Hi writers.
How are you doing right now?
You are probably still feeling a roller coaster of emotions after the Supreme Court’s decision to reverse Roe v. Wade (which for me, has mostly shown up as anger and also fear of the unknown).
On top of that, horrific numbers of mass shootings, political divisiveness, and the never-ending pandemic have worn down the resolve of so many of us who reside in the United States and beyond.
It can feel so hopeless.
And when you’re writing a book in the midst of all this, it’s easy to throw your hands up and ask, “Why am I even doing this at all? What difference is it going to make anyway?”
A friend of mine posted this quote from author Teju Cole that really resonated with me, which is: “Writing as writing. Writing as rioting. Writing as righting. On the best day, all three.”
I want to tell you that your book is an opportunity to make things better.
Just by taking up space with your unique perspective, your words and ideas, you can challenge the patriarchal and racist structures that allow hate to flourish.
On today’s podcast episode I thought I would do something a little bit different.
Rather than giving tips or advice about writing, I’d like to help you create a sense of internal calm with a short guided meditation.
Why Meditate?
I’ve been practicing meditation for about five years now. Prior to that, I lived in a lot of emotional chaos and mental drama. I was in a constant state of knee-jerk reaction to my circumstances.
Like many academics, I thought that happiness existed outside of myself—that it was something I could attain through external achievements.
Then I achieved a lot of things and still didn’t feel truly fulfilled, so I knew I had to do something different.
Even so, I resisted meditation for as long as I could, believing that I could somehow think my way out of constant emotional turmoil.
I pinned a lot of my dissatisfaction on my job. Honestly, I complained non-stop and feel really bad for anyone who had to listen to me during those years.
But at the time, I felt like if I could only find a more supportive workplace, then all of my problems would be resolved.
It took A LOT of self-reflection for me to begin to see that my mood doesn’t need to automatically shift in relation to my circumstances.
It’s like I talked about in the last episode about the concept of clean pain and dirty pain.
I can allow myself to feel and deeply acknowledge the clean pain that comes with being human, but I have control over how much dirty pain I choose to experience around it.
And meditation has been the key to me developing that skill.
If you’ve never meditated before, don’t worry. It’s really just about breathing deeply and intentionally.
There is no right or wrong way to do it. When your mind wanders, and it inevitably will, just go back to paying attention to your breath.
Now I’m going to lead you through a meditation that is about eight minutes long.
It’s a guided visualization, so being in a quiet space where you can close your eyes will be helpful for getting the full experience.
My hope is that by the end of this, you will feel calmer and more able to move about your day with a sense of peace.
So Let’s Begin…
Start by closing your eyes or softening your gaze. Sit comfortably, with your back up straight, the top of your head reaching towards the ceiling, and your chin gently tucked under.
Inhale deeply, filling your chest and your stomach, and exhale deeply. Inhale, as deep as you can, expanding into the lungs and opening across the chest.
And then exhale, arriving in this moment. Take another deep breath in and hold it, and as you exhale, breathe out any stress or tension you’ve been holding onto.
Now you can return to breathing naturally, feeling the gentle rise and fall. How can you let go even more in this moment?
You may have thoughts, plans, or worries pop into your mind. This is totally normal. When this happens, just observe the thought without judgment. Say to yourself, “this is just a thought” and then let it go.
Connect back to your breath. Connect inwards and see how you feel today. This might be the only time in your day when you get a moment to be still and to listen.
Now I’d like you to scan from the top of your head down to your feet and notice where you might be holding any tightness or tension. Consciously invite it to soften and dissolve.
With every exhalation, let go a little bit more.
You might want to separate your teeth slightly to unhinge the jaw, which relaxes all the muscles of your face.
Notice how you’re holding your shoulders, and allow them to drop down, away from the ears. Breathe into every vertebra of the spine, creating space.
Our spine holds our nervous system and breathing gives it an opportunity to come into a greater sense of calm. Allow your muscles to relax. Feel your whole body softening into your chair.
Now I’m going to use an image of water to help you release any negativity or stress or fear.
In your relaxed state, I’d like you toimagineany remaining thoughts, tasks, obligations or nagging emotions as a river that’s swirling and raging around you.
And as you picture your thoughts and negative emotions like a raging river, also notice the thunderous sound of the water, feel the dampness in the air, and see the powerful surging currents around you.
And as you take a moment to experience that more fully, imagine throwing everything and anything that may be bothering you right nowinto the water so that it becomes part of that raging river.
Just notice how the powerful currents swallow everything you throw into it so that they completely disappear.
So as you take another deep breath now, visualize the river around you beginning to get calmer. It’s becoming slower, quieter, and more peaceful.
It’s becoming steadily calmer and calmer until it becomes a beautiful, quiet, gentle stream. Take another deep breath.
And once it’s a quiet, gently flowing stream see it getting even calmer and more peaceful, as it trickles into a beautiful, still pond.
There might be rays of sunlight hitting the surface of the water or ducks placidly paddling by.
Enjoy your quiet, still pond for a moment. For a few more breaths, just take in the absolute stillness, serenity, peace and complete calm of this place.
So, in thedays ahead, with their many challenges, you can use this technique at any time to still your mind, knowing that in a few simple moments you can feel completely calm again.
In these last few moments, imagine going through your week calm, happy, bringing enthusiasm to whatever you may encounter.
Now just take a few more deep breaths, bringing some gentle movement to your hands and feet, and taking a moment to stretch if you need to as you open your eyes.
How are you feeling now? What was that like for you? Did you notice any shifts in your body or in your mood?
If you’re interested in pursuing meditation but aren’t sure where to start, there are millions of guided meditations on YouTube.
You can also download an app like Headspace or the one I use the most, which is called Insight Timer, that have thousands of free meditations and guided visualizations of any length on pretty much any topic.
I know a lot of folks talk about how meditation can help you be more focused and productive. I want to always challenge the idea that we need to do things for the sake of increasing our work productivity.
Finally, one other thing you can do when you’re feeling overwhelmed by negative emotion is choose an empowering image that can help you stay grounded.
That said, when you’re in a calm, curious, and collected space, much more is possible in every realm of life.
For some, it might be a sturdy oak tree that has deep roots in the earth.
I like to envision a ship’s anchor that is dug into the core of the earth which stays put regardless of whether there’s a hurricane raging on the top of the water.
I’m sending you all a lot of healing energy as we navigate a rough time in our personal and collective histories.