Memoir - and soul work

Posted on | September 6, 2009 |

Memoir, which is so often associated with celebrity kiss-and-tell sensationalism, can be one of the more meaningful things any of us can do.  To review one’s life, or even a small part of one’s life, will usually open us up to seeing that life in new ways. When we take this process and use it to see things more clearly we are doing ’soul work’.

Why is this necessary?  One reason is that we human beings are constantly re-inventing ourselves.  We grow, change, and we discard the person we used to be, just as we throw out old unfashionable clothes. This is healthy.  It can, unfortunately, also destroy our awareness of who we once were, and if we forget the past we cannot learn from it.  So that hopeful optimistic desire that moves us forward, that lets us let go of some aspects of the past, can also limit our awareness of who we are.

That’s where Memoir comes in. If we set about it in an intelligent way, a thoughtful way, it can give us insights that are truly to be valued more than diamonds and pearls.  It can give us back ourselves. That’s why I wrote the book.  “Write Your Memoir: the soul work of telling your story” will be out at the end of December. After teaching personal writing, creative writing, and the Memoir for over twenty five years it seemed more important than ever to get the successful methods I use out to more people than just the classes and workshop participants I meet with. This is a book based on years of proven, successful, activities.

At its core, though, the books shows us how to enlist the help of our single most powerful ally - our Unconscious. For without the cooperation of our Unconscious we will never write much, and we will not be able to find the truth that lurks behind the bare facts of a life.

Whether you’re 23 or 83, it’s always a good idea to to come to terms with one’s life.

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