“Mindfulness Writing” means writing while consciously invoking an acutely detailed awareness of your surroundings and/or your internal sensations and describing them in poetry or prose.
You can do it like this
or like this.
Truthfully, it’s not something I’ve done often. While other writers have been trained to write descriptively in small snippets – which often become poems – I was not. The closest thing to that experience, for me, was the discovery – late in life – of word or pictorial prompts, such as #vss365 on what then was Twitter, but now is on X. (#VSS365 = Very Short Stories 365 days a year.) I love ’em! The shorter the piece, the more challenging the work! However, the shorter the piece, the easier it is to have many items on which to practice. Click Here to learn more. Thus, I came to love Haiku – also very late in life. I don’t remember having been taught that “back in the day” when I was in school.
On the other hand, I prefer writing about things that are more important than snippets from my personal life experiences or immediate surroundings. Thus, to practice mindfulness writing, I created a few examples by combining both personal and broader concepts. I described my surroundings while in a state of mindfulness and then imagined how it could apply more globally or to someone in different circumstances. Here are a few results.
Mindfulness Writing ~
The Interval
My sensitive fingertips relish the soft, fuzzy, fleece-like texture of white spa towels, minimally offset by the grey and itchy thread of the hemp string that encircles their rolled-up forms at the waist.
Lightly perfumed with lavender, they flaunt an orchid spire as adornment and lounge placidly near three, carefully staged candles of varying heights,
overlooking blush-pink bath crystals strewn on a woven mat.
Inevitably, a small, green fern graces the scene with its flowing arcs of tiny green leaves casting small shadows onto the papyrus screen in the background.
Don’t forget the stones! A spa scene must represent earth, water, air, and fire to satisfy the connoisseurs.
Small, black, smooth-surfaced stones, like the kind used on the spine in hot stone massage, add to the mood of “Zen.” They feel smooth/hard in self-contradiction when fondled in one’s hand.
I glide slowly in the wicker swing, clad in my spa robe with turbaned hair, listening to the mesmerizing lilt of meditation music, and wish I could stay here “forever.”
Nails freshly cut and shining; face newly pummeled and satin-smooth, I rest, if only for this moment.
My hosts tell me the bombing has stopped. Soon it will be time to return to Kyiv.
A response to Nacho & Alice’s prompt #nightfall
– posted on social media 6/8/2024
Nightfall
The sun has escaped
Leaving shrouded landscapes alive
With mysterious sounds amidst
Occasional crackling branches.
Musty smells of woodsy earth arise,
And chartreuse lights wink and blink
As fireflies fly through trees and brush.
Bats course through the air with umbrella-like wings
To gobble a thousand dinner morsels in an hour
Life and death struggles fill the landscape
While humans sag and stare over their paunches at reruns.
(Parenthetically, I include this as an example of awareness of my mountain environment but then generalize the last line to the populace at large. I do not have an unvarying nightly routine of eating and “crashing” in front of the television. I often work throughout most of the day and night.)
Mindfulness Writing – Spring
Spring At Last
Finally, Spring comes to the mountain!
Bare-ish beige trees still look like
Thousands of skinny jeans Upside down.
But, cotton candy poofs of soft green budding leaves
Adorn the otherwise naked branches
Giving hope to the flagging spirits Of man and hungry beasts.
Starting anew,
While not forgetting lessons of bygone days,
We forge ahead (man and beasts)
As if the fate that awaits each of us Has a chance of being wonderful.
Right Now
It’s the season of winter holidays, honored and dishonored by people of several religions.
In the USA, red, green, gold, and white colors splash across every available overcrammed aisle and corner in stores nationwide, as the meaning of Christmas shifts from the birth of Jesus, Christ, to home decorations, Santa Claus, and the purchase of ever more wide-ranging gifts.
The smells of cardboard, plastic, and pumpkin spice latte fill one’s nostrils at the entrance as eager hands yank and grip the cold metallic bars of shopping carts.
Some people insist on wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, regardless of whether that person is a Christian. Others prefer to say, “Happy Holidays” in case the recipient is not.
Mindfulness Writing – Remembering the Outlandish Things We’ve Done to Preserve Love Against Giant Odds
December 23, 2021
#vss365 #prompt #reason
Reason!
From the instant I met you
#Reason fled to the outer reaches
Of the galaxy.
Mindfulness Writing About the Worlds of Other Creatures
December 22, 2021
#vss365 #prompt #quiet
Snow Crystals
Like powdered sugar
Falling lightly through a flour sifter,
Snowflakes fall softly on the mountain slopes.
Creating a quiet wonderland above
the hibernation dens below.
Mindfulness in Contradictions:
How It Looked Versus How It Was!
December 20, 2021
#vss365 #prompt #disguise
Reality In Disguise
Eyes shining
Bodies entwined
Clearly, it was Eternal Love at play.
I had to #disguise
My abhorrence of the guy.
Reeking of booze and cigar breath.
What a leading man!
December 16, 2021
#vss365 #prompt #risk
The Big Risk
I take the #risk
Of showing you my true self
Every
Day.
It is for you to
Honor,
Betray, or
Understand/Misunderstand
It is for me
To
Be
Authentic.
November 25, 2021
#vss365 #prompt #journal
“Just Mom”
I thought of her as “Mom”
Always there for me,
Cooking, cleaning, and making my costumes,
Sending Dad off to work with a smile,
Playing bridge and canasta with her friends,
Discussing recipes and child-raising.
Boring as Hell.
Then, I found her #journal.
Would You Like to Participate In a Mindfulness Writing Session?
For Groups or Individuals:
we can discuss it to learn more,
or we could have a writing session with word or picture prompts to give us topics.
If you’re interested or have questions, let me know by requesting a FREE Sip & Share Session to discuss scheduling one or more sessions by emailing me at
My PersuasivePresentations@gmail.com.
Put “Request Sip & Share re Mindfulness Writing” in the subject line. I’ll get back to you so that we can coordinate schedules, and then I’ll send you a link to a Zoom meeting in which we can discuss what you or your group would like to do.
I hope this inspires you and stimulates your creative juices to try writing with mindful attention and expression. Feel free to share your ideas and/or work with me. I’ll select the best and share them, if you want me to and give me permission in writing, I’ll credit you as the authors, of course! Also, we can record them on video for you to have and to share as well.
Do It The Write Way! Let My Fingers Do Your Talking!
