Book Description
At the Fierce Edges of Your Life, Where Will You Turn? "In the middle of the road of my life I awoke in a dark wood, where the true way was wholly lost." When you find yourself without bearings, as Dante Alighieri voiced so well centuries ago, where will you look for guidance? Throughout the ages, teaches David Whyte, the language of poetry has held the power to lend us courage ... to give us the vision of those who endured ... and to hazard ourselves boldly at the "fierce edges" of our lives. On "Clear Mind, Wild Heart" you will join this acclaimed poet and teacher to engage with the poetic imagination as your companion and guide for the difficult terrain we are all traversing. Poetry, teaches Whyte, offers immediate and powerful tools unique from any other tradition. It can help us to see beyond the fragile surfaces of our lives, open us to the universal cycles and patterns that shape our lives, and awaken our conversation with what has been called the Untouchable, the Numinous, or the Eternal. "Clear Mind, Wild Heart" guides you into the wellspring of this living poetic tradition through six hours of exploration and poetry with David Whyte, including the verses of such inspired voices as Emily Dickinson, William Blake, W. B. Yeats, Marina Tsvetayeva, Rainer Maria Rilke, Antonio Machado, and others. Through their words, you will discover how to "apprentice yourself to beauty" and find a place of belonging where you can hold loss and grief, the challenges of change, and the wonder of new discovery and adventure. "The language of poetry takes us outside of our small selves and calls us to look at ourselves and the world with open eyes," teaches David Whyte. Whether you are a lifelong poetry lover or new to its insights and pleasures, "Clear Mind, Wild Heart" is an inspiring guide to answering that call. "Clear Mind, Wild Heart" highlights: • Finding the courage to hazard yourself in the world
• Emily Dickinson on the "aliveness" of words
• Conversing with the unknowable
• The harvest of your attention
• How the language of poetry teaches us a relationship with silence
• Goethe’s "Holy Longing"
• Apprenticing yourself to beauty
• Blake’s reflections on innocence and experience
• Creating a "house of belonging" through speech and imagination
• Work: pilgrimage into identity
• Who are you? How presence shrives you of your old identity
• Encountering the visitations of loss, grief, and defeat
• The poetic spirit in marriage, parenting, and friendship
• Six hours of exploration, as taught in David Whyte’s acclaimed seminars and retreats

From the Publisher
This is original material, not available in print.

From the Author
"As human beings we’re constantly trying to find solid ground on which to stand, but from that solid ground we also want a relationship with the intangible. If poetry is anything it’s that relationship – the conversation between what is solid, grounded, and real in our life and what we long for in the untouchable, the numinous, the eternal." – David Whyte excerpt from Clear Mind, Wild Heart

About the Author
David Whyte grew up among the hills and valleys of Yorkshire, England. The author of four books of poetry, he is one of the few poets to take his perspectives on creativity into the field of organizational development. He holds a degree in marine zoology and served as a naturalist guide leading anthropological and natural history expeditions. He brings this wealth of experiences to his four books of poetry, lectures, and workshops. David Whyte is also the author of the bestselling nonfiction books "The Heart Aroused: Poetry and the Preservation of the Soul in Corporate America" and "Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work As a Pilgrimage of Identity."