Spiritual Writing as Rest, Resistance, and Reclamation--Pay What You Can

This activity guide includes 15 spiritual writing activities for those of us who oppose the MAGA/DOGE presidency.

If you're experiencing internal chaos because of the constant whiplash we're experiencing, you're certainly not alone. We can't go a single day without a new and devastating decision reaching us. How are we supposed to function like this? Empathetic people, people who understand what history teaches us, people who are the target of the MAGA/DOGE attacks, people whose families are at risk---we're all expected to just keep functioning while everything is on fire around us.

I always tell my college composition students to avoid cliches like "for all time" and "throughout history," and yet I am tempted to use them here. The truth is that for as far back as we can trace, we see humans turning to spiritual practices for steadiness, centering, and strength during impossible times. I have taught spiritual writing for years in many settings (college courses, in-person workshops, online classes, and more). If you've taken my classes before, you know that my approach to the practice of spiritual writing is:

• permissive (follow your own instincts)
• inquisitive (ask big questions without seeking answers)
• inclusive (all approaches to spirituality welcome---no preaching of "right answers")
• encouraging

I've created this guide with 15 spiritual writing activities for those of us who are hurting, afraid, angry, or overwhelmed by what is happening in our country. These activities are self-guided. Many of the activities have been developed through my years of teaching spiritual writing workshops and classes.

An excerpt:

I’ve designed these activities to be completely self-guided. There are no rules about when or how you complete these activities. You can work through them every day, pick and choose activities that strike your attention, repeat activities, or do whatever works for you. I grew up in a religious environment where I was shamed every time I didn’t follow through on daily devotions and prayer time---you will never get that kind of shame from me!

My goal for this guide is to give you opportunities to write as self-care during this awful time. We don’t know what is going to come next, and it’s hard to live under this kind of uncertainty. We’re aware of the threat of lost rights, whether our own or our loved ones’. People are losing their jobs and preparing for economic loss. Every day, those people in power do something else to overwhelm, threaten, harm, or endanger us.

I’m gonna stop listing things here---I don’t need to give you all the details. You know what’s going on. And by the time you read this, more will have happened.

So why these activities? Because I want to help my friends and community take a deep breath and do some meaningful acts of self-care in such a difficult time. In the next pages, we’ll talk briefly about how we’ll define spiritual writing in this activity guide, then I’ll let you know about the three types of activities you’ll find in the coming pages.

Friend, I’m glad you’re here. Let’s take care of each other.

Please also note:

As a spiritual writing instructor, I teach from a secular perspective. That simply means that I don’t promote or expect any participants to have any specific religious beliefs. You also won’t find guidance on things like crystals, specific meditation practices, prayers, astrological readings, manifestation rituals, energy healing, or prescribed spiritual doctrines. There are resources out there for people who are looking for that kind of guidance, but our focus is on writing as a spiritual practice, as opposed to other spiritual practices.

The word “spiritual” carries very specific connotations for people---but of course those connotations are so different from one person to the next! So for the sake of this activity guide, know that “spirituality” is simply our label for accepting that existence goes beyond just our bodies in the physical world, and there is value in feeding and caring for your spirit.

When you purchase this product, you will immediately receive a downloadable PDF of the entire activity guide. However, you can also download a smaller PDF that links to the Canva presentation for this guide. That's what I recommend for the best user experience!

Please note: This product is available based on a "pay what you can" model. Please choose the price that works for you--$5, $10, or $20. No matter which option you choose, you will receive the same product.