Writing Ourselves Home

is a slow and gentle 9-month process, to reconnect with our hearts, and root our lives back inside them. Through reading and writing poems, we use a gentle process to listen to, and hear, our hearts' whispers and shouts; support them to open; and, begin leaning into their stories, wisdom and guidance.

The idea of "mind over matter" and our over-education in rational and logical thinking, means we often ignore our hearts, shut them off or over-ride their voice. We may be living outside, and away from, our hearts without realising it.

I work from the knowing that writing is the act of listening to one's self. Throughout our journey, we use writing and reading poetry, as a way to listen deeply to our hearts; and then carve a path back home to them, and ultimately back home to ourselves.

We connect with our bodies: writing with them, and from them, to discover and express the stories and truths within us. We craft these into poems, using a range of poetic forms. We use different creative and writing exercises to do so.

This course offers the dual focus of: writing as heart expression and learning to work with poetic form and structure. It demystifies poetry forms and supports you to remove any fears or blocks, you might have around working with them. The course takes place entirely online, so people from all over the world are invited to join.

You do not need any previous writing experience, only the desire to explore, learn, write, and the commitment to make the journey back home to yourself.

BANNER IMAGE: Johnny McClung /unsplash

INTENTIONAL COMMITMENT

This course is designed as a journey: each month, we will build on the work done during the previous months. Another key aspect of this course, is working and journeying together in community. While we will be writing and creating individually, we will be doing so in community with other writers.

Because of this, it is important to ensure that you can make all (or most) of the live class dates.

Protea Package

— pay monthly —

ZAR 2,500 per month, for 9 months. Paid monthly

2 live online classes, reading pack, writing pack, and monthly playlist. Lifetime access to all recordings.

by signing up, you are committing to all 9 payments. please purchase mindfully, as no refunds will be given.

IMAGE: Montseng Ntabejane /unsplash

Dahlia Package

— pay-in-full upfront —

ZAR 22,500 includes all in the Protea Package

PLUS 2 x 1-hour individual feedback sessions on your poems

there are only two Dahlia Packages available.

UPDATE: there is only one Dahlia Package remaining

please purchase mindfully, as no refunds will be given.

IMAGE: Aaron Burden /unsplash

Feedback from previous participants

When I signed up for your course, my heart felt cracked open with grief. I felt as if I needed to re-learn how to be myself and in the world. I’m so grateful that you created this course and that I heeded the call to join. I feel whole again — different, of course, but at home. Thank you for the space, gentleness, care, and magic you nurtured. And thank you for guiding me to remember how much I love reading poetry as well as writing

Emily Han

Naturalist, Herbalist, Educator & Writer

It has created a consistant space for practise, in listening and writing, as well as opening myself up to my inside voice. It's also taught me writing skills so that I can create with more intent and less "luck". I went in with little expectation and what I gained was being able to rest into myself more easily. To find my voice; find breath; find joy and play; find inspiration in the journey other people were on; find trust in the process of writing; to slow it down and let the words be born. I also wasn't expecting to enjoy the experience as much as I did. It was warm and personal and safe. I loved the people that shared this experience with me ...

Gaby Beyers

Photographer & Writer

Toni created a truly integrated mind-body-emotions-spirit process, where I was guided to open my heart and hear its voice through poetry. With her presence, wisdom, and compassion, she inspired a gentle and supportive space to play and create in what was a new writing form for me and to share my writing with others. In our Writing Ourselves Community, I was lucky to meet loving, warm, and incredibly brilliant people, and there was a depth to our monthly gatherings that felt sacred. In later months of the course, Toni facilitated collaborative writing experiences that were nothing short of awe-inducing magic —in those sessions I felt a heart-expanding aliveness, reminding me that we are a part of something bigger that flows through and connects us all. I am so very grateful to Toni for her offerings to our world.

Sreela Sreedevi

Doctor in Family Medicine

What an inspiring, creative, heart-opening, and nourishing journey Writing Ourselves Home has been. Thank you so much for your wisdom, presence, kindness, and offering to this world.

Linda Daniels

Writer, Researcher

Writing Ourselves Home, was just a beautiful space of deep contemplation and remembrance. It felt like a monastery of sorts. As a prose writer, I signed up to the course not knowing what to expect. Delving into poetry presented surprising results, and allowed an expression that is outside of the normal prose traditions. The course helped me expand my ideas, it changed my thinking around the process of writing, and reminded me of why I write. I have since enjoyed writing prose more.

Mathapelo Mofokeng

Writer, End-of-Life Companion & Abortion Companion