Mindful Writing

 About a week ago, I participated in a 5 day mindfulness and journaling challenge where I would receive a daily audio recording and a journaling prompt.  I haven't done one of these in a while, so it was the perfect opportunity to start.  Keeping a practice of writing takes effort and I have over the years gone back and forth on it - usually the prompts are self-guided -either by reading something or just free form of writing. This challenge was different because the facilitator provided us with breathing prompts, mindfulness prompts and poetry prompts.  It was timed for no more than 15-20 minutes and I made a deliberate effort to carve time in for the day.  Something I don't do regularly - as much as I would like to.  We all know the importance of connecting with our breath, of setting intentions and just being in the moment.  But actively making the decision to quiet the mind, to do some breathing exercises before journaling made the experience all the more enjoyable.  I found myself more playful with my words, the writing was lighter at times, sometimes the prompts led to a poetry type journal entry format , and really enjoying the process.  And for 20 minutes I found myself coming out of a retreat setting rejuvenated.  

How do I keep it going?  Unless I pay into the program and have unlimited access to the journaling recordings- I don't know if it is sustainable for me.  But for what its worth - it has helped me tap into another form of journaling which I find extremely therapeutic.  At least once a week, I can try to carve time out for a mindful journaling experience so that I am allowing myself to experiment with different writing forms, and also to quieten the mind and ground myself.  Over the last couple of years with remote work, I have found that because I have been multi-tasking more than ever working virtually- the mind is never at rest - I may think it is- but it is constantly going.  I notice it when I am meditating and paying attention to the ways of the mind -it never ceases to amaze me to see how I am constantly thinking.  I am supposed to just be silent - why is that not happening? The need for silence is there -yet when I have it my mind is a mile a minute.  I think it has gotten worse over the last two years - which is all the more reason to focus on mindfulness.  To pay attention to my breath -what comes in and what goes out - and allow that to be my anchor.  Even when writing to let the breath be the anchor so as not to let my mind wander - so focusing on the process of writing rather than letting the mind divert into different things while writing.  And there you see the true connection between body and mind.  

Thich Nhat Han focused on walking meditation as a mindfulness practice. Each step is a way of connecting with the earth.  Breathing in you connect with the earth, breathing out you connect with the earth.  Walking in mindfulness is a process of connecting us with the earth.  We like to think of walks as brisk and cardio oriented - but these walks are for the soul - so that this suffering can stop.  It is another form of mindfulness.  I leave you with this poem By Thich Nhat Han as a writing prompt. Say the poem out loud,  I urge you to focus on your breath before beginning and then allow the writing to flow:

Take my hand.
We will walk.
We will only walk.
We will enjoy our walk
without thinking of arriving anywhere.
Walk peacefully.
Walk happily.
Our walk is a peace walk.
Our walk is a happiness walk.
Then we learn
that there is no peace walk;
that peace is the walk;
that there is no happiness walk;
that happiness is the walk.
We walk for ourselves.
We walk for everyone
always hand in hand.
Walk and touch peace every moment.
Walk and touch happiness every moment.
Each step brings a fresh breeze.
Each step makes a flower bloom under our feet.
Kiss the Earth with your feet.
Print on Earth your love and happiness.
Earth will be safe
when we feel in us enough safety. 

Writing Prompt:  Think about walking - and write about waking - where do you walk to? with whom? 

Some words to help you:  Happiness, Walk, Earth, Safety, Learn, Peace

Happy Journaling!

How Do I love thee?

 It's the day of LOVE in all its truest forms.  Think about the ways in which we love and how much we love and who we love.  We love our partners, we love our parents, we love our kids, we love our siblings, we love our cousins, we love our family, and we love our friends. Love is the source of energy that makes us want to live more. It is expansive and brings out the best in ourselves and in others.  I still remember one of the first gifts I received from my aunt and it was a framed quote by Juliette Drouet in Les Miserables which read:

And that's what Love is.  We love just because.  We cannot imagine our lives without the ones we have loved living or deceased. We love passionately, devotedly, piously, unconditionally, fiercely and gently. 
Love is a feeling, and the feeling is so vast that we cannot contain it - we want to spread it.  If we made a list of all our loves, what would it look like?  In all its different forms?  Mine would be a long list . Each in their own way have shown me how to love a little more deeper  and a little more stronger...and where would I be without this very long list.  I like to think of love as a mirror - we sometimes wonder how we could be loved so much - what do they see in me that I don't see? Love allows us to be the best version of ourselves - and Love teaches us to love ourselves a little more.  In my life, I have learned that one can't truly love if one doesn't learn to love themselves fully.  Loving oneself without judgement and with acceptance in all its flaws and glory. Think of our partners, our parents, our kids - we love so fiercely and yet they do are flawed -but yet we love...so why not for us? Why not love ourselves a little more.  

So today - love yourself- love your faults, love your weaknesses, love your strengths- love all of you - because when you do - then u can truly learn to love those close to u fully.  

Today's prompt is:  

How do I love thee?  You have two options - u can choose to write a love note to yourself or you can write about the love of your life (whoever that may be). 

I love thee with ........

(Write for five minutes non-stop)

OR 

Pick one of your favorite love poems and begin journaling with the first sentence of the poem or the last sentence of the poem.....

Happy Journaling! 

 

Decisions Decisions Decisions

 Decisions decisions decisions - how do we as humans come to make them? what goes into making a decision? Some of us are wise enough to look at our wants and needs first and that helps them make a decision.  Others want to make sure everyone's opinion is valued and that's how they come to a decision.  It is a combination of our emotional and intellectual faculties that allow us to be able to say out loud the decision we have made.  But it is a process to get there.  There are so many of us that may not know what we want - more so because it is clouded by our loved one's opinions- we want to make them happy too and so we subconsciously operate in that manner.  

There are so many times when I have heard the words "you do what you want."  But its not that easy to do what you want.  Maybe when I was younger it was easy to make decisions impulsively because i wasn't responsible for anyone - but the last 20 years or so circumstances have changed - so asking myself what "I" want really takes a lot of digging.  I have to really work though my mind that if I verbalize what I want -that I am not being selfish - that its okay to say what I want - and those around you will understand.  They may not agree but they will understand.  And there will be those who will not understand and not forgive you because of ur decision.  How do u live with that?  

Everything we do has a reaction -it is how we respond to it.  This past week, for the first time in a very long time, I really had to take some time and make a decision - it was not a life changing decision or anything like that - but I write about it because of how hard it was for me to really visualize what "I want."  I just couldn't because I wasn't thinking about me and my wants, I was thinking about "us and our wants/desires."  Sometimes we want it all - and that too can be difficult - because having it all doesn't always mean that its actually what "I" want.   Sometimes having it all can simply just be because you are a all about keeping the peace and making sure everyone is happy.  And then you let go entirely of  what is going to make you happy for the higher good.  I realize I do that alot - and so when anyone asks me what I want - i have a very difficult time answering that question.  I don't know what I want.  

What techniques did I use to figure out what I want?  Our body talks to us in ways that we don't realize.  So paying extra attention to my body and cues to look for when I began thinking or visualizing others wants vs. my wants.  I started to feel more tired/just want to shut everything out - some weird feeling in my stomach.  Then I did an exercise on what I actually want - and the body felt lighter - relaxed - and that helped me come to my decision.  

I also wrote - and that is my go to source - and it started with the prompt 

What I really want is .......

I ideal vision is......

I hope to.....

Sometimes it was writing like a stream of consciousness at other times it was a couple of sentences.  But it was a process to get to and it helped identify what I wanted and give me the voice to say it out loud without guilt or any other type of emotion.  

If you are ever in a situation like mine try these prompts to help you make decisions!!

Happy Journaling!!