Naked in the Now Workshop with Marijke McCandless

Naked in the Now: Juicy Practices for Getting Present offers readers a tender and practical invitation to presence. With wit, honesty, and warmth, Marijke McCandless shares mindfulness practices that are easy, memorable, and transformative—perfect for both newcomers and seasoned seekers ready to deepen their connection to life.

In this mini workshop, we will dive into the natural beauty of our mind as we allow our written words to flow. This is a little different from other writing classes. I call it naked writing, others call it freewriting. Instead of facing a blank page and trying to share something we know, we will dive into the unknown. We let go of our inner critic along with our worries about punctuation, grammar and eloquence. When we let our words flow unfettered, without striving to perfect our words, we learn to trust our natural voice without effort.

Then we share. When we share our naked, unedited, writing, we practice being vulnerable, daring to expose ourselves. When others share, we learn to listen carefully without judgment, opening our hearts and reflecting on the passages that moved us. We encourage each other. Inexplicably, a sense of community forms as we experience our shared humanity.

Whether you are an experienced writer or a complete newbie, this introduction is for you! Are you curious? Come and join!

Grand Prize winner at the CIBA Mind & Spirit Awards, Gold Medal at Readers' Favorite, selected for Spirituality & Health's "Books We Love," and named a 2026 Mindful Upgrade by New York Lifestyle Magazine: Naked in the Now is an invitation to stop waiting for your life to slow down and start actually living it — one moment of awareness at a time. A collection of short, practical exercises you can drop into your real, everyday life, it offers simple ways of bringing curiosity and attention to what's already here — without needing to "fix" anything first.

"The most beautiful, poetic, playful, and rebellious book I've ever read on mindfulness." — Village Books workshop participant, 2025

Marijke McCandless is an award-winning author, mindfulness coach, and playfulness instigator who helps people come alive to the present moment. She is the author of Naked in the Now: Juicy Practices for Getting Present (Collective Ink, 2024) and another award-winning book, a memoir, More: Journey to Mystical Union Through the Sacred and the Profane. She was recently featured as a cover story in Formidable Woman US magazine. Creator of the Naked Writing method, she leads Write Now Mind, a global writing and awareness community featured by Arianna Huffington on Thrive Global as a life-changing habit. She is a sought-after workshop leader and speaker, most recently moderating a panel at the San Diego Writers Festival and teaching at the Las Vegas Writers Conference. She lives in Las Vegas, where you can find her writing, coaching, and climbing rocks.

Feel free to reach out to Village Books and Paper Dreams for further assistance at 360-671-2626!

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