I published my first volume of poetry, From Infinity To Infinity, in 2020 after the most challenging year of my life. That chapter of my life felt like an initiation into the person I’ve become today.
Creative expression is a spiritual practice for me and in 2019 when I started writing poetry it was a source of catharsis. I thought it would be healing to channel my energy into something so I started a 100 day poetry challenge with a friend who had done many 100 day creative challenges.
As accountability buddies we would share a poem with each other via text everyday and that process allowed me to been seen and empathized with on my healing journey. Up until that point in my life I had dabbled in yoga and meditation, but because of the intense waves of energy and emotion that I was processing on a daily basis those yogic practices became non-negotiable.
Immediately upon rising I would do my sadhana, spiritual practice, which consisted of 20 minutes of Vedic meditation, yoga, breathwork, and then writing a poem. The poem would usually start out as a brain dump, and then after it was out of me, I would go back and poeticize it.
I got into the practice of transmuting my feelings through metaphor and visceral imagery. A month or so into the process I noticed gradual improvement in my writing because I was devoted to the practice, but a major leap happened I went on a rounding retreat in Morocco. Rounding is an advanced Vedic meditation technique and doing the practice produced powerful results.
In an idyllic, lush environment in Ourika, where all meals were provided and my only commitment was yoga and meditation a profound breakthrough happened. While walking the grounds after a rounding session I received a poem. I say “received” because I felt an energy enter my body.
I shivered as the energy came upon me even though it was in the mid-70s at the retreat center. I took out my phone and wrote “Under Moroccan Skies” on an Apple note. To say I wrote it might not totally be accurate because it came through almost without any thought or contemplation. Perhaps “channeled” would be a more appropriate term.
Time isn’t linear, and we all fluctuate between different levels of consciousness on a day-to-day basis.
On this day, I was incredibly connected to Self, and capturing this expression of consciousness through poetry allows me direct access to reconnect with this frequency whenever I choose to.
That’s true for all the poems in the book. One thing I love about the volume is that there are so many expressions of being in it. Some clear and enlightened, some raw and depressed, and everything in between.
The journey in the book is an authentic human experience, multi-dimensional and mundane.
And since it’s my human experience, I feel a special kinship towards the work and feel incredibly grateful for Tell Tell’s support to compose and arrange it.
When I was finished with the 100 days, I had about 120 poems and looked on the internet for poetry editors. Tell Tell came up and I loved the vibe of the website right away. I reached out to Kallie and knew she was the person I wanted to have help me finish the book.
As a poet herself, she knew how to balance being kind and supportive with moving the energy forward when I would get stuck.
When I sent them all the work to organize, they sent it back to me in the order they saw the book being and it blew me away.
It was the first time I had read the poems back, and it felt like a beautiful arc. I felt really seen and understood and that’s priceless.
Infinite gratitude for Tell Tell. If you have some poetry you’re wanting support finishing, I highly recommend you explore working with them.
Now a few years after the book being published, I decided to release an audio version, because you know self-sabotage (or maybe divine timing) and here we are.
I hope you enjoy the work and that it can be a light to guide the way forward, and also a reflection that reminds you that wherever you are on the journey, it’s all part of a much bigger story and love is always there as a thread holding everything together.
Peace and love to you.
Listen to Part I
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/from-infinity-to-infinity/id1676322453
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