Meditation For Writers

This is a 15-minute guided meditation starting with focusing on the breath and body and moving into an exercise and reading designed to inspire creativity and the ability write out one's story. It is led by a New York Times bestselling author of 8 books who's been practicing meditation for over 15 years.

Transcript

Okay,

So rest comfortably in a seated position,

Back up straight,

Hands resting comfortably,

Breathe in,

Exhale through your nose.

Do that again,

Breathe in,

Exhale through your nose.

Now for your final breath in,

Imagine the breath comes from your feet all the way up your legs,

Through your pelvis,

Torso and chest,

Through your arms,

Up through your neck and then out your nose.

Now concentrate on your feet,

Bring your attention down to the soles of your feet,

Breathe into them,

Then out through your nose,

Imagining the breath releasing through your toes,

Out.

Bring your attention to your ankles,

Do the same thing,

Breathe in,

Exhale through your ankles and feet and out through your toes,

Then up your leg to your calves,

Breathe in,

Out release through your nose,

Down through your ankles and your feet and out through your toes,

Then bring your attention to your knees,

Notice them,

Feel them,

Whatever they are up against and breathe in,

Focusing on your knees and then exhale,

Shooting that breath down from your knees to your calves,

To your ankles,

To your feet through your toes.

Now bring your attention to your thighs,

Breathe in,

Exhale through your thighs,

Your knees,

Your calves,

Your ankles,

Your feet and your toes.

Now we're going to bring your attention to your pelvic region,

But instead of pushing the air out through the bottom of your body,

We're going to push it out through the top.

So bring your attention to your pelvic region,

Breathe in,

And as you exhale,

Shoot that air up your torso,

Up your chest,

Up your neck,

Out through your nose.

Bring your attention to your stomach,

Your gut,

To where all your intuition lies,

Breathe into that intuition and then as you exhale,

Push that air up through your chest,

Through your neck and out through your nose.

Bring your attention to your chest,

To your heart.

If you can,

Focus on feeling your heart beat,

This thing we don't even notice that's happening without our permission or our knowledge.

Breathe into that heart,

Thank it for beating,

And push that air as you exhale,

Up your neck,

Out through your nose.

Then bring your attention to your shoulders,

They carry so much,

Not just your neck and head,

But we hold so much tension in your shoulders.

Concentrate on having your shoulders relax,

Breathe into them.

This time,

Shoot that air out through your shoulders,

Your biceps,

Your arms,

And your fingers.

Now bring that attention to those arms,

Breathe into them.

Exhale,

Out through your hands and your fingers.

Focus on those hands,

Breathe in.

Feel that breath tingle through your fingers as you release.

Let's go up to your neck,

Into your throat.

Push that air up through your chin,

Through your nose.

Your face,

Squeeze your face as tight as you can,

Squeeze your chin,

Your cheeks,

Your forehead,

Your ears.

Let it go.

Out through your nose or out through your mouth.

Feel the relaxation that's coursing through your body now.

Sit and breathe in and out.

Now imagine your favorite place on earth.

This can be a place you've been to or you've never been to.

Maybe it's a beautiful beach,

Maybe it's a cabin in the woods,

Maybe it's the woods,

Maybe it's a hammock you have at your house.

Just picture yourself there,

Sitting there,

Feeling the breeze,

Feeling what's ever there.

Think about the smell.

What's the smell?

Is it the ocean?

Is it coffee brewing?

Is it the woods wet from a recent rain?

Concentrate on that smell,

Focus on that smell as you breathe in and out.

Think about what you're hearing.

Again is it the ocean?

Is it a fountain outside your house?

Is it a river rushing by?

Is it not water at all?

Maybe it's silence that you hear or maybe you hear a loud busy city.

Whatever it is you hear,

Breathe it in and breathe it out.

Think about what you taste.

What's the taste in your mouth?

Is it this morning's coffee?

Is it something sweet?

Whatever it is,

Bring attention.

Think about these taste buds that are constantly tasting things for us and we're not even thanking them for it.

Think about how delicious some of those things they taste for us are.

Breathe into that and out.

Now we've already focused a lot on the body,

How you feel.

Now I want you to bring your attention to the entire body,

Not just the feet,

The pelvis,

The shoulders,

Feel your body sitting on this earth.

Feel what that feels like.

Now bring your attention back to this favorite place,

The sounds,

The smells,

The taste,

The feeling.

Then envision yourself rising above,

Floating above where you're sitting or lying.

Rising 10 feet up to the ground,

Above the ground,

And 20 feet,

Then 50 feet,

Then 100 feet,

Until you're floating above the ground of your favorite place,

Just floating there in the sky.

Maybe you're lying on a cloud,

Maybe you see birds floating by.

Then suddenly your body is shooting through the sky,

You're flying,

You're on your stomach or back,

Maybe you're still sitting in a cross-legged position,

Shooting through the sky.

It feels so free,

It's so good.

Then it shoots you back here to where we are,

And slowly,

Ever so slowly,

You descend.

Maybe you're floating,

Whatever it is,

It's peaceful,

And it lands you right here,

Right behind,

Where you breathe in through your nose,

And out through your mouth or your nose.

Just feel yourself sitting here in this beautiful presence.

Now I'm going to read something from my favorite poet,

My favorite poem of his.

His name is Stephen Dunn,

D-U-N-N,

And the poem is called Happiness.

A state you must dare not enter with hopes of staying.

Quicksand in the marshes and all the roads leading to a castle that doesn't exist.

But there it is as promised,

With its perfect bridge above the crocodiles,

And its doors forever open.

Now,

Ever so slowly,

Come back to your body.

Come back to where you are,

And open your eyes.

Once you feel your back in your body situated back here,

Take a notebook,

A piece of paper,

Try not to make it your phone,

But if that's what you've got,

That's what you've got.

Write down everything that came up during this meditation.

Thoughts,

Where you went,

That peaceful place,

What it was like to be in your body.

Any thoughts Stephen Dunn's beautiful poem brought up?

Anything about your story?

What is the story you tell yourself?

As Dunn so eloquently stated,

Happiness is always available to us,

But it's just sometimes so hard to get there with those crocodiles.

So use his beautiful words,

His humor,

And anything you got from this meditation to write down your own story.

Reviews

Wonderful meditation that relaxes me and at the same time inspires my creativity to start writing right away. THANK YOU!!! 🙏🏻💖

Wow! Loved this. The breathing was fantastic ❤️❤️❤️

I really loved this. Felt like an out of body experience

I found this really inspirational! Thank you.

A sensual exploration for creative inspiration. Have paper and pen ready before beginning.

Excellent way to open and stimulate your creative senses

Ms. David,
Thank you so much for this meditation. It was calm, soothing, and motivating. I hope you make more!