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A Contemplative Guide to Experiencing the Divine in Everyday Life

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Colette Lafia, an award-winning writer, retreat leader, and spiritual director living and working in the San Francisco Bay Area joins eHealth Radio. Her new book is Leaving the Shore: Experiencing Poetry as Prayer.

Listen to interview with host Eric Michaels & guest Colette Lafia discuss the following:

  1. Your book is titled Leaving the Shore. What does that phrase mean to you, and how did it become the title of the book?
  2. When did you first realize that creativity was more than self-expression, that it was sacred? Was there a moment when you understood creativity as part of your spiritual calling?
  3. Many of your poems begin with very simple, everyday moments—sharing a meal, sipping your morning tea, noticing the world around you. How do those ordinary experiences become doorways to recognizing the sacred presence at the heart of our lives?
  4. How have you seen poetry become a doorway for people to discover their own spiritual experience?
  5. You draw on many older contemplative traditions, yet you’ve made them very accessible for contemporary readers. What draws you to those traditions, and what do they offer people today?
  6. You’ve been sharing your poetry in both online and in-person gatherings. What have you discovered through those experiences, and what are people taking away from them?
  7. For someone who says, “I’m not a poetry person,” how can this book still speak to them?
  8. If readers take only one thing away from Leaving the Shore, what do you hope begins to change in the way they experience their everyday lives?

    9. Colette Lafia is an award-winning writer, retreat leader, and spiritual director living and working in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has spent decades guiding individuals into deeper contemplative practice through workshops, retreats, and one-on-one spiritual direction. A former school librarian and regular presenter for Spiritual Directors International, she brings a rare blend of poetic sensibility, contemplative depth, and accessible warmth to her work. Her new book is Leaving the Shore: Experiencing Poetry as Prayer (Monkfish Book Publishing, 2025).

    Website: https://colettelafia.com  


    Social Media Links
    Instagram: instagram.com/colettelafia 
    Facebook: facebook.com/ColetteLafia 

    The beliefs, views, ideas, thoughts and opinions expressed on any program are those of the persons appearing on the program and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the eHealth Radio Network.

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