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Tammis Coffin "Walking, Collecting Words" I offer the following practices for shifting awareness into moment and place, engaging sensory and imaginative impressions, and encouraging a flow of words. View them as starting points and suggestions. You will want to shift and modify them so that they work best for you.
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Silent Walk: Walk silently, tuning into your senses, the rhythm of your footsteps, and awareness of your breathing. Experiment with walking at different speeds. Try going very slowly, taking one step per in-breath and one step per out-breath. Notice the shift in your awareness as you slow down. Stand very still for a moment, eyes open, then eyes closed, observing how this feels.
Writing Option: If moved to do a bit of writing after the walking is completed, try starting a sentence or two with these words. When I walk silently… When I walk slowly… When I stand still…
Meandering: Where you are free to wander, choose something close by. Walk towards that thing, staying focused on it until you reach it. Pause for a moment and imagine that you are taking a photograph of what you have been observing. Shift your focus to something else and walk towards that. You might be moving down a path in a zigzag fashion or exploring an open area such as a lawn.
Writing Option: If moved to do so, jot down compelling images or impressions, taking note of what it was about them that attracted and held your attention.
Making Lists: Create a simple list of impressions. Note movements, sounds, beauty. Leave space between entries so you can go back to them later. When something stirs your attention, stay with it, seeing if there is something else about it you can add to your list. Toss out the list if it gets in your way of enjoying and exploring. If you feel comfortable, place some of your emphasis on gathering verbs. They engage us with the present moment and the life that is happening around us.
Writing Option: With your list, you have created one layer of awareness, now you can add more layers to explore personal meaning. Put the words IF… or WHEN… before your observations, and I WONDER… after them, and allow some spontaneous thoughts to unfold. Example: When I see strings of Canadian geese flying away, I wonder where they are going.
I am: This writing prompt is effective for writers of many levels of ability. It even works well for pre-schoolers with adults standing by to offer the prompts and write down the responses. Write, I am the... .and I am...The idea is to select something from your surroundings and fill in an impression of what it appears to be “doing” or what you imagine it to be doing. With children it is important to emphasize that there are no right or wrong answers. This prompt may yield surprising and rather magical results. Work with it to create simple lists or expand by adding IF… or WHEN… at the start of the sentence, and a phrase at the end of the sentence such as, AND THIS MEANS…
Tammis Coffin, 2006 Park Interpreter @ Skinner State Park, Mountain Rd, off Rte 47, Hadley, MA 413-586-0350 park office, 413-259-1254 cell
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2006 by The Walden Woods Project |
