When a dear friend left me a message a few days ago sharing that the below poem, Saying No To The Rushing, shifted her day and brought her comfort, I decided that I needed to share it with you.

If you are tired of rushing, of trying to be “good” in the eyes of others, if you are just tired, period, I invite you to join me in September for my 6 week Write Yourself Free series.

This will be a time to say no to the rushing, no to the push to perform—a time to steep ourselves in poetry and presence, to allow our pens to run wildly, delightedly free.

No editing, no critiquing, no performance—no need to hide your messy humanness—just real connection, real truth telling.

Click HERE or on the below image for more information.

Write Yourself Free: An Online Writing Series for Women

Permission to be Ourselves

This is a 6 week series for women, beginning on:

Tuesday, September 15th: 3:00-5:00PM (PST)

Early bird registration is now open (until 8/7/26). No early bird deadline for paying subscribers.

This will be an intimate group, limited to 15 participants.

Use coupon code: FREE at checkout for $25.00 off (until 8/7/26)

PAYING SUBSCRIBERS USE coupon code: substack subscriber (no deadline)

Julia brings a beauty and an acceptance that is utterly heartwarming, tender, and kind of like the comfiest couch you can ever imagine.

—Ellow Phoenix Barbour

MORE INFO & REGISTER HERE

Now, for the poem…

Saying No To The Rushing

There is time to look up at the golden maple,
to consider her limbs all tangled up
with light and life, how unafraid
she is to be naked—to let it all come,
to let it all go. There is time

to stand still on the front porch on a Monday afternoon
and water the flowers that have graced you
with orange blossoms each day
of this fading summer, time to say thank you—
for another afternoon, another Monday,
for blossoms and front porches and stillness
and time. Time.

Yes, there is time to say no to the rushing,
to the push to perform, no to the chase
to collect all the prettiest things. Yes to opening
the book of poetry, to lingering on a line until every
last window blows open inside you.

Might you look up at the sky full of stars and laugh
at how, just a moment ago, you tried to undo what had
already been done, laugh at how you worried yourself
sick over whys and what ifs, worried over, over—
what was that again?

Who would you be without the storm
in your mind, if you took the time
to taste the exact flavor of this fading moment—
the moment that took 13.8 billion years
to get here. Maybe
you would be like that golden maple,
all tangled up with light and life—
unafraid to be naked, unafraid
to let it all come
to let it all go.

The above poem is one of 100 poems in my brand new book This Too: Words To Walk You Home. Click on the below image to get a signed copy(s).

PS: There are few things I love more than being a guest poet in communities that are rooted in mindfulness.

If you facilitate such a community and would like to have me as your guest, please feel free to reach out.

My email address is: writeyourselffree@gmail.com If you’re receiving this in your inbox, you can simply hit reply. xo

Consider this a poetic nudge to begin your wee…

Read more

If we are built differently, why on earth are we ever trying to be the same? We aren’t supposed to be the same, we aren’t supposed to write the same, we aren’t supposed make the same art, or have the same beliefs, or love the same thing, or love the same way, or speak the same way. That’s, well, that’s what machines do. —Ada Limón

Hello friend,

Below is a poem that invites you to give yourself permission to be your whole, real, cracked and imperfect self.

Which is also the invitation for my upcoming Write Yourself Free series:

Permission to be Ourselves

This is a 6 week series, beginning on: Tuesday, September 15th: 3:00-5:00PM (PST)

Early bird registration is now open (until 8/7/26)

No early bird deadline for paying subscribers of my Substack page.

This will be an intimate group, limited to 15 participants.

Use coupon code: FREE at checkout for $25.00 off (until 8/7/26)

PAYING SUBSCRIBERS USE coupon code: substack subscriber (no deadline)

Write Yourself Free is about coming home to your own voice, about freeing yourself so that you can write & live from true, rather than writing and living from a place of trying to be "good."

Click below to read more…

MORE INFO & REGISTER HERE

Cracked and Imperfect

     There is a crack, a crack in everything. That’s
     how the light gets in
            —Leonard Cohen

If it doesn’t have to be pretty or profound
or perfect, maybe it can
simply be true.

And what is true?

The red flowering currant does not
know how to try, yet she fills
us with glorious color,

rivers do not need a map,
yet they know
just how to get to the sea—

our sun never speaks
a word, yet she
gives life to everything.

So, in case you need permission,
please, just be the you
that you are, simply speak
what is true—

let yourself be
cracked
and imperfect—

it’s how the light gets in.

The above poem is 1 of 100 poems in my new book This Too: Words To Walk You Home. Click HERE to order a signed copy(S).

This Too out & about in the world

PS: There are few things I love more than being a guest poet in communities that are rooted in mindfulness.

If you facilitate such a community and would like to have me as your guest, please feel free to reach out.

My email address is: writeyourselffree@gmail.com If you’re receiving this in your inbox, you can simply hit reply. xo

The replay of Tuesday’s Write Yourself Free class (my once a month class via Substack) is now available to paid subscribers. Click HERE to access the replay.

What a rich class it was. To those of you who showed up for the live class, thank you so much for your beautiful presence & vulnerability. 💓

What a beautiful evening it was last night.

Thank you to all of you who showed up for the live class, for your beautiful presence and vulnerability. It warmed my heart to see familiar faces and brand new ones too. What a gift.

If you are called, please share some of your “recalls” (lines from your writing that felt especially goosebumpy-resonant). You can share in the comments below this post.

For those of you who couldn’t make it live, I hope you will write right along with us. Enjoy. xo

Read more

Welcome to Week 68 of Sunday Spark!

If you feel called to get some ink on the page, be sure to read the writing practice guidelines (below) before you get your pen moving.

After you read/listen to this week’s poem, Her Rhythm, notice which line most speaks to you. You could also choose a single word from the poem, or begin writing from an image/memory/story that the poem sparks.

Let your body be the decider (as opposed to your mind).

Her Rhythm by Julia Fehrenbacher

Music Credit: “City of Stars” : Justin Hurwitz & Emma Stone, from the movie “La La Land”

Once you have read the below writing practice guidelines, grab your notebook and your favorite free-flowing pen, set a timer for 10 minutes (or whatever time feels best) and, beginning with the word/line that most resonates from this week’s poem & write write write!

NOTE: The intention is not to stick with whatever prompt you begin writing with, prompts are simply meant to spark your writing…once you begin, follow your pen wherever it wants/needs to go. Get those first words down (before the editor has a chance to sweep in and edit them out).

Writing Practice Guidelines

(As created, with some of my own tweaks, by one of my greatest teachers Natalie Goldberg)

1. First, give yourself permission to write the worst junk in the world (this is the most important one!). Writing practice is very much not about trying to be “good,” it is about opening the door and allowing space for your insides to speak (without any pressure, agenda, or expectations). It is simply saying what is true, what is true, what is true.

2. Keep your hand moving. No stopping to edit (no crossing out, no re-reading, no attention to spelling/grammar). The reason for this fast writing is to outrun the editor who really wants to be in control. Give yourself full permission to lose control!

3. Go for the jugular. If there is energy there, dive straight into it.

4. If you get stuck (or find you are circling some important truth), write the words: WHAT I REALLY WANT TO SAY IS… or THE TRUTH IS…this can’t help but drop you more deeply into your writing.

5. Mostly importantly —Enjoy! Play. Have fun. Make a merry mess.

   * Please feel free to share some of the “recalls” from your own writing. Recalls are simply phrases/lines that feel especially poignant/resonant/goosebumpy/true to you.

   ---

Her Rhythm by Julia Fehrenbacher

She is learning to listen
to this rhythm that is all her own,
to stretch out inside a moment
like old dog in afternoon sun—

to not go too soon
or stay too long.

She is learning to unlearn
what smallness has taught her,
to put her ear to the sound
of her own drumming heart, to let
the low notes be low,
the high notes be high—

to greet each thing as treasure
no matter how clever the disguise.
She will let the trees teach her
when to hold on, when to let go,
how to unfold, stretch out, take up space—

how to dance like falling leaf
inside a too-tight world.

Like moon in her many phases,
like summer settling into
the crisp crunch of fall, she is learning
to breathe it in, breathe it out

to not go too soon
to not stay too long.

The above poem is 1 of 100 poems in my newly released book This Too: Words to Walk You Home.

Click HERE to order a signed copy(s).

My hope is that “This Too” feels like a nest you can rest inside. And also like a spark that grows you warmer, truer, brighter. 🧚‍♂️

Come write with me!

This month’s Write Yourself Free class (for paid subscribers of my Substack page) will be on Tuesday, July 28th, from 4:00—6:00 pm (PST).

Write Yourself Free is all about freeing ourselves so that we can write & live from true, rather than writing and living from a place of trying to be “good.”

I so hope to see you there!

Click HERE for more information & to access the Zoom link for class.

Something fun…

I am so enjoying seeing This Too out and about in the world!

If you have a copy & would be willing to share a photo of the book somewhere meaningful to you—in nature, in a buzzing café, in your lovely hands—I’d be delighted to see it!

I will be sharing some of these images here on my Substack page & on other social media platforms.

Mostly, it will just make my heart smile to see my little book in your world.

Below are a few photos that have blessed me! To everyone who has sent these, thank you. Thank you.

Access all paid subscriber content here, including my most recent conversation with the beloved .

She will have the audacity to take up space,
to follow the trail of her own wild longings,
to be herself, all of herself. Only herself.

She will invite you to join her. 🪶

I shared the below poem exactly 1 year ago.

As I have been thinking about the word audacity, what it means to be audacious, in preparation for my conversation with Laurie Wagner this Friday, the below poem came to mind.

No one gets to decide your worth, my love, it is not an outside job.

How audacious it is to decide our own worth, to say the hard thing, to give ourselves permission to be all of our messy, human selves, to create our own definitions of success. To claim our own knowing.

It is tragic to me that we deny ourselves the healing, beauty, joy, connection, release of saying what is true/creating something new because we are afraid it won't measure up in someone else's eyes. And it points to so much of the pain in the world.

No one else’s permission or approval is required, not ever. You can give it to yourself right now, in this very moment.

What if we stopped focusing on trying to be impressive, and instead put the focus on simply being ourselves?

This is the conversation Laurie and I will be having this Friday.

Click on the below image for more information & to register.

In Laurie’s words:

“We are conditioned to perform, to be impressive, to scrutinize the beauty that comes out of us and wonder if it’s up to snuff. We hide the messy, human parts of ourselves because it might reveal too much or be misunderstood. Because we fear it might not make us worthy.

And yet, so much of what is alive in us exists beneath that effort to hide. So much of what is beautiful about us isn’t the contrived and curated, but the simple and the spontaneous.

This is an invitation to loosen the grip of perfectionism and create space for what is honest, ordinary, tender, and real. A chance to write without the critic standing over your shoulder.

Come listen. Come write with us.” —Laurie Wagner

We would so love to have you join us for this very important, very real conversation.

You absolutely do not need to consider yourself a writer to join us.

And now, the poem…🧚‍♂️

I’m So Tired, Aren’t You?

Aren’t we all aching?

Aching for what? For permission to be all
of ourselves. No sugarcoating.
No trying to impress.
No one-upping.
No cleaning up the mess.

Aren’t we all too damn tired to try
to be anything other than
who we are? What other way
is there to be?

This being human is holy,
hard, messy, scary, uncertain.
Terminal.

There is no cure for the hard.
Please, stop trying to get rid of it.
It too belongs. Let it clear the way
for softness.

In case you are wondering—you are not
the only one who aches. You are not
doing it wrong. You are beautiful
in all of your messiness. Really, you are.

This morning, something deep
inside me whispers:

No one gets to decide your worth, my love,
it is not an outside job. Stop measuring,
stop holding your breath—

be like the falling leaf,
let yourself freefall—

notice how the net
always appears.

Rest now. Rest.

The above poem is one of 100 poems in my brand new book “This Too: Words to Walk You Home.” Click here to get your signed copy(s).

Something fun…

I would so love to see This Too out in the world!

If you have a copy & would be willing to share a photo of the book somewhere meaningful to you—in nature, in a buzzing café, in your lovely hands—I’d be delighted to see it!

I will be sharing some of these images here on my Substack page & on other social media platforms.

Mostly, it will just make my heart smile to see my little book in your world.

Below are a few photos that have blessed me!

Come write with me!

This month’s Write Yourself Free class (for paid subscribers of my Substack page) will be on Tuesday, July 28th, from 4:00—6:00 pm (PST).

Write Yourself Free is all about freeing ourselves so that we can write & live from true, rather than writing and living from a place of trying to be “good.”

I so hope to see you there!

Click HERE for more information & to access the Zoom link for class.

Welcome to Week 67 of Sunday Spark!

If you feel called to get some ink on the page, be sure to read the writing practice guidelines (below) before you get your pen moving.

After you read/listen to this week’s poem, Why Read Poetry if it Won’t Make You Rich by , notice which line most speaks to you. You could also choose a single word from the poem, or begin writing from an image/memory/story that the poem sparks.

Let your body be the decider (as opposed to your mind).

Why Read Poetry if it Won’t Make You Rich —Joy Sullivan

Music Credit: “City of Stars” : Justin Hurwitz & Emma Stone, from the movie “La La Land”

Once you have read the below writing practice guidelines, grab your notebook and your favorite free-flowing, yummy pen, set a timer for 10 minutes (or whatever time feels best) and, beginning with the word/line that most resonates from this week’s poem & write write write!

NOTE: The intention is not to stick with whatever prompt you begin writing with, prompts are simply meant to spark your writing…once you begin, follow your pen wherever it wants/needs to go. Get those first words down (before the editor has a chance to sweep in and edit them out).

Writing Practice Guidelines

(As created, with some of my own tweaks, by one of my greatest teachers Natalie Goldberg)

1. First, give yourself permission to write the worst junk in the world (this is the most important one!). Writing practice is very much not about trying to be “good,” it is about opening the door and allowing space for your insides to speak (without any pressure, agenda, or expectations). It is simply saying what is true, what is true, what is true.

2. Keep your hand moving. No stopping to edit (no crossing out, no re-reading, no attention to spelling/grammar). The reason for this fast writing is to outrun the editor who really wants to be in control. Give yourself full permission to lose control!

3. Go for the jugular. If there is energy there, dive straight into it.

4. If you get stuck (or find you are circling some important truth), write the words: WHAT I REALLY WANT TO SAY IS… or THE TRUTH IS…this can’t help but drop you more deeply into your writing.

5. Mostly importantly —Enjoy! Play. Have fun. Make a merry mess.

   * Please feel free to share some of the “recalls” from your own writing. Recalls are simply phrases/lines that feel especially poignant/resonant/goosebumpy/true to you.

   ---

Why Read Poetry if it Won’t Make You Rich by Joy Sullivan

Speaking of poetry….

I am overjoyed to share that my third book of poetry: This Too: Words To Walk You Home is now available! This book has been a source of great love and great labor. I am so proud of it.

Click HERE to order a signed copy(s).

My hope is that “This Too” feels like a nest you can rest inside. And also like a spark that grows you warmer, truer, brighter. 🧚‍♂️

Reading This Too, Words to Walk You Home felt like a prayer, a soothing conversation with my soul. Each poem was a deep breath; so many of them brought on a gasp, a nod, a smile. Fehrenbacher is at once vulnerably honest and deeply hopeful, everything you want in a poet. The book read like a hundred versions of the truth, each a celebration of living in all its darkness and light. At once wildly profound and minimalistically essential, Julia Fehrenbacher’s poems are the kind you’ll want to read again and again.

—, New York Times bestselling author of Dog Medicine, How My Dog Saved Me From Myself

Come write with me!

This month’s Write Yourself Free class (for paid subscribers of my Substack page) will be on Tuesday, July 28th, from 4:00—6:00 pm (PST).

Write Yourself Free is all about freeing ourselves so that we can write & live from true, rather than writing and living from a place of trying to be “good.”

I so hope to see you there!

Click HERE for more information & to access the Zoom link for class.

This is happening!

I would so love to have you join us. Click on the below image for more information & to register.

Access all paid subscriber content here, including my most recent conversation with the beloved .

Below is a video reading of my poem Hers to Claim (from my brand new book This Too: Words To Walk You Home).

Plus, I am so excited to share that I get to be in conversation with the amazing Laurie Wagner in a class entitled The Audacity to be Ourselves, next Friday, July 24th, at 9:00 AM (PST).

I would so love to have you join us!

See below for more information & to register.

Hers to Claim

Shortly after waking to this new day,
I hear the words:

Do not refuse any part of you.
Do not numb your knowing. Instead,

make a nest of tenderness
big enough to hold every page

of you, every age of you—especially
the small, pigtailed one who ached

and aches to be heard. Hear her now.
Let her rage if she needs to,

hear her until knowing pours
like spring rain, until

every budding thing raises
its drenched head, until

every silenced thing
is claimed.

In Laurie’s words:

Julia Fehrenbacher won’t ask you to become someone new. Her poetry lives at the intersection of poetry, blessing, and permission. It invites you back to the self beneath perfectionism, hurry, fear, self-judgment, and the noise of the world.

Join Julia on Friday, July 24 for a 90-minute class on writing what’s real: dropping the pressure of who you think you’re supposed to be as a writer, and listening to what’s actually moving through you when you give yourself permission to get out of the way.

Please click on the below image to register.

Something fun…

I would so love to see This Too out in the world!

If you have a copy & would be willing to share a photo of the book somewhere meaningful to you—in nature, on a shelf, in your lovely hands—I’d be delighted to see it!

I will be sharing some of these images here on my Substack page & on other social media platforms.

Mostly, it will just make my heart smile to see my little book in your world.

Come write with me!

This month’s Write Yourself Free class (for paid subscribers of my Substack page) will be on Tuesday, July 28th, from 4:00—6:00 pm (PST).

Write Yourself Free is all about freeing ourselves so that we can write & live from true, rather than writing and living from a place of trying to be “good.”

I so hope to see you there!

Click HERE for more information & to access the Zoom link for class.

This Too: Words To Walk You Home is now available!

Click on the below image to get a signed copy(s).

And, one more special thing…

Yesterday afternoon I had the great honor of being in conversation with the amazing , her kind community, & some of you lovely people from my community.

Thank you again, ZenJen & all of you who showed up for this beautiful gathering.

If you missed it & would like to hear some poems from my new book This Too: Words To Walk You Home, & a bit more about me & my writing process, here is the replay.

Access all paid subscriber content here, including my most recent conversation with the beloved James Crews.

PS: There are few things I love more than being a guest poet in communities that are rooted in mindfulness.

If you facilitate such a community and would like to have me as your guest, please feel free to reach out. My email address is: writeyourselffree@gmail.com If you’re receiving this in your inbox, you can simply hit reply. xo

Welcome to Week 66 of Sunday Spark!

If you feel called to get some ink on the page, be sure to read the writing practice guidelines (below) before you get your pen moving.

After you read/listen to this week’s poem, More Like the Sun, notice which line most speaks to you. You could also choose a single word from the poem, or begin writing from an image/memory/story that the poem sparks.

You might write beginning with the first words of the poem:

I want to walk into every room…

Let your body be the decider (as opposed to your mind).

Note: I shared this poem earlier last week (in written form), but it’s such an important one to me, I wanted to share it again in my voice & say a bit about what it means to me.

More Like the Sun by Julia Fehrenbacher

Music Credit: “City of Stars” : Justin Hurwitz & Emma Stone, from the movie “La La Land”

Once you have read the below writing practice guidelines, grab your notebook and your favorite free-flowing, yummy pen, set a timer for 10 minutes (or whatever time feels best) and, beginning with the word/line that most resonates from this week’s poem & write write write!

NOTE: The intention is not to stick with whatever prompt you begin writing with, prompts are simply meant to spark your writing…once you begin, follow your pen wherever it wants/needs to go. Get those first words down (before the editor has a chance to sweep in and edit them out).

Today’s poem is one of 100 poems in my newest book: This Too: Words To Walk You Home, which is now available! Click HERE to order a signed copy(s). xo

Writing Practice Guidelines

(As created, with some of my own tweaks, by one of my greatest teachers Natalie Goldberg)

1. First, give yourself permission to write the worst junk in the world (this is the most important one!). Writing practice is very much not about trying to be “good,” it is about opening the door and allowing space for your insides to speak (without any pressure, agenda, or expectations). It is simply saying what is true, what is true, what is true.

2. Keep your hand moving. No stopping to edit (no crossing out, no re-reading, no attention to spelling/grammar). The reason for this fast writing is to outrun the editor who really wants to be in control. Give yourself full permission to lose control!

3. Go for the jugular. If there is energy there, dive straight into it.

4. If you get stuck (or find you are circling some important truth), write the words: WHAT I REALLY WANT TO SAY IS… or THE TRUTH IS…this can’t help but drop you more deeply into your writing.

5. Mostly importantly —Enjoy! Play. Have fun. Make a merry mess.

   * Please feel free to share some of the “recalls” from your own writing. Recalls are simply phrases/lines that feel especially poignant/resonant/goosebumpy/true to you.

   ---

More Like the Sun by Julia Fehrenbacher

I would like to walk into
every room asking, not—

will I be seen,
will I be loved?

Not, how do I look,
will I measure up?

But, rather, how deeply can I see,
how fully can I love?

How can I let the light
shine through—

be more
like the sun?

It’s here!

I am overjoyed to share that my third book of poetry: This Too: Words To Walk You Home is now available! This book has been a source of great love and great labor. I am so proud of it.

Click HERE to order a signed copy(s).

My hope is that “This Too” feels like a nest you can rest inside. And also like a spark that grows you warmer, truer, brighter. 🧚‍♂️

I am grateful for these humble, hopeful, vital poems full of failure and connection, doubt and resilience, tenderness and urgency. With generous vulnerability, Julia Fehrenbacher turns us again and again toward the world that is here. I love her voice. I love these poems. I love seeing the world through her words. — , author of The Unfolding and host of The Poetic Path

Come write with me!

This month’s Write Yourself Free class (for paid subscribers of my Substack page) will be on Tuesday, July 28th, from 4:00—6:00 pm (PST).

Write Yourself Free is all about freeing ourselves so that we can write & live from true, rather than writing and living from a place of trying to be “good.”

I so hope to see you there!

Click HERE for more information & to access the Zoom link for class.

PS: There are few things I love more than being a guest poet in communities that are rooted in mindfulness.

If you facilitate such a community and would like to have me as your guest, please feel free to reach out. My email address is: writeyourselffree@gmail.com If you’re receiving this in your inbox, you can simply hit reply. xo

Read about my life coaching practice HERE

Access all paid subscriber content here, including my most recent conversation with the beloved .

This is Jim, my dear friend Susan’s 94-year-old dad, aka: One of my earth angels.

That book in his hand is my new book This Too: Words To Walk You Home. The stack of books on the table are books that he bought to gift to friends and family.

Jim bought more copies of my previous book Staying in Love than just about anyone, sharing poems in his men’s groups, gifting books to loved ones.

Susan shared that as soon as her dad received my new book, he sat down and read it cover to cover.

To say that I am honored doesn’t even come close. My heart can hardly handle the beauty of this & I just had to pass that beauty on to you.

Speaking of my new book, below is a short poem from This Too that serves as a daily reminder for me, a hand reaching for mine saying, remember, remember…

More Like the Sun

I would like to walk into
every room asking, not—

will I be seen,
will I be loved?

Not, how do I look,
will I measure up?

But, rather, how deeply can I see,
how fully can I love?

How can I let the light
shine through—

be more
like the sun?

This Too: Words To Walk You Home is now available!

If you pre-ordered, thank you. Thank you! It is on its way to you.

My hope is that “This Too” feels like a nest you can rest inside. And also like a spark that grows you warmer, truer, brighter.

Come write with me!

This month’s Write Yourself Free class (for paid subscribers of my Substack page) will be on Tuesday, July 28th, from 4:00—6:00 pm (PST).

Write Yourself Free is all about freeing ourselves so that we can write & live from true, rather than writing and living from a place of trying to be “good.”

I so hope to see you there!

Click HERE for more information & to access the Zoom link for class.

And one more good thing to share…

My dear friend ‘s gorgeous new (generously free) anthology: The Intention of Love is now available.

Click on the below image to download a copy for yourself and/or to gift to others.

And, speaking of , she & I will be in conversation on Tuesday, July 14th, 1:00 (PST), with my new book as our focus. This is a free conversation, open to all (via Zoom).

In ZenJen’s words:

This will be more than a book launch. It will be an open conversation—with Julia, with the poems, and with all who gather. Come listen. Come celebrate. Come be part of the conversation. Come as you are.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION & TO SIGN UP TO JOIN US

Access all paid subscriber content here, including my most recent conversation with the beloved .

Welcome to Week 65 of Sunday Spark!

If you feel called to get some ink on the page, be sure to read the writing practice guidelines (below) before you get your pen moving.

After you read/listen to this week’s poem, The Message, notice which line most speaks to you. You could also choose a single word from the poem, or begin writing from an image/memory/story that the poem sparks.

Let your body be the decider (as opposed to your mind).

The Message by Julia Fehrenbacher

Music Credit: “City of Stars” : Justin Hurwitz & Emma Stone, from the movie “La La Land”

Once you have read the below writing practice guidelines, grab your notebook and your favorite free-flowing, yummy pen, set a timer for 10 minutes (or whatever time feels best) and, beginning with the word/line that most resonates from this week’s poem & write write write!

NOTE: The intention is not to stick with whatever prompt you begin writing with, prompts are simply meant to spark your writing…once you begin, follow your pen wherever it wants/needs to go. Get those first words down (before the editor has a chance to sweep in and edit them out).

Today’s poem is one of 100 poems in my newest book: This Too: Words To Walk You Home, which is now available! Click HERE to order a signed copy(s). xo

Writing Practice Guidelines

(As created, with some of my own tweaks, by one of my greatest teachers Natalie Goldberg)

1. First, give yourself permission to write the worst junk in the world (this is the most important one!). Writing practice is very much not about trying to be “good,” it is about opening the door and allowing space for your insides to speak (without any pressure, agenda, or expectations). It is simply saying what is true, what is true, what is true.

2. Keep your hand moving. No stopping to edit (no crossing out, no re-reading, no attention to spelling/grammar). The reason for this fast writing is to outrun the editor who really wants to be in control. Give yourself full permission to lose control!

3. Go for the jugular. If there is energy there, dive straight into it.

4. If you get stuck (or find you are circling some important truth), write the words: WHAT I REALLY WANT TO SAY IS… or THE TRUTH IS…this can’t help but drop you more deeply into your writing.

5. Mostly importantly —Enjoy! Play. Have fun. Make a merry mess.

   * Please feel free to share some of the “recalls” from your own writing. Recalls are simply phrases/lines that feel especially poignant/resonant/goosebumpy/true to you.

   ---

The Message by Julia Fehrenbacher

It has never been out there, that thing
you’ve been looking for. And, it turns out,
you never had to look.

It would be like looking
for your own eyes, your own toes,
your own breath,

like the peony searching
for its own petals, like the ocean
chasing after the waves.

It has always been tucked
in the seams of your insides—
winking, watching, waiting,

no, not waiting—resting, trusting, no—
not trusting—knowing
that the clouds

have never
been separate
from the sky—

and that you, precious peony,
have always been the waves and the ocean,
the clouds and the sky—

and you
have already
arrived.

It’s here!

I am overjoyed to share that my third book of poetry: This Too: Words To Walk You Home is now available! This book has been a source of great love and great labor. I am so proud of it.

Click HERE to order a signed copy(s).

My hope is that “This Too” feels like a nest you can rest inside. And also like a spark that grows you warmer, truer, brighter. 🧚‍♂️

I am grateful for these humble, hopeful, vital poems full of failure and connection, doubt and resilience, tenderness and urgency. With generous vulnerability, Julia Fehrenbacher turns us again and again toward the world that is here. I love her voice. I love these poems. I love seeing the world through her words. — , author of The Unfolding and host of The Poetic Path

Come write with me!

This month’s Write Yourself Free class (for paid subscribers of my Substack page) will be on Tuesday, July 28th, from 4:00—6:00 pm (PST).

Write Yourself Free is all about freeing ourselves so that we can write & live from true, rather than writing and living from a place of trying to be “good.”

I so hope to see you there!

Click HERE for more information & to access the Zoom link for class.

PS: There are few things I love more than being a guest poet in communities that are rooted in mindfulness.

If you facilitate such a community and would like to have me as your guest, please feel free to reach out. My email address is: writeyourselffree@gmail.com If you’re receiving this in your inbox, you can simply hit reply. xo

Read about my life coaching practice HERE

Access all paid subscriber content here, including my most recent conversation with the beloved .

My brand new book This Too: Words To Walk You Home is now available!

For those of you who pre-ordered, I am thrilled to say that This Too will be on its way to you in the next couple of days!

Thank you again to those of you who joined me last week for my book launch celebration, I am still basking in the afterglow of that beautiful hour together.

My hope is that “This Too” feels like a nest you can rest inside. And also like a spark that grows you warmer, truer, brighter.

THIS TOO: SIGNED COPIES

It Could Be

a smile or a poem. Or new day light 
that finds you through an open 
window. Or, perhaps, remembering 
that tomorrow was never promised.

It could be the scent
of baking bread, the first chill
of autumn that has you reaching
for your favorite wool sweater. Or maybe 
it’s the noticing of how easily
red maple becomes and lets go.

It could be taking today off
to be still, to un-know,
to notice. To practice loosening 
your troubled grip
because grace can never
be gripped or grabbed.

It could be choosing
softness in a world grown hard 
because you’re tired of hurting 
and being hurt and mercy
is the best kind of medicine.

It could be an invitation to gather 
around the listening table
where every color is beautiful, where 
there is no blame,
no shame, no them—no other.

It could be
It could be any of these things
or no thing at all, that remind you that, really, 
only a few things matter—

Food. Trees. Words. Love. Mostly love.

It Could Be is one of dozens of poems in ‘s gorgeous new (generously free) anthology: The Intention of Love.

Click on the below image to download a copy for yourself and/or to gift to others.

And, speaking of , she & I will be in conversation on Tuesday, July 14th, 1:00 (PST), with my new book, This Too: Words To Walk You Home as our focus. This is a free conversation, open to all (via Zoom).

In ZenJen’s words:

This will be more than a book launch. It will be an open conversation—with Julia, with the poems, and with all who gather. Come listen. Come celebrate. Come be part of the conversation. Come as you are.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION & TO SIGN UP TO JOIN US

Come write with me!

This month’s Write Yourself Free class (for paid subscribers of my Substack page) will be on Tuesday, July 28th, from 4:00—6:00 pm (PST).

Write Yourself Free is all about freeing ourselves so that we can write & live from true, rather than writing and living from a place of trying to be “good.”

I so hope to see you there!

Click HERE for more information & to access the Zoom link for class.

Access all paid subscriber content here, including my most recent conversation with the beloved .

This month’s Write Yourself Free class will be on Tuesday, July 28th, from 4:00—6:00 pm (PST).

Read more about “Write Yourself Free” here.

Bring your favorite pen (or 3), a notebook and an open willingness to enter that field beyond wrongdoing & rightdoing.

If you plan to come to my live events, you no longer need to RSVP. Just bring your lovely self!

Access the Zoom link by clicking the link below…

I will allow for a 5 minute grace period and will then close class to avoid disruption.

ZOOM LINK HERE

Note: A paid subscription to my Substack page is $60.00/year.

Included in this subscription, I offer one 2 hour “Write Yourself Free” class each month, regular conversations with guest poets/writers & my “Sunday Spark” offering (every Sunday).

My intention is to make these offerings available & affordable to all who are called. If you are unable to pay the monthly or yearly fee, please message me. I make scholarships available to all who are in need & interested.

Note: All live events are recorded, so if you are unable to make it to a live class, you will receive the recording shortly after.

Click HERE to access all paid subscriber content. This is where all of the replays live.

And here to access all “Sunday Spark” content.

Subscribe now

Welcome to Week 64 of Sunday Spark!

If you feel called to get some ink on the page, be sure to read the writing practice guidelines (below) before you get your pen moving.

After you read/listen to this week’s poem, Our Sun, notice which line most speaks to you. You could also choose a single word from the poem, or begin writing from an image/memory/story that the poem sparks.

Let your body be the decider (as opposed to your mind).

“Our Sun” by Julia Fehrenbacher

Music Credit: “City of Stars” : Justin Hurwitz & Emma Stone, from the movie “La La Land”

Once you have read the below writing practice guidelines, grab your notebook and your favorite free-flowing, yummy pen, set a timer for 10 minutes (or whatever time feels best) and, beginning with the word/line that most resonates from this week’s poem & write write write!

NOTE: The intention is not to stick with whatever prompt you begin writing with, prompts are simply meant to spark your writing…once you begin, follow your pen wherever it wants/needs to go. Get those first words down (before the editor has a chance to sweep in and edit them out).

Today’s poem is one of 100 poems in my newest book: This Too: Words To Walk You Home, which is now available for pre-order. Click HERE to pre-order a signed copy(s). xo

Writing Practice Guidelines

(As created, with some of my own tweaks, by one of my greatest teachers Natalie Goldberg)

1. First, give yourself permission to write the worst junk in the world (this is the most important one!). Writing practice is very much not about trying to be “good,” it is about opening the door and allowing space for your insides to speak (without any pressure, agenda, or expectations). It is simply saying what is true, what is true, what is true.

2. Keep your hand moving. No stopping to edit (no crossing out, no re-reading, no attention to spelling/grammar). The reason for this fast writing is to outrun the editor who really wants to be in control. Give yourself full permission to lose control!

3. Go for the jugular. If there is energy there, dive straight into it.

4. If you get stuck (or find you are circling some important truth), write the words: WHAT I REALLY WANT TO SAY IS… or THE TRUTH IS…this can’t help but drop you more deeply into your writing.

5. Mostly importantly —Enjoy! Play. Have fun. Make a merry mess.

   * Please feel free to share some of the “recalls” from your own writing. Recalls are simply phrases/lines that feel especially poignant/resonant/goosebumpy/true to you.

   ---

Our Sun by Julia Fehrenbacher

When she shines, and she always
shines, she reaches her warm arms
everywhere, does not

choose the daffodil
over the daphne,
does not care

what you believe in,
what color your skin,
how colorful your credentials—

she doesn’t believe in walls
or borders or IOUs. Does not
choose me over you.

She kisses every prince, every
princess, every pilgrim, every poet,
every parched place, every place of plenty.

Each day she rises
and shines and shines
and rises—bringing every last thing

to life. Bringing life
to every
last thing.

SPECIAL NEWS!

I am overjoyed to share that my third book of poetry: This Too: Words To Walk You Home is now available for PRE-ORDER. This book has been a source of great love and great labor. I am so proud of it.

Click on the below image to pre-order a signed copy(s) & for details about my online book launch celebration, on Tuesday, June 30th from 5:00-6:00pm (PST) (for those who pre-order). To all of you who have already pre-ordered, thank you! infinitely.

My hope is that “This Too” feels like a nest you can rest inside. And also like a spark that grows you warmer, truer, brighter. 🧚‍♂️

I am grateful for these humble, hopeful, vital poems full of failure and connection, doubt and resilience, tenderness and urgency. With generous vulnerability, Julia Fehrenbacher turns us again and again toward the world that is here. I love her voice. I love these poems. I love seeing the world through her words. — , author of The Unfolding and host of The Poetic Path

PS: There are few things I love more than being a guest poet in communities that are rooted in mindfulness.

If you facilitate such a community and would like to have me as your guest, please feel free to reach out. My email address is: writeyourselffree@gmail.com If you’re receiving this in your inbox, you can simply hit reply. xo

Read about my life coaching practice HERE

Access all paid subscriber content here, including my most recent conversation with the beloved .

“For poems are not words, after all, but fires for the cold, ropes let down to the lost, something as necessary as bread in the pockets of the hungry.”

—Mary Oliver

I have always had an aching desire to make sense of things and writing has been one of the only ways to begin to quench that thirst.

The below poem speaks to the importance of words in my life. I hope it inspires you to pick up the pen.

Speaking of picking up the pen, I would so love it if you would come write with me (online) tomorrow, Tuesday, June 24th from 9:00-11:00 am (PST).

Write Yourself Free is all about freeing ourselves so that we can write & live from true, rather than writing and living from a place of trying to be “good.”

See below for details, for information about pre-ordering my new book: “This Too: Words To Walk You Home,” and for an updated release date.

Pick Up the Pen Anyway

Such simple tools—

pen, paper, a thirst
that won’t 
go away,

a few moments to lift 
your eyes
and notice

what is here—

the scent of citrus,
the almost-leafless maple,
a table full of poetry,

to notice 
what stirs in you
as you notice.

When the mind 
hisses: You can’t. 
You don’t have time—

laugh. And then 
pick up the pen
anyway—

show the mind 
how laughably 
wrong it is,

write as if
you are dying of thirst
and words are your water.

This month’s Write Yourself Free class (for paid subscribers of my Substack page) is on Wednesday, June 24th, from 9:00—11:00 am (PST).

I so hope to see you there!

Click HERE for more information & to access the Zoom link for class.

IMPORTANT UPDATE about the book release date:

While I was previously crossing my fingers (and toes) for a solstice release date, it has been pushed out and it now looks like a July 9th-ish release date.

I am very eager to get your books in your hands! As difficult as it is for me to wait, I’m doing my best to accept that this book is on its own timeline (this has been made very clear).

Because of the later release date, I have pushed the pre-order deadline to June 29th. If you pre-order before the 29th, you are invited to a private (online) book launch celebration on Tuesday, June 30th (from 5:00-6:00pm (PST). Be on the lookout for email reminders & the Zoom link.

If you have not yet pre-ordered & would like to, please click on the below image to get your signed copy(s).

My hope is that “This Too” feels like a nest you can rest inside. And also like a spark that grows you warmer, truer, brighter. 🧚‍♂️

I am grateful for these humble, hopeful, vital poems full of failure and connection, doubt and resilience, tenderness and urgency. With generous vulnerability, Julia Fehrenbacher turns us again and again toward the world that is here. I love her voice. I love these poems. I love seeing the world through her words. — , author of The Unfolding and host of The Poetic Path

You’re invited!

Note: The below time is Eastern Standard Time. 10:00-11:00 am (Pacific Standard Time)

Click on the below image to learn more.

Access all paid subscriber content here, including my most recent conversation with the beloved .

Welcome to Week 63 of Sunday Spark!

In celebration of finally getting to hold my new book in my hands, This Too: Words To Walk You Home, I made a short video for you (under 10 minutes).

Click on the image below to watch/listen & for important information about my upcoming (online) book launch celebration that you are invited to when you pre-order a copy. If you are unable to make it to the live event & you pre-order, you will receive the recording shortly after. xo

NOTE: Due to the hot sun, my computer decided to turn itself off at the very end of the video, so it’s a bit of an abrupt closing. Had my computer not gotten heatstroke, I would have blown you kisses and beamed so much love and gratitude your way (to close the video). xo

IMPORTANT UPDATE about the book release date:

While I was previously crossing my fingers (and toes) for a solstice release date, it has been pushed out and it now looks like a July 9th-ish release date. I am very eager to get your books in your hands! As difficult as it is for me to wait, I’m doing my best to accept that this book is on its own timeline (this has been made very clear).

Because of the later release date, I have pushed the pre-order deadline to June 29th. If you pre-order before the 29th, you are invited to a private (online) book launch celebration on Tuesday, June 30th (from 5:00-6:00pm (PST). I will be sending out more information about this as we get closer.

For those of you who live outside of the US and don’t want to pay the astronomical international shipping charges, please know that the book will be available in all major online bookstores (in the next couple of weeks).

If you have not yet pre-ordered & would like to, please click on the below image to get your signed copy(s).

My hope is that “This Too” feels like a nest you can rest inside. And also like a spark that grows you warmer, truer, brighter. 🧚‍♂️

I am grateful for these humble, hopeful, vital poems full of failure and connection, doubt and resilience, tenderness and urgency. With generous vulnerability, Julia Fehrenbacher turns us again and again toward the world that is here. I love her voice. I love these poems. I love seeing the world through her words. — Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, author of The Unfolding and host of The Poetic Path

On another note, this month’s Write Yourself Free class (for paid subscribers of my Substack page) will be Wednesday, June 24th, from 9:00—11:00 am (PST).

I so hope to see you there!

Click HERE for more information & to access the Zoom link for class.

Now for the written version of today’s poem…

If you feel called to get some ink on the page, be sure to read the writing practice guidelines (below) before you get your pen moving.

After you read/listen to this week’s poem, I Am Not These Thoughts, 1 of 100 poems in my upcoming book This Too: Words To Walk You Home, notice which line most speaks to you. You could also choose a single word from the poem, or begin writing from an image/memory/story that the poem sparks.

Let your body be the decider (as opposed to your mind).

I Am Not These Thoughts by Julia Fehrenbacher

I keep forgetting that I am not
these thoughts.

I am not these thoughts.

Not the crouching one in the corner afraid
to speak up, not the one sitting on the bench
while the other kids play, not the thunder that booms:
You don’t belong. Not the shakiness
that whispers: Shhh, stay quiet, stay small.

I keep forgetting that I am not
these thoughts.

I am not these thoughts.

Not these hands that empty
and fill, fill and empty, not this body
that wrinkles, grays, aches, breaks. I am

the something that raises its shaky hand
and speaks up anyway, who rises
off the bench and joins them in play,
the something that lifts me off the hard,
cold ground, points eyes to the sun and says:

See this sky, this stunning flood of light?
This, my love, is what you are.

After you read the below writing practice guidelines, grab your notebook and your favorite free-flowing, yummy pen, set a timer for 10 minutes (or whatever time feels best) and, beginning with the word/line that most resonates from this week’s poem & write write write!

NOTE: The intention is not to stick with whatever prompt you begin writing with, prompts are simply meant to spark your writing…once you begin, follow your pen wherever it wants/needs to go. Get those first words down (before the editor has a chance to sweep in and edit them out).

Today’s poem is one of 100 poems in my newest book: This Too: Words To Walk You Home, which is now available for pre-order. Click HERE to pre-order a signed copy(s). xo

Writing Practice Guidelines

(As created, with some of my own tweaks, by one of my greatest teachers Natalie Goldberg)

1. First, give yourself permission to write the worst junk in the world (this is the most important one!). Writing practice is very much not about trying to be "good," it is about opening the door and allowing space for your insides to speak (without any pressure, agenda, or expectations). It is simply saying what is true, what is true, what is true.

2. Keep your hand moving. No stopping to edit (no crossing out, no re-reading, no attention to spelling/grammar). The reason for this fast writing is to outrun the editor who really wants to be in control. Give yourself full permission to lose control!

3. Go for the jugular. If there is energy there, dive straight into it.

4. If you get stuck (or find you are circling some important truth), write the words: WHAT I REALLY WANT TO SAY IS… or THE TRUTH IS…this can’t help but drop you more deeply into your writing.

5. Mostly importantly —Enjoy! Play. Have fun. Make a merry mess.

   * Please feel free to share some of the "recalls" from your own writing. Recalls are simply phrases/lines that feel especially poignant/resonant/goosebumpy/true to you.

She whispers namaste to her own reflection, and these words whisper back—it is enough to be you. She lets a lifetime of sorrow seep from her tired, trying bones, lets it rest on the ground with every fallen petal. And she breathes. Still, she breathes. (Words from my poem “Still, She Breathes,” from my soon-to-be-released book “This Too")

🧚‍♂️

For over a year now, I have been staring at a document on a screen—adding, deleting, editing and editing some more. I’ve spent countless hours pondering the title, the subtitle, the artwork for the cover, the font, the font size, the font color. And, what shade of gray exactly?

Will the book have sections? If so, what will those sections be? There were doubts, many moments of wondering if I had a book at all.

And countless emails back and forth with my publisher, moments of really not knowing what any of it wanted to be.

This book did not at all care about my timeline, it had its very own. I continually recommitted to getting my little will out of the way and to listening as deeply as I know how to listen, repeatedly asking the book to show me what it wanted to be.

And, you guys, it’s finally here. In my hands! A real, holdable book! Pages to turn.

So many of you have pre-ordered. Thank you, thank you!

How lifting it has been to receive your orders! This little book will be traveling as far as Australia, it will be shipped to the UK, Canada, all over the US.

Though I have one real book, I am still awaiting the boxes of book that will be delivered to my house (fingers crossed I will get those copies in less than a week!) and then I will begin the really fun part—signing, packaging, and getting them on their way to you.

As I mentioned in previous emails, if you pre-order by JUNE 20th, you are invited to a private (online) book launch celebration on Tuesday, June 30th (from 5:00-6:00pm (PST). I will be sending out more information about this as we get closer.

For those of you who live outside of the US and don’t want to pay the astronomical international shipping charges, please know that the book will be available in all major online bookstores (in the next couple of weeks).

If you have not yet pre-ordered & would like to, please click on the below image to get your signed copy(s).

My hope is that “This Too” feels like a nest you can rest inside. And also like a spark that grows you warmer, truer, brighter. 🧚‍♂️

I am grateful for these humble, hopeful, vital poems full of failure and connection, doubt and resilience, tenderness and urgency. With generous vulnerability, Julia Fehrenbacher turns us again and again toward the world that is here. I love her voice. I love these poems. I love seeing the world through her words. — , author of The Unfolding and host of The Poetic Path

On another note, this month’s Write Yourself Free class (for paid subscribers of my Substack page) will be next Wednesday, June 24th, from 9:00—11:00 am (PST).

I so hope to see you there!

Click HERE for more information & to access the Zoom link for class.

You’re invited!

Note: The below time is Eastern Standard Time. 10:00-11:00 am (Pacific Standard Time)

Click on the below image to learn more.

PS: There are few things I love more than being a guest poet in communities that are rooted in mindfulness.

If you facilitate such a community and would like to have me as your guest, please feel free to reach out. My email address is: writeyourselffree@gmail.com If you’re receiving this in your inbox, you can simply hit reply. xo

Read about my life coaching practice HERE

Access all paid subscriber content here, including my most recent conversation with the beloved .

This month’s Write Yourself Free class will be on Wednesday, June 24th, from 9:00—11:00 am (PST).

Read more about “Write Yourself Free” here.

Bring your favorite pen (or 3), a notebook and an open willingness to enter that field beyond wrongdoing & rightdoing.

If you plan to come to my live events, you no longer need to RSVP. Just bring your lovely self!

Access the Zoom link by clicking the link below…

I will allow for a 5 minute grace period and will then close class to avoid disruption.

ZOOM LINK HERE

Note: A paid subscription to my Substack page is $60.00/year.

Included in this subscription, I offer one 2 hour “Write Yourself Free” class each month, regular conversations with guest poets/writers & my “Sunday Spark” offering (every Sunday).

My intention is to make these offerings available & affordable to all who are called. If you are unable to pay the monthly or yearly fee, please message me. I make scholarships available to all who are in need & interested.

Note: All live events are recorded, so if you are unable to make it to a live class, you will receive the recording shortly after.

Click HERE to access all paid subscriber content. This is where all of the replays live.

And here to access all “Sunday Spark” content.

Subscribe now

In today’s “spark,” I share a little of my “behind the scenes,” a bit about my journey walking myself a little closer to home…

Welcome to Week 62 of Sunday Spark!

Please click on the below link/button to be taken to this week’s poem.

If you feel called to get some ink on the page, be sure to read the writing practice guidelines (found when you click the below link) before you get your pen moving.

After you read/listen to this week’s poem, Let the Leaf Fall, 1 of 100 poems in my upcoming book This Too: Words To Walk You Home, notice which line most speaks to you. You could also choose a single word from the poem, or begin writing from an image/memory/story that the poem sparks.

Let your body be the decider (as opposed to your mind).

Week #62: Poem & Audio Reading

SPECIAL NEWS!

I am overjoyed to share that my third book of poetry: This Too: Words To Walk You Home is now available for PRE-ORDER. This book has been a source of great love and great labor. I am so proud of it.

Click on the below image to pre-order a signed copy(s) & details about my online book launch celebration for those who pre-order. To all of you who have already pre-ordered, thank you! infinitely.

My hope is that “This Too” feels like a nest you can rest inside. And also like a spark that grows you warmer, truer, brighter. 🧚‍♂️

I am grateful for these humble, hopeful, vital poems full of failure and connection, doubt and resilience, tenderness and urgency. With generous vulnerability, Julia Fehrenbacher turns us again and again toward the world that is here. I love her voice. I love these poems. I love seeing the world through her words. — , author of The Unfolding and host of The Poetic Path

You’re invited!

Note: The below time is Eastern Standard Time. 10:00-11:00 am (Pacific Standard Time)

Click on the below image to learn more.

PS: There are few things I love more than being a guest poet in communities that are rooted in mindfulness.

If you facilitate such a community and would like to have me as your guest, please feel free to reach out. My email address is: writeyourselffree@gmail.com If you’re receiving this in your inbox, you can simply hit reply. xo

Read about my life coaching practice HERE

Access all paid subscriber content here, including my most recent conversation with the beloved .