8 Great Mindful Writing Prompts

Welcome to these mindful writing prompts. For a recording that you can use before writing, come to this post, which also dispels some common misconceptions about meditation. For more guidance about how to journal mindfully, come to this post. And enjoy these mindful writing prompts, which are designed to help you come into the present moment and unite mind and body.

I’m grateful for the teachings of  Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh for his teachings about mindfulness. I find that when I bring mindfulness together with writing, there is a great synergy. You can use these mindful writing prompts whenever you want to connect more both with yourself and the world around you.

8 Great Mindful Writing Prompts

1) Take a few minutes with your breath. Is anything getting in your way? If so, write it down. Don’t go into great detail. Just dot it down so that the paper holds it instead of your mind or body. Put it on the paper instead of pushing it away. Then go back to your meditation or to whatever you are doing. You can come back to your page after the meditation session/ your activity is over. 

2) Open your senses. I invite you to write from your five senses in this moment. You don’t need to tell a story or write a coherent piece. Just spend time with the descriptions using all of your senses as you are experiencing them now. 

Perhaps you’re not eating anything, so what taste is inside your mouth right now?

• one thing that you see, 
• one thing that you hear, 
• one thing that you taste,
• one thing that you smell,
• one thing that you touch.

3) Find one object around you: where does it come from? For example, if you are sitting at a wooden table, imagine the tree that the wood came from. Then you might imagine the forest that it grew in, the rain that fell in the forest it, the soil that the tree grew out of, and its journey into becoming a mature tree. Then you might write about how it was cut down, became piece of wood, and then a table touched by many people and brought to this place and time. So again, find one object around you and focus on it. You might write about where it comes from, what it is composed of, what it has been touched by, and its journey to where you sit and write in the present.

4) Look at your hand. Study it in depth. Is there anything about it that you haven’t noticed before? Describe your hand in as much detail as possible. You can do this again with another part of yourself as well, if you like.

5) Take a few minutes to be with your breath again. What is one thing that brings you joy? Write about it in detail. 

6) Take a few minutes to be with your breath again. Is there anything that is calling your attention that is making it harder for you to be in a state of peace? When you’re in meditation, you can just jot it down, but then come back to it, and stay with it. What is disturbing you? Write into it. Follow the instructions in my mindfulness journaling post as well. 

7) Start a piece with “in this moment” and use that phrase as a refrain that you come back to again and again. Write without pausing and without worrying about what you are writing is “good” or not. Just see where this takes you. 

8) Describe a place that brings makes you feel wonder. Describe that place in as much detail as possible. 

I hope you enjoyed these mindful writing prompts! Please share your thoughts, writing, questions below. I love to hear from you. And share this with any friends who might enjoy it!