Welcome to Mindfulness Meditation for Creatives!
Course Focus
- This course is part of a teaching practicum for the Mindfulness Meditation Teaching Certificate, led by Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach.
- The focus of the program is on deepening personal mindfulness practice and making mindfulness accessible through a secular, practical, and psychology-informed approach.
- This course emphasizes customizing mindfulness practices to support creative work in all fields.
The Essence of Mindfulness:
Mindfulness is “awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally”. (Jon Kabat Zinn)
Let’s break it down:
“paying attention on purpose” – that means with intention as an active participant (this is the muscle we are training).
“in the present moment” – that means not the past, not the future, but in the present, which is necessarily embodied, in the here and now.
“non-judgmentally “- that means neither craving nor rejecting the experience, just observing what is in the moment with a kind and open heart.
Mindfulness is a natural state of mind and it’s available to everyone without the need for special tools or experiences.
Mindfulness practice leads to many physical and mental benefits, including reduced stress, greater focus and concentration, increased intuition, and creative flow. The busier and more distracted you are, the more you can benefit from this practice.
Why “Mindfulness for Creatives?”
- The course is designed to help creatives tap into mindfulness as a way to enhance creativity and well-being.
- Mindfulness is not about achieving a peaceful state, escaping problems, or suppressing thoughts but about being fully engaged and present in the moment.
In our world today, we are often pulled OUT of our bodies and into our digital screens, into stories about the past or anxieties about the future, as we respond to an unprecedented flood of information. This can lead to feelings of being disembodied, overwhelmed, or exhausted. Especially for sensitive artists and creatives, this can be particularly draining and detrimental to our work.
Bringing awareness back into our bodies and into the present moment, allows us to reclaim that outflow of energy. Coming back to the breath, our feet planted on the ground, turning our attention inward, we can bring all the fragmented parts of ourselves back together again, into that sense of wholeness.
| “You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait. Do not even wait, be quite still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked. It has no choice. It will roll in ecstasy at your feet.” – Franz Kafka |
- Mindfulness can be practiced anytime and anywhere, and it’s essential for maintaining focus and clarity in creative work.
- Mindfulness can help us shine a light inward to access creative ideas and emphasizes the importance of bringing awareness back to the present moment.
- Mindfulness meditation has been extensively studied by scientists! It has been shown to strengthen and connect brain networks linked to creativity, with measurable changes observed even after short periods of practice such as 8 weeks (15-30 min per day).
GUIDED MEDITATION (Mindfulness of Breath, 10 min)
CREATIVE ACTIVITY
Mindful Mark Making Exercise:
Let’s try a simple exercise in mindful mark making. A pen, marker, or paint brush on paper is ideal. This exercise uses mindful breathing to guide spontaneous, intuitive mark-making.
Simple instructions: On each in-breath, position your hand on the paper and set an intention to release energy. On the out-breath, let that energy flow through your hand to create a mark, without premeditation or control.
The focus is on allowing the breath to direct your hand, creating in the present moment without judgment or analysis.
Repeat this process for ten breaths, using different tools if available, and practice releasing intuitive, non-verbal energy through your marks.
The exercise above is adapted from the teachings of Zen monk and artist Peter Cutler. Check out his video on “Art as Spiritual Practice.” Towards the end of the video he provides instruction on the mark making exercise:
The Universe in a Dewdrop 