“For me, presence is about being deliberate – intentional and conscious in the present moment. Bringing my heart, head, spirit and body into communion in the here and now. Writing poetry can be a tool to draw me in to focus on what is happening around me and internally in that very moment. Reading poetry is also a beautiful way to call oneself into presence. To give oneself up to a poem, to notice the physical senses’ reaction to it which can differ moment to moment.”

– Stacey Cotter Manière

“Portal to Presence” is a co-creation with Sydney-based poet Stacey Cotter Manière. Together with Stacey, we go on an immersive journey of cultivating presence and states of mind that nurture creativity through the practice of writing and enjoying poetry. This workshop is not a ‘how to’ write poetry. It’s an invitation – to a shift in perspective, to get curious and to explore what expands you.

This workshop is for you, if:

• You’d like to develop or re-invigorate your own creative practice or explore different processes of approaching your creative work.

• You’d like to learn more about mindfulness, how to slow down, and become more present in your life through the medium of poetry.

• You are a mindfulness practitioner who wants to deepen their practice and explore different avenues of coming into presence.

• You are a reader of The Lissome who enjoys Stacey’s poetry in the magazine, would like to hear poetry spoken live, and learn more about her creative practice.

What can you look forward to when signing up to the workshop?

This is not a traditional poetry workshop that teaches you about the rules and structure of poetry. It’s a gentle and inclusive experience of the presence that poetry can bring to your life and to others when we share it.

Stacey is an example that you don’t have to have studied poetry formally or know everything about it to begin or to be a poet. It begins when you pick up the pen and transforms when you begin to share your work. The mindfulness of the act, the experience of source flowing through the body and feeling connected with something much larger than yourself when you are writing.

Stacey believes that our stories have the power to change people. All of us have something we can give that offers others an opportunity to see the world differently, to learn from. In a line from one of her poems, Cosmic Commons, she wrote “The communion of curiosity is always calling us.” If you are here, you’re here because you have heard the call.