ODEHEART is the practice of creative writing (*self-authorship) as a therapeutic medium. We use {poetry} to translate emotion
as a way to understand & validate the human experience.
odeheart supports grief, baby-loss in all forms, rehabilitation, well-being & emotional distress.
P O E T R Y T H E R A P Y
odeheart creates s p a c e for you to "witness", acknowledge & welcome your life experience through {poetry} & creative writing. We encourage you to write the 'voice' of your emotions as a means to talk to your truest *self for well-being, *self-care & healing.
Our present culture demands we function in a way that denies our mental health in choice of product_ivity. As a result, there is no time (limited s p a c e) for grief tending, *self-understanding, feeling and commune_ity.
In turn, we suppress our experiences & come to believe we are a burden. We turn outward to perform at a capacity detrimental to our *humanness and find our relationship with our *selves & our relationships with loved ones, the environment, society & work suffer as a consequence.
By practising the art* of {poetry}, we can t_r_a_n_s_l_a_t_e our strifes, vices, emotions and relations (discontent, grief, anxiety, trauma, loneliness, addiction and attachment) into meaning. With {poetry} as a therapeutic medium, odeheart permits the |author| within to explore what's behind our eyes, beneath our skin, & in our hearts through metaphor & story.
odeheart is the semantics of our emotions, aiding a deeper understanding of our *human experience to uncover love, compassion & awareness for *self-expression & *self-discovery.
O F F E R I N G S
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workshops
There is great pleasure in hearing a heart-opening poem written by somebody who has never written poetry before. Our workshops lightly explore what it means to be human, our identity, how our experiences have shaped us, how we experience our environments, and take's the loose concept of emotion as a prompt for creative enquiry. We use the many forms of poetry, rhythm, semantics, metaphor and story as containers for grief, anxiety, and the unfamiliar.
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projects
Funded by Arts Council England, our current project, GOOD GRIEF, is a holistic poetry retreat for bereaved parents. Hosted at Martineau Gardens, our community will experience nature bathing, grief-tending, journalling, poetry practice, art intervention, creative writing, movement / breathwork / sound, & biblio-therapy for well-being, self-care, & creative expression.
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one to one
"Writing eases my suffering . . . writing is my way of reaffirming my own existence." – Gao Xingjian
There is an author in all of us. We all have a voice. We all have a story. When we write our thoughts & pay attention to our stories, we start to recognise how they have carved our being. In our sessions, you write in response to our mild guide. Together we explore what gifts hide in your sorrow through the practice of poetry.
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self authorship
When we say self-authorship, we mean writing what you think and feel without censorship. In theory, it is the expression of your inner voice through the act of writing. In feeling, it is the creation of companionship between your thoughts and your life's story. In this companionship - in listening and paying attention to yourself - there is alchemy at play that unlocks realisations and self-awareness.
By reflecting freely on moments from our upbringing and adulthood, we can find meaning to experience our capacity for compassion and joy as if lighting a candle in the dark. We can nurture the author within from a distance, supporting you to journal, poet and tell your story to nourish your existence.
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group work
"Writing is medicine. It is an appropriate antidote to injury. It is an appropriate companion for any difficult change." – Julia Cameron.
We notice our being through the creation and connection of peer support & shared experience. Odeheart recognises the importance of community for healing and runs group sessions with rehabilitation organisations, retreat centres, well-being practitioners, educational environments & therapy programmes.
In the groups we’ve hosted, we have been lucky enough to witness communities form through the enlightening adventure of creative writing.
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poems
COMING SOON.
The gift of poetry to spread love, light, compassion, humanness & awakening.
“Poetry is just evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash.”
— Leonard Cohen
