Honestly, I had to limit myself. Haiku is deceptively simple, and infinitely awakening to the biggest version of who you are.
1. It quiets your mind
2. It limits your focus to one thing
3. It teaches you to be more aware
4. It clears difficult emotions
5. It allows you to express yourself
6. It makes you wiser
7. It stops the world for a few minutes
8. It takes very little time
9. It enhances your self-esteem
10. It makes you more grateful
11. It teaches you to see more clearly
12. It calms your heart
13. It shows you the power of curiosity
14. It reminds you of who you are
15. It makes you more creative
16. It wraps your grief in self-compassion
17. It quiets your critical inner voice
18. It gives wings to your joy
19. It dulls your pain
20. It enlivens your spirit
Your inner self either liked that list or it didn’t. If it didn’t, you wouldn’t like haiku at all, and I respect that.
If it did, read on.
These are comments from people I’ve never met, from around the world, who found their way to my online haiku program. Some came for the writing practice. Others, to deal with grief and a host of other feelings. They seem to have found something they needed.
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I am so grateful to have found your class. I used to really enjoy writing, but as of late, I have had a difficult time expressing my thoughts on paper. But your class is giving me time and space to focus on a 'single bite,' rather than the overwhelming blank page, which is perfect.
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I find it incredibly therapeutic.
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Your support is immense to my heart, Kathy Curtis. This morning i see light coming through, with the walls down. I'm definitely motivated to go through this process of "allègement " of my soul. Again your support and warm presence makes the difference to me.
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Kathy Curtis, thanks so much for this class and for your most kind and loving words. You have really helped me to process some difficult emotions I had not wanted to address, and for that I am eternally grateful.
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My first try at haiku came out a lot darker than I had anticipated. Didn’t realise how strong my emotions were about the Irritation I was thinking of... this course is going to be interesting.
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My biggest challenge is to get motivated. I find writing these poems enlightening. Nice to be able to post them, that way they seem concrete, not just more thoughts cluttering my mind.
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I find these exercises quite enjoyable and helpful.
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I felt such a warmth inside when i found this course. It will also help my watercolor painting, which I do in the same terms of being connected inside. I see that words come out in French because they are more precise for me and nuanced.
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I used to write poetry 30 years ago..thank you for bringing it back into my life.
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If you’ve gotten this far, maybe you should try it. I’d love to meet you, through the words that flow from everywhere inside you.