Zen Mind, Writer’s Mind: Tips for a Zen Writing Practice

I’m not an expert in Zen Buddhism. My knowledge and experience comprise a layperson’s perspective. But what I’ve come to understand in my practices of Zen and writing is that they are interdependent, strengthening and playing off one another.

Spirituality and Creativity

Natalie Goldberg, author of several best-selling books including her classic Writing Down the Bones, draws a connection between Zen practice and writing. In an interview, she says:

Writing and Zen for me are completely interconnected. The relationship is seamless for me…Writing is a practice for me, like someone else would do sitting or walking, writing is a true spiritual practice.

In my mind, Zen and writing not only comprise a spiritual practice, but also they comprise a creative practice. Spirituality and creativity are themselves interconnected, even if they are not always practiced as such in the creation of Western art.

Writing poetry especially highlights this connection between Zen and writing. For instance, Haiku is a popular example of this connection. More generally, poetry is in itself a very simple practice—arranging words on the page. But like Zen practice, it is not always easy; nor is it entirely meant to be.

A Zen Writing Practice

What I will NOT tell you in this article is that Zen practice will always provide ease to your writing. Sometimes, it might, but for me it often doesn’t.

What it does do is provide me with inspiration where there is none. It allows me to focus when my mind is scattered and chaotic. It simplifies the creative process when I get mired in complex emotions and thoughts. It helps me to find my flow. And it reminds me that creativity, ultimately, is about spontaneity and mystery.

What I offer here are explanations of several Zen practices accompanied by writing exercises that you may feel compelled to try out for yourself. I have used all of these exercises and found them to be particularly helpful when I’m stuck, uninspired, or dealing with emotional suffering and turmoil. All together, they comprise examples of what I view as the Zen writing practice that I’m currently developing for myself.

The Beginner’s Mind

In Zen practice, the beginner’s mind is our curious, inquiring mind—one open to creative possibilities rather than limitations. Abbess Zenkei Blanche Hartman puts it like this:

Beginner’s mind is Zen practice in action. It is the mind that is innocent of preconceptions and expectations, judgments and prejudices. Beginner’s mind is just present to explore and observe and see “things as-it-is.” I think of beginner’s mind as the mind that faces life like a small child, full of curiosity and wonder and amazement. (“Beginner’s Mind”)

In order to write poetry, we must possess something akin to beginner’s mind–curiosity, unfettered inquiry, wonder, and openness to creative possibilities.

When we approach poetry with a beginner’s mind then we are open to what CAN happen on the page, rather than what can’t or won’t happen.

Try: Write a list of words that you find interesting in some way. Don’t think about it too much. Just write some words until you draw a blank or no longer wish to write words. When you’ve completed your list, look at your words and read them aloud, noticing the way they sound, how they look on the page, and how they feel on your tongue. Can you make a poem from them? Maybe, maybe not. If you feel inspired to write a poem, then great. Go for it. But writing a poem is not the goal of this exercise; rather the goal is to explore and enjoy words for what they are—sounds and characters on a page. So, if you aren’t inspired to write a poem, then simply set the list aside.

Meditation

There are many different kinds of meditation, but the most well-known is when you sit and focus solely on your breath. This type of meditation is very simple, but if you’ve ever tried to do it, then you know how difficult it can be to clear one’s mind of extraneous thoughts and simply focus.

Try: Sit in a comfortable, relaxed, and upright position. You may close your eyes or keep them slightly open. Now, breathe through your nose. Try to clear your mind of all thoughts and focus solely on how the breath enters and exits your nose. When your mind begins to wander away from your breath (and it will), then simply bring it back to your breath and focus again. Meditate for 3-5 minutes or until you feel ready to stop. As you come out of meditation, slowly become aware of your surroundings again. When you feel ready, write for 5-10 minutes. Write about anything. You can write about your experience of meditation. Or you can write about how you really need to be doing laundry right now. Don’t worry about the quality or the quantity of your writing. Simply write and notice how you feel when you’re writing. Do you feel calmer? Do you feel agitated? The goal of this exercise is not brilliant writing; rather, the point is to experiment with how meditation may (or may not) enhance your creative experience.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is being aware of yourself and your surroundings. When we are mindful, we are thinking only of the present moment, not worrying about the future or thinking about the past. We are “in the now” as fully as we can possibly be. We are aware of the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures that comprise our sensory existence. We are aware of our thoughts as simply thoughts, rather than “reality.”

Try: Bring yourself fully to the present moment by focusing on your sensory perceptions. What do you see, hear, smell, taste, and feel? What thoughts are running through your mind? Try to bring your thoughts to the present. Think how all things happen in the present moment. For instance, when you wrote that poem yesterday, you wrote it in the present. When you write a poem tomorrow, it will be written in the present. As you experience your present moment, write a short poem about this experience. What is happening internally and externally right now? If your mind wanders to the past or the future, that’s okay. But try to come back to the present moment and write about that. Again, the point is not great writing. Rather, this exercise seeks to help you to be mindful and to discover the rich creative experience that happens in every present moment.

Non-Doing

When we are doing “nothing,” we are usually doing something. We’re thinking, we’re sitting, we’re scratching our heads. Non-doing is different from “doing nothing.” Jon Kabat-Zinn, author of Wherever You Go, There You Are, writes:

Non-doing can arise in action as well as in stillness. The inward stillness of the doer merges with the outward activity to such an extent that the action does itself. Effortless activity. Nothing is forced. There is no exertion of the will.

If you’ve ever found your “flow” in writing, then you know, first-hand, what non-doing feels like.

Creative flow happens without forced effort, without the exertion of will, and without self-consciousness or ego.

In my mind, Goldberg’s practice of free-writing is a kind of non-doing, or rather non-writing. Free-writing doesn’t seek to force words onto the page; it creates a method to let them happen.

Try: Free-write for 5, 10 or even 15 minutes. When you write, feel free to write crappy, terrible writing. In fact, expect it. Don’t think about the writing per se; rather, empty your mind. Just let the thoughts come out and write them down. Write quickly, and try to keep your hand and pen on the page. Don’t pause; don’t scratch out words (i.e. edit or censor); and don’t worry about punctuation or spelling. When you’ve completed the exercise, place the pages aside. While free-writing can produce some interesting phrases and images that you might want to utilize in your poetry, I’ve found that most times it does not. Rather, it clears the chaos of my mind and prepares me for better quality writing.

Spontaneity and Mystery

When we are curious with a beginner’s mind, when we are mindful, when we are meditative, and when we are practicing non-doing, then we are open to the spontaneity and mystery of the creative process.

Watch this video of Billy Collins, a U.S. Poet Laureate in 2001 and 2003, talking about writing poetry:

As Collins suggests, the love and pleasure of language keep most poets coming back to the page. And for Collins, a part of that pleasure is the journey and its mystery—not knowing where a poem is going and figuring out how to get there. By diligently following that mystery, we can produce something profound and alive, like Collins’ angel.

Try: Write a poem. It doesn’t have to be a great poem. The only requirements are that you not force the poem to go in a particular direction or to end in a particular place. Rather, write with your beginner’s mind, with a mindful and meditative mind. Write without trying to force the effort. Simply write what comes; follow where the words and images lead you, and let the poem become what it already is—an expression of your unique creativity.

There are more elements to the Zen writing practice that I’m trying to develop for myself. But hopefully, these examples give you an idea of what’s possible when you combine your writer’s mind with Zen practice.

What I gain from the interconnectedness of my creativity and spirituality is a fuller presence of both in my life. They inform, speak to, and strengthen one another. And both bring me a sense of tranquility and well-being.

Just For Fun

As a way to conclude, check out this audio clip called “Discursive Thoughts” by Meredith Arena of TheIDProject.org. It’s about 3 minutes long, and if you’ve ever tried to meditate, then you’ll find it hilarious. Well, I did anyway.

But then, in the final instance, my Zen writing practice is not a “serious” one.

Rather, I approach my spirituality the way I approach my writing—as a way to play and experiment with experience, perceptions, and feelings. I laugh a lot at myself when I’m writing—at my predictability, at my clichés, at my silliness, and at my own seriousness. So, think of a Zen writing practice as a joyful, playful practice, and see if you experience new possibilities in your creativity.

Flickr photo courtesy of Eddi07