Creating a sacred space for your words to exist within

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We orient ourselves towards expansion, play, grounding, and pleasure using a series of consistent practices, and we allow (rather than force) our ideas to come through from our own deepest creative flow.

I made this program to support creatives at all levels, specifically for people who are ready to dedicate to a lifelong, nourishing practice that honors their true creative voice.

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Creating a sacred space for your words to exist within

I’ve talked about the power of a writing ritual before (see this piece on holding space for writing, this one on a traveling writing ritual, and this on using scent to support your writing practice).

But this week in Bloom, I found myself describing the ritual in relationship to my movement and mindfulness practice specifically: As the purpose of both is to create a sacred container for the work (physical, mental, spiritual, etc.) to take place.

‘Sacred’ never means ‘religious’ in any work I do, and the same is true here. Instead, creating a sacred space using a writing ritual is an opportunity to build in separation between the time you devote to creativity and the hustle and bustle of the rest of your day. When I give talks on building a creative ecosystem, I refer to this as treating your creative time like a nature preserve: It doesn’t exist on another plane of reality from everything else, but we interact with it, and care for it, differently than we would, say, a strip mall or apartment block down the street, or even a public park that’s primarily grass.

It’s a place where you can hone your focus and just allow yourself to be as you move through your practice, without worrying about being anywhere else or doing anything else.

What does my writing ritual look like?

I have a daily writing ritual that I employ every time I sit down to write the work that brings me joy. By doing this ritual in connection to my writing and other creative work (and doing a wrap-up ritual at the end, before I move on to checking email or whatever else), I build in gentle separation between the sacred, pleasurable landscape I create each time I write, and the more scattered, busy, and sometimes hectic world beyond its borders.

A writing ritual is something you love to do and brings you joy, done at the start and end of writing time. Here’s mine:

-Lighting a candle at the start of writing, then blowing it out at the end (this is my daily driver ritual).

-For extra oomph, I might also fold in meditation, visualization, journaling, or gentle movement at the start and end of my practice if I’m feeling like I need/want it or I have extra time.

Using movement and mindfulness as a metaphor for your ritual (or as an actual ritual)

If you do yoga or another movement/mindfulness practice, it can also help to think of the writing time as being the core of your practice, and the other activities as those things that help you come into the space and be present, then integrate your practice at the end. So for example, the opening writing ritual would be akin to sitting at the top of your mat, doing breathwork, and setting an intention.

Then, writing within the sacred space you just opened (sometimes I also move around when I’m having an ‘ideas’ writing day versus a ‘sitting in a chair banging out text’ writing day).

Then, the closing ritual is like savasana, a time to reflect, integrate, and pause before transitioning out of the sacred space and into the rest of your day.

You could literally incorporate breathwork and movement, or just use that as a metaphor if it’s one you find helpful!

I incorporate ritual building into every program I create for Roots + Branches because I know how liberating and empowering it is to weave pleasure into your work.

If you’ve worked with me in the past, you probably already have a ritual! If you haven’t, this is a gentle nudge to create one.

What do you do for your writing ritual?