Many of the deepening practices I offer in this book are writing exercises. I know of few methods more transformational than writing freely for ten or twenty minutes in response to an evocative prompt.
I encourage you to make a list of your own topics, in addition to the ones I offer in this book, and use them to engage in writing practice sessions on your own or with one or more companions.
Here are some guidelines I adapted from my friend and mentor Natalie Goldberg, best-selling author of Writing Down the Bones, Wild Mind, and many other books on writing as a spiritual practice.
• Time yourself. Write the topic at the top of the page (or computer screen), and then GO for twenty minutes, without stopping and without censoring yourself.
• Let yourself lose control. Follow your heart and write down whatever arises. Don’t worry about being appropriate. Go for authenticity. Let it flow.
• Be specific. It’s easy to get lost in philosophical abstractions. Stay grounded. Use embodied language. Not just love, but the smell of your baby’s hair. Not only peace, but the rhythm of your own breath as you drop down into the silence.
• Don’t ruminate. Take the leash off and let your mind go wherever it’s drawn. If the topic is “The Buddha’s Tears” and you have a memory of your grandmother’s cheese enchiladas, follow that. Your first thoughts will lead you where you need to go.
• Don’t worry about punctuation, spelling, or grammar. Experiment with not crossing anything out. Freeing yourself from the rules of conventional language helps liberate you from those limiting inner voices.
• “You are free to write the worst junk in America,” says Natalie. Writing practice is not about getting published. It’s about gaining access to your own “wild mind.”
• “Go for the jugular,” Natalie advises. “If something scary comes up, go for it. That’s where the energy is.” If connecting with this material brings up difficult emotions, gently invite yourself to write through the pain—neither clinging to what arises nor pushing it away, but simply bearing compassionate witness to your own sweet self.