Late at night, when no one is looking, you may dream of becoming a writer. You might think about your life, the characters you have met along the way. It’s been an interesting journey for you and at moments like this, sitting in your favorite green armchair, looking through old photos and staring at the map of the world, you may think you can write about it. But when you wake up to the demands of the day, this dream disappears into the mist.

SET THE STAGE TO WRITE

You may have run an international company for years, giving orders with the click of a Blackberry, yet you are terrified to write the poem that is bursting inside you, ready to be written.

You raised three terrific children, provided support for a loving husband and now the nest is empty. You glance at your stack of journals and your blueprint for a children’s book. They call to you. But how to answer that call? Where to get started? You may be a member of the Gen Y generation. You work in a beauty salon and do you have stories to tell! You’re funny. Everyone tells you to do stand-up, but you want to write a wisecracking screenplay that is a send-up of the modern beauty industry.

What I have learned is that many people may know deep in their heart that they have a story they want maybe even need to tell, but they resist this dream with wellreasoned arguments. The mind creates blocks to the soul’s desire. And if you do gather the courage to sit and write, suddenly you have nothing to say. Or maybe you plow through page after page, but have no idea where you are going. You may be bored and uninspired.

In my experience, I have found that people like you can let go of resistance and begin to tell the story you yearn to tell. When you dive into your truth and take the risk of finding your voice, you become conscious of your life’s purpose. You are deep into the unknown of your psyche and experience, searching for those pieces of your life that hold insight and knowledge for all humanity. And when you take these pieces, and tell your story in your own voice, your own unmistakable rhythm and tonality, you invite the audience to dive deep into their own truth, lifting the veil and connecting them to each other. You address the questions that we as humans are too frightened to explore on our own.

So what I do is help you plunge into the unknown and return with great storiesto tell. I use a seven-step process that includes shifting into a deep consciousness where the treasure lies, and growing up and dealing with the marketplace. If you want to write that book or poem or screenplay, I can help you produce soul-driven work that illuminates the human condition that makes us all—including you—laugh and cry.

You really have a handle on this, Kathrin and your spirit pervades what you do, and the way you write. You seem to be creating a real spiritual opening to the creative process, a kind of surrounding light to the mechanics of the method, which is really the most important thing you can give your students. The method is just a method, but your love of what you teach, your belief in the creative experience is what is most important. That’s really what your students will take with them.
—Jack Grapes