The Author - Spring 2002 - (UK)
OM's The Word: Meditation and writing
If
it wasn't for meditation I might never have become a
published author. A bold claim you may say, and of course
impossible to prove. But the facts are these: between
the ages of eighteen and thirty four I wrote ten complete
novels, all of which were rejected by publishers on
both sides of the Atlantic. Then within about eight
months of starting my meditation practice - for reasons
which had nothing to do with writing and everything
to do with stress management - I landed my first publishing
deal. I hadn't even had to write a book to get it, as
my first contract was based on a four page outline and
a few sample chapters.
As much as I would like to claim to have discovered a meditation technique which provides direct access to sure-fire publishing concepts, the reality is somewhat more prosaic, though no less powerful. An important benefit of meditation is that it brings about enhanced objectivity. The analogy I like is that just as a glass of murky storm- water will, if allowed to settle, become transparent, so too the process of meditation reveals the world around us with an unprecedented clarity. In my own case I discovered that for years I had been writing about all manner of subjects except the one I knew best of all. Consigning to the loft all my unpublished action adventures, coming-of-age weepies and sex-and-shopping delectations, I turned my attention instead to an exposé of the dark arts of spin-doctoring - the industry in which I had built my career.
That's all very well, you may say, but I don't need to waste hours on my backside just to get to the 'write about what you know about' cliché. Okay, perhaps I am a slow learner. But the fact remains that when we allow ourselves a break from the ceaseless swirl of internal chatter, distractions and fantasies that otherwise preoccupy us, our minds have the most remarkable ability to provide those resources which we most need at the time.
I see a parallel here between the way that we prepare for our work and the way that other professionals approach theirs. You won't find gymnasts or golf players devoting all their time to the parallel bars or being ferried about the links. They will, instead, pursue rigorous gym routines or spend hours on the driving range perfecting their swing, all the time preparing to operate at peak performance. Musicians similarly don't while away their mornings on concertos and symphonic scores, but instead practice relentless scales and technical studies so that when their centre-stage moment comes they are able to glory in the freedom of expression with consummate ease.
In our case, it's our minds requiring the work-out and it is my experience, but by no means mine alone, that the practice of single-pointed concentration ensures that when we approach the empty screen, we do so with the powerful advantages of improved concentration, creativity and stamina. Mark Twain's observation that 'the hardest thing about being a writer is keeping the seat of your pants attached to the seat of the chair,' is a challenge, if not the challenge, most of us have to grapple with every day. But if we are prepared to endure the self-discipline of mind training, it is inevitable that we will become far better at ignoring distractions and focusing on our creative performance.
What of the performance itself? Another benefit is the enhanced sense of serenity which begins to permeate our lives when we practice meditation regularly. Most of us have our best ideas when we're relaxing, whether it's in the bath, walking the dog or down the pub. If relaxation is the most conducive of states for creative thinking, why leave it to such episodic incidents? Why not have it on tap more consistently? Which isn't to say that regular meditators spend their entire lives blissed-out. But their ability to manage stress and remain stable, even in the face of adversity, is well-documented.
A plethora of scientific studies investigating the effects of meditation have been undertaken over the past twenty years. These have shown consistent benefits both physiologically - reduced tension, enhanced resistance to illness - as well as psychologically - increased concentration, improved sense of well-being. So it is small wonder meditation practices are now entering the mainstream of medical, corporate and creative activity in America and Australia, if more slowly in Britain. For writers in particular, a visit to any West Hollywood bookstore will reveal the growing interest in the application of meditation to creativity, although the irony is sometimes missed that many of the 'advances' being touted are nothing more than the rediscovery of techniques which have been available for at least two and a half thousand years.
Which is all very well, the cynics may say, but if meditation is so fantastic why aren't you storming the best-seller charts? Well, such charts may reveal all kinds of trends, but they are no indicator of the creative ease with which a book came into being, nor the happiness quotient of its author. But if one wants to measure effectiveness in tangible terms, in my own case meditation has helped me first, become a publisher writer and second, make a comfortable, if not lavish, living from doing what I love. And who knows, best-sellerdom may yet come - it is certainly remains an objective.
But, if I may end on a very personal note, probably the biggest difference between the way am now, and the way I used to be before I began meditating, is that I am no longer quite so obsessed about my writing ambitions. Yes, I would like to top the best-seller charts, but I also know that whatever satisfaction this brings will soon pass. This isn't a defeatist attitude, merely the recognition that enduring happiness doesn't come from outside us, but from within. It is also the discovery that by clinging less to our goals, paradoxically, makes them more likely to be realised. Perhaps the greatest meditation benefit of all is the perspective it gives us about what really matters.
(For anyone interested in learning to meditate, I'd recommend 'How to Meditate' by Lawrence LeShan, first published in 1974 and still in print.)
David Michie's third novel, 'Expiry Date' was published
by Little Brown in May 2002.
Visit his website - www.davidmichie.com
By David Michie