artwork by Minouche Graglia
I have faith in all that is not yet spoken.
I want to set free my innermost feelings.
What no one has dared to long for
will spring through me spontaneously.
~ R. M. Rilke
The Mystery School is a commitment to the radical authenticity that emerges at the meeting point between the vulnerability of our humanness and the vastness of our Being. The journey to this naked expression is rich with opportunities to lay down our defenses, to liberate currents within us that have been suppressed, and to open body, mind, heart and soul to the expression of our true nature.
The poems we are drawn to are our guides. They ignite the journey, they point the way, they are the wind in our sails, they are the solvent to our defenses, and they give us a language for the ineffable homeland we are destined for.
This program is a multi-faceted immersion in the power of poetry, with the understanding that the poems we love reflect to us the voice of our soul, and as we embody them more and more deeply we discover and reveal more and more of our true nature — to ourselves and those around us. This naturally overflows to serve others: as we meet and befriend our own depths, voice, body, nakedness, dissolution and creation, we can invite, hold and support others to unfold, to “dive” in their unique ways. Year One is focussed on personal, direct experience. In Years Two and Three this inner work moves naturally to include opportunities to learn about bringing this soul-work into service with individuals, groups and communities.
From Kim: The Mystery School is soul journey, more than a poetry school. It’s a journey of awakening and self-discovery. Poetry is the means of undefending the heart — in relation to ourselves and others. So it is not about writing poetry, though there is lots of writing that happens in the groups. Unlike most poetry therapies, we do lots of expressive work, non-verbal movement and deep emotional release work to embody and liberate the true self: dancing, breath work, core-energetic therapy, theatre games, sounding, silence, deep sharing and meditation. The focus of the first year is on freeing the undefended self in relation to oneself, others, the world. The second year, while holding that ones own inner delving as the central richness we share, is also about how to bring this work to others one-to-one. The third year adds a focus on groups and on working with poetry with music.
Year One:
The form of year one in 2019 will be the following:
Two 5-Day residential retreats, one at the beginning of the course: The first retreat will be held 7 - 12 February, 2019 in Wales at Ceridwen Centre; The second retreat will be in Ireland, 9 - 14 July, 2019, at Lough Lannah Village.
4 group video calls – 2 hours each
experiential homework invitations and an online forum for posting homework and other communications (The “Temple Wall”)
optional phone, Skype or in-person work with a partner, and/or with small groups
optional one-to-one sessions with an “Ally” who has completed year two or three of the Mystery School.
optional day-long virtual retreat guided through conference calls and solo inquiry, to be scheduled in the spring.
COST/TUITION 2019:
$2300 US Dollars, excluding lodging and food. Payments can be made by US check, bank transfer or PayPal.
TO REGISTER:
PLEASE LET US KNOW AS SOON AS POSSIBLE THAT YOU ARE INTERESTED. YEAR ONE IN 2019 WILL BE LIMITED TO 16 PARTICIPANTS. To hold your place, send a deposit of $500 in US Funds to Kim Rosen via U.S. check, bank transfer or Paypal. Contact Kim for payment information. THE BALANCE OF THE TUITION IS DUE BY NOVEMBER 15, 2018.
Please note: Tuition does NOT include lodging and food. These costs will be 320 - 350 UK pounds for the first retreat and 375 Euros for the second. Single occupancy extra (90 pounds for the first retreat and 100 euros for the second).
Prerequisite:
All are welcome. If you have not experienced a 7-Day retreat with Kim and would like to join us, email Kim to arrange a time to explore in a meeting by Skype or phone whether the Mystery School is right for you.
Cancellation:
If you find that you cannot attend the Mystery School, let us know as soon as possible and we’ll try to fill your space with someone from the waiting list. If we or you can fill your space, we’ll refund your payment, minus $150 administrative fee. If you cancel after November 1, 2018 and we cannot fill your place, you will be responsible for the full payment. Please contact me if you’d like more information.
STUDENTS ON THE POETRY DEPTHS MYSTERY SCHOOL
“While I had no idea what I was headed for when I signed up for PDMS and even considered backing out – it’s been my salvation, my lover, my nourishment, my strength, my delight, my respite, my more than anything I could imagine!” ~Carolyn
“Letting go of the head reigning supreme, has opened me to heart and soul, and a full inner voice. [The PDM journey has been] a gateway into a new beginning, not only of the worldly life, but also a deep integration of how poetry lives in me, how it is now a lifetime companion.” ~Maryse
“I have discovered for the first time the amazing healing and transformational power of community. I have a sense of belonging I did not feel before. And I am finding a new path to give what I have to offer into the world, and realizing that offering is no small thing (and yet no bigger than anyone else’s).” ~ Carol Ann
“I now know myself as a woman who speaks and writes poems, who carries a medicine for others. I am delighting in this blossoming that has graced me at this final stage of life – I feel as though the learnings of my lifetime are coming together to allow me to share my wisdom and give back to life all that I have received.” ~Jan
“I feel I have crossed a distance. [PDM] has brought me where I never imagined being/getting to. Taking these poems in has given me a connection to all that is greater than me. I have located my place in the universe. The image of who I thought I was has vanished. The image of who everyone else thought I should be has been torched. I will never be the same…” ~Laura
“I’m feeling the shift as we drop into a Poetry Dive. Kim is speaking poems that wash over us, wave after wave of words, the rhythm and drift of music behind her rich voice pulling us deeper. Deeper. Then we are speaking back, a roomful of voices speaking back as the lines of poems echo off the watery walls of the dream chamber. This is transforming. Here the shift from this world to the world beneath the worlds, from ordinary time to time out of time. I find myself swimming in a sea of poetry, in a body of poems, riding the currents of poems that flow around us. How could I have not known the life-giving waters I have been floating in all my life? This sea-drench of poetry? This saltwater womb of poems? Like a deep water creature, my eyes are salt. Butterflies are drinking my tears.” ~ Wendy