Hello and welcome to Writing Muse and Writing Mentor.
I'm Jeanette de Beauvoir and today I'm offering you an introduction to using meditation in your writing practice.
If you already have a regular meditation practice just add the writing I'm outlining in this exercise to it.
And if you found traditional meditation difficult this is a good starting place to channel your mind into enhancing your practice.
All you need to get started is a timer,
A notebook,
And a pen.
Writing can be a powerful meditation practice.
It can help you integrate the mind of meditation with your active creative mind and meditation can free the creative process of assumptions and automatic thoughts and open up new realms of creativity.
You don't have to meditate for hours or even write for hours.
What follows is a simple exercise you can do every day for just 10 minutes.
As you experience the exercise you'll find your mind letting go of preconceptions and embracing deeper creativity as it encourages you to be present to and aware of whatever muse is your inspiration and support in your writing practice.
You'll find the kind of writing that emerges from this meditation exercise is rich with possibilities,
Ideas,
And energy for your work.
So let's begin.
I want you to start by breathing deeply from the bottom of your diaphragm up.
So first you want to fill the bottom with air and then the middle and then the top and hold that breath for a count of 10.
Then as you release it try to empty out the bottom of your lungs first.
Always start from the bottom then keep them empty for another count of 10.
And now a second breath again from the bottom of your lungs up filling the bottom with air in the middle then the top.
Hold that breath for a count of 10 and as you release it empty out the bottom first and then the middle and then the top and keep your lungs empty for a count of 10.
Continue breathing in this way 20 times.
When you've done that sit still and notice what's happening to your body or in your body.
What are you feeling?
Are you warm?
Are you cold?
Are there sounds or noises living here in the room with you?
Be aware of what's going on in your immediate area and then move intentionally reverently inside your mind.
What is happening there right now?
Are you feeling like there's plenty of space ready for something to fill it or is it dark and cluttered with thoughts?
Don't worry about what you're finding just notice what's there.
Is your mind open and flowing or is it tight and hard?
Just notice it and move lightly on.
Now you want to set your intention for this meditation.
Don't think of anything specific.
Think of what you want to have in your mind.
Can you open it to this experience?
Can you open it to inspiration?
Tell your mind how you want it to receive enlightenment here.
If you've had your eyes closed open them now.
Set your timer for 10 minutes.
Pick up your notebook and pen and take another deep breath starting at the bottom through the middle and in the top holding it and emptying it out.
Now write down your writing prompt for this exercise and I will give you that prompt.
It is right now.
So write those two words down right now and then start writing.
Don't stop to think about anything.
Don't reflect on anything.
Don't even try to make sense of what you're writing.
There's no editing,
No crossing out,
No second thoughts.
Just write.
Keep writing until you can't think of anything else to write and then take another deep breath allowing your creative muse to move again.
If you had to stop now repeat the prompt right now and go on.
You can use the prompt as many times as you need to until your timer goes off and you don't have to write quickly.
You just need to write without thought,
Without judging or thinking about what you're writing.
What you're doing here is relaxing your thinking brain so you can tap into the creative flow that it often obscures.
So just write.
When the timer goes off take a few more deep breaths emptying your lungs from the bottom to the middle to the top,
Staying empty for a count of 10 and filling your lungs again from the bottom to the middle to the top.
Do this three times and when you have look at what you've written.
What I want you to do here is to read it out loud.
It's very important that you say the words and listen while you're doing that intently to what you're hearing.
Don't speed read,
Don't read in your head,
Read the words out loud.
Notice how your mind is taking your words on board.
What is happening?
Are you laughing at what you write?
Do you find it silly?
Do you find it serious,
Enlightening,
Nonsensical?
What are you noticing about what you're thinking as you read what you've written?
You can read through the exercise more than once but be sure each time to read it out loud and then when you've done that look through what you've written and underline anything that particularly draws your attention.
Any phrase,
Any idea,
Any section that's striking in any way,
That may be the voice of your muse.
You don't need to know why you're underlining it,
Just go with what you're feeling.
In future exercises you might want to use one of these phrases as your writing prompt replacing the phrase right now.
When you finish doing that go back to your breathing.
Again breathe deeply from the bottom of your diaphragm up,
Filling the bottom with air,
Then the middle,
Then the top.
Hold that breath for a count of 10 and as you release it try to empty out the bottom of your lungs first and keep them empty for another count of 10.
And now a second breath.
And now make a wish or intention that the insights you might have gained or that you might still gain in the future from this meditation will produce positive effects in your writing practice.
You'll be surprised at how quickly you'll accumulate ideas,
Insights,
Mental tickles,
Creative concepts as you build on this practice.
From time to time go through and reread what you've underlined,
Noticing if there are any themes or modes of thinking or repetitive thoughts.
As long as you're faithful to breathing before writing and as long as you're sincerely setting your intention to cultivate openness,
You're going to notice over time that these writings evolve and that they're very different from what you might write in your journal or what you might jot down during the day.
The intention that you bring to the writing creates conditions for insights and allows you to move your mind from judgment through acceptance and into creativity.
The wonderful thing is this practice can be done anywhere and in fact if you vary the location and time of day when you use the prompt right now that can give you a kind of fascinating glimpse into yourself as you go about your life.
So that's your introduction to using meditation in your writing practice.
Thanks for joining me at Writing Muse and Writing Mentor.
I'm Jeanette de Beauvoir and I look forward to sharing with you again soon.
