by Nancy Nicolazzo -
When I was a young girl I wrote in a diary - it had a pink plastic cover and a lock and key to keep my thoughts private. I never edited my thoughts. My diaries were written in a stream of consciousness. I wrote about my inner thoughts as a way of exploring them.
Through the years, as an adult, I have written in journals - sometimes without editing my thoughts, and many times watching what I wrote without really exploring my thoughts and feelings.
So I have been writing since the time I was quite young and I have been meditating for over seventeen years. Both practices of meditating and writing are good ways to understand ourselves, our thoughts, our actions and our feelings.
In Writing The Mind Alive, Linda Trichter Metcalf and Tobin Simon define the process of meditative writing as proprioceptive, which means to understand the awareness of your body.
When we practice proprioceptive writing, we write what we hear; listen to our thoughts without censoring, discriminating, or judging the meaning, origin, or purpose; and ask why those thoughts are presently in our minds.
Our brains take in and assimilate thoughts so fast, so autonomously, that we "tune out" our internal thoughts and concentrate on external communication. Once we become cognizant of the multitude of thoughts, we can follow proprioceptive writing guidelines:
1. Do not try to manipulate your thoughts, just record, writing the thoughts as they come and go. Our thoughts travel at such a fast rate it seems impossible to write them all down.
2. We often tune in to what we want to hear, and not necessarily listen to what we are really thinking. Imagine a line running directly from your brain to your pen, and write without inhibition, what you hear.
3. Become aware of what you are writing without editing, censoring, correcting, modifying, or embellishing your thoughts. Metcalf and Simon call this the "listening presence," where you focus your energies on what you hear: good or bad, outrageous or boring. Begin to explore those thoughts more deeply, by asking the "proprioceptive question".
This third guideline is pivotal step that separates proprioceptive writing from free writing, journaling, and other forms of open-ended writing.
When we think we often use generic words. For example, we might write "She thinks I do not have enough experience to be on the team". In proprioceptive writing, we become aware of what we are thinking and pursue questions to make our communication clearer. In proprioceptive writing we might write, "What do I mean by 'they'?" Then we are mindful of possible answers, trusting the process to take us to deeper understanding.
According to Metcalf and Simon, When we begin asking the proprioceptive question, "What do I mean by______," we are aware of the psychological or emotional context of the words, thus promoting stillness and calm. This state of stillness and calm is the same state one experiences in meditation.
When we finish writing, Metcalf and Simon recommend pondering four questions to extend our awareness and provide continuity to the next writing.
1. What thoughts were heard but not written?
2. How or what do I feel now?
3. What larger story is the writing part of?
4. What ideas came up for future writing?
Proprioceptive writing takes no more time than practicing meditation - the difference is that we are more aware of our thoughts because we are writing them down.
About the author:
Nancy is a twenty-year veteran of teaching, consulting and coaching. Assisting individuals and corporate professionals to find new skills to improve their professional and personal lives with skillfulness, compassion and mindfulness is the focus of Nancy's coaching.
Nancy leverages what she has learned as a mother, teacher and Buddhist practitioner to offer a unique, relevant and valuable perspective to the people she works with.
To learn more about meditation and mindfulness coaching, click here http://mindfulworkshops.com
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