When the going gets tough, take it easy

Lately I’ve been hearing from friends in the Dreaming on the Page community (if you are reading this, that includes you!) who tell me these days, sitting down to write feels like trying to squeeze toothpaste out of an already flattened tube. 

Ugh! I’ve been there, too. Everyone else seems to be crowing about how juicy and delicious their writing time feels, and then I get to the page and it’s as though the gears in my mind are scraping metal against metal. That’s no fun.

Luckily, there’s an easy fix: Loosen the grip on your pen. Shake your fingers free of the keyboard for a moment. And let your subconscious mind take over. Here’s how to get started:

Enjoy this excerpt from Dreaming on the Page, my book about dreams and writing, where I share a lesson in writing from the dreamy side of the brain.

In the Subconscious Mind We Trust: Building a Relationship That Works

The first time I sat in a writing circle with Patricia Lee Lewis, an elegant woman with a lilting Texas accent, she told a story that made me wonder whether she was kooky or brilliant. On a break from working as a trail cook in her youth, she set out on a solo cross-country adventure. While others would rely on maps and guidebooks, Lewis packed a pendulum. She decided where to camp and which direction to set off in based on whether the weighted pendant hanging from a chain swung back and forth or in circles, communicating either a yes or a no.

As it turns out, this anecdote illustrated the philosophy Lewis uses to guide her writing and her pedagogy as a teacher. Just as she trusted that pendulum to determine which road to follow and where to pitch her tent, she also encourages her students to trust their subconscious minds to lead their writing along the path it needs to take.

Over the years that I’ve studied and taught with Lewis, she has been a role model for me. Her example helped me renew my faith in my own commitment to nurturing a relationship with my dreams, intuition, and creativity—and to value writing as an art form that brings them all together.

Prompt: Make a Contract with Your Subconscious

In Zen in the Art of Writing, Ray Bradbury emphasizes the importance of the writer developing a healthy relationship with the subconscious mind. How? By having faith in your intuition and dreams. To practice this, decide that each morning this week you’ll take the first words or dream image you wake up thinking about, and put them into your writing.

Keep a pen and paper beside your bed. Use them to jot down a line or image from your dreamy mind in the morning. Then write:

1. I woke with this word or image today: _____________________________

2. When you get to your desk, set your timer for four to seven minutes and begin to write.

3. Insert your word into your piece before the timer chimes.

4. That’s it: You’ve kept your contract with the subconscious— and you’ve added a flash of the unexpected to your writing. Keep writing.

Even if what you write using this prompt seems silly or unproductive at first, stick with it and see where it leads. The trick is to honor the relationship between your conscious and subconscious mind. When you do, you build your intuitive muscles and strengthen the bond between your inner and outer selves.

From Dreaming on the Page: Tap into Your Midnight Mind to Supercharge Your Writing ©️ 2023 Tzivia Gover, Third House Moon LLC, All Rights Reserved.

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