Moving from the Yamas to the Niyamas brings us to saucha or purity which means cleanliness in body, mind and spirit.
Applied to writing it can look like:
~ Maintaining a clean, organized space in which to write
~ Nourishing yourself with healthy food to stay focused
~ Creating a system to organize ideas as they come to you
~ Creating a schedule for sharing your work
The mind is our main tool as a writer. It needs to remain open and clear and focused. As much as I fought it for years, even after Natalie Goldberg declared it the secret to writing, I still resisted a regular meditation practice. Not anymore. My most recent streak is 80 days. I am sad and happy to report that it helps. It helps tame my anxiety. It helps to cultivate a relationship between my mind and writing.
Natalie Goldberg writes:
“Whether you’re keeping a journal or writing as a meditation, it’s the same thing. What’s important is you’re having a relationship with your mind.”
Meditation allows me to confront my mind. To see the thoughts without getting swept away by them. It helps me to see that they are temporary bits of energy moving through me. They are not necessarily the truth. So, when rejection inevitably happens or when that voice pops up telling me that I have nothing worth saying or that I am lazy, I am less apt to be tossed away by those thoughts.
Persistence and consistency are the foundation of my writing life. Maintaining a steady habit of both writing and meditating daily nourish that foundation.
Comments