Have you heard a voice that says, Listen up! This is your gut speaking! Maybe not. Unfortunately, the gut, also known as intuition, usually murmurs in a little voice like a Nebulous Nelly hovering somewhere, but who knows where? This soft-spoken habit of hers makes hearing what she has to say a real challenge. That's why we writers have to listen up!
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Your gut can be your Muse.
There's an easy way of tapping into your intuition—move your awareness to the third chakra, that vicinity between your belly button and the bottom of your rib cage.
The word "chakra" comes from the Sanskrit language of India and means "wheel." The tradition teaches that the seven major chakras are spinning vortexes of energy or wheels of light. They are arranged vertically from the base of the spine to the top of the head, governing physical, earthy energies at the base and progressing to spiritual energies at the top or seventh chakra.
The third chakra located at the solar plexus involves the digestion of life experiences and the application of personal power. Writers, like dairy cows, require superb digestive systems. We take in the fodder of life, make it our own, and spit it out on the page.
Each chakra is associated with a color. The third chakra’s color is yellow. So, do we just sit around and think yellow? You have lots of choices to pick from to connect with your third chakra. You can meditate, pressing your hand on your belly; you can buy a chakra-tuning recording; you can practice yoga. Above all, just tilt your ear and listen to your little voice.
Then act.
Creativity and intuition wander through green pastures side by side. When you rely on intuition, you know something without applying reasoning. You feel it.
If you're writing something that conflicts with your intuition, you may suspect that something is nagging you but you can never quite snatch the problem out of the air. Could be just a restless feeling or a sense that something isn't quite right. Easy to ignore, but going forward is perilous! The stars probably aren't going to bless that endeavor.
If you're writing something that brings cartloads of happiness to your gut, you might feel a grand energy that fuels your work, sometimes less grand than others, but always there. It could just feel good. That sounds simplistic, doesn't it? But a just plain "feel good" is huge! You know it when you feel it. Not rocket science. You'll feel real, and you won't waste time writing something that leaves you cold or even lukewarm. If it isn't a hottie project for you, forget it.
Listen to your gut. Your gut knows.
Happy writing!
Nan Lundeen
http://www.mooingaround.com/
http://www.nanlundeen.com/
Nan Lundeen's book of poems, The Pantyhose Declarations, is available at amazon.com. She is seeking a publisher for her handbook, The Moo of Writing: How To Milk Your Potential.
Artwork copyright Cynthia Morgan
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