The Joy of Mindful Writing

The Joy of Mindful Writing

When the Joy of Mindful Writing popped through my letterbox I knew after just a few pages that this was going to be one of those books that I keep with me for a long time and refer back to again and again. The Joy of Mindful Writing, one of a number of books in the Mindful series from Leaping Hare Publishing, has been written by Joy Kenward who writes with warmth and a keen understanding of what it is to write and to be mindful.

Joy of Mindful WritingThis isn’t a read once and shelve it kind of book. This is a book that you put page markers in, sticky notes or even highlight (unless you borrow someone else’s copy of course). It’s a reading and understanding book with exercises, meditations and more for you to try, all of which help you get closer to your goal of mindful writing.

Mindfulness is not something you can switch on and off like a light switch unless perhaps you have reached Buddha level (which I have not). I started to gain a keen interest in mindfulness and mindful living last year and as a consequence am now nearly the end of a mindfulness diploma. I’m also someone who loves to write. I’ve been blogging for coming up twelve years and have been a freelance copywriter for nearly nine years full-time. I love to write and I’m pretty good at it. There are different ways to write however and mindful writing is more than rambling in a blog post or working to a client-sent brief. Mindful writing is….. more. I’ve written mindfully in the past, without knowing it. I don’t write that way all of the time because it isn’t relevant. It’s difficult to explain but if you are a writer moving into mindful writing, you might very well know what I mean.

The Joy of Mindful Writing is perfect for those just starting to write and those who, like me, have been doing it for years. It’s not a better way to write or a more professional way to write. It is simply a different way to write and its something I’m exploring more in my personal writing right now.

To fully appreciate the impact this book has you really do need to explore it yourself. There are meditations and more which help bring clarity and open you up to creating something unique and special to you.

This is the only book in the Mindfulness series that I’ve explored however it will most definitely not be the last. Thank you to Leaping Hare for sending me this book to try out, it’s been quite the exploration!

See the full The Mindfulness Series collection for more ways that you may enjoy a more mindful way of living.

Joy of Mindful Writing

My Perfect: Finding a Little Good in Each Day

Hands up if you’ve ever had a truly rubbish day…..

My Perfect

What if you’re unlucky and have had a series of rubbish days? These things start to bog you down. They make you tired, you feel low and it may become harder and harder to see the positives that are going on around you because you’re too busy wallowing or fighting through the negatives.

my perfectThis is where the My Perfect journal comes in. The brainchild of Ali Gill, this fun journal merges calming colouring (if you want to) with actively searching out a positive or a perfect in every day. I have this journal and have to say that once you’ve started using it, you subconsciously seek out something good in your day or even several somethings. It changes your outlook and encourages you to be more mindful of what is truly going on around you. 

Take last week for instance. I spent most of it in a mad panic as Christmas is fast approaching and I have a ridiculous amount of work to do. I have a bad foot and it ached with the cold pretty much all of the time, everyone seemed to be getting grumpy and a load of bills hit my doormat. All in all, a pretty crappy week. Or was it? T had a fabulous week at school, K was happy, I had a lovely breakfast catch-up with friends and one had fabulous news. I enjoyed a lovely half an hour with just me and my book and another fab morning with a super friend and her daughter. By focusing on the positives and recording them I was able to completely change the way my week went, and how I felt about it.

I’m now entering a ridiculously busy week. I finish for Christmas at midnight (and it will be midnight!) on Thursday. I have a ridiculous amount of work to do, still have some Christmas stuff to sort, it’s still cold and I have to fit a hair appointment in too. I’m already seeing the potential perfects for the week ahead. I know that when I finish piece of work x,y or z that I’m going to feel great. I’m excited about Christmas. My hair appointment might be time out of the working day but the salon I go to treats everyone as a VIP and rather than simply a haircut it’s an opportunity for some pampering.

My perfect

All of this from a journal? Yes, actually! There’s flexibility in how you use My Perfect, however, I would say try and do something daily as doing so helps you form a positive habit. I’m a complete stationery tart as many of you know and this journal just feels nice! I’m not a big one for colouring however even I’ve been tempted to doodle and colour a little. On days where I haven’t, that’s ok too. There are no rules, it’s all about creating a bank of perfects for you to reflect on in the present and to look back on in the future.

If you are looking for a gift for yourself or for anyone else the  My Perfect Journal is available via Amazon and is a wonderful treat, worth everything penny and many more asides.

*I was sent a review copy of this journal and fell in love with it. I’ve already mentioned it in my stationery gift guide but decided to do a bigger write-up, purely because I rate it so highly. Be assured that any reviews I do, I write up based on my experiences only, and nothing is written from a brand crib-sheet or similar.