#28 Albert Flynn DeSilver: Writing as a Path to Awakening

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Albert Flynn DeSilver is an award-winning internationally published writer, speaker, poet and workshop leader known for merging the art of creative writing with the evolutionary practice of mindfulness meditation.
Founder of the Brilliant Writers Online Writing School, his mission as a writing teacher is to "remind people of their inherent creative genius and reignite their joy, fun, spontaneity and wisdom the practice of process writing."
And yet, as he shares in this interview, his tumultuous childhood was anything BUT joyful, growing up with an alcoholic mother and distant father who left him and his sisters in the hands of a controlling, abusive, violent caretaker.
As a result , feeling unsafe, anxious and fearful, he turned to alcohol at age 12 and became a suicidal alcoholic in his 20s. Albert’s memoir “Beamish Boy: A Memoir of Recovery & Awakening” documents his early life which he shares in this interview.
He also tells Caryl about the pivotal incidents that changed his life so radically that eventually he quit drinking and became an acclaimed poet, being appointed the first Poet Laureate of Marin County California from 2008-2010. He has since presented on stages with Cheryl Strayed, Elizabeth Gilbert and many others.
Albert reveals how he views writing practice and meditation as a path to awakening, the subject of his book Writing as a Path to Awakening: A Year to Becoming an Excellent Writer and Living an Awakened Life.
He believes meditation and writing are a "dynamic duo" to cultivate true depth in your own writing—so your words reveal layers of profound insight that inspire and move your readers.
Combining the two activates a more complete, creative, authentic and spiritual self.
Albert discloses his own writing practice which usually begins with meditative silence and stillness. He says for him authentic emotional writing comes from the body. It comes from this experience of being in the body, courageously being willing to go into those deeper places of sensation - of fear energy, of anger. And also, by the same token, delight energy and joy energy.
He shares his first Kickstarter Project currently underway in mid-2022 - a book of five travel essays with 10 outstanding photographs by Swedish photographer Mattias Fredriksson - titled Singletrack Mind, Finding Wisdom & the Poetry of Life on Two Wheels.
As a special offer to my podcast listeners, Albert is offering a free 30 minute consultation where he will guide you on any writing related topic and offer the opportunity to join his Brilliant Writers community.
https://calendly.com/albertflynndesilver/30min

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