As an artist, there exists a possibility of words simply flowing from your spirit like water from a fountain – as if they were writing themselves, as if an inner force were pushing them out of you one by one, barely allowing you a moment to get your ideas down on paper. You worry and stress about what you will write, how and when, not realizing that if you were to just take that first leap of faith and you actually sat down with a pen and paper and a determination to write no matter what, you would write without a doubt. If we can move mountains with true faith, then how can you not simply write, am I right? Especially if you love to write as much as you claim you do. Do not move, do not eat, do not drink, do not think, do not worry, just write. Concentrate and write. Writer’s block is a mental excuse. So, am I suggesting that you should write gibberish, utter nonsense?
Not necessarily, but just remember that your best-selling book will not contain all the parts you will eventually edit out later, so just go ahead and write the first sentence that comes to your mind. Yes, the first sentence that comes to your mind, insignificant or uninspiring as you may label it to be. Remember you will not be obliged to show your work to anyone other than yourself once you’re done. If you can’t write for the sake of simply writing, without a commercial aim, at some point then you probably don’t love writing too much. Write without the notion that anyone will read what you write. Make it random and boring if that’s how you’re feeling. Drop any and all mental pressure, let go of insecurities completely, be present with yourself in the moment. Write about anything that comes to mind, think aloud on the page – your job is only to make sure your hand can keep up with the subconscious stream.
Life is a gift given to you, and the same goes for any natural talents. Go ahead and write it even if it is nonsense! After that first sentence write another. Don’t make it too logical, just randomly write another sentence, the sentence that logically follows in your mind, whatever seems to automatically fit. Since these sentences were written in a flash without much use of thought, these sentences come from your subconscious mind, and therefore express ideas or feelings which you are wanting or even needing desperately to get across but just don’t know how because of their abstract and complicated nature. Follow this subconscious stream of creativity, keep writing words, make sure your pen keeps hitting that paper, or your fingers keep on pressing at those keys. You will see that another sentence will naturally follow, as the sentences will have something in common, both having come from your subconscious, which is dwelling upon the same subjects. This similarity is usually the same poetic vibe and maybe theme. After the second sentence, then follows another, and another, and another, and before you know it you find yourself quickly typing away since the words are coming so fast that you struggle to write them all down. A rush of realization runs through you suddenly as you reach a point where you need to stop for a moment just to review what you’ve done in order to clarify to yourself what exactly you were writing about, and what specific point you were trying to get across, since you realize that your ideas have transported you over to a distant land!
Again, all it takes is one sentence to make the difference and get you started. As long as you don’t write anything down, you are overthinking about what to write for your audience. The problem is that you do not know your audience, since no audience exists at this moment. In the present, when your work is being created, all that exists is you and your writing, so embrace this. No matter who your audience is, if you were meant to write, then just write, and the right audience will be reached in due time. I have found this to be quite an effective tool for overcoming writer’s block. Simply write one sentence that comes to your mind. Then, without giving importance to what anyone will think about your work, follow that sentence up with another. The sentence that comes to mind, and thereby to the paper, might be about an idea you’ve been thinking about lately, or maybe about someone you’ve been missing, maybe about the annoying headache you feel, maybe about how grateful you are it’s the weekend! Just write about that! So what if (you think) no one will read it? Write to write. Write to develop your writing. Save a file, and later you can read it and add more details, it may grow to be something big.
Don’t worry too much about staying on topic or dividing up paragraphs – Just write! Remember that this big chunk of disorganized writing will not to be read by anyone else before you finalize the official copy of whatever it is you are writing. All that other secondary stuff ceases to exist now and you are finally free of worries. I repeat for the sake of importance, write for the sake of writing. Write for you. Write for the glory of God, by being thankful that you can live and write and express yourself. All the organizing, the making sure everything is in its right place, the countless reading and re-reading, the editing, that can all wait – it all means nothing if you have nothing written, so spill your soul onto the page! Be the real You, and ignore your mind when it asks you “Will people like what I am writing right now? Why write if I’m not a famous author? Will I be paid for my work? Why am I writing for free, and for no good reason at that?”. Ignore these thoughts of doubt that the mind hits you with. It wants you to agree, to identify with it. The real self however, knows that engaging in one’s passion and creativity and producing inspiring work are blessings far superior, and therefore incomparable to, a mere paycheck, or any sort of recognition. The mind doubts because it is a finite thing, a physical part of your body. It is part of material existence and therefore will surely die one day, and all these ideas of doubt which are the product of social and cultural engineering, will die along with it – rest assured! However, the real You, which experiences and evaluates the thoughts of the mind, and the feelings and sensations of the body, is true, eternal awareness, or being.
This being is of spiritual nature, meaning it is immortal and complete. It is a reflection of the spirit of God in us. For this reason, the real Self cannot experience doubt, or lack of self-worth, because the real Self knows that it has something of immense value to offer this hurting world. If you didn’t know this then why would you be thinking of writing in the first place? The real You not only believes that you can achieve great things – it knows so! The fake you, the image of yourself inside your brain, is a product of what you have learned and experienced on this planet during your time as an individual. What happens is that, since most people spend endless amounts of time satisfying the carnal desires of their mind and body, they become completely identified with the idea the mind creates of itself. As we grow from youth into adulthood, that pure sense of being, and of connection with a wise spirit, or conscience, that knows what is good and bad and advises us of such righteous judgements is lost, and we begin to listen to our mind, therefore giving up all control to a tool which we are actually meant to control. Being only a tool, this mind feels inferior, like it can be discarded for any superior tool that comes around. It must survive and prove its supreme status! Quite a lot of pressure, huh? Spirit, on the other hand – Spirit flows, Spirit is authentic, pure, real, revolutionary, raw!
If only we could enter into that pure state of thoughtlessness, quieting the mind’s incessant chatter, and if we can remain in that state, then we could certainly reconnect with that part of ourselves which truly creates art, the divine spark that dwells within us all and provides us with our spiritual energy at all times; the being behind the mind – immune to writer’s block! If we could radically shift our current perspective on life and begin to get in touch with the goodness of our spirit, which is a reflection of God – with our intuition – then quite possibly the thoughts that circle round and round in our skulls, and the abstract feelings that are bottled up inside all of us, will finally be granted with an outlet to be expressed in a beautiful, poetic and effortless manner in this soulless society that subjects its citizens to such profound pressure, mediocrity and marginalization. We must make a conscious decision to ignore every temptation, every distraction, every insecurity, every feeling of inadequacy which holds us back from trying, from taking the first step and trusting the power of God present in the forces of the universe. We must subdue the mind with the spirit, we cannot, and will not, allow our minds to enslave us. Be FREE! Let your Spirit spill your soul out on the page and let it flow like the endless sea.
~ REBEL SPIRIT ~
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