Book: “Writing as a Path to Awakening: A Year to Become an Excellent Writer and Living an Awakened Life,” by Albert Flynn DeSilver
Book Review by Mary Mikawoz
Creating can be a chore that can and should be done through inspirational lows and disillusionment. No matter what your genre is, writing and meditating should be done religiously as one would with any craft they are trying to develop. Even if you are sore or tired or angry, successful people hit the trail, the ice and the pathway to hone their craft. It is important to keep at it no matter what obstacles come your way. There isn’t anything particularly magical about it.
Most people have had a spiritual experience. For some it is a memorable electrifying experience. It is one that one remembers forever. By combining meditation before writing, one can increase one’s ability to create. Likewise, by writing, one can develop one’s ability to experience a new level of spirituality.
The Buddhists call it Buddha Nature of Shunyata and New Age people speak of the Source Energy. Whatever you call it, it is important to connect with the energy to create – “ushering you along the path of awakening to your true creativity.”
The moment for action is now to find that spark of creativity. It takes devotion to your craft to get your motivation going. Meditation is following your breath in and out not considering anything else in your mind. It is grounding yourself with your feet on the ground and your seat in your chair sitting erect and tall to the cosmos. Take the time to write about what you are devoted to – what your purpose in life is. That is the key to knowing what you are all about.
Writing is one of the most powerful points of focus. Writing down something makes it clear and more likely to happen as in affirmations. “Through writing, we generate the power to manifest our dreams.” Write out six goals for the next year – Spirituality, Creativity, Health/Fitness and Wellness, Relationships, Financial/Job/Business, and Community.
Setting situations and initiating incident, plot, characters, scenes, conflict and opposition, climax, final resolution and ending are all parts of your story. Together you can create your hero’s journey. It can start anywhere from the last 3 weeks of somebody’s life to three decades of life. It is your story.
By meditating, you can create an awesome story and by risking writing, you will accomplish your goals. By using our over-stimulated senses, in a directional way, you can write about the senses more delicately and intimately. It is as if there is a heightened way of dealing with the senses. Your stories will become all that much more brilliant. That is the way with this author. He writes eloquently using many sensory attributes. It makes the reading of the book nice to read.
I would recommend this book for those who would like to improve their writing. I did about half of the writing exercises and I did many of the meditations which brought me to a recognized level of understanding about writing. This is one of the best ways to write in combination with meditation. Finally remember writing is a process and journey, not a product or destination.
Tags: inspiration, meditation, writing, genre, spiritual experience, source energy, setting situation, initiating incident, plot, characters, scenes, conflicts, opposition, climax, final resolution, ending, process, journey, product, destination
Mary Mikawoz Creative Pursuits Blog 