Mindful Making: Free Drawing

How Mindfulness can enhance your freedom to create your best work


Use this tip to prepare for any drawing exercise.


I use this technique when writing a word I plan to embroider. By making practice examples, I gain freedom to experiment joyfully and then choose one for my project.


Try this when writing a card for a friend or loved one. As you write their name on the front of a gift tag or envelope, focus on their loving essence and tap into heart coherence!


Set the stage

  1. Assemble plenty of paper, drawing tools, and a music source with headphones.

  2. Headphones on, cue up your favorite meditative music. Practice slow, mindful breathing.

Start to work

  1. Begin writing your name in a script that is led by your intuition. Do what feels right, slowly and with acceptance.

  2. If tension or the sound of your inner critic arises, take a deep, nourishing breath, relax the jaw, and write an affirmation such as, “I trust my intuition to guide me at all times.”

Mindfulness guides you

  1. You will know you’ve tapped into your intuition when your hand feels led or pulled along rather than forced by the mental body.

  2. You will know when to stop when you feel at ease in completion of the task.

  3. Acknowledge your courage for opening your heart to experimentation, and for being willing to make mistakes in order to learn.


To remember and notice while practicing this technique

Slow down. Breathe.

Notice the breath and come back to it.

Cultivate an awareness of how I am in the moment.


A beautiful effect of activating Theta brainwaves: I notice my softness sweetly escorts the perfectionist tendencies out of the room

To Try

Develop positive mantras to rely on and build resilience in your creative lifestyle. This one is a winner:

I am more easily in a state of openness—I am more open to being tender with myself.

Speak up!

I would love to hear the mantras you’ve discovered and found useful. Please post in the comments.

Coming in this series:

Level Up Your Listening: Beautiful beats

I’ll introduce you to accessing powerful creative energy by using some ancient techniques for boosting your brain’s peace and insight.

Practice Makes Projects: Turn your Drawing into a Stitching Guide

I’ll guide you through making your favorite name drawing into a pattern and creating your vision for the project.