Mindfulness for Creative Writers.
ABOUT THE STUDY
(Estimated reading time: 2 minutes)
Expressions of interest have closed.
Under the auspices of Monash University, in February-March 2020 nineteen creative writers participated in the Mindfulness for Creative Writers (M4CW) course and research study.
In the course, participants learned:
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formal mindfulness meditation
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informal mindfulness in daily life
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mindful writing practice
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strategies to maintain a daily meditation practice
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frameworks for approaching emotional experiences in relation to creative writing practice
The M4CW research study is being conducted by Rosey Chang as part of her PhD research at Monash University, Melbourne.
At the age of 15, Rosey began learning Japanese calligraphy with a calligraphy master in Melbourne, Australia. She continued for 15 years, becoming her teacher's assistant and translator. She also majored in Japanese language and studied in Japan for 1.5 years. This was the start of Rosey's interest in Zen arts practice.
After graduating, Rosey worked in universities, lecturing in Japanese language, then moving into academic and researcher development. She also began meditating. Rosey became a student in a Tibetan tradition and learned Calm Abiding meditation, or Shamatha. She trained as a meditation teacher in Calm Abiding and has taught meditation in the community. Rosey brings her understandings from long standing personal practice and attending meditation retreats to her teaching of meditation.
Rosey is also a practicing creative writer. She is developing a middle-grade novel set in Japan with mindfulness themes. Her fiction, creative non-fiction and scholarly work has been published in Victorian Writer, Peril, The Age, TEXT, and international journals.
Rosey's PhD project brings together mindfulness approaches - through Zen arts practice and Calm Abiding meditation - and creative writing, drawing on the work of Natalie Goldberg. Synthesising these interests and the latest scientific evidence from programs such as Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, Rosey has created the Mindfulness for Creative Writers course. Writers in the research study will attend the course and participate in the research.
The M4CW course has closed. Thank you for your interest.