January 12, 2014- Stephen Lloyd Webber part 2

On January 12th, we played the second half of  Stephen Lloyd Webber's interview. We continued our conversation about his book Writing From the Inside Out (Divine Arts 2013). He talked about his work in prose poetry and 'language yoga.' We discussed how yogic figures (or different parts of our ego) can manifest in our attention and our writing. Stephen has trouble 'telling the same story' so uses different practices, like writing twenty books in a year. After our ten minute break, we talked about self-doubt as negative capability. Uncertainty does not have to be anxiety.
Stephen revealed to us how his book got published. He used much of the material he originally compiled for his Writing Immersion Retreat compendium. Through this discussion we talked about why we write, perhaps in an effort to 'affirm the world.' Having a yoga practice helps Stephen have balance in terms of what writing challenges are right for him. Stephen's philosophy of sharing his experience with others is something that emerged for him through his practice. In this vein, he and his wife are creating a home where they will invite people to share their gifts with them and the space. We talked about his wife Jade who is a the yoga teacher and holistic guide for their writing retreats. Towards the end, we heard some more of Stephen's writing.
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January 5, 2014: Stephen Lloyd Webber Part one

Happy New Year!!!
In the fall we recorded our interview with the lovely Stephen Lloyd Webber and on January 5th we played the first part of our talk. His book Writing From the Inside Out was published by Divine Arts in 2013. To start out, Stephen talked his past study of different spiritual practices as well as yoga, and how these are important to his writing practice. In this vein, we jumped right into discovering the writing marathon, a method that Stephen assigns the participants of his and his wife, Jade Webber's, Writing Immersion Retreats. He took part in a 24-hour writing marathon and he describes this practice as a way to 'cultivate mindfulness.' The book itself combines writing exercises with spiritual teachings that help guide the writer in the writing practice as well as through the pitfalls and negative self-talk that writers tend to encounter. Stephen outlines the writing retreats he created with his wife; these retreats prioritize three elements: being present/aware, attention to the holistic self and spiritual practice and offering of the creative self. It should be said that Stephen's wife Jade is a yoga teacher and painter and she provides yoga teaching and spiritual guidance. Many of the exercises in this book are also included in the compendium that Stephen created for the retreats. These retreats and this interview reveal the interconnection between the mind and the body.
We played the second half of this interview on January 12th. Check back here for part two!
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