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Rituals and Meditations for the Writer's Life

What makes a fire burn is space between the logs,

a breathing space.

Too much of a good thing,

too many logs

packed in too tight

can douse the flames

almost as surely

as a pail of water would.

So building fires

requires attention

to the spaces in between,

as much as to the wood.

When we are able to build

open spaces

in the same way

we have learned

to pile on the logs,

then we can come to see how

it is fuel and absence of the fuel,

together, that make fire possible.

We only need to lay a log

lightly from time to time.

A fire

grows

simply because the space is there,

with openings

in which the flame

that knows just how it wants to burn

can find its way.

—JUDY SORUM BROWN, SPEAKER, WRITER, EDUCATOR

“At the heart of each of us, whatever our imperfections, there exists a silent pulse of perfect rhythm, a complex of wave forms and resonances, which is absolutely individual and unique, and yet which connects us to everything in the universe.”

—GEORGE LEONARD, AMERICAN WRITER ON HUMAN POTENTIAL

Breathing Space

We all need our space. Writing space. Breathing space. Private space. A space to just be alone. As a writer I need space inside of me and outside of me, and I’m guessing you do, too. Your journal is one such place. A place you can write anything and know it will be kept private (if you want). My meditation room in our home is one of my “outside of me” places. I also have a couple of places in nature I can visit for that same sense of private space.

This was not the case when I was a teenager.

I remember feeling really crowded in my teen years. The halls were always packed with teachers; friend and foe filled up my days. At home, parents, siblings, and their friends crammed the house. It wasn’t until my oldest brother moved away from home that I got my own room and found enough private space. That was when I turned sixteen and when I began to keep journals.

A fire

grows

simply because the space is there,

with openings

in which the flame

that knows just how it wants to burn

can find its way.

“For those who are interested in a spirited intimacy, listen more to the ancestors, to spirit, to the trees, to the animals. Focus on ritual. Listen to all those forces that come and speak to us that we usually ignore.”

—SOBONFU E. SOMÉ, AFRICAN SHAMAN WOMAN FROM THE DAGARA TRIBE

You too need a place to write and to call your own. Hopefully, it is a safe space, a place where you can get away from what presses on you in your daily life and write in your journal. If you don’t have one, can you find a place you can return to whenever you choose, to write, meditate, or just quietly hang out with yourself?

• Ten years from now, someone else will be living in your room (you
• will have moved on). Write about this person.
• Write about feeling crowded.
• Write about the home you live in now.
• Write about a favorite place.
• Write about the view out your bedroom window.

Off the Page

Where is your breathing and writing space? If you can, fill it with objects that inspire and comfort you. If that is not an option, choose an object or two to take with you when you go to that space.

Watch the movie The Secret Garden, based on the book by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

Sacred Concentration

So building fires

requires attention

to the spaces in between,

as much as to the wood.

The time you put into your journal is a time of sacred concentration. So is any time you spend meditating or watching the sun rise, or praying, or reflecting on your intentions, or sitting quietly in nature. This is how you create your inner breathing space. If everyone were to spend ten minutes a day in sacred concentration, the world would be a friendlier place. Part of the problem is we don’t take the time to be sacred, to hang out quietly, to concentrate on something simple but beautiful. Even our own thoughts can be beautiful. Any time you are engaged in sacred concentration you are adding to the peace and beauty within yourself and around you.

“In a Lakota framework everyone is a meaning maker, everyone must make sense of his or her experience.”

—FROM THE PRICE OF A GIFT: A LAKOTA HEALER’S STORY BY GERALD MOHATT AND JOSEPH EAGLE ELK

Sacred concentration through journaling, meditation, or ritual opens a deeper place in yourself that is sacred. The more you expand this sacred place within, the stronger and happier you will be on the outside. This inner sacred ground enables you to carry your sacredness everywhere you go. The sense of your sacredness, of having breathing space, is no longer found only when you sit down and write or meditate; it is there inside you when you are doing more ordinary things, like hanging out with friends or doing the dishes. Sacred concentration builds that inner altar of independence, confidence, and strength.

• His Holiness the fourteenth Dalai Lama was recognized by the age of four as destined to be the next Dalai Lama. Write about being born holy.
• Write about the parents of His Holiness the Dalai Lama when they discovered who their child was.
• We are all born knowing who we truly are (we may lose touch with this later). Write from that part of you that knows who you are—who you are meant to be.
• “She/he was beautiful from the inside.”
• Write about that one memory you wish you could forget.
• You are holy. Write about this.

“The sun is shining—the sun is shining. That is the magic. The flowers are growing—the roots are stirring. That is the magic. Being alive is the Magic—being strong is the Magic. The Magic is in me—the Magic is in me… . It’s in every one of us.”

—MASTER COLIN IN THE SECRET GARDEN BY FRANCES HODGSON BURNETT

Meditation: Creating a Safe Inner Space

Have this read aloud slowly by someone or tape it and listen to the tape. After a few times you will be able to visit the place you imagine without being guided.

Sit in a comfortable but alert position. Have your feet firmly grounded on the floor, or lie down on the floor. Allow yourself to relax into your breathing, taking a nice deep breath through your nose and exhaling out through your mouth. Nice deep breaths … Again, take a nice deep breath through your nose, exhaling out through your mouth. Continue to breathe deeply like this throughout the meditation.

Imagine yourself now in a favorite place in nature. You can still feel your body in the room but your imagination is in this favorite spot. Now imagine before you a blank chalkboard. On this chalkboard is a white number “one.” This “one” turns into a doorway. Visualize the details of how your doorway looks. Breathe… . Go up to this door and open it. You will see that this door opens up into a hallway of doors. Go ahead and step into the hallway and walk up to the first door. You will notice that the first door has above it a red light, which is on, and the sign on the door says: ALL YOUR WORRIES—DO NOT ENTER. Breathe… . Now walk down to the next door. The next door also has a red light brightly shining above it and the sign reads, COMPLAINTS—DO NOT ENTER. You move on to the next door, which also has a red light above it and the sign reads: SCHOOL—DO NOT ENTER. And you go on to the next door, which is a door with a green light that shines above it. The sign on this door reads, SAFE PLACE. You freely open the door and enter the room, closing the door behind you. Continue to breathe as you notice everything about this place; what makes up your safe place? Hang out in this place now, taking in its feeling of safety and strength. Relax or play in this place; it is your safe place to do as you please.

“All spirit wants is to help us.”

— JOE EAGLE ELK, LAKOTA ELDER AND MEDICINE MAN

Give yourself two to three minutes to experience this place. And when you are ready leave the room, close and lock the door behind you. (Only you can enter this room.) Walk up the hallway, past the other doors and out the door that leads out into nature. When you are ready, feel yourself fully returned to the present, body on the chair or floor, and open your eyes.

This place is your secret place; your private place. Don’t describe it to anyone (even though you may want to). This would be like giving them entrance to a very sacred and private place that you need just for yourself.

• In the privacy of your journal write about your safe place.
• Where have you not been safe?
• Write about sacred space.

Mindfulness Meditation

Sit in a comfortable yet alert position … holding your body in the meditative posture, like a mountain … alert and tall. Slowly close your eyes and begin to let go of the experiences, thoughts, and expectations you brought with you… . Let go … softening around your moods, experiences, and thoughts. Let them come … and let them go … like waves of an ocean. Allow yourself to be fully present for this practice of meditation, letting go of worries you may have been carrying with you. As you notice what’s present—the thoughts that are on your mind, or the physical sensations that are rising and falling in your body—let it all come and go as it will. Get a sense of the container called “the body.” Notice the physical sensations of this meditating body. Get an overall sense of this body sitting. Try not to hold on to any thoughts, but let them go. As you do this, become aware of your breathing.

Notice that in the middle of all these thoughts and feelings there is a soft sensation of breathing. Now bring your attention to this breathing… . Letting the breath flow by itself, notice the physical sensations of breath, the coolness of the in-breath brushing against the top of your nostrils, or the rise and fall of your belly as you breathe. Notice the physical sensation of breath as it moves in your body. Let yourself feel your life-giving breath. Rest in the breathing. Rest in the meditating body… .

”Working back and forth between experience and thought, writers have more than space and time can offer. They have the whole unexplored realm of human vision.”

—FROM WRITING THE AUSTRALIAN CRAWL BY WILLIAM STAFFORD

Keep some of your awareness on the body as it continues to sit alert and tall. Be aware of this body meditating. Maintain some of your awareness on the body as you bring most of your attention to your breath… .

After just a few breaths you will notice that a thought carries you off on its own wave of experience and feeling. Notice where this wave of thought has taken you, let your awareness go there, then gently bring your awareness back to the breath, and to this meditating body. Rest again and again in the breath by gently focusing your attention on the physical sensations of your breath … letting the breath flow through you, naturally. Hold a mindful attention on your breath, noticing when your attention moves away on another wave of thought or physical sensation, returning your awareness to the sensations of your breathing and to the body meditating.

Now, when you are ready to stop meditating, gently bring your awareness to your entire body. Feel the body sitting in its upright meditative posture… . At this time you may gently open your eyes and refocus your attention on your environment.

Grounding Meditation

Sit in a chair with your feet uncrossed and touching the floor. Gently close your eyes and bring your awareness to your breathing. Simply notice how your body feels, without judgment; allow yourself to breathe naturally. Breathe … and notice the physical sensation of breath within your body, how it moves in and out and rises and falls in the belly. Continue to breathe while bringing your awareness down to the bottoms of your feet.

“Sacred or secular, what is the difference? If every atom inside our bodies was once a star, then it is all sacred and all secular at the same time.”

—GRETEL EHRLICH, POET AND NOVELIST

Now, continuing to breathe, imagine roots coming out from the bottoms of your feet. Visualize the roots reaching down through the floor and through the layers of the earth. Imagine this without forcing it… . Continue to breathe as the roots reach down deep into the Earth, to its core. Now imagine the roots pulling up core Earth energy, and that Earth energy moving up through the roots. Still breathing, bring the Earth energy up through the roots, into the bottoms of your feet, up through your legs, and into your abdomen, until it reaches your solar plexus, which is the area behind and around your belly button. Fill this area up entirely with this core Earth energy. Then imagine this energy moving back down and through the roots, into the Earth. Envision this continual circle of Earth energy coming in and going out. Sit for a few minutes in this grounded energy. Remember to breathe and to do this meditation with as little effort as possible. Trying to force our visualizations only generates more stress. No need to force and push; just imagine and breathe… .

Writing Is Ceremony

Writing is a form of personal ceremony, a rite directed from your very soul. At various times in your life, your mind may say “fear”; it may cause you to feel panic, but your soul knows the truth and will always bring you to it. The essential truth about you is that you are fundamentally courageous and curious. Staying in contact with your soul through journal writing strengthens your ability to overcome your fears. This is why giving time to your journal is in itself so precious, so very sacred. It is the ceremony of communicating with your own soul.

“You don’t do a ritual just for the sake of doing a ritual. Every ritual must have a very specific purpose, a clearly stated intention. It must have something to resolve.”

—SOBONFU E. SOMÉ, AFRICAN SHAMAN WOMAN FROM THE DAGARA TRIBE

Your soul is constantly calling you home, home to your true nature. Home to your natural gifts (what we often call “God-given gifts”). Your soul calls you home to everything good about yourself, and when you sit down to write in your journal, you can hear its call. Writing in your journal is also a process of releasing all the negative and harmful stuff onto the page, so it no longer interferes with your soul’s intentions. This releasing is a common part of most rituals—releasing negative or outdated clutter so you can make room for the good things that presently want to get into your life. You can use your journal to let go of your fear, for example, so more confidence or more inspired ideas can come in.

Your soul knows there is more to life than what they portray on television—and your journal contains this “more.”

• Write about wanting more.
• Write down all that clutter in your head. Write your worries, fears, and judgmental, harsh thoughts. Release them into your journal and out of your mind. Hold the intention of releasing yourself from these thoughts as you write them down.

Intention: The Power behind Rituals and Life

Declaring a clear intention in a ritual is key to its success. Intentions gather energy to them; therefore, what happens or does not happen in our lives often comes down to our intentions. Know your intention in a ritual, or in any situation for that matter, and you will bring out its potential—because energy follows intention. Intentions have an impact on what can happen in your life and in your ceremony. Your decision to use this book to guide you through your journal writing sets the intention of gaining independence, spiritual insight, and confidence. “Writing your way to Independence” is not only the subtitle, but also the intention of this book. Have you noticed yourself becoming more independent and confident as you progress through its pages? Every exercise and meditation holds an intention, and your energy follows this intention as you read, meditate, and write. Prayers also work this way: you request that your spiritual source help guide you with establishing and implementing your intentions.

“Like all magnificent things, it’s very simple.”

—FROM TUCK EVERLASTING BY NATALIE BABBITT, CHILDREN’S FANTASY AUTHOR

Did you say yes to something lately? Every commitment holds an intention. Can you identify your personal intention in that agreement? Can you name the other’s intention in it? The amazing thing about knowing your intentions is that you will not be too surprised by where you end up and you will be less likely to be disappointed. The truth is, however, that too many people walk through their lives NOT knowing what their intentions are—and end up in circumstances that leave them upset and confused. Energy follows intention, so get clear about your intentions and your life will move according to these intentions.

• What are your prayers these days? What intentions do these prayers hold? Write this all out.
• Write out a prayer for yourself. Write this prayer at the top of a journal page. Underneath this prayer, write the prayer’s intention. (There may be more than one intention in this prayer.)
• Write about a time when something unexpected happened.
• How does energy follow intention? Write about this.

Off the Page

Recipe for a Ritual

Ingredients:
One or more persons (as needed)	Dance
Fire or candlelight	Songs and chants
Intention	Prayer
Spirits	Sage, sweet grass, or incense
Drums and rattles

Directions:

Before assembling ingredients, be clear with yourself about your ritual’s purpose. Set your intention.

Preheat the ritual with a fire or candlelight.

Prepare the sacred container of the ritual (a circular space on the ground or floor) by cleansing with sweet grass, sage, or incense.

Take one or more people and fold in the intent of your ritual. Make sure the full purpose of your ritual is completely folded in before adding the next ingredient.

In this recipe, more cooks don’t spoil the broth but improve upon it. At this time invoke all the help you can by inviting in the spiritual help necessary for this ritual.

Begin beating in the drums.

Beating drums constantly, stir in dance.

Bring mixture to a full boil.

Add in singing and chanting to taste.

Sprinkle liberally with prayer.

Simmer until the intention rises to the surface.

Reduce heat and add prayer of thanks and farewell to the spiritual helpers.

Remove from heat and let stand until mixture settles.

Goes well with change in seasons, rites of passage, transitions, and meaningful journeys of life. Enjoy.

“Every ritual must have a very specific purpose, a clearly stated intention. It must have something to resolve.”

—SOBONFU E. SOMÉ, AFRICAN WOMAN SHAMAN FROM THE DAGARA TRIBE

Empowering Your Intention

Begin by being clear about, and becoming familiar with, your intention. Take some time to consider what your life may look like once this intention is fulfilled. For example, I might ask myself, What will my life look like once my intention of living freely and compassionately becomes a reality? And my answer is that I will feel kindness toward those who have offended me somehow; I will have the ability to not be concerned about opinions others have of me. Forming a clear picture of how your life will look with the intention fulfilled makes it easier for you to know how well you are following your intention at any given time.

“When doing ceremony be mindful of what you invite in. Nothing can come in uninvited in ritual. In the myth of Dracula, he can only get in the door if he is invited in. Invite in good energies, and good will come in.”

—TOM BALISTRIERI, TEACHER OF LAKOTA TRADITIONS

Keeping Your Intentions in Sight

Above my computer, where I do much of my writing, are two intentions written out on a folded piece of cardboard. This sign stands up so I can easily see it and be reminded of my present intentions. These intentions are: “I intend to live an abundant writer’s life” and “I intend to live freely and compassionately.” I am also aware of daily intentions and personal intentions that I have in my relationships. I write these in my journal regularly.

So choose a wish, a commitment, or a relationship in your life to write an intention for.

Victoria chose her relationship with her best friend, Sahara. Her hope is that they can be good friends once they enter their senior year and maybe they can even go off to college together. She came up with the intention: “I intend to have a lasting relationship with Sahara.” I suggested that Victoria be as specific as she can with her intention—this helps direct the energy to where she wants it. So she changed the intention to: “I intend to create a good and strong friendship with Sahara.”

The next step is to write out your intention in your journal in a spot where you will read it frequently, or place it somewhere in your room (on your altar if you have one) so you are reminded of it often.

Now your intention is set and ready to draw energy to it. And the more your attention goes to your intention, the more energy will be built into it.

Once you are clear about your intention, write out a ritual for empowering that intention. Like a story, a ritual has a beginning, a middle, and an end. You begin your ritual by deciding what spiritual sources you are going to call into your ritual, and who is going to be part of your ritual, if anyone. For the middle of the ritual, you need to decide how you will “act out” its intention. If the intention of your ritual is to create happiness in a particular area in your life, how will you show this in your ceremony? In many ways this part of the ritual is like a play you are performing with the spirit world, calling on their help and showing them what your prayer, your intention, is. To complete your ceremony, you will give your spiritual sources some demonstration of gratitude and release them back to their world.

“There are many circles in life… . With this first circle, you will start the first step in finding your path, the first step in finding yourself. Remember, do not get caught on just one circle; if you do, you will forever be going around in circles. Grasp the knowledge of that circle and then move on to the next. One day you will look up, and you will be at the center, and the mystery of life will be revealed to you.”

—WA’NA’NEE’CHE’ (DENNIS RENAULT), NATIVE AMERICAN TEACHER AND CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY

• As a creative writing exercise, write in your journal about planning and performing a ritual and about what happens in your life afterward.

Off the Page

Now ask yourself, am I ready to perform a ritual so that my intention can be sent out to the world? For more about rituals, please check out my book The Thundering Years: Rituals and Sacred Wisdom for Teens.

Claiming Your Own Story

Every moment of your life is part of your unfolding story. One of the values of journal writing is that journals provide a keepsake of your life story. Later, it will help you to remember certain events if you decide to use them in a novel or memoir, or even tell them as anecdotes in a presentation (or a roast!). Mostly it is a way to claim your life and all its stories as your own; the way you experienced and remember them. Your brothers and sisters may have grown up in the same household as you, but I can guarantee that your stories and memories are unique. Listen to, trust, and write your own stories.

This story is from the book Winona’s Web: A Novel of Discovery by Priscilla Cogan.^d

I’m a pipe carrier for my people. Ours is the way of this land. The land of Jesus was dry, stony, desert country. His is the story from that place. Ours is the way of the buffalo people. The black robes came to my people and told them the stories of Jesus. We said they were fine stories, now let us tell you our stories. We said let us tell you how this turtle continent was made, how fire came to the buffalo people, the lessons of the coyote. We said let us tell you of the pipe and the seven ceremonies brought to us by White Buffalo Calf Woman. But they were rude people, these black robes. They wanted us to hear only their stories. They said their stories were the true stories. And then the elders knew how foolish these black robes were, for no one story could tell it all, and all stories are true.

“Things are not untrue just because they never happened.”

—DENNIS HAMLEY, ENGLISH CHILDREN’S AUTHOR

• Who is unwilling to listen to your stories?
• What ancient stories exist in the area where you live? What native tribes lived where you now live? Read and write about that.
• Write a story about something that happened to you recently. Write it as if you are telling a story about someone else.
• Write about being rude.
• Winona’s Web is autobiographical fiction—the author borrows from her life but also invents some parts here and there. Write a scene or a short story that borrows from your life, adding some fictional material.

Off the Page

Contact your grandparents or great grandparents if they are alive. Collect at least one story from them and write it down in your journal. How does this story influence your life?