Tuesday, February 18, 2025
Paying attention and being aware of what is happening outside is important but not as important as being attentive and self-aware of our inner landscape. Such an attitude leads you to a better understanding of yourself.
Physical changes and impermanence are perpetual. When life’s transient nature registers in our mind we hear the whispers of the primordial questions, “Is that all there is?” “Is there anything permanent?” “What is authentic about my life?” “What is that which truly makes me happy?”
In our younger years we pay attention to only our outer appearance, what we see reflected in the mirror. Our awareness is directed outward upon things, people, and places. With age, if we are fortunate, we turn inward towards the things that give meaning to our life, help us find a purpose. Each of us defines meaning and purpose differently. Different things make us happy.
Reading and writing make me happy. One year in my late 60’s, I decided to read, The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson, as part of my morning practice. Each day I read aloud several poems until one reverberated with my heart. I copied it in a notebook meant especially for this exercise. It took me one year to read aloud all 1775 poems and copy my favorite ones. By the end of that project I had 220 of Dickinson poems copied.
This exercise not only deepened my prose but also inspired a few poems of my own.
The poems underlined the significance of looking inward, to be in tune with the inner self, and to pay heed to its whispers. In short, to be mindful.
By now you have some idea of what mindfulness feels like. You are honing it daily. With mindfulness practice you are able to go into deeper levels of consciousness. The deeper you go, the darker it is. You find yourself in stark darkness but your inner mentor, the Authentic Self, is there to guide you. In Dickinson’s words, “I am out with lantern, looking for myself.” Your lantern is your mindfulness practice. What makes you happy?
Lorraine
Love the idea of your Dickinson project and copying your favorites. I will add this to my bucket list.
Jennifer D. Diamond
Good morning, Madhu! How lovely! Kathie Shoop taught me the value of copying poems with the Mindful Writers “Kooser Project.” Reading, writing, and being out in nature all make me happy! Thank you!J
Donna Lucas
Good evening, Madhu. What a wonderful year-long journey with Emily Dickinson that must have been. Sometimes, I listen to her poetry on Audible. I love the idea of writing down favorite poems for the reasons you stated.
Recently I was given an assignment in which I was to imitate Dickinson’s “Hope is the Thing with Feathers” by picking a different feeling/emotion than hope. My rewrite personified anger, and the first line was “Anger is the thing with fangs.” It was a valuable exercise that brought me closer to the original poem and poet and gave me a pattern to use to make my own.
What makes me happy? So many blessings to count. Thank you for being one of my greatest blessings. Because of you, I have a mindfulness practice filled with reading, writing, walking, journaling, meditating, and praying. My practice truly began on 1/1/2020. I’m forever grateful to have these tools that have transformed me by bringing me closer to my authentic self.
Because of your lasting influence, I attended my second Mindful Writers Retreat last week. It’s a true treasure to meditate with others to the sound and wisdom of your voice on your CD’s. Thank you, my dear mentor and friend. Namaste.
Love,
Donna
Madhu B. Wangu
Hi Lorraine,
Good plan! Choosing your favorite poet or writer and copying excerpts from one or several of their works can be extremely beneficial. In your case it could be a whole book as children’s books are comparatively much shorter.
Madhu B. Wangu
Good morning Jenn!
One winter after my year long journey with Emily Dickinson I too participated in “Kooser Project.” It was fun and stimulated my poetic sensibility. I’ve mentioned those months in the book, UNBLOCK.
Madhu B. Wangu
My dear friend Donna,
Congratulations on starting your 6th year of WMP! Thank you for your dedicated practice. You inspire me to continue and hone my own meditation practice as much as I seem to inspire you. I’m eternally grateful!
In addition to writing a good poem, your piece about anger must have alleviated the negative emotion as well. Right? That is the blessing of journaling in prose or poetry. And when it is written as a formal work we receive additional gifts of gratification and aesthetic pleasure.
Thank you so much for sharing this experience.