For the second year in a row, I attended a month-long Buddhist meditation retreat on a southern Gulf Island off the west coast of Canada. I knew from previous experience that our small group of practitioners would be encouraged to remain in silence as much as possible, and I’ve learned how much I love being in silence. I also knew from previous experience that I probably wouldn’t do much writing. No big surprise – I didn’t put pen to paper except when I was taking notes during teaching sessions. Over the course of the retreat, I noticed how working with specific meditation practices and maintaining silence results in a spacious mind-state, one in which there is very little mental storytelling. This meant there was little incentive to record words on the page. Surprisingly, I was content to live in a space of no words, beyond any mind-state narrative.
Have you ever experienced a time when you were so fully present to the world around you, words seemed irrelevant? Where you felt so connected to the living beings within your environment, that human language felt inadequate? Having recently emerged from that space, I can say with certainty that this is not writer’s block. I’m discovering a deeper awareness of what it means to be human, alive on the planet today. Lessons continue to emerge in the form of images and my energy feels joyful.
Since I’ve returned home, I’ve been creating routines, some familiar, some new. I have resumed a regular time and space for my meditation and writing practice, building deeper trust in my writing voice and inner guidance.
I am taking time to focus on Marie’s Writing Oasis. For those of you who are already members of this private Facebook, page, you already know that I’ve been hosting Creative Focus Sessions, where you can drop in, and spend an hour together working on your respective projects. You can also check out Marie’s Writing Oasis for inspiring writing prompts, share something you have written, and receive supportive feedback. The tone of Marie’s Writing Oasis is playful and encouraging, inspiring you to have more fun with writing.
I’m planning some new activities and events throughout the fall. New writing adventures are just one click away.