Are you having problems working through a certain issue in your life? If you’re feeling stuck or if you feel upset for no apparent reason, a round of spiral writing may bring you closer to the source of your agitation. It’s not a complicated thing to do but it may take some time so give yourself a gift of that time. You’re worth it!
— First, quickly look back at some of your recent writings.
— Choose one sentence or part of a sentence that sticks out to you. It may not have any apparent relevance but if it sticks out then that’s the one.
— On a fresh, clean page copy that one part from your previous journalling and then don’t look back at the other page again.
— Now, using the free writing method from lesson 5, write from the sentence copied at the top of the page. Write until you feel like you’re all written out. Like nothing else could possibly come from that ‘old’ thought. Don’t put a time or length limit on your writing.
— K, take a short break if you need to, for the potty, or refreshing your coffee, but not too long.
— Now, read back over the writing that you just did.
— Pick a sentence from that writing, copy it on the top of another clean, fresh page and start writing again on this new sentence without looking back at the old writing. Make sure you always start each time with a new page.
— Keep doing this until you feel written out in each new sentence and keep doing it until you feel totally written out, totally.
Make sense? It may take 2 or 3 sets but, then again, it could take many more. As you write and as you look back you may find that things get a little less fuzzy. Give it a try and don’t let your internal editor try to control what you write. The point is to figure stuff out not to write beautifully.
©Tracey, CSM 2002
