Soul Writing

Word Birds

So, I finished reading Julia Cameron's The Right to Write, and I am so struck with it that I must write about it. I am a believer now and forever that writing is the best therapy we have to heal our lives.

I'm not talking about the type of writing that we are made to do in school or at work, although that can often be good for us in different ways, but what I'm talking about is soul writing.

Well-written material is generally thought of a organized, grammatically correct, nice topic sentences, and well ordered facts. And what happens once we are taught to write like this is that we forget the true intent behind why we write. We can get so caught up in writing carefully that we get frustrated and quit writing all together... especially as adults. Once we're out of school or out of work, we tend to throw out writing like a holey pair of underwear. So, while well written material might be important in our lives and help us to succeed, I believe there is a greater purpose in writing that far outweighs concise communication.


Julia says that "writing goes much better when we don't work at it so much. When we give ourselves permission to just hang out on the page." When I read this, I felt really liberated because I have always enjoyed writing, but I didn't always feel that I was the best at it. So WHAT, Stacey??? As adults, is anyone whispering in our ears that we have to be the best writers? No. I have always kept a dream journal because, wow, do I have amazing dreams. And I tell you what... When I write those dreams down, I feel a weight lifted... I feel clarity that I just couldn't have managed to find by just thinking about the dreams. The power of the clarity in organizing our thoughts is in the process of writing it down. Words have power. Words give clarity. Words help us to "claim our world." It's very grounding to just sit down at my kitchen table after I've made the kids breakfast and just take ten minutes to jot down my thoughts. I'm not writing to create the next American novel or something even slightly as grand... I'm simply writing down my thoughts... to chew on... to bring clarity to me in a way I just couldn't come to in my warbled, spastic, ever-thinking-never-ending brain. And many times I'm surprised what comes through me when I open up and let it spill out messily all over the page. Sometimes I'm rather impressed with myself... and other times, not so much...but either way, I feel a weight lifted. I feel cleaner, clearer, and ready to take on my day. I encourage you to try it... just take ten minutes to write something. A poem, a description of your cat laying in the window sill, how busy your day is, what's bothering you about your co-worker, how you're so overwhelmed you can't breathe. Get it out of the brain fog and into the clearness of your world that you are creating for yourself.
 Julia says, "We should write because it is human nature to write. We should write because humans are spiritual beings and writing is a powerful form of prayer and meditation, connecting us both to our own insights and to a higher and deeper level of inner guidance."


I love this.  Thanks for visiting, Stacey