Author: Allan Johnson

Journaling to Support Creativity

Posted on by Allan Johnson in creativity, habits

I’ve kept a daily journal for almost twenty years.  It’s served many different purposes throughout the years, but has always offered me many benefits and has become a regular part of my daily ritual. In The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron suggests to her readers to begin each morning by writing three pages of stream-of-consciousness writing in longhand form. The topic of these ‘Morning Pages’ is not predetermined, nor are there any explicit goals or objectives for the content of the entries themselves. Rather, Cameron saw these three longhand pages as a vital way to clear the air for creative thinking, and bring focus back to the creative process.

Your entries might be completely and utterly mundane, but new insights and observations can emerge from this daily stream-of-consciousness writing more often than one imagines. Cameron also reasserts the importance of writing the Morning Pages out longhand, in order to stabilise the rate of thinking and the rate of writing, and to highlight the important physical connection between thinking and writing. 

By setting aside time each day to write about and reflect on your current projects, you will immediately be bringing a new level of focus to your work that might not be achieved otherwise. Many creative professionals find it helpful to begin each day by writing an entry in their research journal. They might review what they wrote about their reading yesterday, and use their daily entry as a jumping off point, or a ‘to-do’ list for the day ahead. There is also certainly a meditative aspect to this type of reflective writing, which can help to give you the motivation and focus to tackle the next step of your writing. 

Morning pages also allow you to record and analyse your own behaviours and habits as a creative. Do your entries suggest to you that you tend to do your best work in the morning? If so, then by all means examine your daily schedule and see how you can best accommodate this. Your research journal can serve to capture some subtle but very important insights about your own unique approach to the research process. 

You can learn a lot about yourself and gain a lot of insight into your life. There’s something magical about writing that thinking alone just doesn’t have.

Use these tips to take advantage of journaling to gain insight into your mind and your life:

  1. Review your day. Take a look at your day and make some notes. What is getting you down? What are the situations, people, habits, and beliefs that are causing you the most grief? Why do these things bother you? What can you do about it? What are these two things and what was so great or terrible about them?
  2. List progress toward your goals. Writing down your goals each day is a powerful way to stay focused on them. Write your 10 most important goals each day and notice how they evolve over time.Think about your goals and list the progress you made toward each. If you failed to do anything to make progress toward one or more of your goals, note that, too.
  3. Address your fears. Write about your fears. What are you afraid of? Why do you think you’re afraid of those things? How do your fears impact your life? What is your plan to address those fears? What’s standing in your way? List the obstacles in your life that you believe are blocking you from happiness or achieving your goals.
  4. List five things that make you feel grateful. What are you grateful for? Make a list of several items each day and notice how your perspective on life changes.
  5. Make a plan for the future. Aside from your specific goals, what does your dream life look like? How are you planning on getting there? Think about it and sketch out a plan.
  6. Write about what is causing you to feel negative emotions. What is getting you down? What are the situations, people, habits, and beliefs that are causing you the most grief? Why do these things bother you? What can you do about it?

Journaling each day can take some time, but it’s time that’s well spent. Develop a routine that incorporates journaling into your life. It won’t be long before you begin noticing the benefits. Do what the most successful people in the world do and write about your thoughts and your life.

Download your free 21-day course in The Path of Mindfulness. In this life-changing 21-day mindfulness journey, Dr Allan Kilner-Johnson guides you through a series of self-guided mindfulness exercises and shows you how and when to bring mindfulness into your daily life. 

How to Cultivate Gratitude Every Day

Posted on by Allan Johnson in gratitude, habits

As the nights begin to grow longer and we move into our second national lockdown in the UK there is a fair amount of uncertainty, gloom, and worry hovering about our lives.  But now more than ever is an important time to reflect on all of the things that we are grateful for. Gratitude is a practice and an attitude that we can consciously cultivate every day of our lives through a series of simple, mindful exercises: 

Start a Gratitude Journal 

Keeping track of things that that we feel grateful for can have an amazingly positive impact on our wellbeing.  If you already have a regular journaling practice, you can begin list three things that you are grateful for in each entry.  If you do not already have a regular journaling practice, begin a gratitude journal simply by starting each day by writing down three things that you are grateful for.  Spending a brief moment to reflect on what you are grateful for is a fantastic way to start the day.

Notice the Simple Pleasures 

One of the best ways cultivate more gratitude in your life is to begin to pay attention to the small things that bring you pleasure: a beautiful flower, a perfect cup of coffee, a conversation with your partner.  In those moments, take just a brief second to reflect on the pleasure that you receive from the simple things in life.  

Look for the Positive in a Negative Situation

When you find yourself in a challenging situation reflect on what positive angle you might be able to find.  The worry of having to stay at home during lockdown, for instance, may seem negative, but it could likewise be an opportunity to catch up on books you’ve been meaning to read, complete some DIY, or try to recipes that you don’t usually have time for. 

One-Day No Complaints Challenge

For just one day, set a challenge to yourself to not complain.  This includes both complaints that you say aloud to others as well as complaints that are only in your head.  The one-day no complaints challenge can seem difficult at first, but has the amazing ability to shift your perceptions very quickly.  When you find yourself about to complain about something, pause long enough to reflect on how you might transform that complaint into a positive action. 

Give an Authentic Compliment

In our society we are often bad at both giving and receiving compliments, and we often worry about how others will receive the compliments that we give to them.  However, giving authentic, genuine compliments to those around you is not only a powerful way to acknowledge what you are grateful for but helps to make the world a happier and kinder place.  

Creativity and the Mindful Mindset

Posted on by Allan Johnson in creativity, mindfulness

When I moved into my new house over the summer, deep at the bottom of a box that hadn’t been unpacked during my two previous moves was my old, beloved copy of Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way.  If you haven’t read The Artist’s Way yet, you simply must.  It is a beautiful, suggestive book that offers some incredibly valuable advice and exercises for reclaiming your inner artist by recognising and then disidentifying from your inner critic.  

The book’s sudden reappearance during our move seemed consequential in every way.  It was almost exactly twenty years since I first began reading The Artist’s Way, and the rediscovery of my old torn copy of the book offered a very tangible reminder that mindfulness and other contemplative practices aren’t meant to dampen creative expression, but, rather, to open up and allow more direct access to creative potential.   

As The Artist’s Way makes clear, everyone has the ability to be creative and, once you learn how to unleash your inner creativity, you’ll be able to tap into it.  One of the most useful tools that I have found to connect to my own creativity is regular formal seated meditation and equally regular informal mindful practices throughout the day.  By developing a daily mindfulness practice we can connect more fully and more authentically with own inner artist and by first turning inward we are then able to turn outwards again to manifest our creative ideas, plans, and visions.

There are several things that you can to you in order to further develop the relationship between your mindful practice and your creative output:

  • Begin a journal—if you haven’t done so already, begin here! 
  • Use a reflective meditation to sit with the notion of creativity and what that word and concept means to you.
  • Use drawing, doodling, sculpting, or any art practice as a form of active mediation by connecting your breath to each movement 
  • Notice the details.
  • Draw upon a different medium to move through creative blocks.
  • As you dance to music that inspires you, pay particular attention to each part of your body working in unison.
  • Choose to avoid energy drains like social media, apps, and tv programmes which don’t inspire you. 
  • Explore.
  • Don’t rush outputs: give yourself enough time on projects to allow them to fully emerge.
  • Show gratitude for the simple forms of inspiration like a sunset, a flower, or a piece of music. 
  • Choose to avoid judging others.
  • Use your meditation practice to develop the relaxation that will enable your best creative thinking.
  • Trust the small steps to build into something bigger. 
  • Imagine a problem that you face from a different perspective.  How do you see the problem differently?
  • Stay curious and ask ‘what if?’ 

Building the Meditation Habit

Posted on by Allan Johnson in habits, meditation

While the techniques of meditation are easy to learn, the discipline that the practice of meditation requires can be difficult.  If you are new to meditation or a frequent practitioner who hasn’t been able to turn meditation into a regular practice, building the meditation habit is a crucial step to deepen and expand your insight and connection.  Even when it is difficult to find the time for meditation, remind yourself that you deserve this time to replenish, recharge, and reinvigorate your mind, body, and spirit—it’s this daily practice of self-care that will equip you to best tackle the challenges of life and work. 

To gain the full benefits of meditation, we must develop the discipline that allows us to practice daily, in the same way that we shower and brush our teeth daily without much thought.  A daily practice of mediation brings enhanced well-being, and enables to body and mind to reconnect through the breath.  On those days when you just don’t feel like meditating, remind yourself of the benefits it brings and trust the process: the stress and distress of the day disappears by the end of your meditation session, leaving you renewed.  Treasure the time you set aside for meditation for the precious gift that it is.

Here are several tips to help you build the meditation habit:

Begin with Shorter Periods

I recommend two periods of 20-minutes of meditation every day, but this is only something to build up to over time and isn’t a habit you can expect to get into straight away.  One of the biggest challenges of the discipline required by meditation is simply making the decision to meditate.  Begin by making the decision to meditate for shorter periods, perhaps 3 minutes every morning.  Over time, you can gradually build this up to more sustained sessions as you begin to recognise the benefits of meditation and the discipline of committing to it. 

Practice Daily

While it is useful to begin with shorter periods of meditation, it is still important to practice every day.  Don’t try it once and then leave it for several days or weeks before trying again.  Instead commit to daily practice, which will not only allow you to strengthen your meditation habit but will dramatically increase the positive benefits that you experience. Committing to your meditation practice daily is what is going to turn it into a habit and allow you to experience the greatest benefits.

Create a Meditation Corner

Meditation can be practiced anywhere, but, especially as a beginner, it is useful to have a specific area used for meditation.  This doesn’t have to be an elaborate meditation altar, and you certainly don’t need any fancy cushions, bells, or candles, and it doesn’t even have to be a space set aside only for meditation.  Find a simple corner in your house where you can go to each day to commit to your practice.

Keep It Simple

There are lots of fantastic tools and toys for meditators and yogis out there—I know, I’ve bought quite a lot of them.  While specialist zabutons (meditation cushion), meditation benches, signing bowls, malas, and statues can certainly help aid in your practice, they are absolutely not essential.  Don’t think that you need to wait until you have the right incense or the right prayer beads—start today, because you already have everything that you need. 

Create a Habit Trigger

While you don’t need lots of physical objects for your meditation practice, it can be helpful to have a simple candle in your meditation corner that you light at the beginning of each practice.  It doesn’t need to be expensive (a tealight or basic dinner candle will work absolutely fine).  The simple act of mindfully lighting the candle at the beginning of your daily practice helps to create a trigger for the routine and begin to prepare you for the mindful state.

Maintain a Beginner’s Mindset

In a society driven by competition and hustle, it can be easy to want to rush to the ultimate conclusion.  Sometimes we get disappointed that we aren’t transformed into a wise, ascetic monk after practicing meditation for several days, or disillusioned by what seems to be a lack of any noticeable benefits.  There is no end goal in meditation, so no need to rush or to push ourselves so hard that we feel defeated and abandon the practice.  Begin each meditation session with a beginner’s mindset, knowing that by showing up to your practice you have already made a huge achievement.

Download your free 21-day course in The Path of Mindfulness. In this life-changing 21-day mindfulness journey, Dr Allan Kilner-Johnson guides you through a series of self-guided mindfulness exercises and shows you how and when to bring mindfulness into your daily life. 

15 Minutes for Meditation Before Bed

Posted on by Allan Johnson in meditation, mindfulness

A lot of people who recognise the many benefits of mediation wish that they had enough time in their day to sit down to meditate.  For many, the demands of work and family mean that there really isn’t enough time in the day for an hour of guided meditation or even the two 20-minute blocks that I recommend.  But the time right before we fall asleep, when we’re tucked into bed and winding down from the day, can be a really powerful and convenient opportunity for meditation.  Not only will using the 10 to 20 minutes before we fall asleep help to carve out a dedicated time for meditation each day, but it can also help to improve the quality and quantity of our sleep—great news for anyone who suffers from insomnia, restless sleep, or oversleeping.

Preparation

Meditation in bed requires somewhat different preparation than other forms of meditation.  Preparation begins an hour before you get into bed as you begin gradually slowing down, relaxing, and quieting your mind.   During this hour, do your best to avoid screens of any sort as you transition your body and mind away from the digital information world that shapes much of our experience.  Even though I love my MacBook and iPad as much as the next millennial, I keep a print book on my bedside table for nighttime reading (some people recommend choosing fiction over nonfiction for bedtime reading). If reading isn’t your thing, another gentle, enjoyably hobby in the hour before you get into bed can be really useful.  Use the time to knead your sourdough before its overnight bulk rise, get back to that unfinished puzzle, or begin a new painting.  Don’t be tempted to snack late into the evening, but a relaxing tea or turmeric in warm milk can assist your body in preparing for meditation and, eventually, for sleep. 

Meditation in Bed

While we often try to avoid falling asleep during meditation, a gentle, gradual movement into sleep is exactly what we are aiming for in bed meditation.  There are several techniques that we can use once we are in bed:

  1. Body scan: This traditional mindfulness technique is often performed lying down, so is the perfect tool to use for bed meditation.  Begin by drawing your focus and attention to your feet, gentling guiding your centre of consciousness to your feet and allowing it to rest there for 2-3 minutes.  Slowly move your centre of consciousness up to your legs, then your abdomen, chest, throat, and forehead, staying with each for 2-3 minutes. Be gentle and allow your emotions to express themselves in the ways they need to you as move through all parts of the body.  When you notice that your mind has begun to drift, gentle invite it to return to the body.
  2. Guided meditation: bed meditation is the perfect opportunity to listen to guided meditations.  Headspace and Insight Timer are two of the apps that I regularly use and love, but there are also countless free guided meditations and visualizations available online. The wide variety of recordings available mean that you can hone in on any particular issues that you faced during the day and select a meditation specifically suited to your needs in that particular moment.  If, for instance, you’re particularly stressed from work, dealing with disappointment, or hoping to expand your creativity, there will be guided meditations perfectly suited to your needs.
  3. Simple mantra: one of the simplest techniques for bed meditation is a simple breath-focused mantra that will regulate your breathing, relax your mind, and lead you gently into a deep sleep.  On the in-breath silently say the mantra ‘as I breathe in, I breathe in’ and on the out-breath silently say ‘as I breath out, I breathe out.’  As your mind begins to drift, you can graciously return its attention to the mantra and breath. 
  4. Yoga nidra: something of a combination of guided visualization, mindfulness, and gentle hypnosis, yoga nidra (or ‘yogic sleep’) is another outstanding technique for bed yoga.  This is something that you will almost certainly need an online recording to guide you through, but, with advanced training, yoga nidra practitioners are able to lead themselves through this deeply relaxing and restorative practice. 
  5. Gratitude: often overlooked as a form of mindfulness meditation, expression of gratitude can be a powerful way to calm and centre our mind in the moments before we fall asleep.  To practice this transformative form of meditation, we should situate ourselves comfortably in bed and then invite our mind to gradually move backwards through our day, pausing to reflect on each small moment that we are grateful for.  How many moments during our day have led to gratitude and joy?  By the time that we get all the way backward to reflect on the moment we woke up that morning, we will likely have already fallen asleep.    

Using the 10-20 minutes before we fall asleep as a time for meditation can help you to develop your daily meditation practice, even if our work and family life means that we never have much time for ourselves.