freedom and confidence. What may start out as excruciating journal entries can transform into your chosen genre: poetry, prose, a play, a blog, a stand-up comedy, or a song.

Transcript

Part three,

Let's go deeper.

Here you get the privilege of listening to my answers.

Well,

I get to show off my skills and dare I say brilliance as a psychotherapist.

Common questions asked by people who say that the very thought of writing is giving them an ulcer,

But still feel curious.

Quiz,

Count how many of the following questions are on your list.

More than one,

You need this book.

I'm delighted it's landed in your lap.

Or in this case,

Your ears.

Question,

Wouldn't putting my emotions on paper just reinforce my emotional turmoil and re-traumatize me?

It's hard enough living at once.

Many people hide and repress their feelings in order to stay safe or keep a certain persona for the outside world.

This is what causes a major amount of the anxiety in the first place.

Writing our emotions and thoughts down in a journal allows us to acknowledge our truth,

Which will automatically shift the energy around.

Doing so brings clarity and you will feel so much better for it.

How so?

As you come to better understand yourself through the process of journaling,

You begin to express it in a way that feels authentic and that supports who you are.

All of these things help to make you feel more in control of your life,

Which in turn builds confidence and self-esteem.

You now know where to go from here.

You've taken the first step.

And the best part of all,

The journal provides a sense of safety in the world.

You can rely on it.

When everything else seems crazy and upside down,

The journal will turn it right side up again.

It will never reject you.

It always is available when you are.

And it will accept your truth in whichever ways you wish to express it.

Also,

It honors your process.

You can step tentatively into the waters or dive right in.

No one's there to hurry you along.

Question,

Should I share my writing with my therapist?

Writing will enhance talk therapy.

It's a great tool,

As we have already discussed,

To open up the subconscious mind and reveal what has been hidden,

Perhaps for decades.

In my practice,

I will ask clients to write about a specific issue they are working on.

When they read it back,

Often there's an affect,

Such as anger or sadness,

Releasing tears that have been long buried.

Writing and reading out loud to your therapist is a great starting point for further conversation and deeper exploration.

One client wrote a letter to her father,

Who's been dead for over a decade.

It formed part of the grieving process,

Feeling the need to finally tell him things she'd held back for a long time.

She wrote about the things that she hated him for,

Such as leaving her mom and her when she was only four years old.

She told him all the things she regretted.

Even though she saw a lot of him during her life,

She always felt that she was a burden and that he disapproved of her,

Even though he never said it out loud.

She regretted that they never spent time,

Real time,

Together.

She read out loud what she'd written and released the pain that she'd carried for decades.

Writing her truth gave her back her voice.

A few weeks later,

When we talked about her dad,

I asked her to write him another letter.

It surprised her to see how much more at peace she felt.

She wrote from a place of compassion.

And after that,

Another letter that led to forgiveness.

Question,

How does journal writing translate into creative writing?

Sometimes people associate journal writing with feelings of pain and sadness,

But it is often in the process of writing this stuff that the best stories emerge.

All of us have a tremendous wealth of creativity just below the surface,

Doing everything it can to get our attention.

I've had executive clients that saw the writing process as frivolous,

A waste of time,

But agreed to try journaling anyway,

And much to their delight,

Found it moved them forward into other areas of creativity long buried.

They also started to infuse personality and humor into dry technical business reports and summaries,

And even looked forward to writing them.

A former writing student and stay-at-home mom,

Who never wrote much more than bread and butter notes,

Began journaling seven years ago.

Children's stories started appearing on the page.

She's published four short stories since,

Based on delightful antics of her three small children,

All under the age of seven.

The act of journaling every day builds a foundation to all kinds of writings.

As we get to know ourselves better,

We're more willing to unleash our creativity,

Take more risks,

And write that first poem,

First story,

Play,

Or novel.

Supposing I'm miserable,

What will writing about do?

Writing will help you come to a better understanding of yourself and bring clarity to the situations you are facing.

Sometimes things feel overwhelming because the to-do list has gotten out of hand,

And writing is just one more damn thing to add to it.

Well,

That's true,

But if you're reading this book,

There's a good chance your soul has called you to write.

This would be a good time to put writing into a different category than to the to-do list.

Put it on the to-love list,

And I wanna give my friend Tom Evans in England the credit for that,

From to-do to to-love,

So.

Take it off the to-do list,

Put it on the to-love list,

And let it be your reward.

Writing as little as 10 minutes a day could bring about spaciousness,

Where you are carried from your external world of overwhelm to a quieter place within.

Allow writing to give you a place to breathe you back to your center,

A place where you can rest your heart on the page with your words.

You won't need to put the I am fine thank you mask,

Pretending all is well for those around you.

Question,

When is it safe to share my writing with others?

It's your call.

However,

If you want to share it with someone whose approval you are seeking,

That's a red flag.

It can be a healing thing to do as long as the person with whom you are sharing is supportive of you,

And that completely sincerely cares about you and your process.

Hopefully a good friend or your partner.

Also be sure that your therapist is in that category and not someone distant and emotionally unavailable.

Check in with your gut and honor your truth.

There's something else to consider.

Don't write with the idea of sharing it with anyone.

This could stop you dead in your tracks.

You'll be censoring what you write,

Saying it in the way you think someone will want to hear it.

You lose your authentic self this way and write on the surface.

There's no benefit to this.

You're only fooling yourself.

Don't do it.

It's different if you're in a writing group.

That's why most people attend writing groups so that they can read the writing.

My groups are called sacred writing circles.

The participants feel free to share because we do not criticize each other.

Our souls flourish in an atmosphere of trust and safety.

They shrivel and shut down when people are judging us.

If you're in a writer's group that is more about harsh critiquing,

Check in with yourself and see if it's really where you want to be.

When it's the right mix,

When you and your writing are being honored,

When the feedback is kind and supportive,

Magic happens.

Here's what Jeff Richardson in his book,

Personal Creativity and Writing said about that,

Quote,

Can you remember a time when you were heard without interruption,

Distraction,

Or judgment,

Where the quality of the other person's attention was so complete,

It seemed you could feel it?

Whether that person actually said anything important or not,

If the quality of their attention was true,

There was a magic and a power whereby you knew you had been touched,

Even transformed in a subtle and powerful way.

The respect and trust of others given in silence,

As well as speech or presence,

Creating building blocks of confidence and motivation,

End of quote.

Question,

What if I keep writing and nothing changes?

Is this something you might say?

I feel lousy.

I've felt this way for weeks.

I can't see how writing's gonna make any difference.

I started and all I'm doing is saying the same things over and over.

It's not getting any better.

I'm not learning anything new.

Well,

You probably won't if you keep saying the same things.

Try saying something else.

Einstein said that we cannot solve a problem with the same mind that created it.

So if you've been feeling lousy for a long time,

Play a game with yourself and say you're feeling awesome.

I know that I said you should write authentically,

But sometimes we have to play the fake it till you make it game.

Pretend you're writing fiction.

Make it about someone else and write a happy ending.

Move from the quest to the critical choice and make the middle part happy too.

And if it puts you into a rage what I've even suggested just now,

Well,

That's awesome.

Write it,

Get mad,

But don't make it about me.

You hardly know me.

Well,

You can if you like,

But it might be more effective if you go right to the underbelly of what's really bothering you.

Seriously,

It's me?

Darn,

I hate confrontation.

Okay,

If everything I'm saying here is annoying,

Jot it down,

Go for a walk,

Get some fresh air,

It's like alchemy.

It can transform an annoyance into what's the big deal?

Come home and write about it.

Or another option or two,

Simply have compassion for the part of you that resists change and let it be.

Love that part.

Then be still and ask inside for guidance.

My educated guess,

You'll get some.

Question,

Fine,

But what if I simply hate writing?

Well,

If none of the above or anything else I've written in this book has inspired you to pick up your pen,

Then you can book an emergency appointment with a shrink or take up skydiving or underwater discovery instead.

That should motivate you.

Or simply forget the idea and burn this book.

Then let your friends know that you did and put it on Facebook and Twitter.

Make sure you say whose book it is,

It'll go viral.

Everyone will want to read it.

It'll become heinous and prosperous.

I'll buy you dinner.

If you don't care to take such drastic steps and you're not into burning books,

Stay tuned for chapter five.

But we're only at chapter four,

There's still hope.

Chapter four,

Writing tips and other brilliant ideas.

Have a dialogue with your inner child.

Often when we feel hurt,

Angry or afraid,

We will resort to behaviors and reactions that can be less than effective.

We might project our rage onto others who are not responsible for them or find some instant gratification,

Self-soothing habit to not feel at all.

This is an excellent time to talk to your inner child,

Who is the one who needs your attention.

Using a pen with your dominant hand,

Representing you,

The adult,

Ask your little girl or boy to tell you how he or she feels and truly listen.

Have your inner child choose a colored crayon with your non-dominant hand to respond.

When I first did this exercise many years ago,

It went something like this.

Me,

Adult.

How are you,

Sweet little Junie?

Child,

She picks up a black crayon and scribbles.

Why would you care?

Me,

Of course I care.

Child,

You do not and I hate you.

Me,

I'm so sorry,

I've hurt you this much.

How old are you,

Sweetheart?

Child,

I'm seven.

Me,

Where are you?

Child,

I'm under the bed.

Me,

Why are you there,

Are you frightened?

Child,

Grabs black crayon and in capital letters,

I'm never coming out.

Me,

Do you want to talk about it,

Honey?

Child,

No,

You never listen.

As we continued our dialogue,

I learned that the child in me was screaming inside to leave the man I was living with,

That he was controlling,

That I let him take over our lives and she never had a voice.

I promised I would listen and would love her more and would commit to her more even then.

I did my best to keep that promise.

It didn't happen right away.

I guess that I needed some more sledgehammers first.

But then I renewed my promise and would show up every day on the page and invited her in.

I let her speak her truth.

I gave her back her voice,

My voice,

My voice of vulnerability and fear that I hid from because I did not want to face the fact that she was right.

I so wanted our relationship to work out.

My dialogue with that vulnerable part of me showed me in living color what it was costing me to stay in an abusive relationship.

Eventually I got the courage to leave.

I gave myself the gift of loving the part of me that I had buried so long ago.

I stopped abandoning myself.

It all started in my journal with loving,

Acknowledging and listening deeply to the voice that knew the truth all along.

Ask for guidance.

You can use your journal to ask for guidance from God,

Your higher power,

The universe,

Or Harry,

Your next door neighbor without him ever knowing.

Personally,

I'd go for a supreme being so I don't go and beat Harry up if I take the advice I just channeled from him and it was a complete waste of time.

Seriously,

Asking for guidance from God or our angels or guides or higher self is one of my favorite things to do.

I do it with sincerity and humility and always get an answer.

Maybe not right away,

But it comes.

It comes on the page from an unexpected source.

Prompt,

Dear,

And you could put in Archangel Michael,

You can put in God,

You can put in anything.

Please give me guidance regarding,

And then just carry on.

I'm at a loss and need your help.

Then open yourself to receive.

The angry blaming letter.

Although I've already given an example of this earlier,

My letter to Miss Simmons,

I feel it bears repeating because it's one of the most effective antidotes for emotions that you are feeling but are keeping inside or expressing in ways that are not serving you.

And it is 100% safe as long as you don't put it in an email and press send.

Writing a blaming angry and uncensored letter is a safe and healthy way of getting your rage out of your body and onto the sheets of paper that won't get angry back.

By the time you're ready to deal directly with the person,

You will be much calmer and more centered.

It is most possible that you will have a deeper understanding of what's underneath the anger.

Often it's fear or sadness.

And if you continue to stay with the process,

You will most likely discover that it has nothing to do with the person with whom you feel angry.

It's usually from a much earlier time in your life and this person triggered your unhealed wounds.

Until we heal them,

It's likely that we will project our anger,

Hurt,

Pain,

Fear,

Et cetera,

Onto the people in our life.

As we heal and grow,

We can look back and see it as an opportunity for forgiveness,

For healing and for growth.

Mind mapping.

This is a fun and effective method to use before writing a book,

Blog,

Poem,

Article,

Play,

Or creative endeavor that you are planning.

There's no structure or form.

It's free association,

Brainstorming,

Using your right brain.

Right brain activity uses pictures,

Symbols,

And images and is nonverbal.

It's the part of our nature that is intuitive,

Sensuous,

Artistic,

And spontaneous.

It works with shapes and patterns.

While writing,

Simply be open to receive.

You're a conduit,

Not a planner.

This is what the left brain function does.

It's verbal,

Linear,

Logical,

Rational,

And cognitive.

This is the part of the brain we want to engage when we're ready to go back and edit.

It's not during the creative process.

There are a myriad of ways to mind map.

Google it and choose one that feels right for you.

Be surprised.

Write for no reason at all.

Check out Julia Cameron's morning pages in her book,

The Artist's Way.

This is writing three,

Eight and a half by 11 pages every morning,

Longhand.

It's not about fabulous writing.

It's writing for the sake of writing.

It may start off as a shopping list,

All your to-do's for that day.

Don't be surprised if the sentences start to shape themselves differently and poetry flows out of your pen instead.

Guidelines are stuff to try.

Breathe.

Writing is a full body exercise,

Not just the hands and the brain.

The more grounded you are in your body,

The deeper your writing will be.

In life when we're scared,

Our breathing becomes shallow.

The same happens when we are writing something disturbing.

Our writing tends to linger on the surface.

When this happens,

Just take some deep breaths and keep going.

It's okay.

Writing the truth won't hurt you.

Not writing it could though.

In his book,

Writing from the Body,

John Lee states this,

Quote,

To begin writing with the full power of our body's knowledge,

We must welcome our life,

Our breath,

Our emotions completely.

Write whatever bursts forward from the breath.

Let the pen follow where the breath leads.

We have only to begin breathing fully to show life that we are serious about embracing her.

The dastardly blank page.

If the blank page is daunting,

Give yourself a starting point.

This could be anything.

Write about the unicorns that you dreamed about last night and how you hated to get up and go to work.

Or write about the potato salad your Aunt Sadie forced you to eat when you were at a sleepover at her place when you were 10.

Or you can up the ante and write about things that have true significance for you right now.

Do I dare leave with my secure job and become an entrepreneur?

How do I stop myself from murdering my little brother?

When should I break the news to my husband that I'm a lesbian?

Confront your personal problems on the page in black and white and watch the answers refill themselves in living color.

Or maybe a plethora of shades of gray,

Perhaps 50.

Oh,

That's already been written about.

Be original.

Write without stopping.

Keep your hand moving at all times.

If you notice that your hand is in the air or on your lap or someone else other than the page,

You're probably thinking about something instead of writing it down.

Or you're judging what you've just written.

Thinking is not allowed.

It invites your innermost monster to come out and say mean things to you like,

Don't you have better things to do?

And who are you trying to impress?

If you keep on writing,

The voice doesn't have a chance to ruin your life.

It comes to live in long pauses.

So don't give it any.

Forget the rules you learned in school.

If you want to learn how to punctuate properly,

Understand syntaxes,

Where to place paragraphs,

What to do with run on sentences,

How to identify subordinate clauses,

Expletives,

Position prepositions,

Learn how to use the emphatic forms of active voice,

Overworked adjectives,

Modifiers,

And other things along that vein.

Did I actually write that?

I suppose there are dozens of English classes that could teach you.

Not me.

I wouldn't know what to tell you,

So I won't.

You don't need any of it in your journal.

It's the process and not perfection that we're interested in.

Keep your journal with you at all times.

Well,

I can think of some exceptions.

Will you turn on the light,

Honey,

And pass me my journal?

I need to capture that stunning orgasm on paper for a contest I entered on in erotic writing.

It may be the last one you'll ever have to describe with that particular lover.

What I had in mind was more in line with jotting down story ideas or writing a poem while waiting in the dentist's office.

Ray Bradbury,

In the art of writing,

Said,

If you do not write every day,

The poisons will accumulate and you will begin to die or act crazy or both.

You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.

But maybe you can be more discerning about when.

What's music got to do with it?

Try it out.

Find what's right for you.

It could be lyrical,

Jazzy,

Upbeat,

Mellow,

Familiar,

Unfamiliar,

Drumming,

Or rap.

Experiment.

I always thought I needed absolute quiet while I was writing.

That was until I was writing my first book,

"'Rewrite Your Life.

'" I was spending so much time alone.

I was craving to be out in the world.

Writing can be a lonely endeavor.

So I skipped off to Serious Coffee with my laptop.

Seriously,

It's called Serious Coffee.

And the hum in the background seemed to help me keep focused or entertained or in a better mood because there I was.

Life was stirring all around me.

Not sure what it was.

All I know is that I stayed focused.

Every now and again,

I'd look up and it was packed in there and it was loud and the cappuccino maker was screeching and I'd say to myself,

Wow,

Is it ever noisy in here?

And then I'd go on writing.

Can't say it's happened every time since,

But I've let go of the myth that I need silence to write.

Find a writing buddy.

Commit to once a week writing with a friend,

Doing timed writings together,

And then share what you write.

It will keep you motivated and the support that you give and receive will prove invaluable.

Creating a sacred writing space.

There's nothing like having an inviting,

Friendly and beautiful surrounding to inspire you to write.

It doesn't have to be big,

Just welcoming.

Make it yours.

Light a candle.

Place your favorite flowers on the table or add a picture of someone precious to you that you can imagine smiling and comforting you as you write.

Magazines aren't just for reading,

You know.

And cut out pictures that catch your attention.

Write what comes from looking at them.

You'll be amazed.

Often in life,

What we see and hear,

Pictures and images and tones of voices speak to us,

But we don't take the time to listen to what they are saying.

You'll uncover hidden meanings as to why you chose that particular picture once you start writing about it.

False endings.

When you're doing a timed writing and are writing quickly but want to stop before the time is up because you think you have nothing more to say or you're judging it as being stupid or not good enough or something else,

Just put two diagonal lines on the page where you want to stop,

Like a train track,

And then continue writing.

You can repeat the last sentence you wrote again and again if need be.

Eventually it will change into something else.

This is a way of busting through writer's block,

Which usually comes from self-judgment.

Later,

When you read what you have written,

Don't be surprised if,

Just beyond the diagonal line,

What comes next that you have written,

You're totally impressed with.

Inspiring,

Insights,

Metaphors,

Ideas,

Poetry,

Et cetera.

Some of my best writing has come after I thought I wanted to quit and push past my resistance and continued anyway.

But not always.

Expect miracles to happen.

Expect nothing in particular.

But you won't know if you don't check it out.

Read lots.

Listening to people who are good models of speech help us to speak well.

Reading good models of writing inspires us to write.

Keep a list of topics in the back of your journal to write about when your imagination has gone fishing.

Or you can take ones that I've listed in part five of this book and put them on your plate.

Not too many at once though.

They could cause indigestion or writer's block.

And the other tip is make sure you write things down.

Just because you could forget them.

You know you got an idea.

Keep a little notebook,

Keep that journal with you,

And just write it and later go back to it.

Such as this.

It was just a moment ago I composed a poem in my head and came as quickly as I could to grab my pen and catch the thread,

But none comes back.

It's a brutal attack upon my more sophisticated self-image.

Imagine that,

A brilliant poem traveling through my mind.

And no matter how I muse and wonder,

Fret,

Focus,

Or growl with thunder,

Not a sentence,

A phrase,

A word that stays.

No,

It's all gone asunder.

So what to do now stuck with you,

A page of untouched blankness.

Cold,

Bleak,

Startlingly weak.

You asked me to feed you frankness?

Fine,

I say,

But don't ask for a rhyme.

There isn't the time.

And don't expect wit nor humor.

It was all there before.

Magic,

Brilliant,

And much,

Much more.

But where did it go?

I don't know.

And I can't get it back.

It's that amnesia attack that's come to steal my show.

Sneaky,

Covert,

Sly,

And alert.

It deserves awards for its cunning acts of shame.

So am I the one who must be shunned,

Who loses her fun,

A day in the sun when it's the menace to blame?

Oh yes,

It's a pity I created this whole ditty and now cannot recite it.

Believe me,

I say,

It was a brilliant bouquet,

But how can I even fight it?

It's not my fault,

No,

No,

No,

Not at all.

The fact that I cannot recall.

Amnesia is an untreatable ill that has its own indestructible will.

So why do I go on fumbling still?

Just to please you.

Okay,

Okay,

Yes,

Blank page,

You need to be fed.

Well,

Consider this your meal for the day.

I've had my fill,

I'm taking to bed.

I'm not a robot,

I'm a poet instead.

I have dignity,

You know.

Consider this your show and besides,

I need my rest to save up for the best.

So I bid you adieu,

Good day.

So that kind of came out of my pen one day when I lost what I was writing.

So I just wrote about losing what I was writing.

So that's how it works,

Folks.

So here at the very end of this book,

Practically,

I am going to offer you a whole bunch of writing prompts so that you have absolutely no excuse that you don't know what to write about.

So here we go.

And you can decide which ones you resonate with,

Put the title on the page and begin writing.

Don't go into your head and try to figure out why you chose it.

You chose it because you chose it.

There are lots,

So maybe you should just close your eyes,

Listen and just turn off this tape that you're listening to at the point that you say,

That's what I wanna write,

Okay?

So,

And once you've written your stories,

By the way,

If you like,

You can send them to Junie's Writing Sanctuary on Facebook to share with other writers just like yourself.

So go to my Facebook page.

All right,

Writers' prompts and topics and themes.

Here we go.

I'm just gonna recite a list.

I let the fire die.

The place my words are looking for.

I opened the door and the day I learned.

If I surrender to the process of change,

If I were willing to be vulnerable,

I.

When I feel connected with what really matters to me,

One of the ways I obstruct my own success is patience is not empty waiting,

It is inner certainty.

My body is telling me the reason it matters is it wasn't until the 3.

30 school bell rang and Lucinda was a good sport.

Being afraid is one thing,

This is sheer madness.

Eyes closed,

She nuzzled up closer to him,

Skin to skin,

Breathing in the lingering smells of their lovemaking.

It couldn't have been more an inconvenient time when.

She answered the door and as soon as he left the room,

My eccentric friend Kate,

Describe a street you lived on when you were growing up.

Tell me how you fantasized your life when you were 10,

Right from the 10 year old's voice.

A teenage memory,

A graduation,

A family dinner you never want to relive,

Someone you need to forgive,

A family friend,

A strong childhood memory,

Your greatest dream,

Your life's biggest lesson.

If I could make anything disappear,

I.

I would be a little bit more anxious about something that happened when you were young that significantly influenced your life.

Personal columns in the olden days,

Online dating today,

Crimson sunsets,

Eccentric women,

Lovers and poets,

Autumn years,

Doves on the wire at dawn,

Someone who won't meet my eyes,

Someone whose eyes I won't meet.

Describe a job you hated.

Tell us about a lie you told.

Tell me everything you know about your father.

If you don't have a father,

Begin from the emptiness of that.

Describe a near death experience or the death of a loved one.

I haven't bothered you again,

Have I?

If I had a magic button,

I would.

I would be a little bit more anxious about a magic button,

I would.

There's still time,

He said gently.

The last words he ever spoke.

I intend to leave this.

I love this book and I'm writing Junian Endorsement.

That one's a must,

You have to write about that one,

Okay?

Good,

And send it to my website.

So Write Where You Are Part Six.

I could have summed up the whole book under this one heading,

Why Writing From Where You Are Works.

Writing from where you are allows you to stay in present time.

It's about the here and now and honoring that.

Even if you're writing about your seventh birthday,

Running down the stairs to see what your mom and dad bought you,

The excitement you feel in your body,

Even though it was over 40 years ago,

Brings it back as though it was happening right now,

And that's what's relevant.

There's a Buddhist saying that when we eat,

We simply eat.

When we walk,

We simply walk.

And today when we write,

We simply write.

When we do this,

We build a foundation for our writing,

A foundation that we can covet because it's ours alone.

And yet,

When we access our truth from this place with which I speak,

Paradoxically,

Our voice is universal.

We tap into the voice of humanity because underneath the layers of our external lives and the masks we sometimes wear,

We all breathe the same heart song.

And simply put,

This heart song is to love and be loved,

To be at peace and to be joyous.

Writing reveals this.

We know it every time we hear a poem or read a novel or listen to the words of a song that moves us deeply.

We also know that whoever penned that inspired work has reached into their belly and touched their soul and reached the humanity within us all.

Writing from where you are is a journey into the self-discovery,

Which can involve confronting the parts of ourselves that have been hidden or repressed.

This is where your energy and passion is.

It's the authentic you,

It's original thought.

Don't be afraid to go to the marrow.

There may be things that scare you,

That's okay.

Keep writing.

Eventually you'll get to the other side and feel better.

This brings healing,

Catharsis and clarity.

Other times you'll feel spent.

What you're doing is powerful.

You're letting your energy flow through you instead of letting it get buried or stuck or playing pretend with poetic words or half-truths that sound nice but don't describe what's really going on.

Honoring ourselves with our truth is what liberates us.

And hopefully I have described that well in these pages.

However,

You won't know that until you put down this book or turn off whatever device you're listening to,

Pick up your journal and write where you are.

About the author,

That would be moi.

In my inimitable fashion,

Not short,

It's a story.

So go grab a cup of tea.

So you really wanna know more about me and why I've been facilitating sacred writing circles for over two decades when getting a steady job would have been far more lucrative?

Okay,

Here it goes.

Possibly because I'm bipolar and don't always make rational decisions.

However,

More in keeping with the truth,

It's because I'm passionate about writing and wanna share my excitement with people who want to write as well.

And I couldn't have continued year after year if I didn't see rewarding results time and time again.

One of the biggest turning points of my life came as a result of writing my play that exposed the fact that I have bipolar illness and the terror I felt about being judged.

I fought my way through the pages of many journals until I finally surrendered to the bigger truth that my story needed to be told,

Not just because of what it could do for me,

But for countless others who also suffer with the same illness.

Madness,

Masks and Miracles depicts the madness or the dark night of the soul I believe we all face while trying to find our way on,

Walk our human journey,

The masks we wear to hide the madness,

The pain,

The shame,

The heartbreak,

The fear,

And the miracles that allow us to take off our masks and be real.

Years later,

I penned and published Rewrite Your Life,

A transformational guide to writing and healing the stories of our lives so others could experience liberation through a conscious writing process.

Imagine if they gave hospital patients a steady supply of journals to do the same.

And imagine if one of the mandates of the caregivers was to sit and have a conversation with each patient,

Perhaps even listening to what they wrote,

Paying full attention to their needs,

Offering understanding and compassion.

Oh my,

As Louis Armstrong so beautifully said,

What a wonderful world this would be.

Some people have accused me of living my life with rose colored glasses,

Not seeing reality as it is.

When I would succumb to those moments,

Those comments,

Because it was too hard for me,

I let my spirit die.

Luckily,

My journal would rescue me and bring me back to life.

I would then equip those people with pen and paper and coerce them to follow my lead.

I now have a backend business selling rose colored glasses,

Pens and paper,

Making a fortune and writing books like this one.

Shall I take your order?

For more information,

Just go online to www.

Junyswadron.

Com.

So this is it.

I hope that you've enjoyed my book and I invite you again,

You can go onto my website and leave your comments and I'd love to hear your writing.

So do go on Facebook and place them on Junie's writing sanctuary,

Or just send me a personal note at junieswadron.

Gmail.

Com or junie at junieswadron.

Com.

Many blessings and all my love.

Thank you.