Writing Exercise: Write Yourself Out Through a Window

This is a great exercise to start your day with. You don’t need to keep track of time, but spend about 2–3 minutes on each step, and a little longer on the last one.

1. Find a comfortable place to sit by a window, with a pen and paper nearby. Close your eyes and scan through your body: How do your feet feel? Your back? Your stomach? Your chest? Your face? Notice any tension or sensations without trying to change anything. Let everything be just as it is.
   
   
2. Take a deep breath in and feel how it brings you into your body. Let go and relax as you breathe out. Repeat this a few times and notice where your breath flows easily and openly, and where it feels tighter or more blocked. Where in your body do you feel this?
   
   
3. Tune in to what state, experience, or emotion is most present for you right now. Is it calm? Restlessness? Joy? Loneliness? Contentment? Fatigue? Boredom? Anger? Write down whatever is there, without judgment, and let this word be your title.
   
   
4. Look out the window and focus on something that catches your attention—a tree, a mountain, a hedge, a mailbox, the sky, a car, or the light coming in through the window. Describe what you see while letting your chosen word blend into the text, weave through it, and linger beneath the surface. You don’t need to plan how—just stay connected to the feeling as you write and let the words flow. If your feeling changes, allow that to happen.
   

Want to learn techniques for writing vivid texts that others want to read — and how to use writing for yourself? Join the writing retreat at Dharma Mountain from April 30 – May 4, 2025, with Line Nyborg, author of "Bare Mamma som er Gud", "Det andre barnet", and "Hund som ser ned". The retreat will happen in Norwegian, but you can write in your own language.
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