Finish Your Book Visualization

This is a visualization practice to embody the feeling of finishing your book. Whether you're on the 10th draft or the 10th sentence, the work we do here will keep your eyes on the prize, no matter the challenges you face. By using our writer's imaginations, we'll be lodging the specific sensation you'll feel when the book is complete. When you begin to struggle or doubt yourself down the road, you'll be able to call this feeling up, as well as the intentions we set in this meditation.

Transcript

Find a comfortable seat and when you're ready,

Close your eyes.

To begin today's meditation,

We'll take three nice deep breaths,

Inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth.

And on your exhales,

Give yourself permission to release any tension,

Any sensations of feeling stuck or muddled,

Frustrations.

Let it all out.

Breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth.

Two more times on your own.

When you hear the sound of the bell,

See this as an invitation to presence,

To arriving in this space,

In this body,

In this moment.

Take a moment to notice any sounds around you.

Really waking up that sense of hearing.

All is welcome.

Nothing is good or bad,

It just is.

Inviting those sounds to be part of the landscape of this practice today.

Noticing the particular texture of the sounds around you in your living space or outside.

Other sounds inside your body,

Your breath or digestive system,

Creaky knees.

Now take a moment to home in on the sensation of taste.

Perhaps you recently had some coffee or tea and the taste lingers on your tongue.

Inviting yourself to really be present with your body.

Letting that go and now drawing your attention to touch.

Feel of your clothes against your skin.

Perhaps the pressure of your meditation cushion or the chair you're sitting in.

How your body connects to the earth,

To the space that you inhabit.

The feeling of your palms resting against your knees or thighs.

What does your hair feel like?

As it rests against your skull.

Letting that go away and drawing your attention to sight.

Your eyes are closed but are there colors swirling there,

Perhaps sunlight coming through your window or light in the room you're in.

The particular texture of the darkness behind your lids.

What do you see with your eyes closed?

Your mind might even begin to wander and so draw it back to this sensation of physical sight.

Letting that go and finally drawing your attention to scent.

As you breathe in,

Notice any scents that are present in the space,

In your body,

On your body.

Looking for the specificity in this moment.

Good writing is all about specificity.

So in inviting presence,

You're increasing your awareness of your surroundings.

As you let that meditation on your senses go,

Take in one nice deep breath and let it out through your mouth.

As you settle in deeper into the space,

Call to mind a time when you felt a deep sense of satisfaction.

A time when perhaps you accomplished something very difficult or a moment of deep abiding in nature.

Whatever this moment is,

It can be very simple.

Whatever this moment is,

Use the work we just did on paying attention to our senses and see if you can enter deeply into that moment using your wonderful writer's imagination.

Bring to mind the moment in as much specificity,

As much detail as possible.

What were the sounds of that moment?

What were the tastes present in that moment?

The scent,

The feeling.

What did you see?

And as that moment becomes more alive,

See if you can be deeply embodied in that moment.

What did it feel like to be you in that moment?

What is the physical sensation of deep satisfaction?

Perhaps there is a warmth or floating sensation or the feeling of groundedness.

Maybe there's a soft smile playing on your face right now.

Ah,

That moment.

So good.

So delicious.

Deep satisfaction.

Relish it.

Live in it for the next few moments.

What does it feel like in your body?

Allow all images to fade from your mind,

But keep that sensation in your body.

Sit with that.

Give yourself permission to enjoy wordless articulation of the felt sensation of deep satisfaction,

Embodiment,

Abiding,

The physical memory lodged inside of you.

Okay,

Deep breath in through the nose,

Out through the mouth,

Letting that go.

Okay,

Sinking deeper into your meditation posture.

We're here now.

We are here in our bodies,

Fully present.

I'd like you to use that wonderful writer's imagination to picture your favorite writing space wherever you're really enjoying writing right now.

I've got your laptop with you or maybe your notebook,

Typewriter.

Perhaps you're at a desk or your bed,

Your dining room table.

Again,

Using that wonderful writer's imagination,

Really imagine yourself in that space.

Now open up the document of your work in progress.

Really see that document on the screen or in your notebook.

And now with the same specificity you bring to the scenes in that book,

I want you to imagine writing the last sentence.

You might not know what it is yet,

But just picture yourself,

The feel of your fingers on that keyboard or your pen scratching on the page.

You have just written the last sentence of your book.

Maybe you even type the end.

This moment is happening right now.

You're going to live this moment.

What does it feel like in your body?

Type the last sentence,

Everything you've been through to write this book,

The sacrifices,

The ups,

The downs,

The self-doubt,

The inner critic beating you up,

People telling you you can't do it,

You telling you you can't do it,

The rejections,

The revisions,

Oh my God,

The revisions over and over.

All the times you've torn out your hair,

All the tears,

All the moments of elation only to realize you have to go all the way back to the beginning.

Everything you've been through,

You are at the top of the mountain.

You have scaled this manuscript.

It is finished and it is good.

You just wrote the last sentence.

Feel that in your body.

Allow yourself to really embody this moment.

And if for some reason you're not feeling that,

It feels unreal to you,

Take that feeling that we worked with of deep satisfaction in your real lived experience,

Bring that back to mind.

Deep satisfaction,

A moment of pure being,

Fully alive,

Fully embodied.

Now take that feeling and imagine typing the last sentence of your book.

In the silence,

Sit with that.

Let it expand.

Let it ripple through you to your fingertips,

To the top of your head,

To your toes.

Your whole body is alive with this deep satisfaction.

You did it.

You did it.

Beginning with this feeling,

Letting it unfurl.

What does it feel like in your chest?

Check in.

What does it feel like in your belly?

Check in there for a moment,

Gut check.

If it feels good,

You can put your hand on your belly,

On your heart.

Take a moment to roll your shoulders back,

Straighten that spine.

Really feel the crown of your head reaching up,

Connected to the sky.

A regal posture of a writer who has just finished their book.

If it feels good,

You can say that out loud,

Yes.

Now take a moment to picture what you will do after you finish that last sentence.

What's the song you'll play for your dance party in your office all by yourself?

What will you yell out loud?

Maybe you'll just lean back in your chair and let it all out.

Whatever you're going to do,

Picture that as specifically as possible.

Hear that song,

See yourself dancing around.

Maybe you ring a bell or you high five yourself.

Maybe you pray,

Maybe you cry.

Maybe you kiss the tips of your fingers like a chef.

So good.

This book is so good.

Picture that.

Now let those images fade,

But stay with the feeling,

Stay with it.

Now you're fully in your body,

All vision's gone,

All imagining's gone in your body.

What does it feel like?

Right into the log.

This is the feeling of you finishing your book.

The book that you are going to finish.

This is your dream.

This is your spirit.

This is your North Star shining.

You are going to finish this book.

So log this feeling in because it's going to happen.

It already has happened,

In fact.

You've already finished your book.

You can feel it.

You know exactly what it's going to feel like.

Really good work here.

Now let those images go.

Let the feelings go.

Take three deep breaths again.

In through your nose,

Out through your mouth.

In and out.

Feels so good,

Right?

In and out.

Last time like a prayer.

In and out.

Now set an intention right here with the universe or God or your cat,

Yourself as a witness.

Set an intention for how you're going to show up for this book.

You know you're going to finish it,

So I'm not even going to ask you to set that intention.

Set the intention for how you will show up.

Name it.

Will you show up with resilience,

Grit,

Compassion,

Love,

Flow,

Openness,

Curiosity?

How will you show up for this process?

Okay now,

Hold that intention inside you.

See that last sentence.

Maybe a soft smile is playing on your face because you are going to do this.

You've set the intention.

You're ready.

And as I ring the bell,

Allow that intention to lodge itself in you.

This bell is sending that intention out into the world.

It's a promise.

It's a prayer.

It's a certainty.

Soft smile on your face,

Hand on your heart if that feels good to you.

Give yourself a moment of gratitude for showing up here,

For showing up for your writing,

For doing right by the miracle of being alive here on this earth,

Putting your words out into the world.

Tell yourself,

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Exhale any tension.

Exhale any uncertainty.

Fresh start.

Here we go.

When you're ready,

Let your eyes flutter open.

Breathe.

Right.

And repeat.

Reviews

I actually had a smile on my face and a tear in my eye at the end… Thank you 🙏

Excellent use of embodiment of being states to remind me of what I already know and have felt. Thank you!

Really great! Just what I needed.

amazing, thank you✨

Wonderful! So relevant to the hinderances encountered in the mental and writing spaces.

This had my heart ❤️ pumping, my fists pumping, my mouth smiling! I was so there. Thank you!

What a journey! My book is there but I don't know what it is supposed to be. This meditation brings knowing and purpose - I will finish my book 😊! Thank you

This meditation was exactly what I needed today. Thank you Heather for helping me believe I can finish this book. Namaste.

What a wonderful idea for a meditation. Thank you, Heather, as always! This was excellent timing for me, as I am finishing up a novella this week!