Welcome

 I’m known as the Writing Sherpa and take to this role joyfully. I have worked with aspiring writers for the past three decades. Dozens of my writers have gone on to be published in a variety of genres and publications. I offer monthly year-long writing consultation circles in Prairie du Sac, WI at Healing Services on the River, and at Holy Wisdom Monastery just outside Madison. I can work with you from anywhere in the world and have had clients from Australia, Germany, England, Greece, and Canada. You can also find me through the UW-Madison, Continuing Studies where I offer on-line and face-to-face classes to help you with your writing intentions.  All of my services are offered at reasonable rates.

I also offer counseling and transformational circles. I take a personalized approach to self-discovery, where you explore and discover your capacities and possibilities.When you are ready to take the next step in your creative, personal, relational, spiritual or vocational life​ contact me to discuss how I may help you. I offer an initial twenty-minute free phone consultation prior to signing up for a personal session or circle. ​

Upcoming Circles, Events & News
Monthly Spiritual Circle: Taking Hold of the Red Thread: Touching Reality in our Everyday Lives
Holy Wisdom Monastery, Madison WI ​
Meets monthly on the 2nd Tuesday of each month, 6 to 9 pm  starts November 13th and goes through October, 2019 
We will gather once a month to explore and contemplate various spiritual principles and practices together.  The Wheel of Initiation and The Zero Point Agreement, along with, The Practice of Lojong: Cultivating Compassion through Training the Mind will be our central books.  Gather together with others once a month for a year to explore what is truly meaningful for you. Based on Circles of Trust by Parker J Palmer. Our focus will include being Spiritual Stewards and what this means for ourselves and others. Heal further what is divided, connect more strongly to what matters to you. I have been offering such circles for over a decade.  Learn more and sign up. 
The Initiated Writer
Date, time and location - any time you like
This self-paced, online course is includes writing page reviews and up to 5 lessons with lots of writing prompts and personal attention. Learn more.
Write by the Lake by Julie Tallard Johnson
Write by the Lake 2019 at UW Madison
June 17th-21st, 2019
Pyle Center, 702 Langdon St., Madison, WI 53706 ​
Write Meaningful Nonfiction: Turn Your Personal Experiences, Knowledge, and Journaling into an Inspiring Book, Blogs, or Other Writing. Whether you have just an idea for a book, journals full of notes and stories, a series of blogs, or, have written a first draft of a manuscript, you will leave this week with simple, applicable methods for the writing and completing of your book. This means, you will have a personalized architecture, relevant skills and the means to take your idea and experiences to a full crafted book. You will leave fully equipped and ready to continue to write about your life experiences, stories, and wisdom. Get details. 
Madison Morning Writing Circle begins September 18th
Holy Wisdom Monastery, Madison WI ​
Meets monthly on the 3rd Tuesday 10am - 12:30pm through Sept., 2019. This Circle is full but I invite you to join my waiting list.
Madison Evening Writing Circle starts October 2nd
Holy Wisdom Monastery, Madison WI ​
Meets monthly on the 1st Tuesday 6-9pm. This Circle is full but I invite you to join my waiting list.
Prairie du Sac Writing Circle continues on October 6th
595 Water Street, Prairie du Sac
Meets monthly on the 1st Wednesday 6 till 9pm. This Circle is full but I invite you to join my waiting list.
Zero Point Transformational Circle 
Date, time and location to be announced - early 2019
Will be held in the Madison area. Learn more.

Writing

I offer a variety of writing classes and coaching based on my experience as a published author and instructor. 
Sherpa-coaching  and Sherpa-mentoring are one-to-one, monthly programs in which we work together via phone, email  or Skype over the course of 4 or 6 months. 
Writing Circles are monthly, seasonal and annual meetings in which we work as a small group. Write by the Lake is my periodic workshop offered on the shores of beautiful Lake Mendota. The Initiated Writer™ is self-paced, online course  which can be joined at any time.  Learn more about Teaching Circles.

Books

Everyone wants to experience purpose and inspiration in their lives, but the search for meaning often leaves a seeker in the hands of fate. Offering a different approach to self-discovery, one where we create our meaning from within rather than seek it from the outside world, The Zero Point Agreement shows there is a science behind personal spiritual experiences and creativity. It reveals simple evidence-based methods that can be applied to any situation to generate enthusiasm, inspiration, and direct spiritual experience and transform the inner and outer landscapes of your life. Learn more. 

Counseling

I offer a personalized approach to self-discovery, where you explore and discover your capacities and possibilities. My transformative healing practice is centered on the Zero Point Agreement — Where we live from the inside-out, from our side, meeting life and others half-way. We learn to create and integrate our inner wisdom with the outside world. These healing sessions are an hour and a half long, involve narrative medicine, meditation, explorative conversation, and, integrative energy work for the last half an hour. Learn more about counseling. 
An endorsement from His Holiness the Dalai Lama (an excerpt):
“Because the very purpose of life is to be happy, it is important to discover what will actually give us the greatest satisfaction. Everything we experience, whether it is enjoyable or not, affects either our minds or our bodies. Generally, it is our minds that have the greatest influence over whether we are happy or not. Our minds register everything that happens to us, no matter how small. As free human beings we can use our unique intelligence to try to understand ourselves and our world. But if we are unable to use our creative potential, we lose one of the basic characteristics of a human being. In order to find mental stability and peace, the mind itself can be trained. We can cultivate positive attitudes like kindness and compassion, tolerance and contentment. Julie describes many ways to create peace and happiness, some on your own and some with your friends." 
~ His Holiness the Dalai Lama, July 1995, for "The Thundering Years"
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