Weekly Reflection: Until We
There’s a filament of being that sparks its way through time, from one generation to another, a genetic form of presence that we could call our common lineage. Sometimes, it’s familial, you might tilt your head when you listen the way your grandmother did. Often, it’s more that we find ourselves in a constellation of aliveness that we recognize across time and space. Like the old man I saw staring into the small river running through Bruges in Belgium. I knew his softness and trouble as my own. Or my sudden kinship, all those years ago, with the Chinese poet Tu Fu from the Tang dynasty. Something in how he saw the details of the world was intimately how I learn. I doubt a star knows it’s part of a constellation until it feels the presence of other light. I think this may be the way it is with us. We don’t know the constellations we belong to until we feel the bottom of all that is ours to feel. A Question to Walk With: In conversation with a trusted friend or loved one, describe your own light and then describe the constellation you think you are a part of. This is from my book in progress, The Art of Welcome.
Solstice
With the beginning of the Solstice two days ago, we’re reminded to slow down and enjoy the beauty and flow of life around us.
In the rush and noise of our days, it’s easy to move through the world like someone wearing gloves, touching everything, but feeling very little. Yet we alway have the chance to take the gloves off. To stand in the light and let it land.
May this solstice find you somewhere with room to breathe. May it find you ungloved and awake. And thank you for being part of this community. Your presence here makes this work worth doing.
Mark is coming to California
If you’ve been waiting for a chance to experience Mark’s work in person and are on the west coast, September is the time! These three California gatherings are a rare opportunity to be a part of the conversation in person. He’ll be moving through some of the most beautiful parts of the state, from the wine country of Sonoma to the coast near Santa Barbara. Each event is intimate by design, rooms where deep conversation can blossom.
Sep 12 | Day Long Retreat · Santa Rosa, CA The Fifth Season: Creativity in the Second Half of Life Hosted by Sebastopol Senior Center, held at the Balletto Vineyards, Reserve Room · 5700 Occidental Rd · 9am – 5pm
A full day with Mark set among the vineyards of Sonoma County, one of the most quietly stunning corners of Northern California. This retreat is for anyone navigating the creative and spiritual questions that arise in the second half of life: what it means to keep making things, to keep becoming. Click here to register
Sep 13 | Afternoon Conversation · Corte Madera, CA The Language of the Soul with Mark Nepo and Brooke Warner Book Passage · 1pm PT
Book Passage is one of the best independent bookstores in the country, and this conversation between Mark and author and publisher Brooke Warner promises to be exactly the kind of exchange that lingers. Intimate, unscripted, and rooted in what it means to write and live from the inside out. Click here to register
Sep 15 | Evening Gathering · near Santa Barbara, CA The Language of the Soul Godmothers Bookstore
An independent bookstore near the Santa Barbara coast, Godmothers acts as a community gathering space and literary hub, the kind of place that brings deeper conversations to life. A ticketed, in-person gathering with Mark — small, warm, and worth the drive. Register here
Upcoming Events with Mark in 2026-2027
Aug 28–30: The Language of the Soul, Mercy by the Sea, Madison, CT. Click here to register. *Mercy by the Sea only has “commuter spots” available. Once again, their ministry is willing to offer partial scholarships to those in need. Learn more and apply here. - IN PERSON
Sep 12: The Fifth Season: Creativity in the Second Half of Life, Day Long Retreat, Balletto Vineyards, Reserve Room, 5700 Occidental Rd, Santa Rosa, CA | 9am – 5pm | Sebastopol, California, Click here to register – IN PERSON
Sep 13: @ 1pm PT: The Language of the Soul. An intimate afternoon conversation with Mark and Brooke Warner at Book Passage Corte Madera, California. Click here to register. - IN PERSON
Sep 15: The Language of the Soul. An intimate in-person gathering with Mark at Godmothers Bookstore near Santa Barbara. Register here for this ticketed event.
IN PERSON
Oct 11: @ 11-noon PT/2-3pm ET The Language of the Soul. A conversation with Mark Nepo and Joel Fotinos, presented by Banyen Books & Sound. Zoom link to come. ONLINE
2027
January 10, 17, 24, 2027: The Language of the Soul, The Power to Awaken, Connect, and Heal. A 3-session webinar guided by Mark Nepo. 1-2:30PM ET | 10-11:30AM PT. Click here for more information. – ONLINE
February 8-13, 2027: The Fifth Season: Creativity in the Second Half of Life, a Mastery week, The Modern Elder Academy in Baja, Mexico, Click here to sign up
IN PERSON
April 2027: Weeklong Retreat with Mark Nepo in a castle outside of Milan, Italy Click here to learn more and register – IN PERSON
While critical thought is crucial, often a simple moment of presence—of heart-centered feeling and breathing, where we tell ourselves, “remember this simple moment forever,” brings that much wanted pause to our egoic mind. It’s then I am immersed in the wonder of feeling alive: one with the trees, sky and grassy dale, with laughter coming from a nearby Sunday afternoon picnic. At the end of words I find presence. What a wonderful thing!
The constellation image stays with me. There's something in direct experience that's like this, a recognition that happens before you've understood anything. You don't think your way into knowing you belong.