Workshops
Prayer As Activism Workshop, Washington DC
On Sunday, December 3, 2023, a special half-day workshop was held at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Georgetown (the oldest Episcopal parish in Washington, D.C., founded in 1796)
Richard J. Marks conducted a special workshop on Prayer as Activism – the process of creating, forming, and expressing prayers. “Prayers need to not just be created, but to be centered in the heart and shared (just as we all shared music playlists when we were young). Writing a prayer is the act of creating something that matters for self-healing, sharing and healing the world. Prayers are foundational, and aren’t exclusively religious: they give us something to do … new ways of doing life.”
Spiritual Writing Roundtable Workshop, New York City
On Sunday, June 4, 2023, a special three-hour Spiritual Writing Roundtable was held during Spirituality Week in New York City — a brand new community-produced, annual citywide festival that has emerged post-pandemic from a need for people to experience a wide range of spiritual development, healing and community without leaving the City, and either free or low-cost.
Richard J. Marks was one of 150+ teachers who contributed to the first-ever Spirituality Week in New York City. In 75 venues across all 5 boroughs of New York City, 6,000+ attendees practiced 230+ programs.
The three-hour roundtable was titled “Prayer is for Everyone: How prayers are the ground from which we discover new ways of doing life: to pause, to heal, to give thanks, to help us have newfound freedom.” Non-denominational and all-inclusive, each participant was asked to bring a prayer from any culture or language, as well as to be prepared to write, and to share during the event. This was not a session on how to pray, but on how prayers themselves are a vital action.
Participants unlocked old and new narratives to clear out trapped emotions that cause our spirit, body, and relationships to suffer. Using traditional cultural formats from Cherokee and Hawaiian, to collects and centering prayer, they got into what prayers do, how to discern and write our own, get them activated, and use them in our real lives. Open and able to talk about their blocks, they were willing to write and discuss private things openly together. They went from writing about what “needs to go” (to end, to be done in their lives) … to the next step, which is to reconnect with love and their dreams. They wrote prayers for each other. They created symbols of them for meditation. The day finished with the deeper work of releasing how we oppress ourselves and others.
Learn more about the event here.Testimonials
(Lisa B., PhD, scientist, 2023, New York, NY)
My exploration centered around how I grieve and how to release that grief. A hugely important insight Richard Marks gave me is that I carry grief not only in my mind but also in my body. He encouraged me to find ways to get out of my head and into my body, and even recommended a body-centered breathwork course, which I took and found very beneficial. This and other insights I’ve gained from my time with Richard have stayed with me and have had a lasting impact on my life, helping me to release what needs to be released, and move forward in my life less encumbered by the past.
I had the privilege of participating in Richard’s Spiritual Writing Experiential Workshop during the summer of 2023 in New York City. It was a wonderful experience and I’d recommend it to anyone who would like to hit the pause button and take some time to explore and more deeply understand something about themselves.
The workshop was structured around a rich collection of spiritual writings and prayers from a range of cultural traditions, several writing exercises, and also the unique experiences and desires that each person present brought to the workshop. Part of the workshop’s process was listening and responding to each other, and I felt that Richard was exceptionally adept at adapting the pace and structure of the workshop based on what was arising in real-time. Richard listens deeply to those around him, and his responses are insightful, candid, and also very warm and compassionate. He also brings a sense of lightness and humor into the room. The result was a workshop that was deeply enriching and also fun—even playful at times.
All of us came out of the workshop feeling more connected to some aspect of ourselves, along with having some new ideas about how to keep exploring that connection through writing and other means.
(Elena R., coaching client, 2023, Nice, France)
Richard J. Marks is above all a soul. A benevolent soul, full of wisdom, with just one desire: to spread joy and pass on his magnificent knowledge with all humility.
To tell you the truth :
- A workshop with Richard is a (re)connection to yourself, to your inner child, to your soul.
- A workshop with Richard means understanding the beauty, the power and the power of prayer. But above all, it’s about integrating it into your daily life and quickly realizing the benefits.
- A session with Richard is a moment suspended in time and space, where kindness, awakening and liberation are the watchwords, and where you’re bound to feel at home.
- A session with Richard for your personal development is a moment you’ll never regret and for whichyou’ll be eternally grateful.
In short:
- An extraordinary encounter
- More than enriching exchanges
- A broader vision
- A more conscious and enlightened life
