Pennwriters Conference Series: #2 Connecting Spirituality and Writing
My favorite seminar during the three days I spent at the Pennwriters Conference in Pittsburgh was Madhu Wangu, Ph. D’s Writing Meditation . Madhu created and trialed a 3-hour meditation program that focuses on mind, heart and body. The conference gave her the opportunity to bring the condensed practice to writers. We focused on body meditation. She began the lecture by listing the benefits of meditation (e.g., reduces anxiety, helps you focus and provides peace of mind), and explained meditation also allows an artist time to reconnect their mind and body to improve their process, focus and artwork. Often when I sit down to write my mind is cluttered with errands, dates, story ideas, etc. that I need to remember. My body and mind move in different directions making it difficult to relax and focus my energy. So, I end up wasting time and pages getting into my writing rhythm. Madhu assured the group through meditation you could dive over the warm up ...