Hi! I’m Phyllis Cole-Dai, author, poet, musical dabbler, and host of this online community. I’m so glad you’ve stepped aboard The Raft! Ready to head downstream?
On The Raft, we’re all about trying to live from our “true spot,” buoyed by the arts and spiritual practice. Many of us are also into making stuff, whether casually or professionally.
What’s our “true spot”? Imagine it as an inner place of deep integrity, confidence, compassion, and joy.
Get just what you want from The Raft community
Don’t miss out! We have oodles of resources and opportunities, and The Raft is always evolving. Sample everything, then stick with what you really feeds you.
Read on, clicking on links of interest, to learn about . . .
Newsletters
When you join The Raft you’re automatically subscribed to every Substack newsletter (or “section”) that I publish except Rafter Digest:
Staying Power (most Sundays). My original inspirational musings.
Daily Boost (weekdays). Bites of “soul food” for your inner life, curated from the arts.
Events & News (Saturdays). The latest Rafter announcements, plus my author news.
Rafter Digest (Saturdays). A weekly roundup of major newsletter posts and event replays.
After you’ve sampled everything, you can adjust your settings to receive just the mailings you’re interested in.
Feeling “inbox overwhelm”? I recommend subscribing only to the Rafter Digest.
Rafter Groups
Watch for the links to video replays of these groups in either “Events & News” or “Rafter Digest.” Or watch them in the “Catch Up” section of the archives.
Poetry Pick-Me-Up (Thursdays, 12-1PM Central). A casual poetry-sharing and discussion group. Bring a poem written by someone other than yourself to read to the group. Or, just come to listen to the poems offered by other Rafters and to participate in informal but wholehearted conversation about them. Hop on the Zoom at this link.
Creatives’ Coffee (every other Wednesday, 4-5:00PM Central). Casual conversation among Rafters who view life as a creative practice. Many of us also like to “make stuff,” whether for fun or as a profession. Need companionship and support? Creative inspiration? Cross-fertilization of ideas? You’ll find oodles of all this and more. Hop on the Zoom at this link.
Video replays aren’t available for these next two groups. Contact their hosts if you’re interested in participating.
Poets on The Raft (Zoom, every other Wednesday opposite Creatives’ Coffee, 7-8:30PM Central). Hosts: Annette Grunseth and Gloria Heffernan. Learn more here.
Rafters Writing Fiction (Zoom, every other Tuesday, 1PM Central). Host: Ferwa Jaffery. Learn more here.
Deep Dives
With month-long “deep dives,” I invite you to immerse yourself in particular “life themes,” using poetry reading, contemplation, journaling, creative work, and/or other practices. You can join or opt out of Deep Dives by updating your subscription preferences.
The Dig
With monthly “digs,” I encourage you to write from your true spot. I’ll email you a set of writing prompts, usually on the last Sunday of the month. You may respond to the prompts in whatever written form(s) tickles your fancy. You can join or opt out of this mailing list at any time by updating your subscription preferences.
Bonus Content
Occasionally I add the text or audio of one of my backlisted book titles. You’re welcome to read or listen at your leisure. Start in the Bonus Content Catalogue.
Rafter Discount
Woohoo! As either a free member or patron of The Raft community, you get an evergreen 15% discount in my website store. Just enter the code “rafter15” at checkout.
Whew, that’s a lot! Still with me?
One last thing . . .
I offer The Raft as a gift. However, if you can help support this community with a voluntary contribution, I’d be grateful. Consider your donation a tangible expression of the value you find here.
As a patron, you’ll get a few modest perks in return:
a personal email expressing my gratitude
a virtual patrons’ “bash” with me, once a year
most of all, the delight of knowing that you’re helping to keep The Raft fully accessible to absolutely everybody. (Yes, just like public broadcasting!)
Inclined to be a patron? You have a variety of options:
Try a donation of $5/month. Or $50/year. Or, become a Raftkeeper at $150/year, and I’ll honor your extraordinary gift with a one-hour “creative companioning” session.
Prefer to make a one-time gift? Go here.
Prefer to contribute by check, Venmo, or another option? Drop me a note.
Just so you know, all contributions are collected via Substack, which receives a share of the proceeds. This enables the Substack platform to flourish as an alternative to other less user-friendly and less ethical social media platforms.
Grateful, grateful.
Again, I’m so glad you’re here. Always feel free to drop me a line.
Even your page is creatively done! I'm still pretty new here but I found some crossover in our topics and mentioned you in this recent piece:
https://open.substack.com/pub/trevythomas/p/searching-for-a-non-religious-religion?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=9bu8g