Mindful Writing connects the practice of writing to the practice of meditation. It helps to unite our egoic "doing" selves with our conscious "being" selves. Writing meditation draws on mindfulness and being present, uniting that with writing down thoughts, creativity, and witnessing what arises. We stay in our heads when we write and work from the part of us that is wholly intellectual, examining and judging each thought and idea that arises. This cuts us off from our body and our senses, leaving us adrift in our thoughts.

Writing meditation can bring us back to living and experiencing ourselves as part of the world.

Sitting for a long time and trying to quiet the mind can sometimes produce anxiety. So while writing engages the mind, meditation keeps us grounded. When we write freely, our anxious, judging selves may show up in our writing. Seeing these thoughts written down can help us release old patterns and beliefs and allow us to feel more energized. Also, holding a pen rather than writing on a computer can make us calmer, tap into our creativity, and unite the right and left sides of the brain. When we write by hand, writing can take the form of meditation; we feel our hand holding the pen, notice the paper's softness as we write. Both writing and meditation nurture each other and allow us to let go of past stories as we strengthen ourselves, our awareness, and our writing.

You might find it hard to believe that simply putting pen to paper to write could give you peace of mind, groundedness, and increased vitality. Through clinical research, James Pennebaker, author of Opening Up: The Healing Power of Expressing Emotions, discovered that writing makes people happier, healthier and less anxious.

Combining writing and meditation can help people with anxious thoughts or 'monkey mind' to see these thoughts for what they are – just thoughts – once they get them out of their heads and onto paper. Truth is most of us go around with myriad notions running rampant in our heads. Rarely do we take the time to explore how these thoughts influence our mental health and general well-being.

Why not give it a try?