I can remember the first time I realized I could not see – I was on a family drive rolling around in the backseat of my parent’s station wagon and they were talking about a billboard sign. I said I couldn’t read it – and then I had my eyes tested. The truth is if you don’t know you can’t see you just bumble around. That is just the way you see the world and until someone tells you otherwise, you think everything is normal and everyone sees the world the same way, with the same acuity. I had contact lenses when I was a teenager and was constantly losing them. They were expensive. When I … [Read more...]
Dharmalebrity: Celebrity and the Dharma
This is a short story called "Dharmalebrity" I wrote in 2017 and performed last year at Sacred Storytelling here in Los Angeles. The story centers around a Buddhist drug and alcohol recovery program and the intersection between celebrity (a religion in Los Angeles without tax-exempt status) and the dharma (the teachings of the Buddha). Listen to the audio recording on Soundcloud here, or below. … [Read more...]
Writing With Dreams
Our bodies create stories. Give yourself a minute to take that in. While we are unconscious, we weave narratives. One-third of our lives are spent sleeping. On average, we can dream anywhere from one to two hours every night. Moreover, we can have four to seven dreams in one night. Five minutes after the end of the dream, half the content is forgotten. After ten minutes, 90% is lost. How can we get to know ourselves in a new way by investigating our dreams? I've been keeping track of my dreams since I was a teenager, and even before then I had dreams that were recurring as a child. As … [Read more...]
Getting Back into Your Writing Practice
It is time to flip the switch to "ON" and get started. Here are my ideas on what works for finally making the decision to begin. Schedule a life-saver. Many people tell me that it is easier to get up earlier than to carve time out of their already existing schedules. Set an alarm for your appointment with yourself and your creative process. The time you choose should be when you are the most active mentally. Schedule your date and pretend it is your dialysis – your hookup to a life-saving process. Consider your writing time sacred but also realize that non-writing time is creative … [Read more...]
Revising Your Story from Concept to Stage
I have been trying to perform at more storytelling venues and I was lucky enough to be booked at the Sacred Storytelling show here in Los Angeles. The reason why I mention this is because I had a set deadline, and a set topic – surrender. All I had to do was write the piece. Going through that process, I am not ashamed to admit, took me seven drafts (!!!) not including my initial notes. In the process of honing my story, I realized how each phase of rewrites brought the topic to where I wanted it to be. Since it was a personal story, and one that is still emotional for me, I wanted to make … [Read more...]
My Portfolio
Click Links To Download Erin Jourdan Berrios Resume 2018 Erin Jourdan Berrios Cover Letter 2018 EJourdan8_1_Portfolio2017 … [Read more...]
Audio Personal Essay: Should I be sitting down?
Try this writing prompt: Look at one of the most harrowing experiences that have happened in your life from three different perspectives. I chose to write about the cancer I had in 2007. I picked the perspective of myself at the gynecologist, visiting a spiritual "medical intuitive" and watching the surgery performed on someone else via YouTube. I was fortunate to be able to read this piece recently at a literary salon and it inspired me to try to record it. Using just the simple tools on a Mac and uploading the file to Soundcloud allows you to create an audio essay that anyone can listen … [Read more...]
New Memoir Class: September 2017
REGISTRATION OPEN NOW! Perhaps something happened this summer, last summer or ten summers ago and now you are ready to write about it. This class is for anyone who has been wanting to write but for some reason hasn't been able to start. I've been known to extract stories out of the most stingy pens. These classes will use lectures, readings, examples, exercises, workshop, and rewrites to get you through the first draft of whatever has been haunting you at night (or during the day!) But most of all these classes will be heart-centered and focused on creating a supportive, non-judgemental … [Read more...]
Writing Into the Mundane and Discovering Ourselves
I hear this voice all the time. No one is going to want to read this....it sounds...too personal, too unprofessional, like nothing I've read in the pages of the New Yorker. I am here to tell you that sometimes it sounds crazy. Sometimes it is rough around the edges, gap-toothed and feral. Writing that is batshit bananas is on to something - something new, perhaps honing into your own style, unique voice, and personal experience. I was recently circling something in my life and trying to figure out why it made me so *incredibly* emotional. I have always said, if trouble shows up on my … [Read more...]
Gentle Writing During Times of Change
I just couldn’t move on. I have always considered myself a compulsive journal keeper. I've been writing since pre-puberty somewhere between a few times a week - to one big end of the week catch up. Months have gone by this past year as I stare at the end of my turquoise Moleskine and I just wanted to get to that last page and have it be over. But I couldn’t – it felt like my brain wasn’t working in the same way. I suddenly was scared of my past. I was scared of memories, photos, and mementos setting me off. I now think I was in a deep protective mode – I had no interest in the past because … [Read more...]
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