51 Comments
founding
Apr 2Liked by Jeannine Ouellette

Soooo excited for this 🤩🥸🥰

Expand full comment
author

We are too. Thank you so much for your beautiful participation in this community. We are so grateful!

Expand full comment
founding
Apr 2Liked by Jeannine Ouellette

🤓😀🤗

Expand full comment
author

I know it sounds funny to promise some boredom. But I really think it's crucial. We have to stay with the sensation through some boredom if we want the payoff. I hope that makes sense.

Expand full comment
founding
Apr 2Liked by Jeannine Ouellette

So much sense. I get bored with my body, I get bored with my writing, I get bored with feeding myself and my family but boredom is kind of a luxury and a privilege after living numb. Can’t wait.

Expand full comment
author

Ah yes. And this is when we escape into thought. And thought is an essential human activity and we can't write without it. However ...

Expand full comment
founding

….. staying tuned!

Expand full comment
founding
Apr 2Liked by Jeannine Ouellette

My niece hates me when I tell her that, it’s so true though. Can’t wait to be bored in such great company

Expand full comment
author

Excellent! Good that our expectations are in order! ❤️

Expand full comment
author

I know it will be interesting. Maybe one part boring, one part elusive/strenuous, and one part trembling + shimmery, which is the nature of how I experience the discipline of embodied writing!

Expand full comment
founding
Apr 2Liked by Jeannine Ouellette

Don’t overhype us I’m already too excited to sleep tonight 🤣

Expand full comment
author

I love that I can say this thing'll be 2/3 "boring" and "elusive/strenuous" and that's overhyping. I HAVE FOUND MY PEOPLE! 😂

Expand full comment
founding
Apr 2Liked by Jeannine Ouellette

Right? I am going to be out and about with spring break kid tomorrow and am going to be very distracted and anxious to dive in!

Expand full comment
author

Dive into the tedium of even closer attention. I am going to make us a manifesto of low, slow expectations. Kidding/not kidding/but also kidding. This curriculum is really nice. We put our hearts into it. I hope you love it.

Expand full comment
founding

If your hearts are there then loving it is a given.

Expand full comment
founding
Apr 2Liked by Jeannine Ouellette

Already sounds like the perfect spell. Don’t forget the hair of newt.

Expand full comment
author

Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha OF COURSE

Expand full comment
founding

Can’t wait!!

Expand full comment

Me too! 🥰

Expand full comment
founding
Apr 2Liked by Jeannine Ouellette

Haha. This feels like we’re having a slumber party of writers in the dark (it’s nighttime in France)

Expand full comment
founding

So like a 13k then? Should we be carbing up the night before? :-)

Expand full comment
author

Hahaha I don't totally get your joke, Joanne, but given that I used to run, I kind of do. Sure, let's carb up if it makes us happy!

Expand full comment
founding

You had me at carbing

Expand full comment
Apr 23Liked by Jeannine Ouellette

I’ve just joined and am so excited to be learning with you all.

Expand full comment
author

Welcome, Wendy. We're so glad you are here!

Expand full comment
founding

I did not receive an email for tonight's session. I am struggling with how to keep tabs on this program. Can someone please help?

Expand full comment
author

Hi, Shelley. It looks like you are a founding member. We published two posts tonight, one to founding members, and one to everyone, both had the link to tonight's Yoga Nidra. Did you get either of those posts in your email? Or do you use only the app? We did push to the app, too, but of course email is easier to find than a post through the app. Let me know how you looked for the post, please, and could you also confirm whether you got these posts delivered to your email? Our email address on record is Shelley@shelley...

Expand full comment
founding

Thank you for your rapid reply, Jeannine. I haven't received an email since March 28 when I became a paid subscriber. I use both the app and email. I am lost as to where to focus my efforts besides the monthly Yoga Nidra which I desperately need as well. Where on your platform should I focus on learning and writing with the group? To clarify, The Visceral Self program is where I want to focus my efforts. Which tab do I use for that? Thank you!

Expand full comment
author

It is very problematic that you are not receiving the emails. Have you checked your spam and promotions folder? For now, you can always find all the posts on our homepage, and you can find The Visceral Self posts, in reverse order (most to least recent), at the link below. But we really need to figure out why you're not getting the emails! https://writinginthedark.substack.com/t/visceral-self

Expand full comment
founding

OK I have scoured all folders from spam to promotion. I found emails from you from May 2023 and the last one on 3/28/24, so it is strange. I now have the link bookmarked and will begin reading through it, so thank you for that. I will send you an email from my account, and maybe if we can converse there, it will clear it up.

Expand full comment
author

Please do send that email--our settings allow you to reply directly to our emails, so just hit reply to the email you received on 3/28. I am worried that Substack has a delivery problem, so, I do think you should, if willing, reach out directly to Substack as well. It is not acceptable that you are not receiving the emails! Thank you for bringing this to our attention, though, there is little we can do about a platform problem. Frustrating!

Expand full comment

Absolute beginner. Scared but curious and hopeful.

Expand full comment
author

Welcome. You are in the right place. We are glad you are here.

Expand full comment
Apr 2Liked by Jeannine Ouellette

I am really looking forward to this❤️

Expand full comment
author

Yay, we are too!

Expand full comment
Apr 2Liked by Jeannine Ouellette

Really looking forward to my first course since joining you here! This sounds exciting and just where I want to go with my writing practice. 😊💙

Expand full comment
author

Yay, thank you for writing with us ❤️

Expand full comment
Apr 2Liked by Jeannine Ouellette

What Kafka actually said is that a book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us, that literature (and thus art) has the potential to break down the barriers of repression within ourselves, but I like the idea of a sea of embodiment meeting the frozen sea of our stagnant selves in order to liberate our true, visceral selves.

Expand full comment
author

Ah, yes, it was a typo. I said sea, meant art. I corrected it this morning. But, I have seen it quoted both as book and as art. And I agree wholly with your interpretation!

Expand full comment
founding

Weeeeeee! 🤸🏼‍♀️ 🤸🏼‍♀️ 🤸🏼‍♀️

Expand full comment
author

Love that cartwheeling feeling, Monika ❤️

Expand full comment
founding
Apr 2Liked by Jeannine Ouellette

It's finally here!!! I am so very ready, filled with excitement, like standing on the very edge of a cliff overlooking an indescribably beautiful view that takes my breath away.

Expand full comment
author

Well, that's just beautiful!

Expand full comment

I am READY! Thank you for this Jeannine. I so look forward to becoming a more active member of the beautiful community you cultivate.

Expand full comment
founding

I got so much out of the Story Challenge, I’ve really been looking forward to this 12 week session. Thanks for all you do to support us!!

Expand full comment
founding

From working at Marathon events: we hosted a big spaghetti feed for carboloading the night before the marathon. I guess it’s a thing!

Expand full comment

Are the monthly Zooms for Founding members, or just the first one is for Founding only?

Expand full comment
author

The Zooms and recordings (and any videos) are with all intensives for founding. But we're going to make the first recorded meditation available to all paid members tomorrow (which we've done in past seasonal intensives, too, with recordings), so that you get some sense of what they're like. This particular intensive, more than others, has a lot of recorded/live content, because the nature of the curriculum really invites it, but the posts themselves are also very complete. The interactive/voice/video/Zoom bonuses are not essential to experiencing the intensive. That said, our founding memberships are only $15 more than annual memberships, so if these experiences call to you, it's pretty nominal. The main reason we created this tier is to give a way to deepen relationships for those who crave that extra layer of human-to-human. Let me know if you have any other questions!!

Expand full comment
author

I should clarify that the recorded meditation (and there will be one of these with all 12 posts in this intensive) is *separate* from the Zooms. The Zooms are their own special thing, and won't be recorded this time, because of the tender, open nature of participants being in a yogra nidra state!

Expand full comment