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Free Writing as Meditation
Can we write without thought, or let thought disappear if we’re putting it down for posterity?
I’ve begun doing daily free writing. Morning Pages. Maybe you’ve heard of them, proposed by Elizabeth Gilbert in her book The Artist’s Way. Every morning you write out three pages of whatever comes to mind, with no expectations or limitations. It’s been a week and I’m loving it. It reminds me of meditation. I found myself pondering in this morning’s pages whether it is technically possible to meditate and be free writing at the same time. I wondered, in ink, whether one practice might actually negate the benefits of the other.
I’m a new writer, but I’m pretty experienced with meditation. I’ve been doing it, with varying consistency, for several years. Before I was taught how it works, I used to imagine meditation as some kind of a magic carpet ride into a far-off spiritual dimension, the existence of which my left brain simply could not accept. I now understand the practice to be more, well, practical. I’ve learned of the scientific benefits of meditation in several courses I’ve attended on mindfulness over the years. Release of stress, reduced anxiety, even improved memory and attention span are believed to result from doing it. I see it as a method for settling the mind, freeing it of emotionally destructive thoughts. I do not believe that we can control our thoughts any more…
