As I have mentioned in class before, Autumn is the time of year for clearing out and letting go of the past - clearing out the clutter of negative thought patterns, old ideas that do no longer serve nor support us, clearing a space within for planting the seeds of new creative ideas for what you want to manifest in the coming year. Writing the pages can be done any time morning or evening but works best when done first thing in the morning – every morning for the rest of your life!!! If you find you are awake in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep, get up and write the pages. If you have a busy head before sleep, write the pages before bedtime. Put simply, writing the pages are three pages of writing a continuous stream of consciousness. You just start moving the pen across the page, writing whatever comes into your head. Here is an example of what it might look like:
‘’ I don’t want to get up. Another bloddy busy day. I never have time for myself. When will this lockdown be over? I have to go to see the bank manager. I have a headache. I don’t have anything nice to wear. I forgot to bring the books back to the library, I am so stupid. God, I have to get the kids out for school, there’s no lunch made. I feel lousy, I think I might be getting a flu. Where did I put the aspirin? I hope my mother is ok, I have to call in and check on her. Mary Jane should be doing her bit and helping out with minding her. It’s just not fair. How am I going to get everything done? I am so tired. I am going to be late. Oh my back aches. I wonder who won the US elections. I have to do the shopping. I don’t get paid till Friday & don’t have enough money. I am so fed up. I have no time for that busy biddy next door, I hope I don’t run into her today. What was that dream I had last night – monkeys and donkeys? Blah, blah, blah, blah……’’. Keep writing until you fill three pages. If you find the thinking stops at any stage, write down ‘I am not thinking anything now’, or write anything till you have filled three pages. Do not try to edit what you are writing. You might call this ‘brain drain’, as this is one of the main functions of this exercise. There is no right or wrong way to do this, just simply try to write as fast as you are thinking, get it all out onto the page and don’t be particular about your handwriting. Nothing is too silly, petty, weird or stupid to be included.
These pages are not meant to sound intelligent, but sometimes they may do. Most of the time they won’t and nobody will ever know except you. Sometimes they may be colourful but are often negative, fragmented, self pitying, angry, repetitive and bland. Nobody is allowed to see or read your pages except you. You shouldn’t even read over them yourself, at least not for the first few weeks. You write three full pages and stick them in an envelope or just turn them over and do the same the following day. If you like, you can burn the pages and see all the negative thoughts transforming in the fire into positive thoughts. Don’t look back over them. They are not for analysing, judging or criticising, though you might get a good laugh!!! Just write three pages and write three more the next day, and the next day….. Worry thoughts, fearful thoughts, angry thoughts, judgemental thoughts, happy thoughts, write them all down, leave nothing out! Just keep writing. You don’t have to believe every thought that comes into your head.
A little note on right and left brain. Right brain is connected to our emotions, intuition, instincts, creativity and thinks in terms of patterns and shadings, images, stories, myths, symbols. It is the inventor, explorer, the inner child and it likes to play. It pulls images together to give meaning to the otherwise mundane. When you paint a picture, bake a cake, walk in the forest, watch a good movie, dance, sing, your right brain says ‘’Wow, this is so much fun, you are so clever and brilliant……lets go on an adventure’’ Left brain is our thinking, logic, reasoning brain and is our survival brain and likes to work on known principles, to keep us safe, it does not like uncertainty. Anything unknown is perceived as a threat. Left brain likes things to be orderly, in a straight line and stay the same, it does not like change. It likes to be in control. In times of uncertainty we can fall into a pit of mulling worrying or fearful thoughts over and over, and this can be exhausting. When change happens it will kick up a fuss, saying things like, ‘’that’s not right, what the hell do you think you are doing, you are not good enough, you are going to look stupid….’’ This is our inner critic and it loves to give us a hard time. Writing the pages tells the left brain to stand aside and let the right brain play a little.
Look at the pages, like a bin – empty everything out of your head. Always remember whatever your inner critic says is never the truth, their opinion does not matter, dump it all. By pouring all out onto the pages, we learn to evade the critic and get to the other side of our fear, our negativity and of our moods. Most of all writing the pages gets us to that still quiet place within where we can hear that small, gentle voice of our inner child, our creative force within!
After a few weeks of writing the pages, you may notice a change in the flow of thoughts/consciousness.
Have fun with this, don’t take it too seriously, and please do let me know how you get on with it. If you have any questions, please do give me a text.