Writing heals. Writing transforms. Writing makes the invisible visible. You can use writing to bypass the thinking mind and take you to new heights and depths. When you write from your soul you can tap into the shadow, the hidden corners of your psyche, thus shining light on forgotten memories and unhealed wounds from the past. In addition, inner wisdom, which resides just below the surface of conscious awareness, becomes available to you. At times you access the imaginal realms and discover images, symbols, and sensory impressions. You also gain access to the vastness, the deep silence at the core of your Being.
Here are some deep writing practices. Before each practice, take 1-2 minutes to relax and take some slow, deep breaths.
It’s a good idea to work with one or more of these practices often so that you get a good feel for them and they become more familiar. In addition to using these exercises for your psychospiritual development you can also apply them to any other type of writing, e.g. poetry or fiction, as a way to enrich and deepen your writing.
1. Present-centered writing
Write whatever is true for you moment to moment as you write. You may include physical sensations, feelings, insights, or subtle impressions. Try not to censor your body-mind experience or what you write. This practice will bring you into the moment, and help you to connect deeply with yourself. Do this writing for as long as you’d like.
2. Slow writing
Write about anything very slowly for 5-10 minutes. Let the words come from deep within. Allow for feelings, insights, and nonverbal impressions as you write. Let whatever comes to you find its way onto the page.
3. Spiral writing
Choose some personal subject matter and begin writing about superficial aspects of this material. Write for a minute or so and let yourself drop into a deeper level of awareness. Write there for awhile, then feel yourself going even deeper. Do this until you feel that you have reached the core of your exploration.
4. Intuitive writing
Select a question that is meaningful to you and write it at the top of your page. Clear your mind of everything but the question. Sense that you are posing this question to your inner wisdom, not to your analytical mind. Put aside doubt and self-judgment. Relax and listen deeply. Let your hand form an answer and jot down anything that comes to you without analyzing or evaluating what you’ve written. Continue to write until the flow stops.