if i empty my mind what will i think?

February 2, 2008 9:31 PM

Can meditation help me become a better writer?

I am a film/tv writer and have been using the recent strike to do some deep thinking about my process, my creativity and the quality of my writing.

So far, I've had moderate success as a writer -- I would classify myself as a working professional writer. I make my living writing network drama tv, have a good agent and so forth, but feel strongly that I am not tapping into my full potential... that there is a ceiling of creativity and concentration that I am hitting and if I can break through it, I will experience a significant increase in the quality of my writing.

I have two specific goals: 1) to improve my focus and concentration for writing, and 2) maximize my creativity in the craft of writing.

I have this intuition that meditation might be a pathway that could help me crack through this ceiling. Can anyone recommend books, CDs, or other sources that will help me use meditation to work on these two areas?

Are there any other writers out there that have experimented with meditation? To what success?

Do any of you experienced meditators feel that it might hurt my creativity... ? I sometimes wonder about the emphasis on emptying your mind, and not pursuing fantasies and imaginations... pursuing fantasy and imaginative thoughts is how I write!?

I am looking for guidance that will specifically help me work on my mind as it relates to my craft. There are two books that I have found on this subject: Writing Down the Bones and David Lynch's Catching the Big Fish... they were in the right vein of what I am looking for... but I want more.

I feel like partly I am trying to recapture a phenomenon from my youth... when I was a younger (I'm 36) I can remember three different times when I have been in a strange "flow" state... when I was competing in collegiate debate I can remember going into this almost-altered state where I had two brains... one brain was controlling my mouth and ensuring the words I was saying made sense and the other brain was free to do it's own thinking and it could do things like notice stuff happening in the room (like "look at the cute girl that just walked in") but mostly I used it to plan what my talking-brain should talk about next... I could go into this state for the last year of my debating... so this only happened after years and years of focusing on debate as my primary activity.

I had a less intense version of this when I was obsessed with chess for a while... and an even less intense version when I was studying academics and taking tests.

It's been a long time since I have felt this... but I am wondering if other people have felt something similar to this... if anyone has advice on how to find this brain state again in my writing? Does this sound like it has any relationship with meditation?

posted by robotdog to media & arts (13 comments total)

You could always have your brainwaves measured by a clinical psychologist who specializes in administering neurofeedback and see where it takes you. I don't know if most people are aware that meditation can be practiced via neurofeedback. In order to meditate, you do not have only one path from which to choose. I do believe neurofeedback can assist people in focusing better on their goals, if they work with someone who knows what they're doing. I hope this suggestion helps.
posted by mamaraks at 9:40 PM on February 2, 2008

Do any of you experienced meditators feel that it might hurt my creativity... ?

I can't speak for others but when I do meditation right then I have absolutely no drive to make or do anything. I think its easy to confuse a flow state with a relaxed state, but they're actually two very, very different things.

Frankly, it just sounds like youre getting old, just like anyone else. Flow comes easy to children and teens. Not so much after that.
posted by damn dirty ape at 9:55 PM on February 2, 2008

I can't suggest a book or a video, really. (Although I've liked the Pema Chondron books, meditation is secondary to the personal stuff.)

But getting into the flow, tapping into that other worldly place, that's the stuff of why people write, I always thought. Runners, dancers, basically everyone I've talked to about their creative process will have a ritual, an intensely personal ritual, to get them into that head space. For me, it's big headphones, loud music and an IBM Selectric II.

I can't imagine a scenario where meditation could possibly make you less creative. Clearing your head and ignoring your thoughts in meditation means that when you come out of it, you can hear them more strongly. Mindfulness, empathy and controlling your own brain are good things for writers.

If you're finding it harder to get into the flow of things, and worrying about if meditation could ruin you, one could argue you're bogged down with detritus -- both related to focusing on the end state and the baggage of normal life. Meditation sounds like a better cure than an acid trip in the desert every few months, but you may need just something to "blow the carbon out."

Every Buddhist center I know and quite a few other places offer cheap or free workshops on meditation.
posted by Gucky at 10:06 PM on February 2, 2008

When I meditate it's to calm me down enough to actually write. I'm nowhere near a professional writer and I still get stuck in resistance a lot.

If you liked Writing Down the Bones you might get help out of Goldberg's other books. You can also look into flow itself.
posted by sugarfish at 10:08 PM on February 2, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Meditation might help you, it might do nothing, or it might just zone you out too much to work. It's a pretty subjective experience, so you should try it and see. You're not going to break anything -- at worst, you just won't have a great writing day. It's pretty low-stakes to give it a shot.

In case my (very subjective) opinion is helpful, I think that meditation does help me write, but only indirectly. Fifteen minutes of meditation definitely helps me calm my brain down if I'm feeling anxious or frazzled. And longer meditation sessions (an hour or two in the company of other meditating folks) have occasionally left me feeling very alive and observant of myself and the world around me.

I've felt the kind of writing flow you talk about, and it does feel a little similar to meditation -- the intense focus, the out-of-yourselfness -- but it's not the same as meditation. I've only ever been able to get into that particular state by actually sitting down and writing. Not every time I pick up a pen, of course -- just the good times.

Csikszentmihaly says (paraphrasing from memory here) that a flow experience comes from working right at the edge of your abilities. You're doing something that you can do -- but only if you concentrate on it with every fiber of your being. It seems that if you want to get to this through writing, you need to be really pushing yourself in your writing.

And now for book recommendations. There are about a bazillion books out there about creativity and writing. I've read many of them -- often instead of actually writing. These books have something to offer, but don't do too much book-reading -- I think you'll find out more about your own style of working by actually working. If you haven't already, you should take a look at the books of Mihaly Csikszentmihaly, who popularized the "flow" concept. Flow, Finding Flow, and Creativity are all worth a shot. If you want something more like Writing Down the Bones (ie, a writer writing about writing and the mind), you could try The Artist's Way, Bird by Bird, or Goldberg's other book on writing, Wild Mind.
posted by ourobouros at 10:35 PM on February 2, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

You didn't mention whether or not you've actually indulged in meditation but, seeking a similar objective to you, I began meditating off and on about two years ago. Despite the benefits, at this moment in time I lack the self-discipline to incorporate it fully into my life. I'll let you in on an interesting observation, though.

Meditation isn't easy. And it isn't easy because it requires the person doing it to empty his mind of all thoughts. I began meditating because of the feeling of being driven towards insanity by the silence in my head, the moment I sat down to write. It was as if my entire personality used to crawl out of my ears, leaving an eerie quietness which used to leave me stressed, nervous and existentially freaked out. The harder I tried to think, the louder the silence became. Meditation, in that respect, was truly revelational for me: why wouldn't my mind, when I sat down to meditate, shut up? Why did things I hadn't remembered for weeks (or sometimes even years) pop into my head? Why did ideas I'd never even considered vie for my attention at exactly the moment when all I yearned for was silence?

My point is, the harder you try, the harder everything becomes. Have you ever been placed in a situation where you need to talk to someone new and as soon as you consider the possibility that you won't have anything to say, it's as if everything in the universe conspires to sap your brain of every social skill, every gambit of conversation, every single thing that makes you who you are? Everything we do well, we do without thinking. At least on the conscious level. . Meditation can help to get you into this unthinking zone-like consciousness; on a practical everyday level, my best advice for anyone is to try not to think too hard.

I had two hours sleep last night so I hope this makes sense.
posted by Zé Pequeno at 2:50 AM on February 3, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

Spirit rock is offering a meditation retreat in the Spirit of Creativity.
posted by TorontoSandy at 4:44 AM on February 3, 2008

Oops, Spirit Rock.
posted by TorontoSandy at 4:45 AM on February 3, 2008

I have the Holosync program on CD, which is kind of pricey, but it’s good (I actually like the “Making Change Easy” CD that comes with it best). You can order their free demo and then opt out of mailings. I started my own cheaper version of meditation years ago: put on a music CD (I find Union by Yes to be nice and trippy, YMMV), use headphones, and practice yoga breathing. I also visualized pulling energy up through my feet and flowing through the top of my head. I did this every day after lunch, when I feel like taking downtime anyway. I did not write the great American novel, but I did come up with some ideas that I sold for a hefty royalty advance. I wrote some cool poetry too.

Books: Anything by Eric Maisel. I have Ten Zen Seconds, which is super easy to get into doing. I also have Van Gogh Blues and Fearless Creating. And oh yeah, Coaching the Artist Within, which I haven’t read yet.

Also consider Tai Chi if you find sitting still doesn’t work for you. A class or DVD. I can’t find the DVD I had, it was a woman on a beach, but this one seems highly rated.

Nthing the Flow books and a retreat or change of scenery.

I’ve belonged to writers groups before and found that the camaraderie upped my mood, as well as providing an impetus to write. Seeking out other writers who do what you want to do or forming a group may help. Emulating or even contacting writers whom you admire is another idea. Pick their brains for their methods. A creative writing class can also get you going and improve your craft at the same time. Like a writers group, there’s some accountability in being “forced” to write when I know I’ll be asked to share something.

Hogwash on age. I was prolific when I was younger, yeah, but I was in school and surrounded by lots of peers and doing creative writing assignments. Unless you’re in that sort of environment every day, it can be hard to get the wham-bam stuff going on. Age also brings experience to the table. Inspiration and improvement can be had at any age if there’s desire; often middle-age brings a renewed sense of both.

Guess I didn’t empty my mind to the point of having no ideas: I’ve got three creative stories on the back burner while I’m working on a client-side project.

Good luck and please follow up and let us know how it works for you!
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 8:33 AM on February 3, 2008

When Meditation is perceived as some sort of goal-oriented activity, then you are really not going to get any benefit.
posted by Jay Reimenschneider at 10:22 AM on February 3, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Meditation helps you separate yourself from the random emotional impulses that pass through you (cravings, fears, angers). It helps you detach from that, think more clearly, quiet the noise, focus on what you're trying to accomplish, and proceed more steadily.

If your writing is fueled by emotions, (eg, a political opinion writer who wrote in bursts of energy when indignant about political wrongdoing, a comedian who wrote to escape the nagging insecurities), it might pull away some of that energy. But since it would let you still see that energy, just with some detachment, you could probably still draw from them, while transitioning to a more deliberately chosen motivation.

My guess is that it would help you get better by silencing internal chatter (doubts, distractions) and letting you focus more on your work.
posted by salvia at 1:56 PM on February 3, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]

I have to take gentle exception to the idea that meditation is an attempt to empty the mind of thoughts. That may be the case in some traditions, but both the Zen and Vipassana branches of Buddhism acknowledge that the mind is going to think thoughts. The point is not to get rid of thoughts so much as to be aware of them as they arise and to avoid being carried away on a stream of emotion or narrative.

For example, say you're meditating and remember that earlier in the day you had an unpleasant exchange with a coworker. The point is not to get rid of the thought but to notice it -- some teachers will suggest that you mentally label it -- and then return to paying attention to your breathing, or whatever you're focusing on.

The problem is not the thought itself. It's our tendency to think it and then get caught up in a rapidly-escalating succession of other thoughts and feelings -- "He's such a jerk to me, and I just take it. I need to stand up for myself. If he tries that again, I'm going to tell him it's inappropriate . . . " -- at which point you are somewhere else entirely. The orginal thought, and its associated emotional content, happen in the present moment. It's our reactions that take us away from that.

My experience is that when I meditate daily, I'm calmer, happier, more focused, and more productive. It definitely doesn't destroy your ability to create; however, if you're someone who has to be in an agitated state to create, I guess it could interfere with the process.

As far as resources, the best nuts-and-bolts how-to book I've read is Mindfulness in Plain English, by Henepola Gunaratana. More philosophical is Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki. And Buddhism Without Beliefs by Stephen Batchelor makes a good case for what you gain by meditating.
posted by viscountslim at 10:12 PM on February 3, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

For what it's worth, I once had the chance to interview Allen Ginsberg, and when I asked him at the end for last advice to young writers, he didn't hesitate before saying one word:

"Meditate."

He should know. Kind of tangentially, but I think relevant to your concern about maximizing creativity, I really like the spin Brenda Ueland puts on "creative idleness" in her classic 1938 book If You Want To Write. To me, it bridges perfectly the worlds of writing and meditation:

So you see the imagination needs moodling - long, inefficient, happy idling, dawdling and puttering...that is creative idleness. With all my heart I tell you and reassure you: at such times you are being slowly filled and re-charged with warm imagination, with wonderful, living thoughts.

Now some people when they sit down to write and nothing special comes, no good ideas, are so frightened that they drink a lot of strong coffee to hurry them up, or smoke packages of cigarettes, or take drugs or get drunk. They do not know that good ideas come slowly, and that the more clear, tranquil and unstimulated you are, the slower the ideas come but the better they are...what you write today is the result of some span of idling yesterday, some fairly long period of protection from talking and busyness.

She goes on to discuss how "the mind is kept naggingly busy on some easy, unimportant, external thing all day," the importance of "the hour or two of isolation from daily life so much of which is nervous, cacophonous, where one's attention is unhappily jerked from this to that, so that the imagination inside cannot accumulate its strength and light," and promises that if you continue to allow yourself time to be gently alone and living in the present (walking or sitting or driving or whatever),

then you will be rewarded: thoughts, good ideas, plots for novels, longings, decisions, revelations with come to you...And how do these creative thoughts come? They come in a slow way.

So, yeah, meditate.
posted by mediareport at 12:22 AM on February 5, 2008 [4 favorites has favorites]