THE SPIRITUALITY OF WRITING: RECEPTIVITY

I was recently asked to give a presentation on the spirituality of writing. The first spiritual quality I talked about was RECEPTIVITY. For me, this means allowing my mind to be a vessel receptive to inspiration. It means suspending my ideas about what I think should happen and being open to unexpected gifts. Trying to force creative ideas to come never works for me. I can only wait and be prepared to receive inspiration whenever it chooses to show up. I receive random, unbidden snippets of writing ideas throughout my day. They invariably come at inopportune moments, such as when I’m cleaning the kitchen, working in the yard, or taking a shower. Sometimes, they even come at night through my dreams. I know this is how inspiration works with my mind, and I have learned to allow it to happen that way. In preparation, I keep scrap paper in handy locations so I can quickly record the ideas as they come to me.