We often hear and talk about achieving flow in our writing, but what does that really mean, and how do we achieve it on a regular basis?
When we’re able to achieve flow, as coined by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, our obstacles (read: writer’s block—or what I consider writer’s fear) disintegrate, and the words come effortlessly.
Csikszentmihalyi believes that when we’re in flow, when we experience complete absorption in a task, we realize happiness.
If you’re here, chances are that you equate your writing practice with happiness in your life. You know that if you weren’t writing, your life would be lacking something important and essential. And if you aren’t writing and you yearn for it, you know that your life would be so much more fulfilled if you were able to.
But what if this state of flow isn’t just psychological? What if it’s also physiological?
Pair Csikszentmihalyi’s insight about flow with pharmacologist Candace Pert’s groundbreaking research on emotions. While studying where emotions originate in the body, Pert discovered something remarkable: the same areas rich in emotional neurochemistry—where neuropeptides and neurotransmitters are generated—correspond closely to the locations long associated with the body’s seven main chakras.
She had this to say about her findings in an interview with mind/body guru, Adam “AgniDeva” Helfer:
“I realized in 1987 that areas along the axis, from the top of the forehead to the base of the spine, these classical chakra areas corresponded to what I called ‘nodal points.’ Places where lots of neurotransmitters and neuropeptides were released.”
PERT INTERVIEW W/ ADAM “AGNIDEVA” HELFER
Pert went on to posit that because these neurotransmitters and neuropeptides are created in the body and that they create our emotions, “Our bodies are our subconscious mind.” [emphasis mine]
Learning about Pert’s discovery in 2013 was my epiphany. If emotions originate in the body, then perhaps the key to writing emotionally alive characters lives there, too.
Not only was it fascinating to me, it was also liberating. Pert’s revelation led to my revelation—after years of fiddling with a method I was working on to help writers create deeply human characters from an informed, psychological understanding AND simultaneously creating a Divination Deck based on the seven chakras, it all merged in my mind, and I had my Eureka! moment. My Writing Through the Body™ method was born.
I knew then that, as writers, we have no excuse to play the writer’s block card anymore… that we can—and do—have ready access to our characters’ emotions, and therefore, their deep psychologies, by way of our own rich, fertile subconsciousness. This is done in tandem with an understanding of the chakra system for practical application in our writing lives, especially as it relates to character development.
We can climb into our characters’ skins through this practical application and experience the synchronicity of accessing our own subconscious—our creative impulse—to achieve flow and, in the process, render them as full and round with complex human desires, motivations, and behaviors. We are able to tell their stories with a kind of depth that resonates for our readers long after they’ve put down our work.
Below is the conceptual map behind my Writing Through the Body™ method.
Now let’s look at the engine that powers it: the chakra system.
When we learn what the chakras are, how they function, and how to apply their traits and characteristics to our characters, we achieve a greater understanding of them, which leads to fewer questions and blocks, and ultimately, greater flow of creative energy within ourselves.
Chakras
Chakras are traditionally understood as energy centers within the body, originating in Hindu and yogic traditions. They represent seven key points along the spine—from the tip of the tailbone to the top of the head—that correspond to different aspects of human experience, development, and consciousness.
The function of chakras
The word chakra comes from Sanskrit and means “wheel” or “disk.” In traditional imagery, the chakras are depicted as lotus-like symbols, each with its own color, aligned along the spine.
These “energy centers” are spinning hubs, of sorts, holding spiritual weight that connect to bodily functions, elements, and divinatory beings.
I see them as bridges between our material, mortal existence and unseen energies that surround us, move within us, and extend far beyond us.
Chakras are typically associated with practices grounded within the body, like Tantra and yoga. It is believed that understanding the chakras allows us to access and release diffused spiritual energy. In my mind, that same energy is creative energy. When it begins to move freely, it creates a deeper flow of prana, or life force, within us.
Healthy chakras
While many traditions offer practices for opening and balancing the chakras—such as yoga, meditation, and breathwork—I believe writing can be one of the most powerful.
Rather than seeing the chakras as spinning disks (even though I understand the translation), in my mind’s eye they appear as pulsating orbs of energy that expand and contract, almost like breathing.
When we begin to view the chakras as a practical application tool, as mentioned above, they become more than spiritual concepts. They become a map of human development, emotion, and motivation. Each chakra holds a different emotional territory: survival, desire, power, love, expression, intuition, and meaning.
These are the same forces that animate our characters. Their fears, wounds, longings, and transformations live somewhere along this energetic spine. When we use this map to create them, something unexpected happens: we inevitably encounter those same emotional landscapes within ourselves.
The catch is this, though: We must access our subconscious to get there. We must. So that we can enter that liminal space between consciousness and imagination and slip into our characters’ minds, hearts, and souls.
I believe this is where writers get blocked. I believe far too many writers with profound stories to tell stay quiet because they’re afraid to fully open the door to their subconscious. They sense—even if unconsciously—that they will be forced to feel and reckon with their own unresolved emotions to a deep degree.
But it’s the only way. The only way. To write unforgettable characters and stories.
So… if you’re a brave soul (I’m sure you are), and if you have stories to tell (I know you do), stay tuned for more. Each week I’ll explore one chakra and show you how its emotional themes can unlock deeper character development, providing you with richer fodder. And the side benefits: You’ll be able to banish writer’s block, achieve flow, and tell your untold stories.
Sending you mad writing mojo…
Happy writing!
Johnnie
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