Review: The True Secret of Writing by Natalie Goldberg

If you've ever attended a meditation or yoga retreat and were asked to refrain from writing or reading, you may find bestselling author Natalie Goldberg's recipe for meditative writing practice unconventional. In her book, The True Secret of Writing, she generously recounts her journey from Zen student to university professor to Zen writing retreat instructor. Goldberg shares how she fruitfully integrated meditation and writing, reassuring the traditional meditation practitioner and busy-minded writer alike that "Silence can be the door to listening, which is one of the great cornerstones to writing--and also to eventual peace and reconciliation within you and in this world."

Throughout the book Goldberg teaches a writing practice she calls "a priori writing--before novels, short stories, essays, memoir" used in her retreats. Designed to be combined with Zen meditation, a priori writing is writing in short bursts, unedited, drawn from raw observation or experience in the moment. Six-Word Memoirs, a 5-minute speed writing exercise, encourages quick impressions and associations. Here are three examples of student Six-Word Memoirs she shares in the book,

Fixer upper: don't inspect too closely

Barbed wire pricked my American blood

Married a rabbi; still a feminist.

In addition to useful writing exercises and reflections, Goldberg also details the structure of her weeklong silent writing retreats. She provides instructions (including a daily schedule) on how to fashion your own personal retreat or how to lead a retreat with others. There's also two fascinating chapters on haiku that will inspire you to learn more about Ikkyu, and try writing your own haikus.

Goldberg studied with a Zen master for six years. The stories of her life as householder and practitioner provide information and encouragement for developing writers and spiritual students at the beginning of their journeys. If you are looking for activities and ideas for building a retreat for your own students, you will find this book helpful, not only for its instructions but also for Goldberg's personal stories of trial and error during her many decades of teaching retreats. If you've been away from your spiritual practice for a while, you may find yourself reminded amidst her thoughtful prose of the daily peace you once experienced, and perhaps feel inspired to begin again.

This review is a repost from The Sacred Crane and can also be read at https://kailynndailey.wixsite.com/thesacredcrane/books-articles