Writing as a Sacred Path: A Practical Guide to Writing with Passion and Purpose
by Jill Jepson
Paperback, 256 Pages
List Price: $15.95
Published in 2008
—My Take—
This is a treasure of a book. It’s perfect for anyone who writes a lot or one who contemplates writing. This book is a tool and an inspiration. There are many useful exercises which help. My favorite part of the book is the one called “Strategy and Skill for the Warrior Writer”. I like the metaphors and the techniques illustrated there. It all comes down to practice, practice, and practice. Nobody gets a black belt without it. This book is a keeper. I am very thankful to Dorothy for giving me a chance to read and own this awesome book. This is a keeper.
—Guest Post—
I have been asked many times how I came to write Writing as a Sacred Path. This was one event on my journey.
The small room is lit by flickering candlelight, revealing shelves laden with religious pictures, symbols, and statuettes. In the center sits a small boy, his knees pulled up to his chest, his limbs trembling as if he is chilled despite the thick blankets wrapped around him. His mother, a tiny woman with sad eyes, sits next to him.
Facing them sits Maria Morales-Lopez, the curandera—healer. She is dressed in a colorful cotton skirt, her black hair hanging in a thick braid down her back. I am in the corner, feeling like an intruder, even though I am here with the permission of both the patient and the healer. I have come to the highlands of Guatemala to explore spiritual traditions, and Maria is letting me watch her work.
The curandera closes her eyes to meditate. Silence falls. The boy clings to his mother. There is a sense of something very important happening, very profound. As I watch from my corner, a question pops into my head: What is my purpose here? The boy and his mother have come for healing. The healer is here to help. But what do I have to offer?
At last, Maria speaks. “I know why your son is ill. And I know what to do for him.” She explains that tensions in the family are make the child sick. There is too much fighting, unpleasant disagreements. Bringing peace to the family will heal him. She will also give them two mixtures of herbs for the boy to take to bring down his fever and rebuild his strength.
The mother is deeply grateful. Maria refuses pay. After they leave, I, too, thank Maria. “This is my work,” she says simply. “It is a sacred gift.” I feel an uncomfortable stab. This woman, who has never been outside her village and has no formal education, does work that is essential, perhaps life-saving. And what do I do? I don’t know if I’m feeling envy or self-doubt, or just a deep longing to do something valuable with my life, but I can’t stop going back to that question: What is my purpose? Not just here at this moment, but in life?
I leave the village the next week. Walking to the road to meet my bus, my backpack full of notes, I pass a group of children playing. One of them is the boy who, a few days earlier, was so ill. He is still pale, but his eyes are bright, and he is laughing. Once again, I feel that longing to offer the world something of value.
The bus arrives, I climb on board, and it rumbles off. I watch the coffee fields pass against an intensely blue sky. To pass the time, I pull out my notes and begin to organize them. I jot down some ideas. In my notebook, I write a paragraph about my experiences, then another. I am soon lost in my writing. For two hours, on the jostling bus, I write about Maria and the boy.
And that is when it strikes me. I did have a purpose for being at Maria’s the day the boy was healed. I wasn’t just a hanger-on, an intruder. I was the story-catcher, part of the ancient lineage of those who observe and record and pass on what they have seen. Not many people can ever watch a curandera in the Guatemalan highlands. But many can see her through my writing. Suddenly I remember why I do this work, and my spirits rise. I am a writer: This is my gift to the world.
Jill Jepson is a traveler, professor, and transformational life coach, and the author of three books and over 60 articles. She holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Chicago as well as degrees in writing, psychology, social science, and Asian studies. Using her extensive travels to places as diverse as Guatemala, Syria, Siberia, and Afghanistan, her writing explores spiritual traditions, history, culture, personal growth, and the writing process. Through her business, Writing the Whirlwind, she offers coaching and online workshops for writers, activists, and others. You can visit her website at www.writingthewhirlwind.net.
Giveaway:
Open worldwide. Contest Ends in August 31
How to win:
We’ll play word association game. You just look at the word from the previous post and write your association. For example, the word is “shoes”. You can follow it with “sexy” or “painful”, whatever comes to mind. Make sure do the thread comment. Hit the “reply” link inside the box where the word you’re associating is from.
You can play as often as you want. Make sure there are two other people between your comments to any word thread. If there’s not enough people, feel free to bring your friends over to win.
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Tags: Dorothy Thompson, Jill Jepson, Pump Up Your Book Promotion
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