Speaking-Teaching Topics Those
who wake are the students.
Those who stay awake are the teachers.
— Mark Nepo
Below is a list of topics and questions
Mark has explored in various settings, as keynote addresses, as
daylong workshops, and as three-day or week-long retreats. Mark has
been a speaker and teacher in
more than 100 events throughout North America and abroad.
Spirituality Topics
THIS PRECIOUS HUMAN BIRTH: BLOSSOMING IN THE LIFE YOU HAVE
The unavoidable fall into life; the embodied journey of being a spirit
in the world THE EXQUISITE RISK: DARING TO LIVE AN AUTHENTIC
LIFE
The exquisite risk to stay present to what is before us; the risk to
find the extraordinary in
the ordinary FINDING INNER COURAGE
AND WHERE IT LIVES
How to find our way to our core, to stand by our core, and to then sustain
the practice of
living from our core
STAYING CLOSE TO WHAT IS SACRED: THE STORY OF OUR
LIVES
Uncovering the story we are in over the story we tell, and giving up
what no longer works in order to stay close to what is sacred
THE POWER OF WISDOM
An exploration of the nature of wisdom and its power, embodied wisdom,
and the practice of knowing where we are
SEVEN THOUSAND WAYS TO LISTEN: THE WORK OF REVERENCE
Uncovering the work of reverence, awakening the conscious heart
MORE TOGETHER THAN ALONE: SERVICE AND COMPASSION
Moments of community and how they work
SPIRIT & FRIENDSHIP: THE
WORK OF LOVE
What does lasting friendship mean; cultivating the place of high safety
and authenticity through which life reveals its meaning
REDUCED TO JOY
The art of acceptance and working with what we’re given, and the gift
of vulnerability
UNLEARNING BACK TO GOD
Whether brought about by suffering or love, uncovering our original
spot of grace is how we unlearn our way back to God
HOLDING NOTHING BACK
The intimate pilgrimage to the heart of where we are; the effort to
continually restore our directness of living
STAYING AWAKE
The ordinary art that keeps us alive; the personalized practice of
entering our days
HOW TO BECOME CENTERED
The paradox and journey of being and belonging, and the gifts of solitude
and community
BEFRIENDING THE WHOLE: THE EFFORT TO STAY CONNECTED
Animating and sustaining our friendship with Source, self, other, nature,
and all that is larger than us
THE PROMISE OF THE INNER WORLD
How to live fully in the face of death and to love fully in the face
of life
THE ROAD TO INNER FREEDOM
The place of true meeting that is always near; how to sense it and
inhabit it
THE STRUGGLE TO BE REAL: THE JOURNEY OF TRANSFORMATION
The unfolding life of integrity; staying true to the spirit within
though the person who carries it keeps evolving
Creativity Topics
THE GIFT OF VISION AND THE ART OF PERCEPTION
To listen, reflect, and express is a lifelong process that keeps us close
to the rhythm of spirit that lives beneath all poetry and art EFFORT AND GRACE: THE MAGIC OF THE CREATIVE PROCESS
The paradox of will and surrender as oars that steer the soul and as
gifts that return us to the heart of what matters
UNRAVELING THE SELF: WRITING OUR WAY INTO OUR LIVES
How bearing witness to the truth of the living and to the mysteries
of life reveals the dynamics of our own growth and learning
BECOMING THE POEM
The artist’s journey and struggle between giving attention and
getting attention, and between recording life and living life
Health Topics
INSIDE THE MIRACLE: ENDURING ILLNESS, APPROACHING
WHOLENESS
The felt journey of being worn open, and the untapped resources that
wait within THE EXPRESSIVE JOURNEY OF HEALING
What is not ex-pressed is de-pressed; understanding perceiving, feeling,
and expressing as spiritual forms of breathing necessary to health and
well-being, and the skillful means that each invokes
CANCER & OTHER STRANGERS:
MAKING SPACE FOR THE UNWANTED GUEST
The journey of illness; what it means in the life of a human being
to be touched by a life-threatening situation and what it asks of
us
THE BRIDGE OF WELL-BEING: WHY WE NEED EACH OTHER
We are born whole but need each other to be complete; how the efforts
of healthy caregiving help to complete us
GOD, SELF, AND MEDICINE
All the spiritual traditions define disease as being separated from
the whole and wellness as being aligned with the whole—and
so, a great mystery of wellness centers on the effort to find and
refind our steady place in the Universal stream
CREATING & SURVIVING:
LIVING AT THE CENTER
How the direct gifts of living invoked by life-threatening events are
the very gifts we need to enliven the everyday
PSYCHOLOGY & SPIRIT: TWIN
OARS IN THE SEA
How psychology and spirit work together to enable a full life
SELF-CARE FOR THE CAREGIVER: WHO IS HEALING WHO
How to negotiate the heartening and disheartening forces of being a
healer
THE HEALER’S CALL
The call, art, dangers, and rewards of integrating the medicine of
what we know with the medicine of who we are | 
