Reflections by Still Waters!
The Tyranny of Self-Editing -Or,
Writing in the Spirit of the Word!
Writers are creative creatures on a specific mission to express by means of the written word: ideas, feelings and awarenesses conveyed to them from their ownpersonal muses or perhaps to express Inspirations perceived as direct from Spirit.
There are as many ways to convey an Inspiration as there are human beings. Yet, with each attempt to express a personal Inspiration into form such as the written word, there comes the critic within who wants to edit the words for the sake of the audience or may doubt the accuracy of the Inspiration. The fatal flaw here is: the critic. The critic judges and condemns. The words and thoughts are either cast into word-Hell or they will try to take flight, only to fall flat from being judged and condemned again and again.
Eventually, this kind of constant hammering allowed from the condemning critic, whether from within our own mind or the minds of others, affects our freedom of Higher Self reception and then the words can no longer take flight, and what is written is as good as dead-to anyone reading them. The Spirit of the writing is gone!
This is true of all critics, whether it is the inner critic battling the writer while he types, or the critic of a publication. Either way, the critic steals the hard won territory of ‘story’ and Inspiration attempting to be expressed!
So how does the writer express an Inspiration so that they and someone else,
i.e. the ‘audience’ can understand it?
Listen only to your inner Voice, & just be TRUTHFUL to that from your deepest HEART! The rest will take care of itself! Spirit knows Spirit! Truth knows Truth! Words carry vibrations and like vibrations attract like vibrations, so the essence of words is deeper because it is the expression of an idea- which is the expression of a vibration. This vibration can even be understood across language barriers by some, an interesting phenomenon.
So keep to your personal TRUTH! If the inner critic/editor wants to change your words to the point that your Voice is lost, which changes the vibrations of the written piece and it is therefore no longer honest, then it may not be the right time for you to write, or you just may not be in the right frame of mind. Take a break & relax. Breathe deeply and go within, into the Silence for a light meditation about your piece…
While it is true that public schools and colleges exist to train more students daily in the art of writing story, they do not train them in the art of listening to that still inner voice and expressing their Inspiration from their own ‘Voice.’
Yet even with the educational Spiritual mindset, there can be a slipping back to the old ways of the human schooling world, when a desire pops up to want to criticize and condemn. In Science of Being this activity is called, acting from the sub-conscious level of mind. The sub-conscious mind is that place where ego resides always wanting to impose its false authority. One way to impose this authority is also by belittling. Belittling takes the power away from something that seems powerful-such as name calling of bullies, or poking fun at something sacred like the name God, or Love. The funny thing is, the only part of us that ever feels threatened, is the subconscious part of our own mind. It fears for its very own existence, because it knows it is not the Eternal part of us. Soul Mind or the Higher Self aspect on the other hand is never threatened, as it knows ItSelf as its own Eternal Nature and lives in peace.
There is an old saying about whether to be true to the letter of the Law or the Spirit of the Law. If we are True to the letter of the Law [-getting lost in details] then we will miss the Spirit of the Law. If instead, we are true to the Spirit of the Law, then the letter of the Law-or details will work out naturally and harmoniously. Also, being true only to the letter of the Law indicates taking the Spirit out of it, which kills Joy. Applying this same perspective to the creative word now rather than just to Law: if we are true to the letter of the word, [getting into detail again,] instead of the Spirit of the word, then that written word is DEAD having lost its Optimistic state of Mind where enthusiasm lives: in Joy and Inspiration! Yet, if we are true to the Spirit of our Words [writing them joyfully as they come to us] then they are as though ALIVE [transporting the consciousness of the reader to another place as well as the writer] and the details of the technical aspects of the writing will work out harmoniously and naturally.
So this ‘no self editing’ is a different way of writing and different in finally accepting it and then allowing others to read and experience it. Yet this brings us closer to Spirit and living in Joy with our creations!
So writers write! Listen to your muse or your still small voice within and express-express-express! No judgment! Delete the subconscious critic every time it raises its ugly little head! And stand true to your own Voice and take a stand For your Voice! As what comes from schooling is the past and are the habits from the past [which is also subconscious]. However, what comes from your Voice within is Fresh and LIVES NOW!-being fresh from Spirit! Inspiration is from your Higher Self Consciousness and is one with your ID, your own Individualized expression stamped onto it!
Margaret Sue Turner Wright CLB
Higher Self Talk 