Poetical Healing With Universe Poems

Marvel at the healing power of nature and poetry with Dr. Carol Natasha Diviney of Universe Poems.

By: Danielle Austin

Dr. Carol Natasha Diviney of Universe Poems always knew that she would be a writer. However one day when Diviney was watching Stephen King's Misery where you can see a beautiful scene outside of a window that is covered in snow and sunlight she looked at that scene and thought that one day she would become a writer.

Diviney loves poetry because it can show different shades of who we are as human beings and is the product of human imagination and can be an outlet to express emotion.

“It's a form of expression, an outlet.” “Sometimes in life there is not always going to be someone there to talk to and if we can find, especially through the arts, someway to express our feelings, our thoughts, [it] doesn’t mean that as a professional writer every single piece of poetry I write in terms of expression goes out to the public,” said Diviney. “At the [end] of the day it's a form of an expression outlet for members of the public but also [for] myself.”

When Diviney decided to take her writing further she joined a writing community where she learned how to express herself through her writings.

The idea for Universe poems began with Diviney wanting to create an arts organization whose main focus would be on poetry and nature. As Diviney began to really think about her business she realized that she wanted to offer different services and activities that people could take part in with the focus always being in poetry.

For Diviney it took her over four years to establish Universe Poems with many different things going on behind the scenes.

“In the arts at the [end] of the day there is much work that goes on behind the scenes in terms of us being able to create the things that we are creating and providing for people,” said Diviney. “Art is critical thinking, problem solving, communication, collaboration, resiliency, self-direction, imagination, reflection, [and] creativity.”

Within Diviney’s Universe Poems a few different programs are offered, two of which are named ‘poetry, art, therapy, soul’ and ‘color therapy vibrations’. ‘Poetry, art, therapy, soul’ are therapy sessions for people that can be accessed from anywhere in the world.

“They’re self-directed sessions which can be undertaken from the comforts of your home,” said Diviney. “It's very paramount to me that at the ending of the day that we’re using art therapy as a therapeutic tool for people in the world to express themselves.”

Diviney also has what is called an ‘expression template’ on her website. This template is a writing tool that writers can use to express their poetry on their own, and anyone can contact the website to get the template to begin their own writing sessions.

Another service that Universe Poems offers is the ‘bespoke poem consultation’. This service is for anyone who would like a piece of poetry about any subject written specifically for them or for someone else in their lives. This unique service is typically used for special occasions.

“I don’t think that there can be anything more special than somebody coming to you and saying ‘I want to express this to somebody, I want to say this about somebody’ and having something constructed uniquely [just for them],” said Diviney. “Which is a unique gift in itself.”

Another one of Diviney’s services that her website offers is the ‘New Edge Poetry and Workshop”. This workshop combines poetry and drama. In this workshop participants will listen to a piece of poetry aloud and then will have a discussion about it. They will then create an expression that represents the poem and then perform a mini script about the poem. Afterwards, participants will then have another discussion to reflect on everyone's expressions of the poem.

Finally Universe Poems offers a two week writing course. The idea of the course was to keep things simple. No previous writing experience is needed. In these self directed courses you will spend some time researching writing styles and then if needed, the participants will have a discussion through WhatsApp after that two week duration. Writers will then have a period to think about what they are passionate about, and what subjects interest them. Writers can then produce a short poem quote or story before they submit it to Dr. Diviney for review and feedback and then will receive a certificate.

“It's very much about finding out what you enjoy about writing, whether you like writing poetry, you want to write quotes, you want to write stories,” said Diviney. “That's very paramount when your beginning as a writer, sometimes you have to find the direction on what your comfortable with writing.”

“We're giving people a chance to explore writing and find out what they like about it within that period,” said Diviney.

These courses are all on ‘learndesk.us’ and are currently going through accreditation. Once the courses have been accredited people who join the courses will be able to receive CPD (continuing and professional development) points.

Universe Poems is also using poetry as a form of art therapy to help everyone, but men in particular, to help them deal with the difficulty and stigma around reaching out for mental health services.

The last few programs Universe Poems offers is ‘Workplace Wellbeing’, which focus on what natural elements surround you in your workplace as well as how you are communicating with your team and the importances of feeling relaxed in that environment. The other program is the ‘Philosophical Nature Retreat’ which centers on combining philosophy with nature based music and is accessible for those who might have visual impairments or who just might be able to connect with music more than with the spoken or written word.

“Everything we do at Universe Poems is made to be accessible for all,” said Diviney.

After working with Carol Diviney pupils will walk away feeling empowered with a sense of accomplishment and inspiration.