On meditative music

I am in the habit of watching/listening to TV when I work. As strange as it sounds, I need some kind of noise in order to work.

But I'm trying to get away from watching TV and movies while I work.

So I'm trying to shift to listening to meditative music while I work. This way I can get the noise I want while I'm writing, but I don't have the distraction of hearing actual words, and I'm not tempted to get drawn into a story of a film or TV episode and end up watching just one more episode of American Horror Story before I get back to working on that project that's due today.

I've added a meditative music channel on Pandora, so now when I'm working, I try to remember to turn that on instead of streaming Netflix in the background. I think it will be better for my productivity, and will help keep me centered and focused. Meditative music is good.

Of course, if I need a little extra motivation, I can always switch to my Harpeth Rising channel.

What do you listen to when you write? Why?

Renew Your Spirit Sunday

I used to post Renew Your Spirit Sunday with some regularity. I got away from it, but I think it would be good for me to return to it, not from a religious point of view, but from a mental/emotional spiritual point of view. So it's back.

This week I want to talk about incorporating meditation into my life. While I'm by no means hardcore at meditating, I've been trying to incorporate it into my lifestyle more and more.

I've found that, in the instances in which I do meditate, I feel better and more present in my life. I'm able to let go of the stresses and obstacles that make me clench my jaw throughout the day.

I don't feel quite ready to sit and not think for twenty or thirty minutes at a time, so I'm beginning by doing yoga, and trying to concentrate on my movements and breathing during the yoga sessions. (Plus, I can use yoga to be working toward my health goals.) This will, essentially, be an introduction to meditation for me.

I think once I feel more comfortable with the meditative aspects of yoga, I will continue by doing more traditional meditation (at least when the munchkins are asleep or with Monty). I would like very much to be able to simply sit and be still, and I think meditation will be one path toward that goal.

Hopefully, the yoga, along with other positive steps I'm taking in my life, will help me be much more at peace.

Automatic Writing as Meditation

I have previously suggested free association writing as a way to get to know characters, as well as jumpstart a stagnant writing brain.

Automatic writing is similar to free association writing, but comes from a different place creatively.  In free association writing, you write without stopping for a designated amount of time, letting whatever thought that comes to mind be translated to paper.

Automatic writing, though, is 

the process, or product, of writing material that does not come from the conscious thoughts of the writer. Practitioners say that the writer's hand forms the message, with the person being unaware of what will be written. In some cases, it is done by people in a trance state. Other times the writer is aware (not in a trance) of their surroundings but not of the actions of their writing hand.

Much of what is known about automatic writing comes from mediums who channel the spirits of loved ones who had died and write messages from them.  As a result, there is, of course, criticism that comes with automatic writing.  For example:

Psychology professor Théodore Flournoy investigated the claim by 19th century medium, Hélène Smith (Catherine Müller) that she did automatic writing to convey messages from Mars in Martian language. Flournoy concluded that her "Martian" language has a strong resemblance to Ms. Smith's native language of French. Flournoy concluded that her automatic writing was "romances of the subliminal imagination', derived largely from forgotten sources (for example, books read as a child)." He invented the term cryptomnesia to describe this phenomenon."Skeptics consider automatic writing to be little more than a parlor game, although sometimes useful for self-discovery and for getting started on a writing project."

For those who are write-minded, automatic writing may be an excellent way to meditate.  According to Deborah Lipp in The Study of Witchcraft: a Guidebook to Advanced Wicca:

The basic principle of automatic writing is to place yourself into a meditative state while seated in a position in which you can write--at your desk, at a computer, or with a pad in your lap.  Ask a deity, power, or inner force for wisdom, and then simply begin writing. (89)

You allow yourself to relax, to open yourself to whatever meditative mind you may want to, and then write instead of chanting or doing poses.  Of course, if you've never meditated, this may not come easily, but can be a useful tool for meditation, as well as for writing.