Contemplative Tending
Soji in Creative Practice
Sundays, 10 - 12:30 PST | October 6, November 10, December 8, January 12
Join us for this monthly workshop, inspired by Soji, the Zen practice of temple cleaning. In this workshop, we’ll explore how a shift in mindset can bring fresh energy and perspective to all facets of creative practice.
In Soji, you enter a task for a set period of time, attending to it as fully as possible. In each session, we’ll cultivate this quality of immersive and attentive care in relation to creative practice. A creative practice has its own ongoing activities and tasks that support and make the work possible. We will give attention to whatever may benefit from care in your practice, especially to those tasks that can sometimes feel in the way of creative work. All are welcome.
I’m thrilled and grateful to be co-leading this workshop along with these 4 Guest Teachers:
Sunday, October 6: Teah Strozer
Sunday, November 10: Horin Nancy Petrin
Sunday, December 8: Shosan Victoria Austin
Sunday, January 12: Ikushin Dana Velden
Please note that in addition to the registration information here, SFZC offers multiple pricing tiers. To inquire further, please email supportfunds@sfzc.org for more information.
Here’s a piece about the workshop by Tova Green, from the SFZC blog from the spring session of this workshop. Finding Freedom in Everyday Tasks: Soji in Creative Practice.
The workshop is inspired by Soji, the Zen practice of meditative tending, and considers how this practice can support our writing.
Certain daily tasks can overwhelm, interrupt, impede writing. What changes if we approach these in a mindset of care and tending, rather than with an expectation of outcome? A Soji mindset helps parse these tasks into friendlier increments. In Soji, you enter the task you’re doing for a set period of time, attending to it as fully as possible.
Each 2.5-hour session includes
- An opening circle where each person sets & (optionally) shares an intention for the session.
- Guided writing & discussions
- 3 structured sessions of contemplative tending
In Zen practice at the Village Zendo in NYC & at the San Francisco Zen Center, I loved the practice of Soji, the periods of contemplative cleaning/tending. I loved how just immersing myself in a specific task for 20 minutes would have such a clarifying and grounding effect. I often find that writing and cleaning/tending are very complementary so this workshop is a way to bring these elements together in an exploratory way.
Primarily, we will be invoking the spirit and practice of Soji to explore how it might support and nourish our writing.
Consider whether there is a specific task that’s calling to you and whether there are any supplies that would be handy to have around, or just show up and see what arises.