“Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.” ~Rumi
A Little History – 1975-2007
In 1975 I entered seminary, drawn by the strange pull of loving the depth I experienced in small, spiritually-oriented groups. Because I experienced a turning point in my life in 1967 at a retreat structured around small groups, I felt drawn to develop a retreat ministry. When I discovered that I possessed gifts as a pastoral counselor, my call expanded.
After graduation, I facilitated several retreats, mostly for church-related women’s groups. I planned meticulously a process that would lead the retreatants to plumb the depths of their inner life. However, these women spending a weekend away from home duties were more interested in having fun.
Bill Gay, a minister who contributed to my turning point in 1967, remarked at a retreat I facilitated for clergy in the early 80s, “Our denomination is spiritually anemic.”
Before long I focused more on counseling than retreat ministry. I learned that when people are in pain, they tend to be more willing to plumb their depths. That became the focus of my 30-year ministry.
Fast Forward – 2007-2017
After I retired in 2007, I got serious about writing my memoir. I took classes and attended writing workshops to learn the craft. It was fun interacting with other writers. And as a life-long learner, I soaked in the information.
However, writing a memoir required me to plumb my own depths. I had been doing that for years in my journal. Writing was my spiritual practice and form of meditation. Writing a memoir gave me an opportunity to go even deeper. And so, while some of my past was painful to revisit, I generally loved the process. I emerged with a whole new perspective on my life.
After publishing A Long Awakening to Grace in August 2017, I found freedom. With all my shameful secrets out in the world, I no longer felt the need to hide.
Unless you are famous or your story intersects with a hot topic in the culture, memoirs don’t tend to sell without a concerted effort at marketing. I do not experience marketing as an activity that feeds my soul. On the contrary, it tends to deplete me. And so, as I wrote in my last blog post, I’ve made my peace with writing as a hobby and not a business.
A Soulful Return — 2019
Sometime last winter I pondered the idea of offering a writing class through our local Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. A class focusing on craft did not call to me. I wanted to offer others an opportunity to write as a spiritual practice … designed to help participants plumb the depths of their inner life.
Class moderators are not paid so I figured if I was going to give my time, I would design the class around what interests me. And what interests me far more than facts about one’s outer life is what goes on in a person’s inner life … where their wisdom resides.
With all the reading my Sage Sisters and I had done on Conscious Aging, I wanted to empower elders to offer their wisdom to future generations. Our descendants might like to know what made us tick beyond just getting names, dates, and locations … as most genealogy reveals. There is something I’d really like to know about my grandmother … and sadly, the contents of her inner life went to the grave with her.
I began playing around with a process. And then a name for this class came to me as though a gift from the Universe. Soul Scripting: Writing for Wisdom and Wholeness. With the help of some friends, I wrote a clear description and sent it off for the curriculum committee to consider.
They accepted my proposal.
I wondered if anyone would sign up. Were there people out there like me … serious folks who like to plumb their depths? I didn’t get my hopes up too high.
After the initial date for taking registrations, I received an email with the list of classes that still had openings. Soul Scripting was on the list. I had limited the class to 14 and if there were just a handful interested, I was ready to drop it.
I called for the tally. Turns out the registrar didn’t get the information about my limit and accepted 18 registrants. You could have knocked me over with a feather.
Friends asked if I was excited. I kept my expectations in check.
Yesterday, March 19, we held our first class with 15 people in attendance.
I thanked them for coming … this group who expressed enthusiasm for the class description … these people willing and eager to plumb their depths.
And what a joy it was for me to hear
- their experiences of writing from the soul
- their experiences of listening deeply to a classmate’s writing
- their generous expressions of appreciation for the wisdom they witnessed in the soul scripts shared
I am back in my element … drawn by the strange pull of what I really love! I am fulfilling my soul script! It brings me fully alive!
“The Glory of God is a human being fully alive.” ~Irenaeus
What about you?
What is your soul script?
What brings you fully alive?
Well, as one of your students, let me say that the class surpassed my expectations, and wasn’t nearly as scary as I thought it might have been! Kudos to our facilitator – I think we all could tell it’s what you love doing! ♥
Ruth, I admire you greatly for risking doing something outside your comfort zone. Not many people are willing to do that. And I can’t tell you how much it pleases me that the class was less scary than you anticipated and that you wished you had more time for writing. That is, indeed a miracle. And I celebrate it with you. Thank you for being in the class. It means a lot to me to have you there.
Love this piece. Can’t wait to hear more from you!
Thanks to the help you and Bob gave me to get clear about my description, I attracted a larger number to the class than I ever imagined I would. See you soon for our Sage Sister meeting. I’ll fill you in. It was a glorious experience for me!