Writing Down the Bones

My book came! And it's so inspiring, I cannot read it unless I am in a place where I can write immediately. Best of all, she weaves writing practice in with meditation wisdoms; perfect serendipity. As promised to myself, I will do whatever she recommends (although will not post all of it here).

First order of business: messiness. Free writing with no backspace or editing. I like this very much, even though it is intimidating. Every time I buy a journal, I use the first page to write intentions for its purpose. In the last couple of years I've always included how ugly it's going to be, all the crap I'll write inside it, the pages I will tear out. It gives permission to be raw and takes away pen-freezing expectations. She talks about this a lot.

First exercise is called First Thoughts

The rules:

1) Keep your hand moving. (Don't pause to reread the line you have just written. That's stalling and trying to get control of what you're saying.)
2) Don't cross out. (That is editing as you write. Even if you write something you didn't mean to write, leave it.)
3) Don't worry about spelling, punctuation, grammar. (Don't even care about staying within the margines and lines on the page.)
4) Lose control.
5) Don't think. Don't get logical.
6) Go for the jugular. (If something comes up in your writing that is scary or naked, dive right into it. It probably has lots of energy.)

The point of the practice is to burn away to First Thoughts, "a place where are writing what your mind actually sees and feels, not what it thinks it should see and feel. It's a great opportunity to see the oddities of your mind."

I like her personal example immensely:

"For instance, the phrase 'I cut the daisy from my throat' shot through my mind. Now my second thought, carefully tutored in 1 + 1 = 2 logic, in politeness, fear and embarrassment at the natural would say, 'That's ridiculous. You sound suicidal. Don't show yourself cutting your throat. Someone will think you are crazy.' And instead, if we give the censor its way, we write, 'My throat was a little sore, so I didn't say anything.' Proper and boring."

I cut the daisy from my throat.

Okay then, time for a little dive into the mind. Can't wait to see what all is in there...