The Power of Writing

Reflect

As prolific spiritual writer and teacher Henri Nouwen once said: “Writing is a process in which we discover what lies in us. The writing itself reveals to us what is alive in us. The deepest satisfaction of writing is precisely that it opens up new spaces within us of which we were not aware before we started to write.”

Pray

Living Word,
There are so many words and ideas within me,
waiting to come out and be born.
You are writing a story through my life.
Show me how to use my words as a way not only to express myself,
but also to allow the deep things within me to come alive.
Amen.

Act

Try the practice of Morning Pages for a week. The process is fairly simple but has profound ramifications: Every morning for one week, just fill three pages with longhand, stream-of-consciousness style writing. There is no wrong way to do Morning Pages. Simply write down whatever comes to mind. What do you notice and how does this open up new spaces within your spirit?