Those who wake are the students.
Those who stay awake are the teachers.
How we take turns.
FINDING INNER COURAGE
Our Walk in the World
JULY 21, 28, AUG 4, 2024
1-2:30PM EST | 10-11:30AM PST
Cost: $60
An Invitation from Mark Nepo
About the Journey
Courage is the heart’s blossom.
It is the song from within
that keeps the pain of living
from snuffing our lives.
The original notion of the word courage means to stand by one’s core. In this webinar, we will explore how to find our way to our core, to stand by our core, and to then sustain the practice of living from our core—to live out of our courage. To encourage means to impart strength and confidence, to inspire and hearten. So, the question unfolds: How do we encourage ourselves, each other, and the world? And just what does it mean to live a life of encouragement? This is an education we seldom receive in school, but which life keeps shouting at us all. This is an education of what matters.
For the courage we all admire—where ordinary people summon unexpected strength to run into burning buildings or to stand up to tyrants, whether an abusive father or an abusive leader, this inspiring and mysterious impulse to rise and meet a dangerous situation, which Hemingway referred to as grace under pressure—grows from another kind of courage: inner courage. By inner courage, I mean the ground of quiet braveries from which the more visible braveries sprout. These are the ways of living and being that make bravery possible in the first place; not just as an event, but as an approach to life, as a way of life.
Thinking about courage in this way opens us to an array of small and constant efforts that no one ever sees, but which have changed the world: the courage to feel, to see, to accept, to heal, to be. Efforts of this nature often go unnoticed and unrecognized. Like the courage to break life-draining patterns and let the story of our lives unfold. Like the courage to persevere through the doorway of nothing into the realm of everything. Like the courage to choose aliveness over woundedness, to remember what matters when we forget, and to build on the past instead of hiding in it. Like the courage to choose compassion over judgment and love over fear, to withstand the tension of opposites, and to give up what no longer works in order to stay close to what is sacred. These subtle yet essential states, and more, make up the elements of living, and so, it serves us well to explore how they grow singly and together.
This time together is an invitation to be in relationship with deep and life-giving material. Using ancient and contemporary stories, poetry, and metaphor, we will delve into the courage to listen to your own life, the gift of vulnerability, the willingness to experiment and explore your own voice, and the abiding commitment to respect your own journey and the journey of others. No experience is required, just a Beginner’s Mind and Heart. And a willingness to enter.
—Mark Nepo
MARK NEPO has moved and inspired readers and seekers all over the world with his #1 New York Times bestseller The Book of Awakening. Beloved as a poet, teacher, and storyteller, Mark has been called “an impassioned seeker” and “an eloquent spiritual teacher.” His work is widely accessible and used by many and his books have been translated into more than twenty languages. A bestselling author, he has published twenty-two books and recorded fifteen audio projects. Mark was part of Oprah Winfrey’s The Life You Want Tour in 2014 and has appeared several times with Oprah on her Super Soul Sunday program on OWN TV. He has also been interviewed by Robin Roberts on Good Morning America. In 2015, he was given a Life-Achievement Award by AgeNation.In 2016, he was named by Watkins: Mind Body Spirit as one of the 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People. And In 2017 Mark became a regular columnist for Spirituality & Health Magazine.
What People Say About Mark's Work
"Mark Nepo is a Great Soul. His resonant heart—his frank and astonishing voice—befriend us mightily on this mysterious trail."
"Mark Nepo is one of the finest spiritual guides of our time."
"Mark Nepo joins a long tradition of truth-seeking, wild-hearted poets—Rumi, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Mary Oliver—and deserves a place in the center of the circle with them."
"Nepo is a consummate storyteller with a rare gift for making the invisible visible."
Helpful Details
July 21: Session 1: Courage As Our Teacher
July 28: Session 2: The Life of Obstacles
Aug 4: Session 3: As Far As the Heart Can See
$60, including access to the recordings of the sessions afterwards.
Due to the nature and timing of the webinar, it is not possible to offer refunds, though credit for a future webinar or event is possible.
I have no answers, for no one can awaken your heart or your gifts but you, and yet we need each other as plants need the sun. And so, when gathering like this or in person, my commitment is to do my best to introduce you to your own gifts and your own wisdom. What I share, I do as an offering of care and wonder. And what I share are examples, not instructions. For we are more together than alone.
INSIDE EVERYTHING
Keep trying to hide and in time
you become a wall.
Keep trying to love and in time
you become love.
Our journey on Earth is to stop
hiding, so we can become love.
Everything else is a seduction
and a distraction.
Courage is staying true.
—Mark Nepo
These sessions will be recorded. If you would like to receive the recordings, please register and you’ll get an email with the link to watch the video following each session.
For more information about Mark’s upcoming events and to register for his Weekly Reflections, please visit www.marknepo.com.
We want to open this experience to as many people as possible. If you are suffering financial hardship during these difficult times, please send a line or two of explanation to Brooke at brooke@threeintentions.com. We will do our best to accommodate a reduced rate for those in need.
Our Time Together
Each 90-minute session will begin with an offering from Mark of poems, stories, and metaphors intended to invite you into a heart space in which you can meet yourself and grow. This will be followed by time for questions and conversation. Mark will close the session with reflections, questions to walk with, and a culminating poem or story.
Upon Registering
You will receive confirmation of registration once it goes through. The Zoom link to join the three sessions will come in the days leading up to the sessions.
Please note that due to the nature and timing of the webinar, it is not possible to offer refunds, though credit for a future webinar or event is possible.
After Each Session
A recording of each session will be available within two days that you can revisit for up to three months. You are also encouraged to stay in conversation with the depth that has opened for you through your own journaling and conversation with friends and loved ones.