How often have you realized what you saw was not what you actually saw? You were so sure you saw what you saw! How could your sense of sight betray you?

Why does this happened?

Have you ever attempted to describe what you saw — the whole of it —to pick the very right words, precisely, in the mind, only then to have those perfect words retreat — or haul ass — into the unknown… that place of meaninglessness and incoherence? And then, days later, the realization occurs and what you think you saw is not what you saw and was never seen and whatever that is — whether it is what you saw or what you think you saw — will never be seen through the minds of others because you can’t describe it either way!

Some people try to describe the birth of a child — the swelling and the small holes, White Dwarfs, and Neutron Stars of that experience! Others attempt a description of a sad, tiny leaf — one upon which rain has dropped, the lonely-looking leaf in spite of its season in full-bloom! Some people try to describe lightning… or that sound of silence between lightning and thunder… or the speed of sound. People have tried to describe the smell of roasted almonds… Others — some very ambitious others — try to do it all in a social media post!

Descriptions. Sense of sight. Hum.

Have you ever wondered why we see? Have you ever wondered why we try to describe the indescribable — what motivates us? Are you someone who wants to write what you see and just be happy with that, feeling a sense of satisfaction in reducing it all down to words in a way that actually expands the experience not only for you but for the dear reader? Are you intrigued by how perception moves from the sense of sight — as an image, perhaps — and makes its way through the brain body and the nervous system and fills up with emotion and memory… and is sculpted by thought and imagination… and this journey is then transformed into the written word or articulate speech? Have you ever contemplated this? To describe what we see is a conspiracy. To say what we feel may be more accurate. To write, though, enlightens us, it purifies our senses.

This workshop will focus on perception through the art and craft of writing. The writing process will be supported with the pranayama yoga technique. Ultimately, with full commitment, we will go beyond finding the right word - that, finding the right word, requires a bondage to struggle, to a neurotic drive for perfection! Instead, we will engage with prana and surrender to the layers of everything between the eye and the I.

At the core of all literary work is human error — and yet, simultaneously, there is also the perfection of foraging, of persevering, of being.

This workshop is meant to elevate the experience of experience… in writing, in breathing, in existing.

Let’s write it on!