Do you feel the desire to explore yourself and your inner world through writing?
Poetry, can be a way of connecting to the divine, voicing debilitating grief,
tuning into creativity, and reawakening our sensual romantic inner artist.
Writing Prompts to Explore Yourself In
#1 - Rain
Close your eyes and picture yourself standing in nature… waiting and listening, a rainstorm comes and embraces you. Let it inspire your writing.
What do you do in the rain?
What does it awaken in you?
Is there a primal energy awakening in you?
Is there a message in the rain?
What has been your past relationship with rain?
Poetry to help inspire your writing on this focus:
I oftentimes wonder if we would appreciate rain more
if we did not try and shield ourselves from its touch.
We wear raincoats and rainboots.
We carry umbrellas, lest we feel the weight upon our heads and shoulders.
I wonder if we embraced its arrival and absorbed its intention,
if we would be more accepting of its intrusion in our day to day lives.
And I have to think we treat love in much the same way.
We brush shoulders with love overflowing from souls everyday, but we are gated.
We wear armor, and masks, and we are ready to retreat for fear of an epidemic.
When we're going through a drought, we pray for the same rain we avoid.
When our hearts are barren we ache for the love that will save us.
From The Salt In His Kiss by Alfa
#2 - Darkness
Are you familiar with the term, the dark night of the soul?
It comes from the 16th-century Spanish mystic and poet St. John. He wrote this poem while imprisoned and cruelly punished by his Carmelite brothers, who opposed his reformations to the Order.
The main concept of the poem is that the painful experiences, the darkness, that people go through also cause us to grow in fulfilling ways. Instilling spiritual maturity and divine connection.
What has been your experience of going through or being in the middle of personal darkness? How do you see/relate to darkness?
You can write about where the darkness has led you to. What it was like to be in it and not knowing. Explore your relationship to darkness, personal challenge, and suffering. Explore overcoming it, being in the midst of it, or perhaps even the illusion of feeling above it.
Poetry to help inspire your writing on this focus:
“Someone asked me recently if I am afraid to die. Truthfully, I am more afraid of not living my life fully — of living a life dedicated to cherishing and protecting myself. This fear–driven approach to life is like covering your couch in plastic so it won’t get worn. It robs you of the ability to enjoy and appreciate your life. It takes courage to accept life fully, to say yes to our life, yes to our karma, yes to our mind, emotions and whatever else unfolds. This is the beginning of courage. Courage is the fundamental openness to face even the hardest truths. It makes room for all the pain, joy, irony, and mystery that life provides.”
Author ~ Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche
#3 - Holy Mother Archetype
Place yourself as the great mother looking at yourself, present day. The wise, compassionate, all-knowing, holy mother archetype. Take a moment to tune into her essence… then write a poem, a narrative, or a letter to your present-day self.
Let her tell you about what she wants to remind you of, what she wants to celebrate you for, what inspiration she wants to share with you, or what state of consciousness she wants to help you become aware of.
It can be an abstract poem that she wants you to discover the meaning of over and over again, it could be advice, or perhaps stories of how she lived/lives and what she learned through her own life. Trust that in your creative surrendering, you will discover the exact message that you need in this sacred exploration.
Poetry to help inspire your writing on this focus:
"Grandma, how do you cope with pain?”
“With your hands, honey. If you do it with your mind instead of relieving the pain, it toughens even harder.”
“With your hands grandma?”
“Yes, our hands are the antennae of our soul. If you move them; knitting, cooking, painting, playing or sinking them into the ground, you send care signs to the deepest part of you and your soul lights up because you’re paying attention to it. Then signs of pain will no longer be necessary.”
“Hands are really that important?”
“Yes my daughter. Think of babies: they start to know the world through the touch of their hands. If you look at the hands of old people, they tell you more about their life then any body part. Everything that is done by hand is said to be done with the heart. Because it’s really like this: hands and heart are connected. Masseurs know well: when they touch someone with their hands, they create a deep connection. It is precisely from this connection that healing comes. Think of lovers: when they touch their hands, they make love in a more sublime way.”
“My hands grandma.... how long I haven’t used them like this!”
“Move them, my love. Begin to create with them and everything within you will begin to move. The pain will not pass away. And instead what you do with them will become the most beautiful masterpiece and it won’t hurt anymore. Because you have been able to transform its essence.”
Author ~ Elena Bernabe