Daniel Dissinger dives deep into a conversation on finding the light with poetry in all of the darkness in the world, in ourselves, and from traumas in our pasts with Reiki Master, Librarian, and Poet Caroline Reddy. This is an episode that celebrates the power of poetry and language and how people can be brought together by celebrating their personal energy and the positive force of a loving community. Caroline talks about some of the adversities and traumas she faced like her childhood memories of war in Iran, immigrating to the US at just eight years old, and finding her voice after her divorce. She talks about her meditation practices, how she uses meditation as part of her writing process, and how poetry has become a grounding practice, so much so that she will be running several workshops at Poet’s House, The New Rochelle Public Library, and The Hudson Valley Writer’s Center (links below to register). Caroline also reads several poems, including “The Basement of Tehran” (which is a poetic account of her experience hiding from bombings as a child), “The Lost Tribe,” and a few haikus rooted in her meditation practice.
Sign up for Caroline’s workshops:
“The Creative Breath” at the New Rochelle Public Library (monthly starting in March)
“The Immigrant’s Voice” at Poets House (Thursdays 6–8 pm on Zoom in March)
“The Immigrant’s Voice” at Hudson Valley Writer’s Center (April and May)
Approximate Show Notes
00:00 Welcome to Writing Remix + Meet Poet & Reiki Master Caroline Reddy
00:33 Poetry circles, Great Weather memories & creative interconnection
01:41 Caroline’s origin story: Iran, immigration, trauma, and finding light
03:41 How poetry builds community
05:52 Teaching as healing: Creative Breath & Immigrant’s Voice workshops
10:00 From retreats to Reiki: blending meditation, intuition, and writing prompts
14:26 Why poetry for the immigrant’s voice: intuition, compression, activism
18:51 Poem reading: “The Basement of Tehran”
25:39 Mental health, grounding, and finding the light in hard moments
27:33 A writer’s practice: prompts, community writing sessions, and teaching as fuel
29:43 Meditation that actually works
32:40 Mindfulness at the library: teen programs and building a supportive workplace
34:11 How Caroline became a librarian
36:18 The Immigrant’s Voice workshop: ancestry, belonging, and channeling emotion into art
39:37 Poem reading: “The Lost Tribe” & healing through ancestral connection
42:08 Soundtrack-driven writing + haikus from meditation prompts
45:34 From horror and anger to mindful poetry—and final workshop plugs & goodbye
Caroline Reddy’s work includes Iranian Women Speak, Shake the Atmosphere to Reclaim an Empty Moment & On the Precipice of Summer. This Spring she will be facilitating three writing workshops: “The Immigrant’s Voice” at Poets House and Hudson Valley Writers Center, and “The Creative Breath” at New Rochelle Public Library where she currently works as a librarian. For more information please visit twww.carolinereddy.com.
People, Texts & Podcasts Mentioned in the Episode
- David Lawton
- Meena Alexander
- Beyond Baroque
- New Rochelle Public Library
- Poet’s House
- Hudson Valley Writer’s Center
- Kripalu Center for Yoga
- Omega Institute
- Empty Hand Zen Center
- Bhanu Kapil
- Naropa University
- Camile Hernandez
- 119. The Poet’s Role w/ Anaheim Poet Laureate Camille Hernandez
- Borderline Personality Disorder
- Alien Buddha Press
- Black Panther (Movie 2018)
“As an adult [and] kind of looking back and saying to myself, ‘How do we find the light within all of this?’ [And] that’s been my message [for] finding the peace in all of this, finding my voice and helping others find their voice.”
-Caroline Reddy
“It wasn’t until I started writing and using that for healing that I felt some sort of peace.”
-Caroline Reddy
“What I really found out is people […] really want a place to be heard, they want a space to feel seen, [and] they want a space to feel accepted.”
-Caroline Reddy
“Meditation helps you delve more into creativity and that helps you heal more. So, I feel like they’re all kind of layered and interconnected.”
-Caroline Reddy
“Anything that kind of brings you to the moment is a meditative practice.”
-Caroline Reddy
Episode Reflection Questions:
- Write about all the ways darkness manifests around you and/or inside of you.
- After you’re written about the darkness, write in order to find the light.
- Now that you’re found the light, write the darkness away.
120. Finding the Light w/ Caroline Reddy
Feb. 28th 10amPST-12pmPST:
Inspired Belonging Poetry Workshop: Claim Your Story
Inspired Belonging: Claim Your Story
This contemplative & generative writing workshop includes:
A series of original guided writing prompts
Breathing & Somatic practices
Grounding exercises
Experiential sharing of your writing
The goal is to courageously explore where your stories live and hide to name truths that may have felt difficult to hold or express.
The Inspired Belonging approach to writing and workshops is to center care as a way of listening deeply to oneself to articulate experiences with honesty, clarity, and compassion and the strength to write the stories that they know need telling.
Inspired Belonging is Daniel Dissinger & Stephanie Renée Payne, writing instructors at USC and published poets & writers who have facilitated their workshops at national conferences, universities, and corporations. Listen to their Inspired Belonging episodes on Dan’s Writing Remix podcast. Register now to participate in their first Inspired Belonging virtual writing workshop, Claim Your Story.
The theme song is “4 am” by Makaih Beats. You can follow the podcast & all social media: Linktree, join the newsletter/Follow Dan’s Medium & Substack for “A Note From Dan”, episode-specific writing prompts, and book recommendations.
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