Spiritual writing is based on process and product. The process has to emphasize some form of surrender to a power outside oneself (Amida Buddha's Other Power, the Great Life, Great Nature, God-or-Nature). However, the problem with this concept is that not all products surrendering to that flow would yield work that nourish or that seems spiritual or religious on the surface. Therefore, after the process of surrender (when one has listened to the gifts of images and ideas given to them), a spiritual writer now works at the gift to craft it with intention. This is Rem Tanauan's bulwak–balong concept, which is also Denise Levertov's idea of the poet being both instrument and maker or the seer seeing and communicating. This entire process per Levertov, Allen Ginsberg, and Thomas Merton requires contemplation and meditation.

What differentiates spiritual writing from other forms of writing?

If spiritual writing moves away from the usual metrics and goals of a "successful" writing life, then it has to create a clear alternative.

Intelligibility and beauty

Intelligibility and beauty are core points of differentiation in spiritual writing. Some spiritual writers like Denise Levertov maintain that a work of a seer is both to see and to communicate clearly. She favors intelligible and beautiful work.

Meanwhile, some methods like those by Olson, Ginsberg, and Rinpoche emphasize on the process of writing, honoring what has arrived in its original form and being cautious about revision. For Ginsberg, revision should only be done to help an artifact of writing be true to itself. Olson, meanwhile, thinks that excessive descriptions weaken the force of a poem.

My spiritual writing

I have two main commitments in my personal spiritual writing practice.

1. To produce inspirational spiritual writing, that is, spiritual literary writing or lyrical philosophy that inspires and provides continuous nourishment for those resonant to jiyū shūkyō.
2. To produce instructive spiritual writing, that is, spiritual writing that expounds and teaches jiyū shūkyō in a way that helps me and others understand it.

Both forms of spiritual writing begins anywhere (i.e., most probably while walking) then gets nurtured through my journal then talahardin. They, however, differ in where they are later shared when they've become mature.

Inspiration spiritual writing is what I share multiple times in social media and once a week in my weekly newsletter. Later, I could also look into spiritual publications I could send them to.

Meanwhile, spiritual instructive writing is what I publish as an essay in my website, which I linked to from my newsletter perhaps. I could also use it as a prompt for Kiitsu Kyōkai discussions.

My spiritual writing practice is here to support my religious life. I have three main priorities in this "religious and literary life."

1. Really deepen my understanding and practice of jiyū shūkyō (this is my message).
2. Really listen, nurture, and protect my writing voice and vision.
3. Constantly find ways to bring my writing to those who most need it.

My systems and my projects must all help me focus on my spiritual and religious calling. The sacrifice here is that everything that disturbs this focus must go.

Spiritual writing tool box

I practice spiritual writing daily by using my own processes as well as the processes I learned from other writers. I maintain a collection of spiritual writing methods.

Spiritual writing methods from writers

Here are some writers I intend to study to increase the methods in my tool box.

Ezra Pound
Williams Carlos Williams

Charles Olson

Denise Levertov
Thomas Merton

Allen Ginsberg
Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche

Madeleine L'Engle

Unprocessed notes

My main genre is spiritual writing. The spiritual writing happens in nature because of walking and because nature is such an emotional concept in an atheistic or non-theistic spirituality.

What does this spiritual writing look like?

• truth over beauty
• simple prose (or sentences)
• personal (but not too much)
• vulnerable

An Attempt to Draw a Spiritual Writing Curriculum

When writing is targeted outwards, it becomes an ego-filled path. Some examples of writing ego gone amok:

• plagiarism in GBL
• The Mindanao writer who falsified his credentials

Writing should primarily be an inner practice (at least especially for those who are like me called for an inner journey).

The goal of spiritual writing is primarily to help a seeker strengthen his or her commitment to the inner path:

• help him or her commune with the self
• Help him clarify the troubles of the self
• help him track his journey
• Take care of his thoughts and gifts

The second goal is to help him express his spiritual thoughts and feelings, that is, to produce work that is both didactic and expressive.

The didactic part of the equation is where you will find your strength. Insights. The bare gifts that you receive while walking both geographic space and mind. Capitalize on these.

And then develop enough expressivism.

What the spiritual writing course will be

The course avoids metaphysical and epistemological talk, although these will be welcomed as content of writing outputs.

The course will be primarily about using writing to explore our beliefs and values, help ourselves live with integrity on the values we set for ourselves, and deepen our faith and commitment to our personal beliefs.

It will also be about developing processes in expressing our beliefs. This involves finding the right forms to fit what we want to say and developing skills in expressing ourselves in writing.

The course will also involve advice on reading right, taking care of our writings, and deciding how we share our work to others.