Surviving Storms:
Finding The Strength To Meet Adversity

The Sophia Institute, Weekend Retreat

Sept 16-18, 2022

ALL TIMES ARE EASTERN

(see schedule at the bottom of this page)

All serious daring starts within.
—Eudora Welty

A Personal Invitation to Join Me in September at The Sophia Institute in Charleston

Mark Nepo’s Bio

We live in a turbulent time. Storms are everywhere, of every size and shape. And like every generation before us, like every soul’s journey on Earth, we must learn the art of surviving storms, so we can help each other endure. In this workshop, spiritual teacher and poet, Mark Nepo, explores the art and practice of finding the strength to meet adversity by using the timeless teachings of the heart.

In truth, we are engaged in heartwork every second of every day. The more we accept the heart as our teacher, the more we are transformed by the obstacles we face into fully realized human beings. The reason heartwork is so important is that, as a tree needs to deepen its roots and widen its trunk to endure the force of unexpected storms, we need to know our true self so we can deepen our roots and solidify our connection to all Spirit and all life. Then, we, too, can endure the force of unexpected storms. This is especially relevant now, as we need to recover from the strident isolation and stubbornness of view that entangles us today.

To make our way through adversity requires an inner exploration we each must map for ourselves, though there are common passages along the way. Though our particular paths will vary, the ways we endure the storms we are given are timeless and the same. Once the rubble clears, we, like those before us, are inevitably called to build the world one more time, admitting that we need each other.

Please bring a journal.
10 CEUs available to participants completing the weekend event
2 CEUs available to participants for Friday night ONLY

Mark Nepo is a Great Soul. His resonant heart—his frank and astonishing voice—befriend us mightily on this mysterious trail.
—Naomi Shihab Nye, author of You and Yours, 19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East, and Red Suitcase

Mark Nepo is one of the finest spiritual guides of our time.
—Parker J. Palmer, author of A Hidden Wholeness and The Courage to Teach

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. 
—Elizabeth Lesser, Cofounder, Omega Institute, author of Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow

 Nepo is a consummate storyteller with a rare gift for making the invisible visible.
—Publishers Weekly

The Sophia Institute in partnership with the College of Charleston