A Workshop with Mark Nepo

As no one can live without inhaling and exhaling, no one can live without feeling and expressing. The life of expression is how the heart breathes and how our spirit grows in the life that carries it. The life of feeling, dialogue, and writing, whatever form they take—poetry, story, memoir, or reflection—open us to a personal form of expression, a necessary conversation with the Universe that helps us move through obstacles and transitions.

Join poet, spiritual teacher, and best-selling author Mark Nepo for an experiential workshop based on his latest book, Drinking from the River of Light. This workshop centers on the lifelong process of listening, reflecting, and expressing, and on how bearing witness to the truth of living reveals the mysteries of life.

As meditation is an ancient art that deepens our relationship to how we breathe, writing and storytelling are ancient arts that deepen our relationship to all that matters. And just as the reward for practicing meditation is not that we’ll become great breathers but that we’ll become clear vessels of life-force, the reward for practicing a personal form of expression is not that we’ll become great writers or great storytellers but that such practice will help us be more resilient and wake closer to life.

In this workshop, Mark opens a heart space for you to discover your own rhythms of expression. Mark invites each participant to practice listening and expressing through poetry, stories, and metaphors, reflection, journaling, and dialogue. Mark shares how we are constantly being shaped by life into finer instruments of care and expression. The deeper we go, the more attuned we become, and the more we join with everything around us. This workshop helps you to inhabit a personal form of expression, by which you can strengthen your connections and find your way.

This workshop is an invitation to anyone interested in discovering and deepening a very personal form of expression that you can carry forward into your daily life.

CIIS students, staff, and faculty receive discounts on all events. CIIS Public Programs Members receive a 20% discount on all events. Contact us for more information at publicprograms@ciis.edu. Please note that we will check your ID for proof of eligibility on arrival at event.

Mark Nepo moved and inspired readers and seekers all over the world with his #1 New York Times bestseller The Book of Awakening. Beloved as a poet, teacher, and storyteller, Mark has been called “one of the finest spiritual guides of our time,” “a consummate storyteller,” and “an eloquent spiritual teacher.” His work is widely accessible and used by many and his books have been translated into more than twenty languages. A bestselling author, he has published nineteen books and recorded fourteen audio projects. In 2015, he was given a Life-Achievement Award by AgeNation. and in 2016, he was named by Watkins: Mind Body Spirit as one of the 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People, and was also chosen as one of OWN’s SuperSoul 100, a group of inspired leaders using their gifts and voices to elevate humanity. In 2017 Mark became a regular columnist for Spirituality & Health Magazine.

Recent work includes Things That Join the Sea and the Sky, The Way Under the Way: The Place of True Meeting (a Nautilus Book Award Winner), The One Life We’re Given (cited by Spirituality & Practice as one of the Best Spiritual Books of 2016), Inside the Miracle (selected by Spirituality & Health Magazine as one of the top ten best books of 2015), The Endless Practice (cited by Spirituality & Practice as one of the Best Spiritual Books of 2014), and Seven Thousand Ways to Listen (winner of the 2012 Books for a Better Life Award). His book of poems, Reduced to Joy was named by Spirituality & Practice as one of the Best Spiritual Books of 2013 and a 6CD box set of teaching conversations based on the poems in Reduced to Joywas released by Sounds True in 2014. In July 2018, Mark’s twentieth book More Together Than Alone: Discovering the Power and Spirit of Community in Our Lives and in the World was published by Atria/Simon & Schuster.

Mark was part of Oprah Winfrey’s The Life You Want Tour in 2014 and has appeared several times with Oprah on her Super Soul Sunday program on OWN TV. He has also been interviewed by Robin Roberts on Good Morning America. Mark devotes his writing and teaching to the journey of inner transformation and the life of relationship. He continues to offer readings, lectures, and retreats. Visit MarkNepo.com and ThreeIntentions.com to learn more about Mark and his work.