In many ways, the act of writing a book is like learning to be a highly trained professional athlete.
You can’t just engage in random acts of writing.
Just as a golfer, tennis player, quarterback or marathoner would have a training regime that allowed him to perform at a very high level, so it is that we authors must learn how to build ourselves up to where we can allow thousands of words to pour forth from literally thin air.
Personally speaking, what seems to work best for me at the moment is to A meditate and then B write, preferably first thing in the morning. At this time of day there are no distractions, my mind is clear and my connection to the divine feels most palpable.
The other day, however, something happened that completely blew my circuits.
Earlier this year, fellow author Tom Evans in England interviewed me for his podcast called The Zone Show. You can listen to our talk at this link on my media page.
As luck would have it, we ended up having many further discussions afterwards. He wrote a 5-star review for my book Unlimited Intuition Now.
Then I became fascinated with his ability to bend time so I wrote a 5-star review for his audiobook Managing Time Mindfully.
Later on I interviewed Tom about how his personal journey of writing 13 books and creating a successful healing business. You can listen to my interview of him at this link.
Somewhere during this creative back and forth, Tom gifted me his amazing course Heart-Full Living.
Because I have taught yoga for 20 years and meditate twice a day, not to mention all the years of healing I have experienced to balance my personal energy, I admit I didn’t expect to feel any different from taking Tom’s online course.
Heart-Full Living is a series of meditations and pictographs designed to kick off personal transformation over a 9-day period.
So I started off listening to Tom’s meditations, enjoying them immensely and admiring his amazing ability to lead my mind into a deep state of inner bliss.
I wasn’t pushing myself to do the meditations.
I just followed one at a time as space in my schedule opened up.
Then the other night I came sequentially to Tom’s meditation for the 7th chakra, Opening to Channel.
“This visualisation will open up your crown and show you how to tap into ‘future memories,’ ” Tom wrote in the notes.
“Such gems of wisdom we get in this way are commonly referred to as light bulb moments, eureka moments or aha moments.”
As luck would have it, I made the mistake of listening to Opening to Channel right as I was getting ready for bed.
I like to meditate at the end of the day to clear my mind so that I can sleep well.
I listened to Opening to Channel and liked it so much I made the mistake of deciding to repeat the meditation immediately.
Then I got into bed, slid under the sheets and turned on my iPhone app Insight Timer to connect to the worldwide meditation community.
I began to meditate, fully expecting to fall asleep immediately afterwards.
When the first meditation didn’t lull me to sleep, I followed two other meditations.
No luck. I was wide awake, ideas rolling through my brain.
Soon enough I found myself pulling out my laptop and beginning to write.
Yes, I had opened to channel!
Somehow even though I had read the fine print I did not recognize what a profound effect Tom’s meditation would have for me!!
About 3 a.m. I realized that I had come up with a title that was so good that I might as well use it for a new book.
I researched on Amazon and no other currently published book was called that name so around 3:15 in the wee hours of the morning I was logging online to the U.S. Copyright Office to secure the title for myself before anyone else could recognize what a great idea it is.
After copyrighting the title I began to imagine what this next book was about.
Because I am in the process of setting up a second company, www.whatissocialmediatoday.com, with my business partner Ramajon Cogan, I had wanted to hold off on starting my sixth book.
I figured that there is enough to do for me between running my current business as a medical intuitive healer and starting the new company to train people in social media marketing.
I don’t like to overload myself, but there I was, getting closer to 4 a.m., outlining yet another book, the ideas flowing out of me and into my journal this time in an unstoppable wave of inspiration.
“Where is the OFF button?” I wondered.
As I had a completely full schedule for the following day, I said a prayer asking my angels and guides to supply me with enough energy.
Indeed I made it through somehow until at 4:30 I couldn’t take it any longer and had to lie down for a nap.
“Memo to self,” I thought as I finally lay down to rest.
“Don’t listen to Tom Evans meditation Opening to Channel before I need to go to sleep!”
Even though I had been trying to be practical, Tom’s meditation had set me up to allow yet another book to come rolling through my brain.
I must bow to divine wisdom and trust my process, knowing and experiencing that God will lead me to all the resources I need to maintain my inner balance as I run my current company, launch a new business and write my sixth book in perfect timing.
If you are a creative person who has gotten stuck I highly recommend Tom Evans course Heart-Full Living.
And if you are already a highly creative person who is already creating, watch out!
LOVE this, Catherine – isn’t Tom’s work such a wonderful gift to us? You’ve inspired me to use Tom’s Opening to Channel meditation right now, as I prepare to write the Introduction to my first book. Namaste and have a brilliant day, Jools x
Hi Jools, Yes, most of what is taught about writing comes from people who don’t actually know how to do it! I find it so helpful to get my ego out of the way and simply listen from my soul. Tom Bird has made a great contribution through his meditations, books, and workshops. So glad this talk was inspiring! Love and light, Catherine Carrigan