“A novel idea about using this process is at first, you don’t try to write. Practice the exercises and watch the creativity flow.” – Courtney
For centuries linguists such as Plato and even modern academics like Noam Chomsky, have debated the evolution of language. These intellectuals have questioned whether it developed out of necessity for rationality and logic or more emotional needs.
What we know since communication has evolved into over 6,000+ complex languages in present-day, our formidable range of self-expression gives us freedom. Within that freedom lives the power to describe the human condition through complex thoughts and feelings.
When self-expression is hindered, life becomes challenging. Our society relies heavily on reading, writing, and comprehension of the written word. So, those who fall behind are left at a distinct disadvantage.
In a child’s early years of learning and cognitive development, specific language disorders and other academic barriers result in lack of acceptance by peers; which ultimately leads to depression, anxiety, and social isolation. Dyslexia, one of the most diagnosed learning disorders, up to 10% of the population, hinders those who suffer from it with a lifelong reading difficulty, including proficient writing.
Looking back at how writing developed, it was considered secondary to spoken language. Experts believe writing developed from spoken language as a “system” of documentation because it surpassed human memory in terms of recording information for financial, legal, and historical purposes.
Writing became a more dependable form of self-expression that would stand the test of time. Some theologians believe the ability to write allowed humans to immortalize their life by recording their storied lives. One of the most popular books of history, The Bible, mirrors this sentiment in the Gospel of John 1:1 when he introduces Jesus by saying, “and the Word was God.”
Hitting the Wall
But what happens when fluid writing breaks down in an immobilizing halt? When we have something vital to express, but our body and mind seize up in a mental Charlie Horse, cramping the creative flow?
Welcome to the stagnating and seemingly helpless phase which personifies the frustrated writer’s existence. Writer’s block is an interruption from a writer’s normal creative process, which produces an inability to express ideas. It is a frozen mental state which paralyzes a writer’s usual ability.
Writers blocks occur for many reasons. They run the gamut from lack of inspiration, relationship issues, stress, fear of criticism, deadlines, performance anxiety, and emotional trauma. Because writer’s block is an extreme state of stagnation, it is often helpful to use methods which alter the current mental, physical, and emotional states. Using the power of intuition provides a bridge to jump-start a writer’s work and get them back into the ‘flow’.
3 Intuitive Powers for Unlocking Writing Blocks
1.) Creative Infusion
First, we must find out the best way the writer works. Using the 5 senses is an excellent way to discover the ease and fluid way creative energy builds, which flows through and to a writer. By taking words out of the equation completely, working with a purely sensory experience, this allows creative energy to expand through different means. It also helps the writer become conscious of the different channels of awareness of perceiving the environment.
Sit back in a chair. Shut your eyes and put both feet on the floor. Then, envision a tree trunk rooting your bottom into your seat. Imagine roots extend from your ‘seat’ down into the floor, grounding you down into the earth. Next, explore with all your senses what lives below the ground. Let your imagination run wild creating the imaginary world beneath your feet. What does the earth feel like? Is it gritty, soft, smooth, or hard-packed? Are there sounds below the ground? Do small creatures dwell there, scuttling back and forth in the dirt? And are they aware of your presence in their home? What do they look like and how are their colors different?
While you do the exercise watch for tension in the body. Physical tension invades relaxation and blocks intuition. Breath deeply, move the tense areas vigorously up and down, shaking if you have to, working out the tension. Notice how the energy moves.
At this stage, you don’t want to write anything about your creative experience. Let the imagery move through the body inhabiting new pockets of space, sparking imagination. This spontaneity will invoke new ideas. Other intuitive meditations include burrowing into the tree, becoming an animal on one of the limbs, and even turning into a leaf shaking in the wind. The senses will quickly adapt and give a vivid sensory picture and feelings that take over. Draw the image out into pictures, but resist the urge to start writing immediately.
2.) Incubate
This second step is a ‘show don’t tell’ process. Meaning, don’t tell anyone your ideas. Keep all your creativity inside for a week. Incubate the idea until it builds into a massive snowball. Allowing this trust builds confidence and fosters the creation’s growth.
Use this time to determine how you best create. Everyone’s different. Some people are visual, they draw pictures and derive inspiration from photos, drafting, or coloring. Others write immediately. Then, there are those who use a recorder to process ideas out loud while they’re relaxed, when driving in a car or on a long walk. Don’t share ideas. When you do, they loose power. Recapturing that energy makes it harder to draw on the original power. Think of it like this: creativity lives in a deep well of the subconscious. Writing, it in it’s purest form, comes from a deep river of creativity which flows through all humans from our collective unconscious. A piece of this river resides inside you, in the invisible plane of the creative imagination.
When you incubate your ideas. Ask two questions:
- What is the idea you want to get across?
- What is the core essence? For example, what do you want to change with the work you are doing?
Narrow down this idea to your core message. Connect this idea to something that resonates powerfully within you. This is not a “have-to” idea. It must spring from a place of inspiration, excitement, joy, and purpose that lives inside your heart.
3. Provide Sacred Structure
Structure equals freedom. Your favorite comedians and the most gifted writers needed to know their field before they ventured out on the world stage. Once comfortable, then they expanded on their creative talents. Don’t expect to free form an idea with perfection on the first try. When a vulnerable writer gets ready to risk a new creative work, they need to know it is well developed.
Keep your writing practice schedule consistent. This primes the mind to get ready to work. The mind is a powerful instrument and once you begin to give it tasks, it will go in search for the answer. Work on your piece of writing every day. Each and every day you need to be writing it down, working on it, and always be inspired by it. This is why it’s crucial to love what you’re doing and the story you’re sharing. Begin with 30 minutes to an hour every day.
Courtney Marchesani is the creator of Intuitive Soul Language™. She designs breakthrough inspirational empowerment programs for traumatized individuals. As an award-winning coach and advocate, Courtney empowers others with her strategies learned from Wilhelm Reich’s character structure, Jacob Moreno’s psychodrama, and intuition. She is an Expressive Arts Therapy graduate student at the California Institute of Integral Studies.