The Mindful Storyteller in You: New Program Fall 2023

 

The Mindful Storyteller in You   Presented by Alexandria Peary  What stories connect you to the Granite State? In this workshop led by New Hampshire State Poet Laureate Alexandria Peary, we'll focus on jumpstarting your most important place-based stories. You'll practice mindful writing techniques that offer a fresh way to start a story you may have contemplated telling for a while, and in the process, could discover unexpected stories that have been waiting to be told. Developing an openness to the present moment, you'll free yourself from thinking there are stories you "should" write. Learn how to practice "moment tracking" to develop a path your story may take. The session will close with strategies to continue the creative momentum at home and give you more tools to finish your story. We'll also talk about how to remain receptive to changes in the draft, keeping an open mind about its final form through genres like flash nonfiction, the personal essay, and prose poetry. Choose your date and location: Wednesday, September 20 at 5:00 pm Wayfarer Roasters Downtown Café, 626 Main Street, Laconia RSVP Friday, October 6 at 2:30 pm AVA Gallery, 11 Bank Street, Lebanon RSVP Saturday, October 21 at 10:30 am Historical Society of Cheshire County, 246 Main Street, Keene RSVP

As part of our multi-year initiative, Becoming New Hampshire, these workshops will culminate in a heartfelt and lively on-stage conversation between New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult and New Hampshire Poet Laureate Alexandria Peary in Jodi Picoult and the Writing Life: More Than a Good Story at the New Hampshire Humanities Annual Celebration on Wednesday, November 8 at 5 pm at The Palace Theatre. DETAILS

Essay on Creative Emptiness for National Poetry Month

 

I've published a piece at WBUR's Cognoscenti on mindful writing to celebrate National Poetry Month. It's about how I handle creative emptiness and also about how poetry started in my life because of a medication and birth defects. 

You can find the article here.

Online Talk on Mindful Writing (April 14, 2023)

 

I'll be giving a Mindful Writing presentation for NH Humanities on April 14, 2023,  5 PM EST. This talk is sponsored by NH Humanities and is online & free to the public. 

This Very Moment is Perfect for Writing

Mindful writing is the nonjudgmental observation of the ever-changing present to gain a healthy perspective on our internalized critics, better manage our preconceptions, and enjoy access to continuously arising wording and ideas. Mindfulness at the desk leads to increased self-confidence in our creativity and stronger connection with others. This session provides an overview of mindful writing as well as hands-on practice with techniques easily replicated later at home.

Registration required:

https://www.nhhumanities.org/programs/1564/this-very-moment-is-perfect-for-writing

Panel at the University of New Hampshire Deep Time Lab

I'll be talking about mindful writing as a panelist at the University of New Hampshire's Deep Time Lab this Tuesday. 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM.

Deep Time Lab: The Present is the first in a three-part series of community conversations exploring how we situate ourselves within Time. The series explores new connections between past, present, and potential futures through the research of UNH faculty and community scholars. The conversation is a compliment to the Solastalgic Archive and Deep Time Lab exhibition at the Museum of Art. The exhibition asks viewers to consider living in our current age of accelerated change, which reveals that there is not a single, predictable future. Panelists will explore the idea that history is a story that can be retold and revised: What will be is being scripted right now.

Deep Time Lab: The Present features a conversation between Dr. Cristina Faiver-Serna, UNH Department of Geography and Women's and Gender Studies, Dr. Alexandria Peary, Salem State University and New Hampshire Poet Laureate, and Dr. Tu Lan, UNH Department of Geography. Join us to explore time as a language, a measure, loss, abundance, a social context, a scientific principle, a spiritual space, and a cultural expression.

This event is a hybrid in-person and Zoom event. Location: room A218 in the Paul Creative Arts Center. Registration is required to attend the program via Zoom.

Register to attend via Zoom here.

Joins us for all events in this series, Deep Time Lab: The Past on October 27th and Deep Time Lab: The Future, on November 3rd.

Deep Time Lab: The Present compliments the exhibition the Solastalgic Archive and Deep Time Lab on view at the Museum of Art through December 3, 2022. 

Free Mindful Writing Event for Students

Mindful Writing Event for Students

Next week, I'll be presenting to students (from any school in the country) ways to use mindfulness to become less stressed about writing. This session will last around 50 minutes, is free for students, and is happening online.

Registration required: register here.

October 3, 2022—Downgrade Doubt & Procrastination: This session is designed for middle school to college-aged students. Teachers are welcome to sit in and observe. If you’ve been slogging through a writing task, a powerful transformation can happen just by switching your attention to the present moment. The battle of self-doubt and procrastination that has been raging in you turns into a temple of self-respect and focused calm. In this session, we’ll walk through a series of quick steps at the desk to reduce writing worry through mindfulness so that, within minutes, you’ll be starting or continuing that writing assignment.

NEW Article on Mindful Writing, "Mantra of Intention"

 

I've published a new article on mindful writing, "Mantra of Intention," at New Writing: International Journal for the Practice and Theory of Creative Writing

The article will be reprinted in Creative Writing: Stimulus, Intention and Process," forthcoming from Routledge, edited by Graeme Harper.

ABSTRACT

The single most impactful intention a writer can set isn't to work every day, or finish a draft by a circled date on the calendar, or keep submitting work in the face of editorial rejection. It's to prioritize observing the present moment above word count, above stylistic concerns, above reaching a target audience, above any other aspect of composing. From this one simple intention to remain mindful desk-side cascades a series of alterations in our approach to process that causes minor to major stressors to fall to the wayside, leading to increased verbal output and a more positive outlook toward writing. Prioritizing the writing Now annuls our fixation on product or outcome that stunts invention; it helps us better appreciate the nuances of prewriting and the nonverbal; it casts a spotlight on the chimerical nature of the audiences who constrain us; it honors our writing body and our writing emotions.

Other Mindful Resources for You from Me:

Prolific Moment: Theory and Practice of Mindfulness for Writing (Routledge 2018). 

"How Mindfulness Can Transform the Way You Write," TEDx, available on YouTube

"The Role of Mindfulness in Kairos," Rhetoric Review

Mindful Writing Webinar Series for National Council of Teachers of English (scroll down): https://ncte.org/rsvp-mindful-writing-series/

Stay tuned: Mindful Writing How-To Video in conjunction with National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)

Online Graduate Course in Mindful Writing, Salem State University, September-December 2021 [registration closes soon] https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/8298431477138846862/1285101924950942369

Mindful Writing Workshops for New Hampshire Families Affected by Addiction

I'll be offering three online mindful writing workshops for the Kinship Program through the New Hampshire Children's Trust for grandparents and caretakers of children whose parents are impacted by addiction. 

This work is part of my initiative as state poet laureate to offer mindful writing to New Hampshire residents affected by the opioid crisis and has the support of the Academy of American Poets.

Participants are encouraged to attend all three sessions to receive the full benefits of the workshop series. Workshop session dates and times are as follows online:

February 24, 6:30-7:30 pm March 3, 6:30-7:30 pm March 10, 6:30-7:30 pm This event is open to everyone with a focus on families experiencing the effects of substance use disorder.

YouTube Video about Program

Workshop Description:

What is mindful writing? Why try it? Mindfulness can help us deal with difficult thoughts and experiences with self-compassion, and these benefits are amplified when mindfulness is combined with writing. Mindful writing helps us see the constant change happening around us so that we realize we're not as stuck as we might think we are. Mindful writing shows us how to balance observation with detachment so that we don't become attached to difficult thoughts and emotions, including the sorrow, stress, fear, and anger that surfaces for people whose family members struggle with addiction. In each session, participants learn a guided meditation and an easy-to-practice writing activity including "Already Perfect Meditation," "Loving-Kindness Meditation", and keeping a "Mind List." Participants decide whether they want to share any of the writing they create; their writing can stay private (unshared). These workshops offer a supportive environment where writing and mindfulness are used to take care of the self.

For information or to register: https://www.nhchildrenstrust.org/mindful-writing

New Mindful Writing Webinar Starts Tomorrow (Saturday, January 8) at NCTE

The future seems brighter, but at the same time, increasingly more is asked of teachers. We face furloughs, policy changes, and classrooms that are online one day and in person the next — all the while needing to grade, prepare lessons, and serve the emotional needs and well-being of our students. We are at risk for burn-out and COVID fatigue. This series will help teachers refuel and find balance as we take the turn into a new year. 

In each session, participants will be invited to do a guided meditation and then a restorative activity that combines writing with mindfulness, including already-perfect meditation, working with preconceptions and story lines, caricature of our internalized critics, and mantra for self-compassion. Along the way we will revisit and practice a few of the mindfulness activities from the September series. By writing in the moment, we can relax into the present and take care of ourselves.

Some sessions will include guest speakers and experts on mindfulness with an opportunity for Q–&-A. Guest speakers will be listed below as they are confirmed.

Please note: This series is not sequential. Feel free to join one, two, or any number of the sessions—whatever works with your schedule. Each date will be a unique time to get together and meet you where you are. 

There is no cost for this event for active NCTE members. Not yet a member? Join us! Nonmembers also have the option to participate for $10 per session ($60 for the series); you will need to create an NCTE account to register. To register: https://ncte.org/rsvp-mindful-writing-series/

On January 23 our guest is Christa Turksma. On February 13 our guest is Dido Balla. 

Webinar on Mindful Writing (January and February 2021)

 

If you're looking for a way to mindfully manage pandemic stress or learn more about mindful writing to benefit your writing practice, you're invited to an upcoming mindful writing webinar!

This January & February, the National Council of Teachers of English is hosting a sequel of my Mindful Writing Series. The sessions are designed for anyone (no need to be a teacher) dealing with pandemic stress or curiosity about mindful writing/mindfulness. See site for non-member registration fee and for videos of the September webinar: NCTE Mindful Writing Series

In each session, participants will be invited to do a guided meditation and then a restorative activity that combines writing with mindfulness, including already-perfect meditation, working with preconceptions and story lines, caricature of our internalized critics, and mantra for self-compassion. We will revisit and practice a few of the mindfulness activities from the September series. Some sessions will include guest speakers and experts on mindfulness with an opportunity for Q&A; guest speakers will be announced as they are confirmed.

By writing in the moment, we can relax into the present and take care of ourselves.

Desk Meditations

 

Here are a few techniques to remember to be present while writing. Stick to the same method for a week (or change it up); use the desk meditation at the same time, at the start / in the middle / at the close of the writing session (or change that up, too). Please note that “desk” can be metaphoric: you don’t need to actually sit at your desk. For instance, some people who have used these meditations in the past in my workshops prefer to write outside.

Seated Meditation I

 Sit in a comfortable position and observe your inhalation and exhalation for 5-10 minutes. Breathing in, think to yourself, “Here.” Breathing out, think to yourself, “Now.” When the seated meditation minutes are finished, freewrite between 250-300 words to these questions: Do you notice any differences between your physical state pre- and post-meditation? Do you notice any differences between your mental state pre- and post-meditation? Don’t judge what you experienced; just record.

Seated Meditation II

 Sit in a comfortable position and observe your inhalation and exhalation for 5-10 minutes. Breathing in, think to yourself, “Here.” Breathing out, think to yourself, “Now.” When the seated meditation minutes are finished, freewrite between 250-300 words to these questions:  looking around, what do you notice about your present moment? The one at hand? Is there anything about your present circumstances you didn’t notice prior to the meditation? Don’t judge what you notice or experience; just record.

Windshield Wipers

 Do a traditional seated meditation, watching your breathing (Seated Meditation I or II). This time, however, your intent is to use breathing to clear the mental slate of self-talk. Draw your attention fully to the physical sensations of breathing. Each time you sense self-talk (it could be a single word, a phrase, a fragment, full sentences) arise in your mind, use your next inhalation to wipe away that language, like a windshield wiper blade rising and gently pushing aside beads of rain or flakes of snow. Use the accompanying exhalation to enjoy a blue sky mind, clear of language. Repeat each time you hear language in your awareness. Afterwards, see if you notice whether anything has shifted in you after this temporary reprieve from inner talk.

 Purpose: Gives us an experience in bare awareness as discussed by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana in Mindfulness in Plain English: a moment before language sets in, along with its judgments and evaluations.

Mindful Freewriting

This is non-stop writing, as described by Peter Elbow, but with a twist. Try to observe your letters and words as they’re forming, keep some awareness on your inhalation and exhalation while writing. Mindfully freewrite for five minutes and either turn in that freewrite as one of your desk meditations or (if you would like to keep that freewrite private), freewrite a second time between 250-300 words, describing your experience (what you noticed, difficulties, joys, etc.) doing your mindful freewrite a few minutes before.

Purpose: Makes our internal talk visible and conscious, preventing it from carrying us off into mindlessness. Freewriting also means seeing impermanence: turning to the ever-changing moment in order to find new words and keep writing. Mindful freewriting adds the extra awareness of the body.

10 Mindful Breaths 

See this blog for details (change 20 to 10 breaths): Mindful Breaths 

Purpose:  similar to “Yoga for Hands,” an embodied writing activity to draw attention to the Now. Mindful breathing is like freewriting: it’s a powerful baseline activity.

 Yoga for Hands (mini version)

 [Here’s the full version for your reference: Yoga for Hands ]

 Instead of a full body yoga scan (which we did for a recent assignment), stick just to hands. Start with a brief seated meditation for about one minute. With a gently tall posture, hands on your knees, breathing in, think to yourself, “Here.” Breathing out, think to yourself, “Now.” When your mind wanders away from attention to the breath, gently guide it back. Next, move your hands to your keyboard or to your pen/pencil/notebook and begin to freewrite. The topic of this freewrite is the sensation of your fingertips touching the keys or holding the pen/pencil. Do this for a minute. Try to notice moment-to-moment changes in the sensation of writing or typing, continuing to watch your breathing. Next, make the topic of the freewrite noticing how your bones are moving inside your writing fingers. Watch the finger bones' complex activity.  Perhaps a simile or metaphor occurs for that activity: what does it remind you of? Continue to watch your breathing. Extend your attention to your palm and the back of your hands as you write. Describe those sensations in the freewrite. Turn in this freewrite as one of your desk meditations.

Purpose: drawing attention to the writing body means drawing attention off past- or future-based thinking to the now. If you’re noticing your body, you’re noticing it in the Now.

Ghost Hunt

See my TEDx talk for background information on this desk meditation: How Mindfulness Can Transform the Way You Write  Wait for a moment when you find yourself procrastinating or even slightly hesitating with a piece of writing. Watching your breath, freewrite 250-300 words to the following questions:

-Is there anyone “watching” you right now, reading your writing over your shoulder?

-Who is this person (an audience ghost could be a composite of several people)?

-What’s the audience ghost’s effect on your writing experience?

-If the audience ghost is unhelpful, what’s one measure you could take right now to control their proximity?

Purpose: To become less ensnared by mindless self talk. To better see how we talk ourselves into believing our in-progress writing is already visible to a future reader(s). To take measure to notice our actual writing circumstances—its distance from time and space from future readers.

Disposable Writing

Do a traditional seated meditation (watching inhalation and exhalation) (Seated Meditation I or II) to ground yourself in the moment for 3-5 minutes. Then freewrite for 10 minutes, erasing or shredding the freewrite afterwards. In a 50-word freewrite, describe what it feels like for you to have written knowing that you would not be holding onto any of it.

 Purpose: To practice acknowledging impermanence and learn to see constant change as a writer’s ally and resource.  

* Image from fivepillarsyoga.com

Mindful Writing Talk for National Council of Teachers of English, Monday, May 4, 2020, 4 PM EST

I'm delighted to be returning to the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) to give an hour-long presentation on mindful writing for Teacher Appreciation Week, this Monday, May 4, 2020, 4-5 PM EST. 

More info and sign up button: https://ncte.org/events/teacher-appreciation-week/

Description:

In this interactive session, we’ll explore reasons and methods for making present time the centerpiece of the writing process. By focusing on the present, we cast new light on standard instructional components (audience, invention, and revision) while highlighting often overlooked aspects of the writing experience (impermanence, the monkey mind of self-talk, preconceptions about writing ability and assignment, and audience demons). We’ll discuss the downside of mindlessness, or future- and past-oriented thinking, for writers as a source of writing blocks. Much is lost when we overlook the present moment because we forfeit rewarding writing experiences in exchange for stress, frustration, boredom, and shortchanged creativity. With a more mindful approach to writing, every moment can become a prolific moment, productive and calm, for teachers and students. Participants will leave the session with two activities to help teach mindful writing in the online or face-to-face classroom.

Using Mindfulness to Write: Free Online Talk on Friday, April 24, 2020, 5 PM, EST

I'll be giving an online interactive talk, "Present Moment, Prolific Moment: Using Mindfulness to Write," for the New Hampshire Humanities Council this Friday, April 24, at 5 PM, EST. Feel free to join us!

Here's the sign-up link: https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07eh1t0edj59b3beee&oseq=&c=b0c83b7a-2e6b-11ea-a6fd-d4ae52754db0&ch=b0c94704-2e6b-11ea-a6fd-d4ae52754db0

Here's the talk description: Writing can become much more fulfilling if we think of it as happening right Now. Much is lost when we overlook the present moment because we forfeit rewarding writing experiences in exchange for stress, frustration, boredom, fear, and shortchanged invention and creativity. Through mindfulness, we can reduce our writing apprehension and the writing blocks that come from future- or past-oriented thinking. In this presentation, we discuss writing tools that emerge when present time is highlighted. Participants will learn basic strategies to incorporate mindfulness into their writing lives.

This Very Moment is Perfect (with Mindful Writing): Online Presentation I'll Be Giving on Monday, April 20, noon, EST

On Monday, April 20, at noon EST, I'll be giving an online talk for our COVID-19 time, "This Very Moment is Perfect (with Mindful Writing), for the Mindful Moments Series sponsored by Southern New Hampshire University. Details are below. 

We hope you enjoyed the last installment of Mindful Moments online and are ready to learn more about keeping calm! Please join Alexandria Peary and the rest of the Mindful team today at 12:00PM to hear more about This Very Moment is Perfect (with Mindful Writing).

Click the link to join the session: http://snhu.adobeconnect.com/mindfulmoments4/

Today’s Session Description:

Description: Mindfulness can help people deal with difficult thoughts and experiences with self-compassion: those benefits are amplified when mindfulness is combined with writing. In 30 minutes, we’ll discuss ways to use mindful writing to redirect attention to the present moment (useful for grounding ourselves in the now and gaining better control of our thoughts). Activities will include a Mind List and Yoga for Hands. The goal is to develop calm awareness through writing, to find equanimity by dwelling in the present moment, perfect moment.

Alexandria Peary, MFA, MFA, PhD is the author of Prolific Moment: Theory and Practice of Mindfulness for Writing. She has given talks on mindful writing for the International Writing Program, Imperial College of London, Southern Vermont College, and the New Hampshire Poetry Festival. She has guest blogged on mindful writing for the National Council of Teachers of English and the North American Review, the country's oldest literary magazine. She serves as Poet Laureate of New Hampshire, and several of her initiatives as poet laureate focus on mindful writing. Find more information at https://newhampshirepoetlaureate.blogspot.com/

If you know of a SNHU staff or faculty member that would like to join in, please forward them this email and encourage them to join our mindful mailing list at  http://bit.ly/MindfulnessConferenceSignUp

Stay positive and healthy!

Gratefully,

The Mindful Team

Yoga for Hands for NCTE Online Member Gathering, Tuesday, April 7, 2020

More often than not, thinking about the fingers as they type would probably do a stuck or anxious writer far more good than thinking about audience.

This is an exercise to draw attention to the Present moment and be able to mindfully write.

Start with a brief seated meditation. With a gently tall posture, hands on your knees, breathing in, think to yourself, “Here.”  Breathing out, think to yourself, “Now.” When your mind wanders away from attention to the breath, gently guide it back.

Next, move your hands to your keyboard or to your pen/pencil/notebook and begin to freewrite. Freewriting means non-stop, non-judgmental writing intended for no audience but yourself. I’ll pass you a quote for this exercise: “This very moment is perfect for writing,” which you could  you modify to “This very moment is perfect” as a way to attune to our current global situation.

While you freewrite about the quote, continue to watch your breathing. Breathing in, think to yourself, “Here.” Breathing out, “Now.”

Keep freewriting but turn your attention to the sensation of your fingertips touching the keys or holding the pen/pencil. Change the topic of your freewrite to describing only that sensation. Do this for a minute. Try to notice moment-to-moment changes in the sensation while watching your breathing.

Keep freewriting. This time, notice how your bones are moving inside your writing fingers and make that sensation the subject of the freewrite. Watch the finger bones' complex activity. Feel their movement. If these were not your finger bones moving, what would you compare this movement to (simile or metaphor)? Continue to watch your breathing.

Extend your attention now to your palm and the back of your hands as you write. Describe the sensations in the freewrite.

Then move to your wrists and lower arms.  Describe that sensations in the freewrite.

Shift your attention—all the while watching your breath—to your torso and legs. Then to your shoulders and neck. Then to your face. Then to your forehead. Then to the crown or top of your head. 

To close, shift your attention as you write to the rest of your body. What muscular sensations, changes in temperature, tension, and so forth are present as you write?

At this point, you could turn to a writing assignment or project for the day. You may find yourself calmer, more present-minded, and most importantly, more aware of your own inner dialog than when you started the yoga-for-hands session. This state of mind will increase your focus and let you work. You can also use Yoga for Hands just to become more aware of the present moment through writing.

Try these steps again on another occasion and switch your method (try handwriting or try typing). The use of a pen or pencil will generate a whole different awareness of the present moment of writing, for example.

(If you liked this post, try out "Corpse Pose for Writing" from 3/9/2015. It's another embodied writing technique.)

20 Mindful Writing Breaths for Calm During COVID-19

I'm finding mindful writing to be an incredible practice each morning during the COVID pandemic. I'm grateful for the oasis of focus and calm it is providing me and would like to share one of my grounding techniques.

20 Breaths

Preparing to Write:

Find a quiet location and draw your mind to the point at which air enters and exits your nose. (Don’t listen to music.) Put aside your other thoughts: redirect your attention to your breathing for at least a minute before starting to write this exercise.

Next, breathing in, think “here.” Breathing out, think “now.” Repeat for a minute. If you find your mind wandering, it’s no big deal. Just gently guide your thoughts back to breathing.

Writing: 
Describe what a single breath feels like physically. Watching the inhalation, notice the breathing-in as a brand-new event—as though it has never happened to you before. Watching the exhalation, notice the breathing-out as a brand-new event—as though it has never happened to you before.

Stop for a moment. Number this breath: Breath 1.

Write 3-4 phrases or 1-2 sentences about Breath 1.

For instance, you could try answering a few of these questions: Where did you feel the breath in your body? With what did the breath make contact? What moved or changed in your body because of the single breath? How long did the breath seem to last? What was the temperature of the breath? 

To head in a more poetic direction, if the breath possessed a shape, what shape would it have? If the breath was an object, what kind of object might it be? If the breath came in a color, what color or colors? If the breath was a single word or phrase, what would that be?

Repeat until you’ve described twenty breaths.

The purpose of this exercise is to use writing to retrain the mind to pay attention to the present. For the times we're all living in right now, watching our breathing through writing can ground us and lead to a calm outlook. Ultimately, this will help you pay attention to the present while you write, which will carry all sorts of benefits in terms of your outlook about writing and the ideas you reach.

* Image from Shondaland.com