Hello Kindred Spirit!

Last week, somewhere on a long stretch of highway, my husband and I shifted our “long-road” listening preference.

Instead of a novel—something with plot, escape, a story to disappear into—we chose Christopher Wallis’s Near Enemies of the Truth. And somewhere around hour three, I realized the choice itself was the point. A novel would have carried us away. The teaching kept doing the opposite—it kept bringing us back. Back to the road, the car, the actual moment we were in. Grounded instead of gone.

I’ve been turning that over ever since, because it echoes a phrase from Adyashanti I can’t shake: pivot toward peace. Not fight your way to it. Not think your way to it. Pivot—a small, deliberate turn away from what agitates you and toward what steadies you.

The more I sit with it, the more I see there are two pivots: the inward and the outward.

The Inward Pivot

Adyashanti teaches that pivoting toward peace means stopping the mind’s inner struggle and resting in the quiet awareness that’s already here.

For me, this has become a practice of befriending my thinking mind instead of resisting it—or blindly obeying it.

It’s also foundational in the architecture of Naked Writing. When we sit down to write and let the words come before we’ve decided what’s allowed to be true, we’re pivoting—away from the inner critic, the editor, the part of us managing how we look—and toward what’s actually here.

I was talking about a version of this on UK Health Radio this week—what I call the inner striptease. Not the words themselves, but the letting go underneath them. Peeling off layers of performance, beliefs, and assumptions so something truer can breathe.

Sometimes it looks as simple as questioning a well-worn thought: Is that so?

At 55, mine told me I was too old, too unfit, and too afraid of heights to ever rock climb. I got curious instead. Ten years later, I’m still climbing.

The Outward Pivot

This is the pivot Christopher Wallis circles in his teaching on surrender—and it’s less about letting go of yourself than letting go of your grip on the fight.

Surrender, as he frames it, isn’t giving up. It’s releasing the tight, exhausting posture of resistance and orienting toward what you actually stand for. Not anti-hate. Pro-love. Not anti-fear. Pro-presence. It’s a pivot in the direction you’re facing, not a retreat.

I notice this most in small moments—when I feel myself bracing, arguing internally, tightening against what is. The shift isn’t dramatic. Just a reorientation. A softening. A turning.

Put the two together, and you get something like this: turn inward to find what’s true, then turn outward and stand for it.

That’s the practice.

And this weekend, I get to practice both—out loud, with other people, a fun way to do it!

Two rooms, two pivots—one inward, one outward, both aimed at the same true thing.

A small turn can change everything.

Hope to see you at one, or both.

Upcoming Events and Good News

Saturday, August 1 · 2:30 PM PT (Zoom) — Writing About Love & Sexuality

This is the outward pivot in action. Writing honestly about love, intimacy, and sexuality asks us to face fear, shame, and exposure—and choose honesty anyway, without retreating into silence or swinging into oversharing. It’s about writing about potentially scary things, but from a place of love.

I’ll be joining authors Bonnie Comfort and Kamala Devi for a candid conversation on writing these scenes with courage, specificity, and authenticity—and how to create real emotional connection with your reader. Bring your questions.

Bonnie Comfort: Staying Married Is the Hardest Part​

Marijke McCandless: Naked in the Now​

Kamala Devi: Sacred Sutras​

Join Zoom Meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84396985135​

Also—the deadline for Memoir Showcase submissions is midnight Saturday. Don’t sit on it.

Sunday, August 2 · 2–3 PM · Village Books, Bellingham — Naked Writing Workshop (no clothing removal required!)

This is the inward pivot, done live and in person. We’ll drop the inner critic, let the words come before we’ve decided what’s allowed to be said, and share what surfaces—unedited, unpolished, true.

Whether you’re a lifelong writer or you’ve never called yourself one, this is for you. Come curious.

Based on Naked in the Now: Juicy Practices for Getting Present — Grand Prize winner at the CIBA Mind & Spirit Awards, Gold Medal at Readers’ Favorite, and a 2026 Mindful Upgrade pick from New York Lifestyle Magazine.

UK Health Radio — The Healing Power of Dreams

I was on with John Purkiss and Brenda Knight this morning talking about letting go—including the inner striptease. Catch the episode here:

​Dream On: John Purkiss & the Power of Letting Go​

Write Now Mind — Getting Closer!

I miss my Write Now Mind friends! I’m trying out another new program, Floop, and it’s looking promising. Floop is launching 2.0 in a couple weeks, which will serve us even better. Hoping to have a new class up and running in September—more details soon.

Write by the Sea & Write by Red Rock

Both are on summer break. See you back on the page this fall.

Smiles,

​https://marijkemccandless.com

​Kirkus Reviews endorses Naked in the Now!​

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