How To Write Your Heart Out
“I write to empty my head and fill my heart.”
Paulo Coelho
Unarmoured
Lay down your sword
let the blood drip
onto the paper
writing words of forgiveness
onto the white flag
let the red ink dry
until the rain
washes away the fight
until you are ready
to see the light
through the sun-bleached canvas
of your essence
Put down your word
let the pen fly
across the sheets
of endless possibilities
lay down your shield
let your blind eyes
open
let them roam
across a field
of flowers
until the smells of roses
cover the memory of pain
let your soul dance
until you feel the power
of your heart again
Lay down your sword
put down your word
let the river of painful red
turn into a radiant cobalt blue
let go of everything that has been said
and thought
and write the infinite story of you
by Sadhbh Adamea
When I sit down to write I first let all the words that are clouding my heart flow onto the paper. I light a candle and breathe for a moment. Then I let the words go. I don’t read them at the same time, I just let the pen dance across the paper and almost follow it with my eyes. It is a little bit like I am hypnotized by my own pen.
After I have written for a while I often notice that the words seem to shift and I start to write like someone else is writing. At times I can’t even stop. I forget to eat and drink. Once the valve is open, the ink keeps flowing. These moments often occur after days of being blocked. As much as I seem to suffer on those days where nothing seems to go right and everything seems to stagnate, it is beautiful when the words finally flow. I find myself observing that once I start protecting myself, closing my heart, the words feel like they are stuck inside my body. They rise up to a swirl of letters and words and once I am ready to take the time to open up, they bathe me in the sweetest creations. After these days I am humbled and discover anew that we can only see the light once we are embracing the night.
Some people call this technique automatic writing, some intuitive writing and others may call it channelling. I believe it doesn’t matter what name we are giving this technique, the important part is the almost ritualistic letting go of resistance, to get into the “flow-state”. This doesn’t only go for writers, I believe it goes for musicians, dancers, painters and other creators too. If you are reading this and are creating in any kind, I challenge you to try this style of writing, if you haven’t already.
If you want to get inspired, check out this website. I uploaded a bunch of pictures, which you could use as a start to write or create other arts, too. Just look at the pictures, breathe deeply in and out and then let the words/creations flow.
Lots of love,
Sadhbh
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