Stirring the Waters: Writing to Find Your Spirit

by Janell Moon

Stirring the Waters is a beautifully written guide for learning how to live a creative life without foregoing life's necessities; how to strike a balance between feeding your spirit and paying your bills. Just as Julia Cameron helped readers explore their inner-selves in The Artist's Way , author Janell Moon invites readers, through daily writing practice, to delve into the self to affirm where one has been and how it affects the choices made and the roads taken. Stirring the Waters is both spiritual and practical, offering case studies of other seekers who have successfully written their way back to their true selves. Whether you call it a search for your muse, or your goddess, or your spirit, Moon will help you to use writing to develop your spiritual practice; to access that sense that you are connected to something greater than just your self.

Genres: Writing, Spirituality

256 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2001

Reviews

[Adrien · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book and have lost track of all the hours I've spent either reading it or following its exercises. It's accessible for someone who hasn't been writing very much or feels some kind of resistance or writer's block, and hesitant to get started. It's also fairly easy to take whatever you feel resonates with you in this book, and doesn't push any particular spirituality or beliefs, but encourages you to explore your own.

[Cody · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would say, if I wasn't in therapy and hadn't just recently been on what the "initiated" call a "journey", I would probably still be going through this book. It's a good grounding exercise, and based solidly in the idea of being mindful of your emotions, your needs, and your state of mind. There are gratefulness exercises and mild therapy exercises. I found it a little hard to really get into the feel of "streaming the waters" or whatever, the visual meditations, but I did like the general idea of the book, which is just to get you in the habit of journaling every day for two months. By then you'd have gotten to a place where you'd be comfortable journaling for your own sake, and that's actually a pretty good coping mechanism for anxiety and depression, along with dependency and low self esteem. Writing helps you see how you think, and once you do that, you can take steps to break negative thought patterns, or change your behavior to break a cycle of depressive ruminations.

[Lindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Janell Moon leads us to develop the voice of wisdom and helps deepen our spiritual clarity. She will lead us into the ways of loving kindness and keep our spirit thriving.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great collection of prompts and things to think about, as well as being very readable. Inspired me to write quite a bit!