LFPWLI: How to Change Your Life Through Free Writing with Lori Motola

In this episode, you'll hear:

• What free writing is and the benefits of a regular practice

In this episode, Mathew and Lori discuss the benefits of free writing, the different writing styles that can be utilized based on what you are struggling with, and tips to get started with writing. At his retreat, Mathew learned that thoughts must come out of your mind to be dealt with, either by talking about them or writing about them. This concept connects perfectly with what Lori has learned by practicing and researching disclosure therapy and inhibition theory. Basically, keeping everything bottled up leads to low-level lifetime stress and eventually causes real issues with your central nervous system. Lori walks us through how to start free writing, what to do if you write something that makes you feel ashamed, and how to think about what to share. Mathew also opens up about dealing with intrusive thoughts in meditation and shares what he learned about acknowledging that thoughts are just thoughts and they are not who you are. Lori advises to let them pass through you and out of you onto the page.

Lori Motola is helping people learn how to change their lives through writing and reframing what we think of as art. She talks about the fundamentals of free writing and the different styles: free writing for trauma, free writing for worry, and free writing for pattern recognition. Basic free writing, or stream-of-consciousness writing, is done with no pauses or stopping and with no concern for grammar or legibility. The goal is to engage the right brain while keeping the left brain, the operational side, suppressed while we empty the mind. It also forces us to practice abstinence from self-judgment and almost always reveals the truth we don't even know about ourselves. Free writing for trauma or other severe emotional challenges is more focused on emotions to help us overcome the inability to look at the trauma. Unearthing feelings allows them to dissipate. Writing for worry is done by giving yourself a specific time of day to do your worrying, then getting it all out so you can move on with the rest of your day. This causes you to feel better in the moment, clears out your brain, makes you more productive, helps you sleep better, and helps you find homeostasis. Writing for patterns is a data-driven way to evaluate the words you write and use defined categories to help you understand your mood and emotional progress to get to know yourself better.

"That's my goal with helping people write. It’s to help them come back home to themselves."

Follow the podcast: 

• Listen on Apple Podcasts (link: https://apple.co/3s1YH7h) 

Resources:

• Series 2, Episode 9: Austin (part1)

Connect with Mathew Blades: 

• Twitter - twitter.com/MathewBlades

Additional Credits:

• LFPWLI is managed by Sam Robertson