Meditation has become part of my daily life. It helps me set the tone for the day.

Each meditation you do can become part of your writing ritual. It can help you find the motivation, inspiration and mindset that you desire – it can help you succeed.

I’d like to introduce a weekly meditation into this blog because I think the practice is so valuable.

I also firmly believe in taking small steps toward larger goals. If you’ve never meditated before, don’t try to meditate for 20, 30, or more minutes.

Start with 5 minutes. (I use a timer on my iPad to gently let me know when my meditation is over. You might use a stop watch or egg timer or you can simply trust your inner sense of time. ) Five minutes may not seem like enough but for the first week or two, it’s plenty. Once you’ve created a habit or practice then you can gradually increase your meditation time if you desire.

This week’s meditation:

Find a comfortable place where you won’t be interrupted or feel judged or embarrassed. (I originally started meditating in the bathroom before my daily shower. I assumed, correctly, that no one would bother me in there.)

Sit down and close your eyes. You don’t have to sit any particular way, just make sure you’re comfortable. You can lay down if you’d like (just don’t fall asleep).

Take a few calming breaths and relax your body. What do you hear, feel, or smell? What is going on around you? Acknowledge it and then refocus your attention to your breath. Pay attention to your breathing without changing it. Breath in and out in a relaxed manner.

Now, breath in creativity, motivation and inspiration. Breath in the energy of the words. You might say them in your mind as you’re breathing them in. You might feel the energy of the words enter through your toes and fill your body or you might feel them pour into your heart. You might also feel the energy come into you from the top of your head and fill your body.

Breath out the words procrastination, fear, and lethargy. Release those emotions from your body. Reverse the process. Imagine the negative energy leaving your body. What does it look like? If motivation and inspiration looked like white light maybe procrastination, fear and lethargy look like grey or brown smoke.

Repeat for the remainder of your meditation. When time is up, gently open your eyes and take stock of your surroundings.

Happy Writing