In entering the gathering spaces of Regarding Dew, you agree to the following Conditions of Gathering.
⦾ You agree to bring your full presence to the activity at hand and the community that has gathered in order to best reap the fruits of your practice and honor the shared space. Practically, this involves arriving on time to every call—to the best of your ability—in order to respect the collective ‘field’ created by our community, and attending these calls from a private space, free of technology of disruptions—to the best of your ability. If you are running late, please join, just make sure to arrive on time as a standard so that you don’t miss the key information at the beginning. That said: get up for bio breaks as needed, without hesitation!
⦾ Honoring an environment of intentional connection through upholding confidentiality and privacy, a spirit of generosity, presence, self-responsibility, respect, and compassionate inquiry for yourself and others.
⦾ Light embodiment will ground our writing process together. I will make suggestions and you will decide what’s best for you based on consent and desire.
⦾ No self-promotion.
⦾ This space is not therapy. If emotions arise, you agree to taking the steps necessary to take care of yourself and seek support as needed.
⦾ While we want everyone to feel included, this isn’t a space to call on someone (and I will never call on you—you are 100% welcome to practice passive participation). A space of inclusion begins with attentive listening.
Community Discovery Writing Gatherings:
⦾ We are trying to create a fluid field of writing, reading, and back again. Out of our heads and into our hands! This means that after a piece is shared, there is no feedback. The main intention in this time is to see what interesting things occur when we go beyond judging the quality of our creative expression.
⦾ Stay for the duration of the writing period—to the best of your ability. If you need to leave early, no worries; please let me or the group know beforehand (if possible) to respect the shared space.
⦾ Between each timed writing, there is the opportunity to read your writing to within a small breakout room (1-2 other people). If you don’t feel comfortable reading what was written—especially given that some of what you write might be tender or surprising—please respect your own boundaries in this and know that your continual presence, both for your own creativity and the creativity of others, is where the power is at. You may return to the main group at any moment.
⦾ In order to maintain consent in this space, please use your own discretion around sharing. If something might require a content warning or trigger warning (a subjective thing to determine) please consider not reading it or asking permission in your small group to read it. If you have a tendency toward dysregulation or defensiveness, this is not the space for you at this time. This is a space that names the nuanced experiences of being human while centering curiosity and connection.
⦾ After the writing portion, there is time to connect intentionally in community. If you are more reserved, shy, or feel nervous speaking up in groups or around new people, this is your opportunity to practice taking up space. If you tend toward extroversion, please contribute while keeping in mind that it might take others a longer time to talk. Silence and pauses are welcome in this space.
Any gathering online:
⦾ In order to create a sense of safety and reciprocity, cameras are on during the social parts (beginning and end). Please feel free to turn off your camera during the writing and/or journaling portion. Mics are muted for the writing portion so there isn’t unnecessary noises in the space, and so that we can get lots of writing done.
⦾ In order to honor this container, calls will not be recorded and transcripts will not be provided; you agree to respect this space as one of confidentiality and not record or disclose any personal information that was shared in the group. Closed captioning is available. If you have other accessibility needs, please email me at maggy@regardingdew.com.
I can’t wait to gather together XO
“So, I just finished the gift of the writing experience. It was truly a gift, and I felt like I connected to the wonderful ladies in both of the rooms I was in. It felt like we were meant to meet.”
“Any feeling of constriction I bring into this space is lifted and replaced with a sense of growth and expansion when I leave.”
“Your care in cultivating a gentle and safe space to explore writing with no pressure or outcome is truly appreciated. I felt inspired and free to simply pour out words on a page and they shaped themselves into something beautiful that I could never have constructed. My deepest thanks to you and I look forward to experiencing you again.”
“I took creative writing in high school about ten years ago and have wanted to come back to it since, and never had the courage. This was the first time in a decade.
I happened to be on the CreativeMornings website, saw your class and took it on a whim. During every step of the process, I almost tapped out (turning on my camera, going into the breakout room, then actually reading instead of asking not to) but you’d clearly designed with such *gentleness* for all the introverts that it just infused the whole room with it. Your intro was so lovely, the flow was so calm, the people were all so wonderful, that I participated fully. I feel 2% more like a writer than I have in many years — I’m on cloud nine.”
“Maggy does such a wonderful job in creating an open, welcoming, and creative space through the Community Writing Gatherings. I was a bit anxious before the first gathering—it has been a process getting to a place of being able to identify as a writer/someone creative—and almost immediately I felt at ease and comfortable in the zoom room. Joining the gatherings has had a positive effect on my writing; engaging in a completely nonjudgmental, highly creative hour to really just play with words and imagination and associations has been super helpful and freeing. Everyone who participated was equally lovely as well and it was deeply life-affirming/healing to be in such a humane, compassionate space (particularly at this historical moment, particularly in the US). Maggy is very intentional in creating such a space and has a way with words that feels very grounding. I’ve really appreciated my experiences so far with the gatherings and look forward to engaging with this writing community in the future. ”