People are going back and forth across the doorsill where the two worlds touch.
The door is round and open.
Don’t go back to sleep.

- Rumi

Since 2009, I have taught thousands of people to transmute their writing practice from journaling in alpha to soul writing in the all-important theta brain wave state—the threshold between worlds.

All thanks to Writing Down Your Soul.

In 2009, that sweet book hit #1 in her category and stayed there for four years. This year, she is celebrating her 10th birthday and 9th printing.

In those ten years, six more books came through me and I taught all the courses in the mystical system, Your Soul Wants Five Things. Oh and I started a little radio show that 230,000 people downloaded—The Soul-Directed Life. Then last year I heard Prayer Artist whispered in my ear, and now even greater creative transformation is underway.

I did not plan any of this.

Writing books and teaching mystical practices were not on any version of my life plans in 1996. After creating a wildly successful hiring program at CNN, followed by a decade of headhunting for a fortune 500 search firm, I thought I was ready to be an independent human resource consultant.

And I was. Until the morning of November 1, 1996.

The night before, our 7-year old had asked that his father—who was having an affair with his secretary and no longer living with us—join us for our traditional neighborhood blow-out Halloween dinner. The dinner was a tad awkward, but I thought we were taking the first steps toward a civilized divorce.

But when trick or treating ended and all the neighbors left, he ordered our son to bed, demanded I go to bed with him, locked me out of the house when I refused, and screamed through the door I would never see my son again. Through some kind of divine intervention, he eventually opened the door and drove away. I crawled into bed and fell into a hard, deep, black sleep.

At dawn, I startled awake clearly hearing the words: I am afraid of you.

And with that, I knew what I had to do and I did it—not knowing I was stepping into a dangerous situation that would last for 3 excruciating years and leave my son and me emotionally battered, exhausted, broke, and wracked with PTSD.

Why am I telling you this story?

Because hearing and acknowledging “I am afraid of you” led to everything sacred, holy, and good that has happened in my life.

And it all happened through deep soul writing.

On the morning of April 23, 1997, I was in my usual spot sobbing in the living room, when Harley, my Great Dane puppy, left my side, went to my office, and dragged my untouched copy of The Artist’s Way to me.

(I know there is no logical explanation for this. And at the time I was too much of a wreck to even question it. But now, I think Harley must have received a silent command just like I did. Just like we all do. The air is brimming with divine directions. But we have to train ourselves to notice, recognize, and respond.)

If you’ve read Writing Down Your Soul, you know what happened next.

I opened the book, read one paragraph about accessing a source of wisdom on the page, grabbed a blank journal, and dove into what is now a 22-year intimate love relationship with a most extraordinary Voice within.

In short, the round door between worlds opened and Love walked in.

My life is now about helping people find that door.

Everything I write, everything I do, every intensive I offer, every podcast, every prayer is designed to help you walk through that door.

Do you know how to find that door?

The mystics all talk about it. Rumi, in particular, describes it perfectly:

The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
Don’t go back to sleep.
You must ask for what you really want.
Don’t go back to sleep.
People are going back and forth across the doorsill where the two worlds touch.
The door is round and open.
Don’t go back to sleep.

Or how about this cryptic jewel from my boyfriend, Thomas Merton:

I think poetry must
I think it must
stay open all night
in beautiful cellars

Did you notice that both Rumi and Merton describe the passage as open.

It’s already open. So what’s the problem?

Why don’t we easily see that threshold, recognize it for what it is—the portal between the visible and the invisible—and just step over it and enter The Mystic where life can get really thrilling?

This is such an interesting question. It’s a question that has been accumulating volume over the last 5,000 years as the hierarchical, judgmental, patriarchal religions garnered power by describing the path as not only difficult but also reserved for the chosen, the few, the obedient.

But if the door is round and open…

If people are going back and forth between worlds…

If the cellars are open all night…

Then, the task can't be to learn and obey a bunch of rules created by man-made institutions.

The task is to start walking. And as we walk, notice what is happening all around us. And listen. Listen for the whispers that emanate from deep within.

Who is that? Who whispered, “I am afraid of you?” It was me and it wasn’t me.

It wasn’t the me who obeyed society’s rules and poured herself into creating the happy family fantasy complete with seasonal decorations, lavish dinner parties, and smiling portraits. It wasn’t the me who put on the navy-blue pinstriped suit and tried to mimic the aggressive ways the boys played at business. It wasn’t the me who refused to see the shadow of addiction creeping over my house.

Who was it? Who was this sacred precious strong voice? This voice that knew the truth and spoke it in a short, crisp, non-negotiable, declarative sentence. Who was it that could set a whole new life in motion in just 5 words?

It was the Me Who Knows.

The eternal Me.
The divine Me at the core of my being.
The Me I carried into this story called Janet.
The Me I’m here to express.
The Me I’m here to become.
The Me who is in every single one of us.

That Me is waiting for me—and for you—on the threshold of the blank page. The door is round and open.

And after 22 years of meeting her, hearing her, listening to her, and following her exquisite guidance, even when—or especially when—I don’t understand where she's leading, I am called to offer a whole new way to learn and practice deep soul writing.

After ten years of teaching soul writing, this is the first time I've offered it as a prayer intensive. And it is completely different from all my previous courses.

It has to be.

Because Prayer Artist changed everything. Including how I understand and teach deep soul writing.

Deep Soul Writing in The Mystic opens Tuesday, July 2 with all new content, new schedule, completely new structure from New Moon to New Moon, radical new sanctification process, new anointing inspired by Mary Magdalene...in short, everything is new!

I know that door. I've been crossing it every day for 22 years.

Now, I'm inviting you to walk through it with me and together, let us drop deep into The Mystic.

There, you will learn how to hear, recognize, and respond to your own sacred divine Voice and begin a life long relationship of love, beauty, and grace. A life that will carry you where your heart has been whispering "Let's go, beloved, let's go."

Please come visit the page I created for this first Deep Soul Writing prayer intensive. The video will show you how different and deep this intensive will be.

Deep Soul Writing in The Mystic

Whether you've been soul writing for years or just stumbled upon me and my books, you are invited to come and dance with me across that threshold between worlds.

The door is round and open. Once you know how to cross it, you'll never go back to sleep again.

to falling in love with the most beautiful voice of all, the Voice of your own soul,

Janet

PS If you or friends are anywhere near Minneapolis, the first Prayer Concert with the musicians in Sofia is at Unity of Minneapolis on Wed June 12 at 7pm. Scroll down to June on the Experiences page for details:

Experiences

PSS My birthday sale ends Tuesday, June 4. Order any or all of my prayer intensives and receive an addition 35% off the already reduced On Demand fee. The Moon and Me and Praying with and as Mary Magdalene are both lovely preparation for Deep Soul Writing in The Mystic. The coupon code is Birthday35

Prayer Intensives