Tuesday, January 29, 2008 at 12:12am
Want to write like Mozart?
Column: Writing Down Your Soul
Writing about Writing, Part 5
Mozart lived long before anyone ever heard of a brain wave. But he knew how to recognize and utilize the Theta brain wave state that supports creativity. And you can, too.
Mozart? I can hear you thinking: Excuse me, but isn't this series about writing? How can Mozart help me write my book? Well, I confess that Mozart was not the first person who came to mind when I thought about writing and writers. But then this quote landed in my inbox:
"When I am, as it were, completely myself, entirely alone, and of good cheer - say, traveling in a carriage, or walking after a good meal, or during the night when I cannot sleep — it is on such occasions that my ideas flow best, and most abundantly. Whence and how they come, I know not, nor can I force them." — Mozart
I stared at the quote. I read it once, twice, three times. I saved it in my Favorite Quotes file. I knew I'd just been handed the perfect way to teach you about the Theta brain wave state. Mozart never heard of Theta, but there's no doubt in my mind that that's exactly what he's describing. And Theta is where we writers want to be.
Let me explain. There are four primary brain waves: Beta, Alpha, Theta and Delta. Beta waves, the fastest, are associated with stress. When you awake abruptly to an alarm clock and immediately start focusing on all the things you have to do, you are leaping from the slowest Delta brainwaves of sleep right into high-speed Beta. Most of us live the bulk of our days in fast-paced Beta. Alpha waves are a bit slower. You are in Alpha when you concentrate and focus. You've heard people talk about being "in the zone." That's deep Alpha. Theta waves are slower still. You experience them when you wake naturally. During those first drowsy moments, you can remember your dreams. In those precious seconds, you also can have truly creative ideas and breakthroughs. Have you ever awakened suddenly, "knowing" the solution to a problem? That's Theta. Brain scans of people who meditate show that they drop quickly into deeper and deeper layers of Theta and remain in Theta while they meditate.
So what does this have to do with writing your book? Everything. One reason people think writing is hard work is that it is hard work if your brain is smoking along in high-speed Beta. In Beta mind, it's tough to hold your focus and it's way too easy to get hung up on individual words instead of letting ideas flow. If you want to write a book that makes a difference in the world, you want to train yourself to enter and take advantage of all the fabulous ideas available to you in the Theta brain wave state.
Look back at what Mozart said: "When I am, as it were, completely myself, entirely alone, and of good cheer." There are two big clues here: alone and unstressed. Just as you can't meditate while talking with someone; you can't enter Theta mind when you're talking. Be still. Be quiet. Be alone. That's fairly simple. But that stress piece is a little tougher. If I order you to stop being stressed, you'll actually become more stressed, because I've brought your level of stress into your conscious awareness. So here's a little trick: Breathe deeply and slowly, inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth. It is a physiological impossibility to be stressed while breathing deeply. Every time you sit down to write, breathe.
What else did our boy genius say? " ... traveling in a carriage, or walking after a good meal, or during the night when I cannot sleep." Have you had the experience of driving somewhere and realizing, as you pull into the parking space, that you have no conscious memory of driving, but you know how to handle something you've been worried about? Ever gone for a long silent walk and when you returned, found yourself working on a new solution or idea? Somewhere on that drive or that walk, you slipped into Theta.
But what about Mozart's comment about not being able to sleep? Most of us view being awakened in the middle of the night as a bad thing. We start stressing over how soon the alarm is going to go off, and how exhausted we're going to be, if we don't get back to sleep RIGHT NOW. Of course, the more we worry, the more awake we are, and the whole miserable circle just keeps repeating until the alarm puts us out of our misery. But what if waking in the middle of the night is not the loss of sleep, but the gift of new ideas and solutions? Mozart said, " ... it is on such occasions that my ideas flow best, and most abundantly." Well, we writers want abundantly flowing ideas, too.
When I was writing "Writing Down Your Soul," I stumbled upon this information about Theta brain waves. I thought it was the most exciting thing I'd heard. And it made so much sense. I've awakened many times in my life "knowing" what to do, but I never knew why that happened. Once I knew it was Theta, I wanted to consciously use it. Mozart may have said, "Whence and how they come, I know not, nor can I force them," but I sure wanted to try. Here's what I did.
As I was falling asleep, I told my subconscious mind what to work on while I was asleep. Then I drifted off with a notepad next to the bed. During the night I would be awakened several times. Each time I'd roll over, write down what I "heard," whisper "Thank you," and go back to sleep. As I woke the next morning, I'd lie perfectly still, looking around inside my head (so to speak), probing for the last vestiges of dreams and ideas. Finally, I'd sit up and write down everything I remembered. An hour later, when I went to my office to write, I'd look at my night notes and simply follow my "instructions" for the day.
This worked so well that I started placing "orders." When the book was almost finished, I didn't like the ending, so I placed an "order" for a good ending. I actually said out loud, "I'm going to make dinner, would you please work on the ending? Thanks." Then I went downstairs, made some chicken piccata and listened to Miles Davis. Around nine o'clock, I got this urge to pick up a notepad. I sat down immediately and out poured the ending. It felt more like taking dictation than writing. What was happening? Was Theta mind taking over? Had my "order" been filled? I don't really know. All I know is I adore the last chapter in my book. When I read it, I think, "Wow, this is really good. Who wrote this?" And then, I remember, "Oh, I did."
This is now my modus operandi for writing. I let my subconscious mind know what I'm working on, and then I sleep on it. I request creative help on every writing and speaking project, and, as far as I can tell, I always get it. I'll never be in Mozart's league, but I can certainly play in Theta mind. And so can you.
— — —
Janet Conner teaches people how to connect directly to Spirit to receive the guidance and direction they need to create the life they want. Her new book, "Writing Down Your Soul: How to Activate and Listen to the Extraordinary Voice Within," comes out this fall from Conari Press. Janet is also the creator of Spiritual Geography, a comprehensive spiritual-healing system that has been called "the first true innovation in healing the broken heart." "Spiritual Geography" workbooks are available through Amazon or Spiritual Geography. Contact Janet at {email janetconner@tampabay.rr.com}janetconner@tampabay.rr.com{/email}.© Copyright 2008 by Janet Conner.
Mozart lived long before anyone ever heard of a brain wave. But he knew how to recognize and utilize the Theta brain wave state that supports creativity. And you can, too.
Mozart? I can hear you thinking: Excuse me, but isn't this series about writing? How can Mozart help me write my book? Well, I confess that Mozart was not the first person who came to mind when I thought about writing and writers. But then this quote landed in my inbox:
"When I am, as it were, completely myself, entirely alone, and of good cheer - say, traveling in a carriage, or walking after a good meal, or during the night when I cannot sleep — it is on such occasions that my ideas flow best, and most abundantly. Whence and how they come, I know not, nor can I force them." — Mozart
I stared at the quote. I read it once, twice, three times. I saved it in my Favorite Quotes file. I knew I'd just been handed the perfect way to teach you about the Theta brain wave state. Mozart never heard of Theta, but there's no doubt in my mind that that's exactly what he's describing. And Theta is where we writers want to be.
Let me explain. There are four primary brain waves: Beta, Alpha, Theta and Delta. Beta waves, the fastest, are associated with stress. When you awake abruptly to an alarm clock and immediately start focusing on all the things you have to do, you are leaping from the slowest Delta brainwaves of sleep right into high-speed Beta. Most of us live the bulk of our days in fast-paced Beta. Alpha waves are a bit slower. You are in Alpha when you concentrate and focus. You've heard people talk about being "in the zone." That's deep Alpha. Theta waves are slower still. You experience them when you wake naturally. During those first drowsy moments, you can remember your dreams. In those precious seconds, you also can have truly creative ideas and breakthroughs. Have you ever awakened suddenly, "knowing" the solution to a problem? That's Theta. Brain scans of people who meditate show that they drop quickly into deeper and deeper layers of Theta and remain in Theta while they meditate.
So what does this have to do with writing your book? Everything. One reason people think writing is hard work is that it is hard work if your brain is smoking along in high-speed Beta. In Beta mind, it's tough to hold your focus and it's way too easy to get hung up on individual words instead of letting ideas flow. If you want to write a book that makes a difference in the world, you want to train yourself to enter and take advantage of all the fabulous ideas available to you in the Theta brain wave state.
Look back at what Mozart said: "When I am, as it were, completely myself, entirely alone, and of good cheer." There are two big clues here: alone and unstressed. Just as you can't meditate while talking with someone; you can't enter Theta mind when you're talking. Be still. Be quiet. Be alone. That's fairly simple. But that stress piece is a little tougher. If I order you to stop being stressed, you'll actually become more stressed, because I've brought your level of stress into your conscious awareness. So here's a little trick: Breathe deeply and slowly, inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth. It is a physiological impossibility to be stressed while breathing deeply. Every time you sit down to write, breathe.
What else did our boy genius say? " ... traveling in a carriage, or walking after a good meal, or during the night when I cannot sleep." Have you had the experience of driving somewhere and realizing, as you pull into the parking space, that you have no conscious memory of driving, but you know how to handle something you've been worried about? Ever gone for a long silent walk and when you returned, found yourself working on a new solution or idea? Somewhere on that drive or that walk, you slipped into Theta.
But what about Mozart's comment about not being able to sleep? Most of us view being awakened in the middle of the night as a bad thing. We start stressing over how soon the alarm is going to go off, and how exhausted we're going to be, if we don't get back to sleep RIGHT NOW. Of course, the more we worry, the more awake we are, and the whole miserable circle just keeps repeating until the alarm puts us out of our misery. But what if waking in the middle of the night is not the loss of sleep, but the gift of new ideas and solutions? Mozart said, " ... it is on such occasions that my ideas flow best, and most abundantly." Well, we writers want abundantly flowing ideas, too.
When I was writing "Writing Down Your Soul," I stumbled upon this information about Theta brain waves. I thought it was the most exciting thing I'd heard. And it made so much sense. I've awakened many times in my life "knowing" what to do, but I never knew why that happened. Once I knew it was Theta, I wanted to consciously use it. Mozart may have said, "Whence and how they come, I know not, nor can I force them," but I sure wanted to try. Here's what I did.
As I was falling asleep, I told my subconscious mind what to work on while I was asleep. Then I drifted off with a notepad next to the bed. During the night I would be awakened several times. Each time I'd roll over, write down what I "heard," whisper "Thank you," and go back to sleep. As I woke the next morning, I'd lie perfectly still, looking around inside my head (so to speak), probing for the last vestiges of dreams and ideas. Finally, I'd sit up and write down everything I remembered. An hour later, when I went to my office to write, I'd look at my night notes and simply follow my "instructions" for the day.
This worked so well that I started placing "orders." When the book was almost finished, I didn't like the ending, so I placed an "order" for a good ending. I actually said out loud, "I'm going to make dinner, would you please work on the ending? Thanks." Then I went downstairs, made some chicken piccata and listened to Miles Davis. Around nine o'clock, I got this urge to pick up a notepad. I sat down immediately and out poured the ending. It felt more like taking dictation than writing. What was happening? Was Theta mind taking over? Had my "order" been filled? I don't really know. All I know is I adore the last chapter in my book. When I read it, I think, "Wow, this is really good. Who wrote this?" And then, I remember, "Oh, I did."
This is now my modus operandi for writing. I let my subconscious mind know what I'm working on, and then I sleep on it. I request creative help on every writing and speaking project, and, as far as I can tell, I always get it. I'll never be in Mozart's league, but I can certainly play in Theta mind. And so can you.
— — —
Janet Conner teaches people how to connect directly to Spirit to receive the guidance and direction they need to create the life they want. Her new book, "Writing Down Your Soul: How to Activate and Listen to the Extraordinary Voice Within," comes out this fall from Conari Press. Janet is also the creator of Spiritual Geography, a comprehensive spiritual-healing system that has been called "the first true innovation in healing the broken heart." "Spiritual Geography" workbooks are available through Amazon or Spiritual Geography. Contact Janet at {email janetconner@tampabay.rr.com}janetconner@tampabay.rr.com{/email}.© Copyright 2008 by Janet Conner.