Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night wondering "what's it all about?"

Do you wonder in the midst of your busy life, whether you are fulfilling your purpose and if so, just what is that purpose?

Are you looking for a spiritual practice that is uniquely yours?

Now you can embark on your own spiritual journey with materials with which you will be guided to explore five creative awareness practices of meditation, movement, sound, writing and visual art to unfold your life story. Along with nine months of printed materials in a personalized binder you will receive a one-hour introductory consultation; a personal flower essence combination; monthly phone calls; weekly inspiration by email; and a half-hour phone call at the end of the nine months.

You can begin when you are ready and work at your own pace.

you can look forward to receiving:

• Nature’s support in the form of a flower essence combination made specifically for your journey;
• Inspiration to begin and maintain your writing as a spiritual, and self-nourishing practice;
• Suggestions to explore writing as a physical practice for each stage of your journey;
• Stories, poetry, and prompts to guide your writing practice including a poem making kit,
• Guidelines for forming a writing circle with others.

Writing Home: A Whole Life Practice will guide you on a pilgrimage to find the meaning of home, by which I mean your unique place in the world, using the five creative awareness practices mentioned above to acknowledge, access, let go of, integrate and live your new story.

Part I is "Writing on Your Own" with inspiration to begin and sustain writing as a physical and spiritual practice.

Part II is "Writing in the Circle" including circle guidelines as well as "The Ten Creative Components of the Circle".

Part III consists of seven exploratory stages, in the form of seven chapters, related to the seven chakras, with personal essays, poetry, letters from women who have participated in my writing circles (which began in Toronto in 1997), writing prompts, ideas for visual exploration, and suggestions for movement and meditation. Each chapter has guidelines for working on your own or in a circle with others. [Read an excerpt from Part III, Chapter 1, here.]

Here is what the nine months of Writing Home: A Whole Life Practice will look like:

introductory telephone consultation

To begin your writing journey, I suggest you form your intent, think of your concerns, and any questions you may have. During our one-hour phone conversation, I'll give you some suggestions, answers, perhaps some more questions, and most importantly, we'll connect with one another. You'll know you have a companion to see you off on your pilgrimage to explore your own life story through a regular writing practice. I create a ceremony with these phone connections by putting on some tranquil music, lighting a candle and burning some sage. I suggest you do the same. Your intent will lead us into a tuning-in to Nature’s guidance for the creation of a vibrational flower essence combination made especially for you.

Flower essences are liquid extracts made from the life force of a plant. They are vibrational substances that work with the electrical system, the interface mechanism operating between our soul and our body. You can take a flower essence directly in the mouth or in a glass of water. Flower essences can be taken any time as they are not affected by coffee, alcohol, or food and may be used in combination with vitamins, herbs and homeopathics.

Integrate the Experience and Live Up to Your Full Potential
While writing about our lives we may re-enter the dark of the past. A flower essence combination offers Nature’s support for the journey and helps to integrate the experience. In fact the stages of acknowledging, accessing, letting go, integrating and living your new story are all part of the Writing Home journey and the flower essence journey. The new story is the one in which you live up to your full potential.

monthly sessions by mail

Following our first telephone session, I'll send you your first chapter of Writing Home which includes an Introduction; Part I: Writing on Your Own; and Part II: Writing in the Circle. A binder with a cover mandala designed by sarah clark design (www.sarahclarkdesign.ca) will hold these sections, the rest of your Writing Home chapters as well as your own writing, poems, and drawings.

For the following seven months, you will be sent a session of Writing Home as follows:

1. At The Threshold;
2. The Longing for Home;
3. The Sacred Call;
4. Departure: Leaving Home to Find Home;
5. The Pilgrim's Way;
6. Arrival: At Home in the Body; and
7. Bringing Back the Boon.

You can work on each monthly session at your own pace.

monthly check-ins by telephone

For the seven months you will be receiving monthly chapters of Writing Home, I will check in with you by telephone or email to see how you are doing and whether you have any writing you would like to share. It may be you would like to share your experience of the process rather than your writing. We’ll have twenty minutes in which to do that.

The monthly chats were awesome. They motivated me.

Donna LaPerle
Poet and Peacekeeper
Hinesburg, Vermont

final telephone consultation

Two to three weeks after your final telephone "check-in", I will welcome you home from this particular writing journey, talk with you about your experiences and discuss where to go from here.

weekly inspiration

Even when we’re not speaking to one another on the phone, or in person, you will receive weekly inspirational quotes, poems, and other words to keep you going. You’re not alone; there are many of us on the journey home.

final telephone consultation

Two to three weeks after your final telephone “check-in”, I will welcome you home from this particular writing journey, talk with you about your experiences and discuss, where to go from here.

your investment

The fee for the nine-month Writing Home: A Whole Life Practice is $595.

As a reminder, this is what you will receive:

• the Writing Home binder; Parts I, II and III (containing seven chapters) of Writing Home sent to you by mail each month for eight months;
• one one-hour phone session;
• seven twenty-minute telephone sessions each month for seven months;
• a final thirty-minute phone session;
• plus a personal flower essence combination;
• and weekly inspiration by email.

The fee can be paid via:

Money Order or Cheque Payable to Mary Ann Moore 3350 Hickman Place Nanaimo, BC V9T 3Y1

Paypal $595 Cdn

I look forward to working with you.
Many blessings,
Mary Ann

P.S. Read on for some kind words about Writing Home and the Benefits of Writing Home: A Whole Life Practice.

Mary Ann Moore
Poet, Writer, Writing Mentor,
Creator of Writing Home: A Whole Life Practice
Weaver of interactive poetry performances,
Flower Essence Practitioner.

The Flying Mermaids Studio
Nanaimo, British Columbia
250-729-2630
www.maryannmoore.ca

The format and the personal contact gave me a creative outlet in my life that was mine alone. The material was engaging and inspiring. I loved the references. Writing Home motivated me to read the references, and beyond.

Carolyn Stuart
Life writer
Lantzville, B.C.

When I was in the process of writing my healing journey through intuitive painting, Mary Ann’s mentoring skills were exceedingly beneficial in so many ways. Beyond her writing and editorial expertise she has lived the process, and is able to provide support, understanding and the markers by which one can continue to write the path home.

Christine J. Marin
Artist, Writer, Jewellery Designer, Printmaker
West Dublin, Nova Scotia

benefits of writing home: a whole life practice

1. Nature’s support for your unfolding journey.
2. Fresh insight from your version of your own story.
3. An integration of your own wisdom.
4. A building of confidence to take you into new, creative directions.
5. An observation of patterns and themes as they gently surface.
6. The releasing of old wounds.
7. Your own unique field guide of personal references.
8. A celebration of your uniqueness.
9. An awareness of the extraordinary in everyday life.
10. A view of the world from your soul’s perspective.
11. Affirmation of your soul’s calling.
12. A tapping into the ancient wisdom of the ancestors and everything around you; even the stones are storytellers.
13. An integration of all of who you are.
14. Your own spiritual practice that helps you wake up to your life.

Mary Ann Moore lives in Nanaimo, B.C. where she leads a weekly circle called Writing Life, and teaches life writing courses at Vancouver Island University. Mary Ann created her own business, Flying Mermaids Writing Circles & Retreats, in Toronto in 1997 and since that time has encouraged many to begin and sustain a writing practice. The Flying Mermaids Studio has produced Your Own Tea House Practice as well as self-guiding materials called Mapping Your Spiritual Journey. Mary Ann’s poetry has been published in chapbooks called Those Early Days, Hopeful (Leaf Press); and The Names of Things (The Flying Mermaids Studio); as well as produced on CD, When My Heart is Open. Mary Ann’s personal essays, fiction, columns and book reviews have been published in Prairie Fire, Vitality Magazine, ascent magazine, Monday Magazine, The Vancouver Sun, Synergy, More Living and others.