August Turak, veteran businessman, software CEO, and founder of the Self Knowledge Symposium, attended Buehler's workshop two years ago. "Georg Buehler has obviously been at this for a long time. His insight and guidance are invaluable to participants. He understands what it means to be a young person seeking the spiritual in the midst of a busy life."

"The process of writing is a powerful tool for self-discovery," says Buehler. "Writing demands self-knowledge; it forces the writer to become a student of human nature, to pay attention to his experience, to understand the connection found therein. By delving into this raw experience and distilling it into a work of art, the writer is engaging in the heart and soul of philosophy: making sense out of life."

Buehler has been giving writing workshops at universities in the Triangle area for the past 4 years. He was recently selected as one of the authors of a new book entitled The Spirit of Generation X, edited by Steve Dinan, Director of the Esalen's Center for Theory and Research. The book's introduction is written by Ken Wilber, author of the best-selling book, Spectrum of Consciousness.

Past workshops, limited to 40 people, have consistently sold out weeks before the event. This will be the first year that the writing workshop will be held on Duke's campus.

"I used to write a lot when I was younger, but the demands of college ended that practice pretty quickly," said Elan Dassani, UNC '02 of the writing workshop presented at UNC-CH in the spring of 1998. "Attending the writing workshop helped me remember the importance of writing in my life. The writing I do now is more directed and more honest. Rather than adding another burden to my day, it actually makes the day go more smoothly."

Sean Ryan, NC State '01, says of Buehler's workshop, "The best thing about the writing workshop that Mr. Buehler presented was that it was accessible to me. I have never considered myself a writer but have always wanted to write. The advice that he gave was easy to implement in beginning my writing practice."

Buehler begins his workshop by assuring participants they don't have to be great writers before they can use writing to access the spiritual within themselves. "Even if you don't aspire to be a great novelist or poet, the practice of writing can open you up to a whole new way of perceiving the world. Paradoxically, with a ball-point pen and a spiral notebook you can make the ineffable accessible for yourself."

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The Self Knowledge Symposium Foundation (SKSF) is a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit organization dedicated to encouraging people to consciously develop their own personal, moral and spiritual values and to live according to them. At the forefront of the national interest in spirituality, the SKSF creates experiential learning programs and social contexts within which people can explore the deeper questions in life, developing intellectual understanding and personal character in a quest for the life worth living. The Self Knowledge Symposium Foundation advises the SKS campus groups, sponsors a non-student discussion group, and co-sponsors meetings, lectures, retreats and The Symposium spiritual journal. For more information, visit www.selfknowledge.org.