Mandala by Lynn Buckler Walsh
After several days of dedicated searching, I finally found the card I’d been looking for. I was searching for the card pictured above, the card with a hand-drawn mandala on the cover, the card that I’d tucked away last year until I could frame it to hang on my studio wall. (The mandala reminds me of a compass.) The card was from a dear friend and it reads in part:
Dear Bo: A short note to say thank you for your Mandala class. You have no idea (as I didn’t at the time) what a gift it was. Creating them certainly increased my resilience during the difficult six months before we lost my sister… I won’t be at camp this year, but I want to encourage you to continue sharing your gifts. Your work is needed in the world… Big love to you, Lynn xxx.
Last month my friend, Lynn Buckler Walsh, passed away unexpectedly in Mongolia while on the last leg of a grand journey through Asia. Just days before, I’d received a postcard from her from Viet Nam with the closing phrase Can’t wait to see you at camp, we can share all our adventures.
So it is with Lynn’s words of encouragement that I make the following offer:
As many of you know I am a reluctant traveler. I love to travel and explore new places AND the many transitions that travel demands are excruciatingly difficult for me. With Lynn’s words of encouragement in my mind, I will be embarking on a two-week exploration of the Scandinavian coast and Germany this fall. This trip will require much preparation on my part as I make my way through the maze of unknowns and uncertainties. and I would love to share my discoveries and best practices with you.
We will explore creative practices with a focus on the fine art of travel as sacred pilgrimage. Whether you are an intrepid traveler like my friend Lynn or a reluctant traveler like me; whether you are traveling the world or your own backyard, these explorations and daily practices focusing on openness, attentiveness, and responsiveness will offer insight and inspiration to your journey.
We begin JULY 23, 2018.
This exploration — CCJ – The Seasoned Traveler — is for past participants of my Contemplative Creatives Journey online workshops. (I will not be giving instruction in the basics that are foundational for CCJ, i.e., Miksang Photography, Phenology, etc. Those instructions will continue to be a part of the Seasonal Explorations which I hope to offer again in Autumn 2018.)
Why “seasoned” traveler? We have already been travelers together during one or more “seasons” of Contemplative Creatives Journey. We are now ready to embark on a different sort of contemplative journey in community–one where we explore the traveler’s longing, the answered call to the beckoning journey, the preparation for travel, the departure, and the sacred way of travel as pilgrimage.
As always, I promise no planned curriculum, only my practices as they show up in my every day. We will, however, continue the ritual and routine of CCJ as it has evolved to this point.
TOGETHER WE WILL:
- CONSIDER THE MANY FACETS OF THE ART OF TRAVEL as pilgrimage.
We will also:
- CONTINUE OUR EXPLORATION OF NALANDA MIKSANG PHOTOGRAPHY.
- CONTINUE OUR FRIDAY PHENOLOGY PRACTICE.
- CONTINUE OUR TUESDAY TILE POETRY PRACTICE.
- CONTINUE TO CREATE CONTEMPLATIVE ART.
- CONTINUE TO WRITE COLLABORATIVE POETRY.
THIS PRACTICE:
- offers ways of exploring the art of travel and pilgrimage while focusing on the three keys of the Contemplative Creatives Journey — Place, Vision, and Word.
- gently weaves itself throughout whatever journey you are on.
- illuminates the extraordinary in the ordinary, celebrates the uncommon in the common
- is deeply infused with kindness and respect.
WHEN:
We begin on Monday, July 23. For the first 9 weeks, we will explore the ART OF TRAVEL as pilgrimage as I share my pre-travel preparations. For the following two weeks–September 23, 2018 through October 6, 2018–I will share my pilgrimage-in-progress from Scandinavia. There will be a wrap up of our journey together in the two weeks after I return home.
HOW:
Private community on Facebook. Everything is delivered via private Facebook group page and may show up anytime. Surprise and serendipity! You are highly encouraged to share your discoveries and experiences in the private group–however and whenever you choose. There is a strong community and collaborative aspect in the group, but it is always invitation and opportunity, never a requirement.
THE COST:
Because this offer is a unique offering FOR PREVIOUS PARTICIPANTS built on prior Seasonal Journeys, but with a different time frame and focus, the cost is as follows:
- Recommended contribution for the 9-week exploration plus the 2-week experiential, in-the-moment experience plus the 2-week wrap up is $99.00.
- Patron contribution (for those who wish to contribute above and beyond, with my gratitude) is $120.00-$150.00. Patron price includes snail mail from Scandinavia and other special treats from my travels.
- Pay as You Can. I will not turn away participants because of financial constraints. If you wish to be an active participant on the journey, let’s barter. Offer me a small piece of your art or a skill or service you can share in exchange for the participation fee. Make me an offer. Truly.
TO RESERVE YOUR SPACE:
Registration is now open.
If you would prefer to pay via check or if you have questions about alternative payments, please email me at bo(at)bomackison.com for details.
Thanks for considering my offer inspired by Lynn’s Love-of-All-Things-Travel. I hope to see you in CCJ – The Seasoned Traveler.
~~~~~
BO MACKISON is an artist, a poet, a photographer, a certified Kaisen-Muse creativity coach, a Nalanda Miksang Photography Instructor, a hands-on workshop presenter, and a woman who has spent her entire adult life surviving and thriving with the help of the creative practices she now shares with others. She is the founder of Contemplative Creatives Journey, an Online Workshop. Bo has been offering creative and contemplative programs for women since 2014. She’s been told her workshops have changed people’s lives for the better. She knows this to be true.
About Bo Mackison
