“I set out to bring down stars from the sky and then, for fear of ridicule, I stop and pick little flowers of eloquence.” - Edmond Rostand
Exploring Your Adolescence & Archetype of The Orphan
Writing about adolescence in this course will facilitate a great deal of personal reflection and contemplation that is stimulated by readings, writing exercises, short videos and much more, including end of day mentoring sessions to offer objective insights into your learnings and help you synthesise everything.
One is never afraid of the unknown; one is afraid of the known coming to an end. ― Krishnamurti
Life Writing, Personal Development and a Retreat Space
Feeling a bit listless in our ordinary routines, many of us like to spice life up with a road trip and all the sensory delight they can bring.
Others take the opposite approach, gravitating to meditation retreats in the hopes of giving their overstimulated and exhausted minds a break, by emptying them.
The programs we run straddle the middle path. Tranquil surrounds and reflective questions help to still the waters, while the diversity of activities and the provoking nature of it helps to shake you out of ruts and enculturated thinking.
Writing About Adolescence - Blue Mountains Retreat
Writing Studio - The Blue Mountains | Outskirts of Sydney
Write & do activities indoors or outdoors
A short walk from mini ha ha waterfall
A Peaceful, Nature Laden Writing Space
Enjoy Some Of Our Blog Articles
Cultivate a Mythic Imagination
Myth takes us out of isolating independence to connect us with our collective evolution
Details About The Life Writing Program Exploring Adolescence
Consider embarking on this Write of Passage in order to
✴︎ Undertake Narrative Writing About Adolescence
✴︎ Gain Insight Into How To Write A Memoir
✴︎Begin Writing About Teenage Trauma
✴︎ Understand the Orphan Archetype And It's Developmental Purpose
✴︎Write A Short Story About Your Teen Years
✴︎ Undertake Personal Development
✴︎ Explore Life Story Writing & Create A Foundation To Build A Memoir
✴︎ Discover Archetypal Psychology & A More Imaginative Approach To Self-Understanding
Cost: $590 for a 2 day program *$50 discount for a weekday program
Inclusions: Accommodation, meals, workbooks and personal mentoring/debriefing
Location: Katoomba, Blue Mountains NSW
Optional session with a bibliotherapist. Learn more about our bibliotherapy service.
Included in your package is an optional stand up paddleboarding session, mountain bike ride or bush walk at the end of day 1 of your program (weather permitting).
Program Outline:
Day 1
Morning Session
Explore workbook readings and insights relating to adolescence as viewed from mainstream psychology. * Optional writing exercises.
Lunch
Afternoon Session
Explore workbook readings and insights relating to adolescence as viewed from mainstream psychology. * Optional writing exercises.
Optional debriefing session to help locate themes and patterns which can be used as the basis for writing about an event from your adolescence.
Dinner (or the option for you to take in one of the local dining facilities)
Optional evening session (immersive, non writing activities)
Day 2
Morning Session
Explore workbook readings and insights relating to the archetype of the Orphan (Wounded Healer), with optional writing exercises.
Lunch
Afternoon Session
Explore workbook readings and insights relating to the archetype of the Orphan (Wounded Healer), with optional writing exercises.
Optional debriefing session to help locate themes and patterns which can be used as the basis for writing about an event from your adolescence.
The structure of the course is beautifully architected. An example for many to follow. Very rich insight and wonderful notes/handouts. - Eddie
Life Writing
I have enjoyed and received so much from being in your life writing classes. These are some of the areas where I felt healing and validation occur with the help of you and your course:
Grandmother/Mother/Daughter relationships
Son relationship
Father/daughter relationship
Sisters’ relationship
Lovers and husbands
Self-shame, depression and spirituality
Deeper relationship with Community
Expressing the power in being vulnerable
Eliciting writing that’s creative and skillful
Discovery of family connections
The pleasure of writing
Appreciation and understanding what age is for
Big thanks!
- Eve G
Writing Courses in Sydney
I loved this course! I loved that you shared your personal journey & I loved all the info about the lives of others. It was all really inspiring & interesting. This was the best workshop I’ve ever been to. So glad I came. Thank you Marcus! - Jo
NSW Writers Centre Courses
It gave me wings. It gave me belief. It made me think. It helped me to understand myself & how life has shaped me. I felt like I was given the pegs to guide me through this vast & complex topic. Thank you for being the perfect facilitator. - Ingrid
Writers Retreat Australia
Marcus is so well read and a pleasure to listen to. The framework given, the gentle and varied suggestions on subject matter and the time to write was invaluable. - Suzanne
Course for Writing
Very pleased that I made the effort to come to the course. You provided me with so much information and gentle guidance, allowing and trusting me to find my own voice & stories. I enjoyed it all. A wonderful course. Highly recommended & well delivered. Thank you for all the time & care you put into preparing & delivering it. - Sarah
Australian Writers Centre
A lovely deep-dive into ourselves and each other - our commonality - our individual magic. - Anon
Orphan Archetype - Exploring Our Adolescent Development
Pulling Up Roots
Mainstream psychology regards the task of adolescence as that of forming our identity and growing beyond the family, peer and cultural conditioning we each receive. This program helps you recognise if healthy boundaries were formed or whether development stunting issues such as golden child syndrome and others occurred.
If you fight for your dignity, you risk losing the love you need from them [parents] to develop. If you don’t fight back, you lose your self-respect and your development is stifled - Jeff Brown
Orphan Archetype Journey
Carl Jung spoke of the Orphan complex, where we must navigate the experience of feeling misunderstood and different from our family and peers. This severing and going inwards is a necessary developmental stage. Remaining in the naivety of childhood helps us not. Integrating this passage involves not overstaying in the opposite behaviour where we become overly distrustful.
Loneliness is the absence of the other. Aloneness is the presence of oneself - Osho
Wounded Healer
Both indigenous cultures and ancient wisdom recognised that life is designed to break a person open, just as a seed must be broken in order to germinate. The modern rise of helicopter and pressure cooker parenting has gone the other extreme of being overly protective. Sifting through our teen years to recall the woundings we experienced allows us to find the gifts, or treasure they offer us.
The shell must break before the bird can fly - Alfred Tennyson
Retreats NSW
Combine a trip to the Blue Mountains with one of our range of wellness retreats
Art Retreat
Discover your creative potential and explore a variety of artistic mediums
Instead of gaming love, master the game of love by understanding your core needs and the stumbling blocks between you and a lasting, enriching connection.
Our self-love retreat is ideal for singles working on relationship patterns and for those who could use some self care and greater appreciation for who they are & what they have to offer the world.
A holistic retreat involving creative expression, life guidance, relationship exploration & a range of activities such as astrology/numerology readings, tarot, breathwork, transpersonal counselling & more.
