Mindful Writing to Increase Group Strength
In my workshops, I integrate mindfulness tools with writing strategies to help create a calm and safe writing space. Mindfulness tools help us to stay focused on the present - what is happening right now - without judgment or analysis. This means paying attention to our sensations, feelings, and thoughts in the here and now.
The long-term benefits of integrating mindfulness into your life may include:
lowering stress
decreasing depression
improving memory
strengthening relationships
The immediate benefits of using mindfulness tools release the need to worry about the past or the future and create an opening for peace and truth to emerge. Once we are in a calm state and see our truths, we can begin to make changes to our benefit.
An example of a mindfulness tool that I use in a workshop is looking at a picture of a forest and noticing the details in the picture. I first have you noticing the whole picture, then we move on to only colour, followed by only shape, and then only size. We then move on to notice the trees, then the bark, and the knots on the bark. We keep digging down into what we are noticing. This movement of focusing on details helps to create a calm mind as it extinguishes bouncing thoughts.
So how does this influence group strength? During a workshop, I guide you every step of the way. You don’t do anything independent of my guidance which relieves you from distracting thoughts. And, instead, positions you to hone in on what’s right in front of you. This creates a soothing external and internal space for you to just be.
With this openness, I provide you with strategic writing prompts and guidance for continuous pen-to-paper action lasting a specific time. This method allows your thoughts to go deep without judgment or analysis. When we permit ourselves to think without critiquing our thoughts, we can be amazed at what emerges!
Now, picture members of a group being simultaneously engaged in these powerful activities. At the end of the workshop, members will have experienced an independent mind-opening experience where new thoughts may have emerged. Some members may have solved problems. Others may have gained new insights. Whatever happened to each member may be different, but everyone is leaving with self-care tools to create calm.
And I think a calm team is stronger than a frantic one. But that’s me :).
Here are some member experiences from the Association of Registered Nurses of Manitoba after a 1-hour online workshop:
“ I really appreciated the clarity I got in doing the 1-hour workshop with Lori from Trees and Breathe. It helped me make sense of some things that I kept thinking about!”
“I couldn’t believe the difference in my thoughts between the beginning and the end. I went from “tired and not able to think clearly” to “energized, enthusiastic, and supported” in an hour.