Today's Tuesday • 7 mins read
Most people think meditation means sitting cross-legged with your eyes closed, trying not to think. But you can write to meditate.
Mindfulness is meditating on the present moment without judgment. You could apply mindfulness to writing to meditate.
When you write mindfully, the act itself becomes a form of meditation. You are rooting yourself in the present moment while exploring your inner landscape. The page becomes both mirror and anchor.
“Be happy in the moment, that’s enough. Each moment is all we need, not more.” — Mother Teresa
This is called mindful writing. Read on to know how to do it.
How To Write To Meditate: The Mindful Writing Method
When you write mindfully, you’re not trying to produce anything brilliant or even coherent. It isn’t about producing perfect prose or profound insights. You don’t stress over every word or revise as you go.
Here are the steps:
1. Write Raw About The Present Moments
Take a seat at your desk and chair with a pen and a notepad. Try to avoid using your laptop or mobile for this, as they are teeming with interrupting notifications and distracting ideas.
A pen and paper block you from mindlessly scrolling on your phone or opening a background tab on your computer. Physically writing keeps you rooted in the present moment.
Leave your phone switched off and your laptop shut, or keep them in another room.
Find a piece of paper and a pen, and start writing whatever is on your mind. After repeating this “brain dump” for a few days, you start writing more meaningfully about the events of your day.
Before you start, sit upright, close your eyes, and take 5-6 slow and deep breaths. It will help clear your mind of worries and calm your mind via your vagus nerve.
Start writing about your sensations. Write about the sounds you are hearing, the sort of temperature you are feeling, and the smells that surround you.
Take a moment after every paragraph to inhale a slow, deep breath and exhale it softly. Tell yourself, “I let go of my stress.”
You might feel your mind wandering off from time to time. Do not worry; it’s natural. Take 1-2 deep breaths to ground yourself back in the present, and refocus on writing.
2. The Letter To Future Self Exercise
The Letter to Future Self exercise is when you write a letter to your future self, say, six months or a year in the future.
- The letter should address questions about your current self, including your happiness, goals, struggles, and what brings you joy.
- Reflect on your future self, focus on your desired goals, accomplishments, and what milestones will bring you happiness. This includes acknowledging past stressors that no longer hold weight.
- Celebrate the good. Conclude with a reminder of the wonderful aspects of your life: your hobbies, relationships, and sources of joy. This will serve as a reminder to appreciate the positive aspects of your present situation.
Hide the letter. You would revisit it after a period of at least six months. It allows for personal growth and perspective on life’s changes.
My suggestion: Make it a last week of December habit.
Put up reminders on your calendar any day during the last week of the year to write this letter to future self.
There’s a web service I use: FutureMe. It has a reminder to write as well as a date alarm to read that future letter on a given date.
Up to 45% of the activities and tasks we do in a day are habitual (Quinn & Wood, 2005). But the thing is, creating a new habit is hard.
So, put that reminder on your calendar right now.
3. Explore New Topics And Styles of Writing
Initially, you may have difficulty finding words to write. For such moments, when you keep staring at a blank page, here are helpful prompts:
- Highlights of your day (yesterday or today).
- Things you and your friend do together
- How did you solve a tough problem?
- Your dos and don’ts for the week.
- Some thoughts that made you smile.
- Events that made you feel productive.
- Urges that you resisted and felt happy about.
- How did you block a challenging, unpleasant habit?
- Beautiful sounds that you heard.
- Actions that made you feel loved.
- Meaning and purpose of your life.
- Things that brought out your creativity.
- Your best/worst meal of the day/week.
- Some calculated risks you took.
- Your idea of a perfect holiday.
- Advice to your younger self.
- Things that melted your heart.
- New habits that you want to build.
- Create a personal slogan or mantra.
There is another way to go about mindful writing. Try different ways of writing while exploring novel topics.
For example, you may write about how your neighbor’s pet dog thinks about you. You might explore writing a two-way dialogue between you and a more successful version of yourself.
You may also try Freewriting, a technique developed by Peter Elbow in 1973. In this, you continuously write for a fixed amount of time, ignoring spelling, grammar, and other rules of proper writing.
There’s also Stream of Consciousness writing. It’s a narrative technique that aims to realistically capture a character’s thought process. Its main goal is to provide readers with an intimate and direct insight into a character’s thoughts and feelings, as if they were an unnoticed observer.
This narrative style often includes a detailed portrayal of the character’s internal dialogue, emotions, and sensory experiences. The result is like being a fly on the wall inside the character’s mind, seeing the mental state and the complexities of their inner world.
4. Create Imaginary Stories Out of Real People
Frankly, most of the writing we do daily is writing emails. Moreover, today, much of it comes with incredibly clever auto-suggestions on how to finish our sentences.
So, it may be difficult to write your narratives in detail, especially if you’re not in the habit of writing outside your work.
Mindful writing can help you stay in the present moment, while also expanding your awareness of your presence in the universe.
Perhaps the greatest example of this form of journal writing is the transcendent book Meditations by the most powerful emperor to have walked this earth, Emperor Marcus Aurelius.
For this, go to an unfamiliar spot, like a park bench in a unique part of the city or a seat at a popular tea shop, and observe what people are doing around you. Look at their expressions and micro-expressions.
Then make up imaginary stories, creating characters out of the surrounding people. Give them unique voices. Write about their dreams and fantasies, their work problems, and their relationships.
Write about a time in the future when they might meet you and hear your stories about them. The possibilities are endless.
Final Words
Mindful writing is about showing up to the blank page with curiosity and without judgment. You let your thoughts arrive and depart naturally. You use the page as a space to anchor yourself in the now.
As a beginner, start your mindful writing practice with no big aims, especially if you do not write outside your professional sphere.
The best course of action is to take action without waiting for inspiration.
If no words come to your mind, write about the pen or the pencil in your hand, the paper you’re writing on, or the desk below that paper. You’ll soon find the flow appears.
Some people do not have their breakfast unless they have written 1000 words in the morning. You may start with 100 words.
Try writing mindfully for 100 days and feel the difference.
Of course, you will become a better writer. You will also become more self-aware, intentional, and peaceful in life.
√ Also Read: Mind-Wandering: How To Stop It + 6 Extra Questions Answered
√ Please spread the word if you found this helpful.
