What happens when we decide to live our lives as works of art? What if the artist's real task was a way of being? What if we are all artists?
Facilitated by Sean Waters and going 12 consecutive weeks (with one week break for spring break), this workshop is designed for people who want to:
⭐ kickstart a worthy pursuit
⭐ cultivate a more intentional character
⭐ practice presence in crafts that matter to you
⭐ increase and celebrate our creative output
⭐ learn from the artistic process with a supportive community
WHAT WE BELIEVE, WHAT WE SAY:
🙏 “I won’t should on you if you don’t should on me.”
Namaste and respect of the I-Thou is rule #1. There are as many modes of living artfully as there are fingerprints. We’re not here to give each other advice on what to do or what not to do. How you live and create is up to you. We’re here to listen, reflect, share, support and create in a group of people who care.
🤲 “You do you.”
Being good people helps create good work. And, “judge not, lest ye be judged.” We extend grace to ourselves and each other, and approach ourselves, each other, and our works with curiosity, openness and the expectation of surprising synchronicities.
😃 “Don’t ick my wow.”
Deepening our non-judgmental awareness, we appreciate what people bring. We’re not here to criticize. We are not here to give empty praise. We keep opinions to ourselves unless people ask for them. We respect creative life-cycles of incubation and gestation. Quality experience makes quality art.
💪 “Real artists ship”
Kickstarting a new project (or breathing new life into an old one) takes guts. We’re willing to enjoy the process. We’re here to share and fail joyfully, to enjoy the process of getting feedback from the world when we ship. Part of the work is sharing it.
⭐ Weekly 90-minute virtual workshops with 5-7 other people, recorded if you miss
⭐ Loosely themed around literature of self-improvement and the psychology of creativity
⭐ Space for emergent learning and new exciting projects
⭐ 2-3 hours of optional independent reading and writing each week
⭐ 5 hours suggested each week for focused arts and crafts
OVERVIEW OF THE LEARNING JOURNEY
WEEK 0 (Tuesday, Feb. 7): 🎉 BEGINNING a WORTHY PURSUIT: Kick-off Meeting! What does it mean to live life as a work of art? What’s our style, our story, our selves? What are some possible projects, patterns, and people to help us along the way? Aristotle, Epicurus, Buddha.
WEEK 1 (Tuesday, Feb. 14): 🧭 PURPOSE and PLAY: Diving into the literature of self-knowledge and the psychology of imaginative play. What are the greatest tools to “know thyself”? What are our play personalities? What are our projects and patterns for the next 10 weeks? Socrates, Buddha, Dewey.
WEEK 2 (Tuesday, Feb 21s): 🧠 MIND and HEART: Cultivating mental mastery, equanimity, and passion. What basic techniques, if any, from the Stoics work for us? Exploring the psychology of love and passion for what we do, why do we love what we love? Epictetus, Buddha, Jesus.
WEEK 3 (Tuesday, Feb 28): ✨ NON:ATTACHMENT and DREAMS : Exploring sustainability in our practice. How do we “let that shit go” and still take our crafts seriously? How do we cultivate the time and space for more “positive-constructive” intentional daydreaming? Buddha, Epictetus, Epicurus.
WEEK 4 (Tuesday, Mar 7): 🔺 GOODNESS and SOLITUDE : Better to be a good person and a bad artist, than a bad person and a good artist! How can our work do good in the world? How can we be good to ourselves, knowing that we are just as important as everyone else? Where and how do we “get away” without neglecting our real duties and responsibilities? Aristotle, Buddha, and Frankl.
-- SPRING BREAK (Tuesday, Mar 14) : 🌴 SPRING BREAK : Rest, dear friends, relax.
WEEK 5 (Tuesday, Mar 21): 🕸 HUMILITY and INTUITION : Big heads topple over. How can we learn from history and the natural world? Increase our receptivity to synchronicity? How can we tap into the unconscious and the reserves of strength we have within us? Socrates, animal totems, Jung.
WEEK 6 (Tuesday, Mar 28) : ⭕ SIMPLIFICATION and OPENNESS : Increase our awareness to over-examination and over-complexification. What if this were easy? What sources of strength might I integrate more fully into my process? How do I disconnect from tech? Thoreau, Kondo, Newport.
WEEK 7 (Tuesday, April 4 ) ⛅ IMAGINATION and MINDFULNESS : Power of story and non-judgmental awareness of the present moment. How do we harness our imaginations for the benefit of the world? What are the best modalities for us to practice mindfulness? Nietzsche, Buddha.
WEEK 8 (Tuesday, April 11): 👂 SENSITIVITY AND COMMUNICATION :Speaking and Listening to ourselves, our projects, and each other. How do we communicate with mindfulness and compassion? What about persuasion? How do our relationships with our technology help and hinder? Hanh, Newport.
WEEK 9 (Tuesday, April 18): ⛵ PERSEVERANCE and ADVERSITY: Cultivating a growth-mindset, and developing Failure Immunity. How do we practice psychological resilience and learn optimism? What do our challenges have to teach us? Epictetus, Dweck, Seligman
WEEK 10 (Tuesday,April 25) : 👑 PRESENCE and AUTHENTICITY : What does our mindfulness practice have to teach us about the life-cycle of our creative projects? How do we approach our practice that helps us choose happiness and live with more zest for creativity? Buddha, Whitman, you.
WEEK11 (Tuesday, May 2) : 🎓 CLOSING a CEREMONY : Reflection and Beltane-inspired fire ceremony. Power of ritual and reflection: What did we learn about ourselves and our process? What’s next? How will we keep in touch and keep ourselves accountable?
UNLEARNING OUTCOMES
🔹 We can explore the idea that creativity is not just for artists.
🔹 We can gain confidence in our own creative callings.
🔹 We can put our work into the world in a meaningful and balanced way in 2023.
🔹 We can support others to succeed, and practice sympathetic joy at their successes.
🔹 We can support others in their adversity, and practice compassion with their challenges.
🔹 We can cultivate authentic happiness in deepening our relationships to our creativity.
🔹 We can strengthen the creative habits that artists use to live beautifully.
🔹 We can exercise loving-kindness to ourselves and others.
🔹 We can practice beginners' minds around ways to develop ourselves, our stories and our styles.
Teachers, facilitators, coaches, or other professionals can request a professional certification of completion and documentation for up to 45 hours of professional development.
FACILITATOR INFORMATION:
Sean Waters, M.A. in Philosophy and Comparative Religion (2008); M.A. in Education (2012), co-founded the Wisdom Workshop in 2020. With 15 years of teaching experience at the university level and over 1000 performances as a singer-songwriter, he cultivates a contagious love of life teaching, creating, playing, and learning with others. He is excited to help each of us flourish and succeed in being truly happy. He believes in equity and access, and is committed to creating challenging learning environments inclusive of all learners. Feel free to email Sean at sean@wisdomworkshop.io or schedule a 15-minute curiosity call with Sean to see if this unique learning experience is a good fit for you.
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
We’re committed to equitable access, but need to ensure a high level of buy-in for the magic to happen. If you provide care for aging parents, parent children, are experiencing job instability, identify as part of a marginalized community, or have other factors affecting your ability to financially buy-in to the course, you may be eligible for a full or partial scholarship here.
RECOMMENDED READING:
Full reading schedule upon enrollment, with selections from :
📚 The Creative Act : A Way of Being by Rick Rubin (2023)
📚 The Art of Self-Improvement : Ten Timeless Truths by Anna Katharina Schaffner (2021)
📚 Wired To Create : Unraveling the Mysteries of the Creative Mind by Scott Barry Kaufman (2016)
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