Source: Photo by Unseen Studio on Unsplash
Meditation is hard. It’s hard to develop a routine. It’s hard to let go of the expectation that you “should” be focused and quiet when meditating. It’s even hard not to fall asleep when meditating! While there’s no secret trick to making meditation easier, I’ve recently been experimenting with another technique that I’ve found helpful: writing meditation.
The writing meditation I’m referring to is not journaling or creative writing, although the result looks a little like poetry. It’s an open mindfulness exercise done randomly on paper. Here are the steps I take:
- Take a blank sheet of paper and a pen
- Write down every thought that comes to mind
That’s it!
However, I think an example might clarify this. Here is a writing meditation I did recently:
Breathe
Through my nose
From my mouth
Pressure around my eyes
Feel the pen in my hand
Sounds of a bird outside
I notice the breath in my chest
Wait
Heartbeat
Am I doing this right?
Sounds of passing cars
I want it to be quiet
frustration
Sensations of my feet on the ground
Sounds of crickets
Pressure around the eyes again
Will I get sick?
Back to the breath
Wait
My chest rises and falls with my breath
Thoughts move faster than my fingers
Feel the pen in my hand
Is this a good place to stop?
I’m going to pack up now
This is just a quick example, but you can see that I was aware of physical sensations (the breath in different parts of my body, the feeling of the pen in my hands, my feet on the ground), sounds (birds, cars, crickets), as well as thoughts (“Am I getting sick?”, “My mind is moving faster than my fingers,” “I want it to be quiet”) and emotions (“frustration”).
The exercise helped me get into a meditative state and was more focused than if I had tried to take it all in while just sitting there meditating, when I could easily get lost in a whirlwind of thoughts.
I have been using this technique for several years and am surprised it is not used more often. Have you tried this type of meditation before? Where did you learn it? Try it yourself and let me know how it goes!
