Holding Nothing Back: Essentials for an Authentic Life

by Mark Nepo

A Poet's Guidance for the Practice of True Self-Expression



All spiritual traditions affirm that fully participating in our own life is what allows us to find our place in the fullness and beauty of the world. As such, holding nothing back is less a forceful act of will and more a surrender into the current of life we are always in. In Holding Nothing Back, Mark Nepo invites us to enliven the one obligation we are born with: to be completely who you are. Our reward is nothing less than the realization that all of life is in whatever moment we wake to. Holding Nothing Back illuminates:

The Fall into Life--our inevitable journey into what is real, and how we only find meaning through relationship
- Alone and Together--the paradox of being and belonging and how we need both solitude and community
- The Mystery of Transformation--staying true to the spirit within while the person carrying it keeps evolving
To hold nothing back means staying committed to letting whatever we experience make its way in and letting whatever is in make its way out, explains Nepo. Holding nothing back means holding the intention to be an open vessel, in a daily way. Here is his passionate call to each of us to find and befriend the quiet courage to bring all of who we are to every step we take through the miraculous world.

Excerpted from the full-length audio program Staying Awake.

Course objectives:

Discuss the transformative journey of holding nothing back as a practice of truth and love.
- Define our soul's calling, or what we are called to do, and the call of the soul, or the continual call to aliveness.
- Discuss paradox: being alone and belonging, as well as effort and grace as the path of oneness.
- Define and discuss enthusiasm, obstacles, and sincerity as teachers on the transformative journey toward living an authentic life and awakening.
- Practice deepening the discussions with suggested reflection, writing exercises, storytelling, ritual and meditation.

Genres: Spirituality

2 pages, Audio CD

First published March 28, 2012

About the author

Mark Nepo is a poet and spiritual teacher whose work explores inner transformation and the courage to stay open to life. Known for the bestselling The Book of Awakening, he has written more than twenty books and created numerous audio projects that invite readers to reflect, heal, and deepen their relationships. A cancer survivor, he often describes his illness as a turning point that shaped his understanding of presence and vulnerability. After many years teaching literature and poetry, he devoted himself to writing and guiding others through workshops and retreats. His reflections have been featured widely, including on Oprah Winfrey’s Super Soul Sunday, and he continues to write about living with authenticity and attention.

Reviews

[C2015 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Mark Nepo and there were some good things in here. There's something about his voice that i find annoying if listened to in large chunks. Sometimes it seems like he has the cadence of a preacher, sometimes i wonder if that's how all poets sound. Or maybe he's is speaking with the same richness he writes with, savouring each word and dropping it with significance into the world. I don't know but i didn't enjoy this as much as i expected.