Mind Training for Writers – free extracts from the book…
Today I’m celebrating the release of my latest book, Free Your Pen: Mind Training for Writers. It’s been a long and convoluted journey, and for a while I thought this day would never arrive. I wanted to write the book for years. Life had other ideas, as life usually does. But the book is here,… Continue reading Abandon Hope and other crazy advice
What does it take to be a writer? The one thing that all writers have in common is very simple: they write. But more than that, a writer writes – no matter what. It seems obvious, but it’s the ‘no matter what’ that causes all the problems. To be a writer it helps if you… Continue reading How to Free your Pen: Mind Training for Writers
Last time I introduced my book on mind training for writers, Free Your Pen. In this post, we’ll delve deeper into why mastering your mind is so important with an extract from chapter one: Why Train the Mind? Have you ever sat down to write and found that your mind has gone totally blank? Or… Continue reading Free Your Pen: The Importance of Mind Training for Writers
Continuing the extracts from Free Your Pen: Mind Training for Writers. Last time we looked at why mastering your mind is so important. In this post we’ll have a closer look at the real cause of the problem with another extract from chapter one: Meet Your Mind Although everybody writes for different reasons, the fears… Continue reading Free Your Pen: The Real Cause of All Your Problems
Continuing the extracts from Free Your Pen: Mind Training for Writers. Last time we looked at the how the ego and its shadow causes most of your problems as a writer. Here we explore the solution in this final extract from chapter one: The Courage to Write Writing is a leap of faith. You never… Continue reading Free Your Pen: Finding the Courage to Write
Continuing the extracts from Free Your Pen: Mind Training for Writers. In the last few posts we explored why the mind is such an unruly place and what we can do about it. Now we dig deeper into the source of mind training practice and look at some of the ideas that underpin the teachings… Continue reading Free Your Pen: Lojong for Writers
Continuing the extracts from Free Your Pen: Mind Training for Writers. In the last post we looked at the traditional practice of lojong and its teachings. Here we explore how to apply the slogans to writing and daily life in this extract from chapter three: How to Practice with the Slogans If you want to… Continue reading Free Your Pen: How to use Lojong Slogans in your Writing
This is the final extract from Free Your Pen: Mind Training for Writers. In the last post we looked at how to practice with the slogans in general. Here we look at one slogan in depth – first by exploring the original teachings and then applying the slogan to writing. Slogan 1: First, remember the… Continue reading Free Your Pen: Applying Lojong Slogans to Writing
Good news! My latest book is now available as a shiny new paperback! Discover the secret to mastering your thoughts and get your mind to behave itself so you can get some writing done. Here’s the inevitable blurb: Free Your Pen: Mind Training for Writers 59 Slogans to Cure Writer’s Block & Free Your Voice… Continue reading Free Your Pen now available in paperback!
First, remember the basics is about the intention behind starting something new. Your intentions lay the foundation for everything you do, so your reasons for doing something are important and will determine how things turn out. The original lojong slogan is: First, train in the preliminaries. This refers to the four basic facts of life… Continue reading Buddhist Writing Prompt: First, Remember the Basics
See everything as a dream is about letting go and not trying to control reality. After facing up to the facts of life and death in Slogan 1, you can see how everything is always changing and impermanent, so the best thing to do is to go with the flow. The original lojong slogan is:… Continue reading Buddhist Writing Prompt: See Everything as a Dream
Examine the nature of awareness asks you to turn your attention inwards and notice who is aware of your experience. If you want to train your mind you first need to understand how it works and who is doing all this thinking. The original lojong slogan is: Examine the nature of unborn awareness. When you… Continue reading Buddhist Writing Prompt: Examine the Nature of Awareness
Jessica Davidson 