Writing as a Mindfulness Practice
Why I Write
An author once said, “I write to know what I am thinking.”
Arms pumping in agreement – I couldn’t agree more.
I have to write to know what I’m thinking. Writing is the bridge that gives me access to my mind. While I fully understand that mind and body are not mutually exclusive (even as a yogini), for me, thinking exists on an island that I can only reach through writing.
Why Blogging Changed Everything
Blogging has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. It’s helped me reach others across the world, but it has also helped me in the process.
“Why not just keep a journal?” you might ask. I could. I did—for years. I’ve been keeping a journal since I could form full sentences, around second grade. I still have that first diary.
My first entry? It was about a classmate who died in a tragic house fire. I can still picture my tiny hand writing those words, grappling with emotions I barely understood—compassion, fear, and grief. Only through writing could I begin to process the weight of her death. I was just seven years old when I realized: I had to write.
I may not have wanted to write, and I wasn’t concerned about being “good” at it, but I needed to write.
A Lifelong Journey with the Pen
Since that first childhood diary entry, my life has been filled with moments of death, birth, and rebirth. Through each experience, I’ve turned to the pen—or now, the keyboard—to make sense of it all.
As a musician, educator, and woman who wears many hats—doctor, therapist, mother, daughter, wife, friend, sister, aunt. My intention is that my writing helps others find their best path in life, whether through writing about surgical recovery, managing or resolving pain, or connecting with themselves and others better.
Seeing Life Through a New Lens
When I first penned this post in 2009, I wrote about conducting my own experiment with mindset shifting. No, it wasn’t about yoga postures or handstands or meditation, though that is a well intentioned way that certainly works. And while it did include practicing mindfulness, it was actually a painting project that helped me shift my mindset. Painting and lacquering my hallway walls in high gloss black paint. Yes, black.
What was once a dull, lifeless surface, when I finished my project, became a little hallway that shimmered like a pool of living water. Just two days ago, someone looking at those walls would have wondered what in the heck I was doing. I mean, they were the color of death.
But with a little effort, I transformed them into a reflective surface—proof that you can take any situation and turn it around. This small, messy, smelly project reminded me of my freedom.
Just as I changed those walls, I can change the direction of my life at any moment. I can turn the car around. I can choose a different path. Next week, if I want, I can sand those walls down and paint them sea salt green.
The Power of Knowing Your Mind
The point is: find the outlet that allows you to know your mind, to know what you are thinking. For me, that’s writing, it’s music, it’s being connected to myself, and creating deep connections with others. Blogging has given me a platform to understand that, since I wrote the original version of this post back in July 3, 2009.
Writing is my daily breathing practice. I may not blog every day, but I do write. Every. Single. Day. Even if it’s just one line a day. In fact I have a journal with that very title, just to nurture feelings of gratitude and help me capture the good things happening in my life, even if they are small.
What helps you plug back into yourself? To your energy and passion?
