How Mindfulness Can Help Artists and Writers

If you Google “What is Mindfulness”, you will see the following definition: “a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.” (https://tinyurl.com/y3qsp7xx).

The concept of mindfulness has been around for a while now. Unfortunately, many think it’s part of the “New Age” hype and dismiss it as such without trying to really understand how it can help them. While I’m always very careful with the “New Age” type of ideas that are often empty and not truthful, I am also careful to separate them from the those ideas that are real and can have an impact on one’s life. So when I look at the concept of mindfulness, I want to find practical and useful ways of using it in my life, and that is what I’d like to share today with an eye on tips for writers, artists and other creatives in particular.

One of the fundamental ideas of mindfulness is to be present in every moment, in whatever you are doing. Interestingly, this concept is an intrinsic part of the Japanese culture. You can witness it in their practice of zen, in their tea ceremony and in many aspects of their everyday life. They do even little things with great care and attention. (This is a good short blog post about Japanese sense of mindfulness: https://tinyurl.com/y43fls3f) In our culture of instant gratification and constant information bombardment, it is an especially hard concept to grasp. We want to move on to the next thing and become easily bored with what we’re doing at the moment. But try these actions in your every day life and see how you feel: wash the dishes for 5 minutes with full attention on the act – the feel of water on your hands, the soap swirls on the dishes, the clean dish. Make it into a 5-minute meditation and notice how you feel after you’re done. Is there more calm, more focus? Now do the same while painting for half an hour or writing a page. Immerse yourself completely. Don’t think about whether what you’re producing is good or not. Just concentrate on the mix of colors, the feel of the brush in your hand, the formation of words on the page, etc. If you like the effect and feel calmer, more relaxed, or more focused, try incorporating this technique into your every day. It will be hard at first, but eventually, you’ll fall into the rhythm automatically.
Another big concept of mindfulness, and one of my personal favorites lately, is gratefulness. When I started reading about this everywhere, at first I was skeptical. I’m generally not a touchy/feeling person and I was going through some difficult times where being grateful was the last thing I wanted to be. But the more I read, the more I thought I should try it. And when I did, it really gave me a perspective that I needed to get through the tough times. It just makes sense. It puts your mind onto positive things in your life that are hard to deny, no matter the negative ones. To practice this you can do one of the following, or combine and mix and match whatever fits into your life: write 5 things you’re grateful for today either in the morning or at night before bed (if you write them before bed, review them first thing in the morning when you get up to give you a positive kick-start to the day); a few times a day stop whatever you’re doing and list a couple of things you’re grateful for at that moment. Artists and writers – think about the fact that you have been blessed with the gift of creativity. Think about the fact that you have a computer or pen/paper to write on, you have friends (as you’re starting out) who want to read what you wrote and (later on) you have readers you’re sharing your story with. Artists, realize that you have materials to paint, you have an apartment or house to paint in, you have people appreciating your art, etc. There are many things to be grateful for, you just have to think about them more.
Taking time to do nothing is another tool I found useful in my life. I’m not talking about hours (although sometimes that’s needed too). I’m talking about 10-15 minutes. Come home after work, sit out on the deck or in front of the window and do nothing but observe the world around you. You can also do it while commuting (if you’re not driving, of course). Or first thing in the morning before you get out of bed. I know from personal experience that doing nothing is just about the hardest thing for me to do. I’m always itching to do something. I know I have 25 things waiting for me – I have to answer emails, edit, work on projects for my day job, work on projects for my business, do laundry, clean my cats’ bowls and my parrot’s cage, paint, write… Just thinking about all this makes me tired and crazy. But 10 minutes of doing nothing will not impact my work time. Things will still be there to do. However, I have noticed that just sitting quietly and observing the world for a few minutes at a time calm me down tremendously and raise my creativity. And once I’m done, I’m ready to jump into the next thing to do.
Meditation and focusing on breathing is another strong mindfulness technique. I’m nowhere being able to meditate for more than 10 minutes at a time (and even that is hard sometimes). But again, the sense of calm and freshness of mind that come afterwards are amazing. My suggestion, as you’re starting out, do guided meditations (you can find thousands of them on YouTube). This allows your to still concentrate on something (the voice of the guide) and to know exactly what to do. Eventually, you can try doing these on your own. Also, stop once a while during the day and take a few deep breaths right there, wherever you are. Breathing deep has very real physical result, besides the mental ones. There is a better exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide, it slows your heartbeat and lowers blood pressure (see more on this in this article by Harvard Medical School). As far as mental effects, it calms and concentrates your mind and reduces anxiety and stress.

Try these techniques for yourself and see how to incorporate whatever works into your life. Just try them for a week. What’s the worst that can happen?

What are your favorite mindfulness techniques and tools and how do they work for you? Leave me a comment.