Being in Nature

Talent and passion for writing by themselves do not make a successful writer. Dogged determination combined with these qualities does. "To write a minimum of thousand words every day" is one of the mottos of the Mindful Writers. Whereas talent and passion come naturally, determination is to be cultivated. This is hard to do. Most writers find starting a piece quite challenging. The good news is a Method that the Mindful Writers follow. The Method is to practice Writing Meditation that cultivates and strengthens determination to write everyday. The Method begins with fifteen minutes of unselfconscious, playful, imaginative and unrestricted writing. This free writing or spiritual journaling is followed by fifteen minutes of meditation. During these thirty minutes the writer's fragmented body, mind and heart get integrated into the whole healthy...

The Art of Mindful Writing; The Business of Publishing

Posted on February 22, 2013

Fear of rejections paralyses even talented and skillful writers. The Mindful Writers keep the business of publishing temporarily at bay. They complete the first draft, revise it several times and get it edited. When the draft is transformed into the final manuscript, only then does their attention shift to publishing the finished work. J.D. Salinger (1919-2010), one of the most important American writers has said, "There is a marvelous peace in not publishing. It's peaceful. Still. Publishing is a terrible invasion of my privacy. I like to write. I love to write. But I write just for myself and my own pleasure." Publishing can become a major obstacle on writers' path and clog the creative flow. It is not so much "a terrible invasion of writer's privacy." But it contaminates writer's passion,...

To Carve A Statue Of Authentic Self

Posted on January 9, 2013

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Dear Mindful Readers, I would like to share with you an excerpt that hangs on a wall in my study: I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of a man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavor. It is something to be able to paint a particular picture or to carve a statue and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it far more glorious to carve or paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts. The excerpt is from Henry David Thoreau's classic, Walden (1854). It inspires me in all areas of my life: physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual. How do I elevate the quality...

Posts by Mindful Writers

Posted on December 26, 2012

Since 2010, I have posted short pieces about the Mindful Writers Group and the benefits of the Writing Meditation Method. The Method consists of daily practice of fifteen minutes of body, heart or mind meditation followed by fifteen minutes of Free Writing. (For detailed descriptions of MWG and WMM please read the following previous posts: The pieces posted during 2011: October 11 & 18, November 13 & 30 and in 2012: July 2 & 30 and August 21) The half hour meditation and writing ritual energizes the writers, builds the momentum and inspires them to work on their manuscripts for five to six hours, for some longer. It is amazing to experience how a narrow thought pattern at the beginning of the session turns into something larger than life. Writing Meditation Method...

Meditating On A Word

Posted on December 11, 2012

December is a busy month. But I must write every day. The number of words do not matter, 200 or 2000, and daily practice is necessary for honing the skill. Prior to my meditation, I drink a glass of water and follow it with a free writing session. This morning, I had just fifteen minutes to write. In such a short time what was I to write about? The word "water" came to mind. So I wrote the following: The letters W-A-T-E-R in themselves have no meaning. When I read these five letters as one word 'water' that too sounds meaningless. Until my mind connects it with the meaning, water. The water that falls and flows, ripples and reflects; that I have gulped down my thirsty throat and gurgled my mouth with....

Mindful Writers’ First Draft

Posted on September 28, 2012

THE FIRST ROUGH DRAFT One of the two goals of the Mindful Writers (MW) is to complete the first rough draft of a book in nine months. The draft is rough but it is the seed of the final manuscript that emerges after one or two revisions. Without this draft no book would sprout and grow. At the beginning stage writers' intuitive energy is at its peak. And by its very nature this energy pours out positive as well as negative material. Bad stuff pushes down the good stuff. Personal problems and anxieties surface as do familial and social troubles. Fear of expressing ideas openly and freely takes the shape of knots and obstacles. The nine months are long and filled with pitfalls. But the three tools of the Writing Meditation Method (WMM):...

Mindful Listening

Posted on August 21, 2012

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An Elegant Closing for the Mindful Writers Workshop The Writing Meditation Method (WMM) has come full circle. The Method followed by the Mindful Writers (MW) teaches how to tap into the infinite wisdom and unlimited potential dormant in all of us. This unique and proven practice combines mindful meditation, free writing and mindful listening to maximize their writing potential and live a wholesome life. I began developing the WMM in August, 2010. It is rooted in my twenty-years of meditation, writing and teaching experiences. But it was not complete until this July when a closing session was added to the four-hour workshop. The meeting begins with fifteen minutes of body, heart or mind meditation, followed by fifteen minutes of free writing and up to four hours of working on each writer's current...

Mindful Writers Guidebook for Writing Meditation Method

Posted on July 30, 2012

Writing Meditation Method: How does it Work As an introduction to Writing Meditation Method, my previous post with the same title, "Writing Meditation Method: How does it Work" was not as clear as I would have liked it to be. Thanks to some of you who suggested that I break the subject down in smaller parts the way I did during the previous years when I wrote, As I Understand It. Those posts were a joy to write. Hundreds of you continue to read your favorite posts from the Bhagavad Gita, Tao Te Ching, Dhammapada, and Devi Gita. Currently, I am writing, Mindful Writers Guidebook for Writing Meditation Method. As I write the manuscript, I have decided to share sections of it in my future posts. The book is about the method...

Writing Meditation Method: How does it Work?

Posted on July 2, 2012

Activating Writer's Energy Centers The aim of the Mindful Writers is to complete a book length manuscript in nine-months using Writing Meditation Method. By the end of the first cycle of three months they find their productivity increase, voice deepen and blocks eliminated. Before joining the Mindful Writers Group most writers feel fragmented, unable to achieve their writing dream. But by the end of the nine-months of practice their body, heart and mind feel integrated. Equilibrium returns. And changes begin to occur within that affect their without. At the beginning of each session, I lead all participants (novice as well as professional writers) with body, heart or mind meditation. I bring their attention to each and every limb, each and every organ of the body as we scan various parts...

Writing Meditation Seminar & Workshop

Posted on April 20, 2012