CONTEMPLATIVE CREATIVES JOURNEY — SPRING 2020

March 3, 2020 by

JOIN ME FOR THE SPRING SEASON OF THE ONLINE WORKSHOP THAT EXPLORES–AND CELEBRATES–THE EXTRAORDINARY IN THE ORDINARY

This gently guided journey with Bo has infused my existing practices with renewed energy. Her exquisite leadership is informed by experience, training and soulful instinct. I consider her a modem mystic. ~ Mary Anne em Radmacher

If the words contemplative and creative have a sweet juiciness for you and you’re interested in a different sort of online workshop, read on:

There is no firm schedule but plenty of opportunities to explore, play, create, muse, share, enjoy. There is no planned curriculum, but lots of surprises and serendipity. There are no expectations, but infinite possibilities. There are no formal objectives, but an always-available way to engage and interact with your world through art, nature and the written word.

I combine my roles as curator of life experiences, writer, artist, Certified Kaizen-Muse creativity coach, and Certified Miksang (contemplative) photography instructor to offer you a meaningful and fulfilling online workshop with a well-established active community of fellow journeyers.

Contemplative Creative Manifesto © 2019 Bo Mackison

In community and individually, we explore these themes:

word * vision * place

WORD

This practice focuses on how to connect — to the world, community, and self — using words. We’ll play with words, explore words, and connect nature and place using words. We’ll write poetry – tile poetry, collaborative poetry, and poetry art using found words and pictures. You don’t need to consider yourself a writer to enjoy these practices, but anyone with an established writing practice will surely delight in them.

VISION

We’ll create mandalas, individually and collectively. I find this to be a lovely spring practice as we’ll focus on nature and growth and the many opportunities found in the outdoors. It’s a pocket-practice — the practice requires only a small container of basic supplies that can travel almost anywhere.

Mandala in Tulip Pots © 2019 Bo Mackison

We’ll explore the practice of Miksang Contemplative Photography, focusing on the study of 1) color, pattern, and texture and 2) interacting with your ordinary and personal world. We’ll also explore the spring’s qualities — its passions, moods, style, and symbols — as part of the Miksang practice. (All types of cameras and skill levels are perfect for this practice.)

PLACE:

Throughout the warming days of spring, we’ll continue the weekly observational practice of backyard phenology – the study of nature’s calendar. It’s an ever-present, in-the-present survey of the cycles of plants and animals in your natural world that is accessible to all.

The Making of a Season © 2019 Bo Mackison

Bo Mackison is an insightful, talented and inspirational art, photography and writing creativity coach and teacher. Bo’s wide range of artistic knowledge along with her life experiences makes her the artist and writer’s trusted advisor. I highly recommend Bo as a mentor, teacher, trainer, and speaker. ~ Jeanette Richardson Herring, Author and Artist

MY SPRING OFFER:

YOU WILL RECEIVE REGULAR — AND RANDOM — PROMPTS AND EXPLORATIONS.

Together we’ll explore themes and creative practices that inspire and encourage, elicit wonder and awe, uplift your spirit and feed your soul.

This is a practice that:

  • gently weaves itself throughout your day
  • illuminates the extraordinary in the ordinary, celebrates the uncommon in the common
  • offers ways of interacting with “place” that highlight the wonder of and connection with nature, no matter where you live, work and play.

We begin March 19th, 2020, the first day of Spring, and we journey together until June 19th, 2020.

New participants are welcome to join CCJ during the Spring Season. The first weeks of our practice will include introductions to the practices of collaborative poetry writing, how to begin a mandala practice, the basics of Miksang (contemplative) photography, and the study of phenology.

Due to unexpected circumstances, I will be offering the Spring workshop to past participants, only. This will allow me to continue offering these practices but reduce my workload at a time when this is necessary. Regular programming will resume in Autumn, welcoming new members at that time. Thanks for understanding the need to adapt to my current situation.

Enter this Sanctuary © 2019 Bo Mackison

If you’re searching for sanctuary, a place to recharge so you can show up bright and energized for the demands of living in today’s noisy world, this might be the workshop community that offers what you most need and desire.

Whether you have a fully equipped art room or a box of simple supplies you store in a closet, you’ll find new ways to create. Hints on how to see or create in new ways will offer you unlimited possibilities for exploration and all practices are easily incorporated into your everyday routine.

Come along and explore the creative and contemplative life with spaciousness and spontaneity.

A Miksang Contemplative Photography Mosaic © 2019 Bo Mackison
created with photos from CCJ members

What I love about CCJ is that it’s familiar but new, every season. Sometimes I’m all in with the week’s subjects and explorations, sometimes life calls me away and that’s fine. Over the seasons it has grown to live inside me with gentle noticing, relishing, photographing and doodling the truth of my life and has become a gentle touchstone throughout. ~ Liz Crain, ceramicist

WHEN:

The SPRING journey is 13 weeks long. March 19th through June 19th, 2020.

HOW:

We gather together in a private group on Facebook. All content is shared on this private group page and can show up anytime. Surprise and serendipity! You’re encouraged to share your discoveries and experiences in the private group however and whenever you choose.

This guided and easily accessible process allows you to engage in the practice in whatever way is best for you.

A handsome PDF booklet featuring content from the 13-week session is provided at the end of the season as a helpful ongoing resource.

THE COST:

I offer you my knowledge, my skills, my presence, my enthusiasm, and my ongoing daily contemplative practices. The cost for this Spring journey and an active sharing community remains at the all-inclusive price of $99.00.

TO RESERVE YOUR SPACE:

Registration is open until March 20, 2020.

Register here through PayPal. Thank you.

~~~~~~

BO MACKISON is an artist, poet, photographer, certified Kaisen-Muse creativity coach, Nalanda Miksang photography instructor, hands-on workshop presenter, and a woman who has spent her entire adult life surviving/thriving with the help of the creative practices she now shares. She is the founder of Contemplative Creatives Journey, an Online Seasonal 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.

Filed Under: Contemplative Creatives Journey, Creativity, Nature Explorations, Photography, Writing Practices Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

A Sense of Wonderment

December 10, 2019 by
Vintage Ornament ©2018 Bo Mackison

Diane Ackerman in her book Deep Play writes,

“Wonder is the heaviest element on the periodic table. Even a tiny fleck of it stops time.”

I might add, from personal experience, that a tiny fleck of wonder can also act as a powerful drug which can drop a dollop of hope into a bucket of despair… and make a difference.

Maybe you’ve read some of the words on my website or followed my presence on social media; perhaps you’ve taken an in-person workshop with me where I’ve given much credit to the restorative properties of my creative practices.

It seems as if some of the greatest challenges in my life can somehow be balanced by a constant awareness of the smallest of wonders. I am not sure how this works, the alchemical properties of wonder. How can observing the fancy lace of early morning frost on a windowpane or the glitter of raindrops on a spider’s web make any difference? What miracles are freely dispensed when listening to the whirr of the geese’s wings as they skim just above the roofline? How can observing the rising moon as it breaks through a low misting mist offset a heavy heart and an edging sense of despair?

I do not know how it can be enough to make a difference, but usually, it is. Wonderment taken in small doses throughout one’s day does make a difference.

There is a century-old ornament hanging from the boughs of a tree in my living room today, infusing memories into the room of a grandmother who hung that same ornament on her Christmas tree! A source of wonderment! What WONDERMENT showed up in your world today?

*** This is the kind of question that is asked, the sort of practices we share together in Contemplative Creatives Journey. We explore our close-in world through words, collaborative poetry, art, and much more. We begin the 10-week Winter session on January 15, 2020. Here is the link to my offer.

Filed Under: Contemplative Creatives Journey, Creativity Tagged With: , ,

Contemplative Creatives Journey – Winter 2020

December 3, 2019 by

JOIN ME FOR THE WINTER CREATIVITY WORKSHOP THAT CELEBRATES THE EXTRAORDINARY IN THE ORDINARY

This gently guided journey with Bo has infused my existing practices with renewed energy. Her exquisite leadership is informed by experience, training and soulful instinct. I consider her a modem mystic. ~ Mary Anne Em Radmacher

If the words contemplative and creative have a sweet juiciness for you and you’re interested in a different sort of online workshop, read on:

There is no firm schedule but plenty of opportunities to explore, play, create, muse, share, enjoy. There is no planned curriculum, but lots of surprises and serendipity. There are no expectations, but infinite possibilities. There are no formal objectives, but an always-available way to engage and interact with your world through art, nature and the written word.

I combine my roles as curator of life experiences, writer, artist, Certified Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coach, and Certified Miksang (Contemplative) Photography instructor to offer you a meaningful and fulfilling online workshop with a well-established active community of fellow journeyers.

Winter Mandala © 2018 Bo Mackison

We explore the following themes:

word * vision * place

WORD

This practice focuses on how to connect — to the world, community, and self — using words. We’ll play with words, explore words, and connect nature and place using words. We’ll write poetry – tile poetry, collaborative poetry, and poetry art using found words and pictures. You don’t need to consider yourself a writer to enjoy these practices, but if you already have an established writing practice you’ll surely delight in them.

VISION

We’ll create mandalas. I find this to be an especially beneficial winter practice with lots of quiet, indoor time to create, but this is a practice that can be done at any time and any place. It’s a pocket-practice — the practice requires only a small container of basic supplies that can travel almost anywhere.

We’ll explore the contemplative practice of Miksang Photography including:

  • light and shadow
  • interacting with your ordinary and personal world
  • Winter’s unique qualities — its passions, moods, styles, symbols.

(All types of cameras and skill levels are fine.)

PLACE:

Throughout the shorter days of winter, we’ll continue our weekly observational practice of backyard phenology – the study of nature’s calendar as the ever-present, in-the-present survey of plants and animals in your natural world.

Bo Mackison is an insightful, talented and inspirational art, photography and writing creativity coach and teacher. Bo’s wide range of artistic knowledge along with her life experiences makes her the artist and writer’s trusted advisor. I highly recommend Bo as a mentor, teacher, trainer, and speaker. ~Jeanette Richardson Herring, Author, and Artist

MY WINTER OFFER:

YOU WILL RECEIVE REGULAR — SOMETIMES RANDOM — PROMPTS AND EXPLORATIONS.

Together we’ll explore themes and creative practices that inspire and encourage, elicit wonder and awe, uplift your spirit and feed your soul.

This is a practice that:

  • gently weaves itself throughout your day
  • illuminates the extraordinary in the ordinary, celebrates the uncommon in the common
  • offers ways of interacting with place that highlight the wonder of and connection with nature, no matter where you live, work and play.

We begin January 15, 2020, and we’ll journey together until the Spring Equinox, March 19th, 2020.

New participants are always welcome. The first weeks of each season include introductions to creating a mandala practice, Miksang contemplative photography and the study of phenology. If you are searching for a place of contemplative sanctuary, a place to creatively recharge, this might be the workshop community you are seeking.

A Long Winter © 2019 Bo Mackison

WHEN:

The WINTER journey is 10 weeks long.  January 15, 2020, through March 19, 2020.

HOW:

All content is shared on a private Facebook group page. You’re encouraged to share your discoveries and experiences in the group, however and whenever you choose.

A handsome PDF booklet featuring content from the 10-week session is provided at the end of the season as a helpful ongoing resource.

THE COST:

The cost for the winter journey and our active, sharing community remains at the all-inclusive price of $99.00.

TO RESERVE YOUR SPACE:

Registration is open through January 15th.

Register here through PayPal. All major credit cards accepted.

~~~~~

BO MACKISON is an artist, poet, photographer, certified Kaisen-Muse creativity coach, Nalanda Miksang Photography Instructor, 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 Seasonal 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 believes this to be true.

Filed Under: Contemplative Creatives Journey, Creativity, Nature Explorations, Photography, Writing Practices Tagged With: , , , ,

Contemplative Creatives Journey – Autumn 2019

August 15, 2019 by

ANNOUNCING THE AUTUMN SEASON OF THE CREATIVITY WORKSHOP THAT EXPLORES  – AND CELEBRATES – THE EXTRAORDINARY IN THE ORDINARY

This gently guided journey with Bo has infused my existing practices with renewed energy. Her exquisite leadership is informed by experience, training and soulful instinct. I consider her a modem mystic. ~ Mary Anne em Radmacher

If the words contemplative and creative have a sweet juiciness for you and you’re interested in a different sort of online workshop, read on.

  • Instead of schedules, I offer serendipity.
  • Instead of a planned curriculum, I offer surprises.
  • Instead of expectations, I offer possibilities.
  • Instead of formal objectives, I offer an always-available way to engage and interact with your world through art, nature and the written word in the company of a kind and supportive online community.
Contemplative Creative Practices – A Mandala ©2017 Bo Mackison

I combine my roles as curator of life experience, writer, artist, Certified Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coach, and Certified Miksang (Contemplative) Photography instructor to offer you a meaningful and fulfilling workshop.

In community and individually, we explore:

word * vision * place

WORD

We’ll play with words, explore words, and connect with nature and place using words. We’ll write poetry – tile poetry, collaborative poetry, and poetry art using found words and pictures. You don’t need to consider yourself a writer to enjoy these practices, but anyone with an established writing practice will surely delight in them.

VISION

Mandala making will include the practice of using colored pencils on black paper while exploring Autumn’s deeper palette of colors.

The photography component will focus on Miksang (contemplative) photography practices. This season’s practice will focus on our interactions with the ordinary and personal world. We’ll also explore Autumn’s unique qualities — its passions, moods, styles, symbols — as part of our Miksang practice. (All types of cameras and skill levels are appropriate.)

Example of Miksang Photography Collage ©2018 Bo Mackison

PLACE:

As AUTUMN approaches and the days shorten in the northern hemisphere, we’ll enjoy the practice of backyard phenology – the study of nature’s calendar, an ever-present, in-the-present survey of the cycles of plants and animals in your natural world.

An Example of a Phenology Practice ©2017 Bo Mackison

Bo has created a safe and sacred space for creativity to flourish, respite to abide, and healing to occur – no matter what is happening in our internal or external worlds. The vulnerable and honest sharing of her own creative practices has invited me more deeply into my own. I cannot recommend this offering or her heart on others’ behalf highly enough. ~ Ronna Detrick

MY AUTUMN OFFER:

Together we will explore themes and creative practices that inspire and encourage, elicit wonder and awe, uplift your spirit and feed your soul. This is not a practice that requires you to set aside a certain amount of time each day (unless that is your desire.) Instead, it is:

  • a set of practices that gently weaves itself throughout your day
  • practices that illuminate the extraordinary in the ordinary, celebrate the uncommon in the common
  • ways of interacting with “place” that highlight the wonders of and your connection with nature, no matter where you live, work and play

We begin September 15th, 2019 as autumn approaches and we’ll journey together until December 15th, 2019.

Together we will walk on a journey of increased awareness of the miracles and beauty of the ordinary, and a renewed awareness of the cycles of autumn as we move from the light of summer towards winter’s darkness. During this time we will explore dozens of creative and contemplative practices that will enhance your every day.

There is a strong community and collaborative aspect in the group, but it is always an invitation and opportunity, never a requirement.

Flight of the Autumn Leaves © 2017 Bo Mackison

Bo Mackison is an insightful, talented and inspirational art, photography and writing creativity coach and teacher. Bo’s wide range of artistic knowledge along with her life experiences makes her the artist and writer’s trusted advisor. I highly recommend Bo as a mentor, teacher, trainer and speaker. ~ Jeanette Richardson Herring, Author and Artist

QUESTIONS TO HELP YOU CLARIFY:  

Are you searching for a place of sanctuary, a place to recharge your inner battery so you can show up bright and energized for the demands of living in today’s world?

Would you benefit from a creative practice that can be done in free moments? What if instead of checking social media whenever a spare moment arises, you chose to check in with yourself instead?  Would you benefit from a contemplative practice that focuses on a stronger connection with yourself and with the present?

Do you thrive with to do lists? Do you do your best, most creative work on a schedule while meeting deadlines? If your answer is yes, then this workshop will likely be a different sort of experience. Are you ready for this kind of change? Then come along and explore the creative and contemplative life with spaciousness and spontaneity.

Do you have the right kind of supplies? You create with the simplest of supplies, things you likely already own or can obtain at minimal cost.

  • Paper of any sort, i.e. sketchbooks, a journal, ephemera. Black paper will be used for mandala making.
  • Any sort of mark-making media you already have, i.e. pens, pencils, markers, pastels, paints.
  • A camera of your choice (Cell phone camera is fine.)
  • Mixed media supplies such as old magazines, household ephemera, a glue stick.

Whether you have a fully equipped art room or a box of simple supplies you store in a closet, you’ll find new ways to create. Surprises and nudges will get your creative juices flowing. Hints on how to see or create in new ways will offer you unlimited possibilities for exploration and are easily incorporated into your everyday routine.

WHEN:

The Autumn journey is 14 weeks long.  September 15, 2019 through December 15, 2019.

HOW:

Private community on Facebook. Everything is delivered to a closed Facebook group page and may show up anytime. Surprise and serendipity! You are encouraged to share your discoveries and experiences in the private group however and whenever you choose.

This guided and easily accessible process allows you to engage in the practice wherever and whenever you choose.

THE COST:

I offer you my knowledge, my skills, my presence and my enthusiasm. The cost for the 14 week journey and an active sharing community is $99.00.

TO RESERVE YOUR SPACE:

Registration is now CLOSED. The winter session will begin December 15th, 2019.

Click here to register through PayPal 

~~~~~

BO MACKISON is an artist, poet, photographer, Certified Kaisen-Muse Creativity Coach, Nalanda Miksang Photography Instructor, hands-on workshop presenter, and a woman who has spent her entire adult life surviving/thriving with the help of the creative practices she now shares with others. 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 believes this to be true.

Filed Under: Contemplative Creatives Journey, Creativity Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Camper’s Ode to Friendship

November 13, 2018 by

Squee ©2018 Bo Mackison

There’s a squee sign on my kitchen counter
and a mountain of dirty clothes still packed in my suitcase.
There’s a mailbag whose contents I’m reluctant to explore.
If I wait will the holy presence of camp linger even longer?

There’s a fire flickering in my fireplace
but no monster-costumed campers are leaning in
warming their hands and chortling
at the ineffectiveness of paper products as kindling.

Still, I see you, I hear you, I know you all are with me still.

Story Tree, Oh Glory Be © 2018 Bo Mackison

There’s a red maple stretching into the sky just beyond my window
but its branches are a stark silhouette against the gray November sky.
Not one leaf remains; no blaze of glory yellow foliage,
no story tree sign, no campers rolling in the leaves and laughing.

Still, I see you, I hear you, I know you all are with me still.

Rocking Chairs, Cabin 38; Site of Shenanigans ©2018 Bo Mackison

There are no forever friends rocking on my back porch
sharing stories of struggles and victories; telling jokes to shrieks of glee.
The only sounds are the shuffle of the wind through tall grasses
and the squawk of Canada geese flying overhead.

Still, I see you, I hear you, I know you all are with me still.

Camp Mail Bags Filled with Love ©2018 Bo Mackison

I try my hardest to fill four days of camp with memories enough
to last a year, a lifetime even. I memorize your smiles; I recall our conversations.
I hang your art on my studio walls and pin your notes on my bulletin board.
I treasure my horde of 20 thingies as if they’re gifts from the gods — they’re that precious.

All ways to see you, to hear you, to know you all are with me still.

Make a Wish ©2018 Bo Mackison

This year I make a promise to myself– to keep in touch
and not through mental telepathy which leaves a lot to be desired.
No, this introvert will text and pick up the phone. I’ll send postcards and write letters.
I’ll keep the spark of connection shining, oh, so bright. So bright.

Tribute to Lynn Buckler Walsh  (1956-2018) ©2018 Bo Mackison

This year I’ll leave nothing to chance; I’ll not take for granted that we’ll
be together again. My Life-is-a-Verb [life-saver] Camp friends,
I treasure your presence. And no matter how we connect in the future–
across a table, over a phone line, or simply by gazing into a starry sky…

I see you, I hear you, and I know you all are with me still.

~~~~~

We celebrated the life of fellow camper Lynn Buckler Walsh at this year’s Life is a Verb Camp. Tears were shed and our hearts both ached with grief and filled with love in community.

Amazing friendships develop at Patti Digh’s Life is a Verb Camp. Connections with community last a lifetime and more. If you have ever considered LIAV Camp, now is the time to act. Registration is open and discounted registration is available through November 15, 2018.

Filed Under: Art of Healing, Creativity, Photography, Writing Practices Tagged With: , , , ,
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