Letting Go of 2021 – A Mindful Writing Practice.
This mindful writing practice has been taken from a workshop in The Heart Movement Community, lead by facilitator, singer and song writer Joe Holtaway.
Mindful writing or journaling can be a powerful way of allowing ourselves to feel into what’s going on in our lives, and allow ourselves some space to listen to ourselves.
If you often journal you might already know how impactful intentional writing can be, but if not don’t worry, this practice is also great for people who have never journaled before. Just grab a pen and some paper, allow yourself to write freely whatever comes to mind, there is no right or wrong. You might be surprised at some of the answers that come up for you.
Within this practice there is a focus on letting go, and forgiveness. What can we let go of? How can we bring about some forgiveness, to ourselves, or to those around us? As well as a looking forward, what lessons would you like to carry on with you into the future.
It’s a great way of looking back over the year of 2021, and giving ourselves some stillness to see what comes up.
Before we get started
Take a moment to settle into where you are, find a position that is comfy for you. Join Joe in this short practice to help us get started:
Warming up
Just like anything else mindful writing or journaling can feel easier once we’ve warmed up. Set yourself a timer of 30 seconds to a minute for each of these prompts, and see what comes up for you:
Mindful Writing Prompt One.
Finish this sentence: Breathing in… Breathing out…
Mindful Writing Prompt Two.
Start this sentence, and then finish it with: …. That was a special moment
Mindful Writing Prompt Three.
You are going to start and finish this sentence, and in the middle it will say: …. it was then that I realised…
How did that go? Sometimes these short exercises where you don’t have as much time to think can be just as impactful as longer journaling practices. What came up for you?
If you are ready let’s move onto the next step, but remember you can also take a moment if you need to, do what feels right for you.
Letting go of 2021 – The mindful writing practice
For this exercise you will need 4 pieces of paper. On each piece draw a circle in the middle that will be the centre or your mind map. Give your self space to also have 3 columns: Letting go, Forgiveness and Learning.
Your four pages will represent: Winter/Spring, Spring/Summer, Summer/Autumn, Autumn/Winter.
Before you start just take a moment to connect back with the breath. It helps if you can soften your gaze, or close your eyes.
When you think back on 2021 what images come to mind? Looking all the way back to the start of the year.
Sometimes it’s helpful to think about:
Where you were living
The places you visited
or what work you were doing
But there are also so many other things that might come to mind for you.
Once you’ve taken some time to reflect set yourself a timer and give yourself 2 minutes for each page, writing down anything that comes to mind.
Remember when you are journaling there is no right or wrong.
Free journaling
Once you’ve finished with your mind maps take some time to write freely about whatever has come to mind. You might want to give yourself 5 minutes to write about each of the 4 areas you’ve made notes on, or write for longer if you would like to. It doesn’t matter how much you write, but allow yourself to put down whatever comes to mind, and try to incorporate those 3 areas into it, using the words let go, forgive and learn, in your writing.
After you’ve finished
Give yourself one giant pat on the back. Remember it’s the showing up and the practice that matters and we’ve loved having you join us here and use this guide. Reach out and let us know if you’ve enjoyed it too!
Before you go! Take a moment to read back over everything that you’ve written as you were writing freely. Be mindful to notice what has come up for you, and remember to thank yourself for taking this time to practice.
Thank you so much for choosing to practice with us.
Thank you to Joe Holtaway for sharing such an inspiring workshop. If you'd like to join us live next time, have a look at our events page to see what's coming up, or join our online community here.
If you're interested in finding out more about what Joe is doing, you can find his website here: https://joeholtaway.com/