Healing with Haiku - By Anne Helfer

Therapeutic writing is something that has been a recommended part of many wellness programs dealing with trauma, addiction, anxiety, stress and more. The act of putting thoughts, memories and feelings into paper is a simple and effective tool for better awareness and understanding. Furthermore, writing to heal is about what you say, why you feel compelled to express it, and how you feel while and after you write it.

Healing with Haiku uses the process of creating haikus as the main conduit for wellness and emotional expression. An ancient form of poetry known for its brevity, concise use of language, and focus on existential matters, haikus are the perfect way for anyone to get started in using writing to heal.

In the book, people will learn to write haiku with the goal of exploring their inner selves more deeply--emotionally and perhaps spiritually. Expanding our capacity to notice, explore, and express our emotions is the key to living a more balanced, peaceful, and joyous life.

Classic haiku aims to incorporate certain elements: nature, sensory awareness, self-discovery, a glimpse of enlightenment, a truth. All this while adhering to the 5-7-5 syllabication structure. Three lines, seventeen syllables--a whole word of mindfulness and understanding.

The goal is not to help you to create a precisely crafted and poetically profound haiku, but to guide you in learning how to write one of the most simple and concise forms of poetry to discover and express what is true to you.