Join our Transformative Writing Workshop focused on reflective writing for personal growth.
Join our Transformative Writing Workshop offering reflective writing for personal growth. Transformative writing offers a transformative journey of self-discovery, perspective-taking, and connection with both oneself and others. It enables individuals to tap into their own wisdom, challenge preconceptions, and embrace the richness of diverse perspectives for personal and intellectual growth.
We guide participants to choose a significant personal experience and engage in collaborative sharing with others. You will reflect and write about the most poignant and earliest memories of the phenomenon, considering factors such as time, space, senses, emotions, and relationships.
The Process
Employing techniques like bracketing and imaginative variations, writers unpack the elements of the phenomenon by exploring different perspectives and possibilities. They also explore the lifeworld surrounding the experience, considering its relevances, typifications, vantage points, and stocks of knowledge.
A third-person perspective helps participants situate and engage with the phenomenon in alternative ways. Finally, participants can analyze the resulting text using multiple reflective lenses, including historical and social context, autobiographical exploration, and deep introspection for personal-transformation.
Foundations of Transformative Writing
The foundations of transformative writing, as described in the Handbook of Transformative Phenomenology, rest on an integration of embodied awareness, phenomenological protocol writing, interpretive analysis, and collaborative sharing.
The field of Transformative Phenomenology, developed by Professors David Rehorick and Valerie Malhotra Bentz, draws from the works of influential philosophers such as Edmund Husserl, Alfred Schütz, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Martin Heidegger, and Hans-Georg Gadamer.
This approach utilizes lived experience as a way of knowing, enabling individuals to delve into the fullness of experience and uncover the essential structures of phenomena, contributing to the process by promoting whole-bodied awareness and reflective understanding.
Transformative phenomenologists embody qualities of embodied consciousness, wonderment, authenticity, and contemplative practice, seeking to raise consciousness, promote healing, and drive positive change in individuals, organizations, and society.
The Transformative Writing Workshop offers reflective writing for personal growth, incorporating communicative-embodied awareness, offering new avenues for improving well-being and effectiveness in transformation efforts across various practical domains.
Testimonials
The experience I had in the writing has changed my life forever. There are moments throughout this journey called life that we experience and for some reason, we have difficulty connecting the hows and the whys. Those moments, however, remain in our memories so vividly that they shape the way we interact with our environment and the people in it. While on my writing journey in this course, I discovered that the memories and thoughts that lay in my subconscious was critical to understanding the phenomenon more deeply and drew out observations that spoke to the souls of others in the course. It brought out a level of human connection around the phenomenon that I did not know existed. When those moments and connections were unraveling, I knew that this course was a necessity for bringing forward great research that would be life changing for those impacted by the phenomena being studied. I continue to write using the techniques taught. There is no other way for me to document my experiences in a way that impacts how I take the next steps on my journey. For that, I am humbly grateful!
– A.T.
As a professional, I have a renewed speech pattern. This could also have come about as a language instructor, facilitator, and creativity scholar, but somehow phenomenology has instilled a deeper sense of purpose and awareness of life generally that I express in language as well as though action. Perspective taking matters and phenomenology has crystallized that for me as a scholar and writer for change. It is in becoming more conscious of the self that I am better to instigate consciousness among others for problem solving and consciousness in determining quality of life, regardless of where one might be demographically. Reflection and reflective conversations have fallen away in culture. Rarely do people sit around contemplating life and what is the whatness of anything. Phenomenology turns the tides of random unconsciousness to become more conscious and deliberate for quality of life choices. Deep thinking is a cornerstone of 21st century education. This does that. I highly recommend phenomenology for anyone curious about what anything, everything is all about.
– T.K.
Brochure
What is the Essence of Transformative Writing?
Transformative writing offers a transformative journey of self-discovery, perspective-taking, and connection with both oneself and others. It enables individuals to tap into their own wisdom, challenge preconceptions, and embrace the richness of diverse perspectives for personal and intellectual growth.
- A Journey of Self-Exploration and Wisdom: Transformative writing provides a magical space for individuals to delve deep into their own existence, unravel profound truths, and illuminate the hidden recesses of their souls. It allows for the discovery of wisdom within oneself and offers a path of self-exploration and personal growth.
- Enhanced Perspective and Consciousness: Engaging in transformative writing instills a deeper sense of purpose and awareness of life. It crystallizes the importance of perspective-taking, reflection, and conscious thought in understanding oneself, instigating change, and determining the quality of life. It promotes deep thinking and fosters a deliberate approach to decision-making for a fulfilling life.
- Embracing the Fullness of Self: Transformative writing invites individuals to embrace their authentic selves, peel back layers of self-limitation, and see deeper and wider. It allows for simultaneous immersion as both subject and object, and even transcending the notion of subjectivity through the practice of bracketing. It encourages the integration of one’s shadow, making peace with past demons, and embarking on a transformative journey of self-discovery.
- Reliving the Phenomenon: Transformative writing offers a unique experience of immersing oneself in the phenomenon being written about. It allows for a vivid reconnection with sensations, memories, and the essence of the experience. Through this process, individuals may uncover the “whatness” of their own experiences by peeling back layers of analysis and embracing the essence of the phenomenon itself.
- Collaboration and Intimacy: Collaborating with others in transformative writing fosters deep intimacy and empathy. It opens doors to unknown expressions of humanness, creates new epistemological possibilities, and challenges old patterns of thinking. Collaborative writing allows for the exploration of diverse perspectives, embracing the potential to reach new horizons and build connections that enrich one’s life.
FAQ
Please note that these FAQs provide general information about the workshop. For more detailed inquiries or specific concerns, feel free to reach out to the workshop instructors directly.
- What is the duration of the workshop? The workshop runs for 15 weeks. Zoom calls are held every Monday from 8 to 10 AM Pacific Time.
- How are the workshop sessions conducted? Weekly Zoom calls are held, lasting for 2 hours each. These Zoom sessions cover check-ins, feedback, course presentations, collaborative discussions, and support. Reading, writing, and on-line conversations with other participants takes place throughout the rest of the week.
- Which platform is used for course materials and interactions? The workshop utilizes the Thinkific and Basecamp learning management systems for hosting course readings, presentations, assignments, and videos, and providing spaces for conversations. Zoom is used for video conferencing.
- What is the weekly time commitment for the workshop? The weekly time commitment includes a 2-hour Zoom call, 1 hour of reading, 2 hours of writing, and 1 hour of collaboration with fellow participants. On average, participants spend 6 to 10 hours per week on workshop-related activities.
- Is there any required reading material for the workshop? Yes, participants are required to purchase the Handbook of Transformative Phenomenology, available from Amazon. Additional shorter readings that are required will be posted online throughout the workshop.
- What is Transformative Phenomenology? Transformative Phenomenology is a philosophical and reflective approach to writing that explores subjective experiences, perceptions, and consciousness. It focuses on personal transformation through the act of writing and self-reflection.
- How experienced are the workshop instructors? The instructors have been facilitating the writing workshop for over 6 years, working with more than 120 participants. Your instructors have personally experienced transformation in the writing.
- How much does the workshop cost? The workshop fee for the 15-week program is USD 1750 plus applicable taxes. Payments are due before the start of the workshop and are non-refundable. Additionally, participants are required to purchase the Handbook of Transformative Phenomenology.
- What are the potential benefits of engaging in transformative writing? Transformative writing offers benefits such as heightened self-awareness, introspection, sense-making, empathy, understanding of diverse perspectives, and intellectual exploration. It can lead to personal growth, self-discovery, and a deeper connection with oneself and the world.
The Transformative Writing Workshop
Discover the power of transformative writing to unlock self-awareness, personal growth, and profound change.
