I met Natalie Goldberg at a half-day workshop offered through Pacifica Graduate Institute, where studies focus on depth psychology (think Jung). Natalie led us in her signature free writing exercise, timer and all (she used a gong). She taught gently (yet firmly) the importance of holding sacred, on a daily basis, our first words.
Those rough gems that spill onto the page are golden. The gold is sometimes apparent, sometimes not. Those first words may lead to the gold. That’s why: never judge, just notice.
What to do next will be made clear.
Get yourself a timer. Trust the direction you’ll be taken.
By Natalie: Writing Down the Bones, Wild Mind, Old Friend From Far Away.
Photo by Bakr Magrabi