How the Light Gets In: Writing as a Spiritual Practice

by Pat Schneider

Overview

"When I begin to write, I open myself and wait. And when I turn toward an inner spiritual awareness, I open myself and wait." With that insight, Pat Schneider invites readers to contemplate their lives and deepest questions through writing. In seventeen concise thematic chapters that include meditations on topics such as fear, freedom, tradition in writing and in religions, forgiveness, joy, social justice, and death, How the Light Gets In gracefully guides readers through the artistic and spiritual questions that life offers to everyone. Praised as a "fuse lighter" by author Julia Cameron and "the wisest teacher of writing I know" by the celebrated writing guru Peter Elbow, Pat Schneider has lived a life of writing and teaching, passion and compassion. With How the Light Gets In, she delves beyond the typical "how-to's" of writing to offer an extended rumination on two inner paths, and how they can run as one. Schneider's book is distinct from the many others in the popular spirituality and creative writing genre by virtue of its approach, using one's lived experience--including the experience of writing--as a springboard for expressing the often ineffable events that define everyday life. Her belief that writing about one's own life leads to greater consciousness, satisfaction, and wisdom energizes the book and carries the reader elegantly through difficult topics. As Schneider writes, "All of us live in relation to mystery, and becoming conscious of that relationship can be a beginning point for a spiritual practice--whether we experience mystery in nature, in ecstatic love, in the eyes of our children, our friends, the animals we love, or in more strange experiences of intuition, synchronicity, or prescience."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199323845
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	04/04/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	778,462
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

A renowned teacher of writing, Pat Schneider is the author of ten works of poetry and nonfiction, including Writing Alone and With Others. Founder of Amherst Writers & Artists, she travels frequently to teach and has been leading workshops in creative writing at the Pacific School of Religion for almost thirty years. Garrison Keillor has read her poems sixteen times on "Writers Almanac."

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE INTRODUCTION POEM: SOMETIMES WRITING I. THERE IS A SPIRIT POEM: TO BREAK SILENCE II. PRAYER POEM: ABOUT, AMONG OTHER THINGS, GOD III. RANSOM POEM: INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE JOURNEY IV. FEAR POEM: THIS IS A RIVER V. DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL POEM: PERSONAL ADDRESS VI. TRADITION: RELIGION POEM: YOUR BOAT, YOUR WORDS VII. TRADITION: WRITING POEM: BRAIDED RUG VIII. FORGIVING POEM: PENN STATION, NEW YORK CITY IX. RECEIVING FORGIVENESS PLAY EXCERPT: THE UNDERTAKING X. DOING GOOD POEM: TWO THOUSAND DEATHS XI. CHANGING THE WORLD POEM: THIS FLIGHT XII. THE BODY XIII. DEATH JOURNAL ENTRY: BURNING THE TOBACCO XIV. STRANGENESS POEM: THE FISH XV. BELOVED COMMUNITY POEM: THAT ONE XVI. FREEDOM POEM: CONFESSION XVII. JOY POEM: BLESSING FOR A WRITER NOTES FOR TEACHERS, WORKSHOP OR RETREAT LEADERS AND COUNSELORS INDEX

Editorial Reviews

"How the Light Gets In is among the most inspiring personal stories I have ever read. Not only is this book beautifully written, but I felt the authenticity of the author's poignant spiritual journey in every word. Take time to read this book." —Caroline Myss, author of Sacred Contracts: Awakening Your Divine Potential

"Pat Schneider is one of America's premier writing instructors. Her genius lies as much in her tenacity as in her talent, and in a wild incredible belief that there is a force in the universe, a 'light' if you will, that we—'cracked' though we may be—can emit if we work hard enough. How the Light Gets In effortlessly shows us how to do that often difficult work. If there is one book on writing or writers you can read this year, I emphatically recommend this one." —Sapphire, author of Push and The Kid

"How the Light Gets In is a moving blend of memoir and reflections on creative writing through the lens of spiritual practice that leaves the reader comforted and challenged. This is an instructive, marvelous read." —Emilie M. Townes, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of African American Religion and Theology, Yale Divinity School

"Will have wide appeal to both amateur and seasoned writers and spiritual seekers whether or not tied to any tradition. The book is also useful as a tool for growth through reflection and writing. Highly recommended." —Library Journal

"Will captivate writers who are looking for an alternative to the typical "how-to" book—who are looking for a book both practical and reverential." —Image

From the Publisher

Schneider (Writing Alone and with Others) is a versatile writer across several genres including poetry, nonfiction, drama, and libretti, and leader of creative writing workshops. She addresses readers here from many such angles, as she considers the act of writing as spiritual practice, for psychological and spiritual growth, and for its own sake, all fruitfully developed in these 17 chapters, including "There Is a Spirit," "Tradition: Religion," and "Tradition: Writing." She admirably fulfills her goal of making her book address current struggles involving writing and growth, rather than reporting on her own past growth, and confronts many paradoxes, e.g., the need to share personal experience countered with the need to be self-protective, and the encompassing of both light and dark in one's writing. VERDICT Her book will have wide appeal to both amateur and seasoned writers and spiritual seekers whether or not tied to any tradition. The book is also useful as a tool for growth through reflection and writing. Highly recommended.—Carolyn Craft, formerly with Longwood Univ. Lib., Farmville, VA

Library Journal