Did you hate writing as a kid? I did! I absolutely loathed it. But somewhere on the way to adulthood there was a shift in my mindset. Perhaps it was because I didn’t have to write anymore? When it became a choice, I began to see its beauty.
Now writing is life! I crave putting pen to paper. There’s something magical about disconnecting from all gadgets and scribbling things down the old-fashioned way.
Writing is an excellent way to get our daily fix of creativity, express ourselves, and find clarity. There are several more benefits to writing, but today let’s talk about some of its more mystical rewards. Writing is one of the most easily accessible spiritual tools at our disposal.
Here are five incredibly effective spiritual writing practices. (Psst: The last exercise is my favorite!)
1. Journaling
Journaling is a great mental and emotional decluttering practice, but its power goes far beyond that. Narrating stories from your life often brings out an alternate perspective to the experiences. Long forgotten memory gems get unearthed for you to fondle and coo over.
Also, freely allowing your thoughts to flow on paper without censorship or judgment is extremely cathartic! Seeing your innermost feelings honestly written out, you can’t help but resolve your shadow self with your light. This dispels dissonance and creates harmony.
2. Gratitude
Gratitude is like pouring steaming water over a tea bag. It gently extracts the uplifting elements, safely leaving behind everything that doesn’t serve a purpose anymore. From the very first sip, thankfulness shifts your focus to what is working. An instant pick-me-up.
You don’t need to list only dramatic, life-changing things you’re grateful for! Persimmons back in season? Toast perfectly golden? Traffic lights all green on your way to work? Someone beamed a kind smile at you on your evening walk? You only need the tiniest of reasons to ignite gratitude within you.
Write down anything you’re thankful for. Everything has its own kind of significance. And then, this is the most powerful part, read the list with feeling. Magic!
3. Manifestation
Picturing your ideal life and writing about it as if it’s already happened, with a strong focus on feelings, turns you into a magnet, bringing your highest good into your reality.
Let’s say your desire is already fulfilled. Now what does a typical, perfectly ordinary moment/day in your life look like? Describe this in detail, with an emphasis on the wonderful emotions you’re experiencing. The key is feeling those feelings as you write and read your visualizations.
End by writing, “This or something better. And so it is. Thank you.”
4. Clarity
Our brains are constantly inundated with ideas and inspiration. Allow them to flow onto paper in the form of intention lists, structured plans, and mind maps. Getting them out of your brain unburdens you and breathes life into those ideas.
When you look at these thoughts from the outside, you’ll begin to notice a pattern. You’ll also understand what ideas to pursue because they’re for your highest good, which to place on the back burner for now, and the ones to let go of with love.
Getting this kind of clarity will make it easy to portion your grand plans into achievable, bite sized tasks. You’ll be able to stop, surrender, and ask for guidance every step of the way.
5. Self-Love
Loving affirmations, listing your achievements, encouraging phrases—there are so many powerful ways to experience self-love through writing.
Writing love letters to yourself is a super fun, purely joyful activity! Address yourself with affectionate phrases like, “my darling,” “dear love,” “sweet angel.” You get the idea. What words would you use while speaking to someone close to your heart? Write your letters to yourself that way.
These five spiritual writing practices have kept me sane and happy through many turbulent times in my life. They’ve helped me release stress, get deeply familiar with my inner thoughts, be kind and loving towards myself, and so much more.
Give them a shot and see the magic for yourself!
Actual writing, okay? Pen and paper writing. Not just typing. The part of your brain that’s used when you physically write, holding a pen and scribbling on paper, is different from the part that’s used when you type things out. So the way the words, the thoughts, everything flows is very different in each experience.
Both have a place, both have value. But when you’re writing for spiritual and well-being reasons—gratitude, manifestation, showing yourself love, all these things—those need some scrawling action!
Keep a notebook just for this. Or two notebooks. Get some nice colorful pens and use those to write alternately to make it interesting. Or if nothing else, jot on different sheets of paper and collect them.
Start small, do just a few lines each day, and go from there. I promise, it’ll totally change your life!
