How to use spiraling as a way to destress
a sketchy little art lesson
I don’t know about you, but I often have so many tabs open in my brain that I can barely begin to process what I’m actually feeling and thinking at the end of the day. One of my favorite ways to journal and sketch it out is with a technique that Cartoonist Lynda Barry prompts. She invites folks to use the spiral technique.
How do you do it? Start from the inside and slowly start spiraling out, slow and intentional. Try to keep the lines close together without them touching. This is helpful because it asks us to take our time and draw this as a meditation. I like doing this exercise at the beginning or end of the day in my journal. I usually play a 3-5 minute song and spiral on a blank page. Here is a meditation with Lynda Barry to try it out for yourself.
After I’m finished spiraling, I go through, starting from the outermost line of the spiral and create lines out from each one with whatever is at the top of my mind. I do this for every single line of the spiral until I reach the center. This is powerful, because as Joan Didion writes, “I don’t know what I’m thinking until I write it down.”
After I create the stems of free thought off each part of my spiral, I go through and read them all one at a time, holding space for whatever tabs are open. If these are internal emotional tabs like (I don’t feel good enough/ I’m feeling sad today) then I hold space for them by breathing and blessing each feeling that is there. If they are external task tabs like (I need to finish my fifth chapter this week/ I have lots of edits due on Thursday) then I make a list and carve out time for them in my calendar, so I know there is a dedicated spot to complete them.
If you are looking for a way to destress or reflect, try this technique out in your notebook. Be sure to let me know how it goes for ya!
Every month I offer up a new art lesson for anyone that wants to create and connect to their inner artist. You do not need to identify as an artist to do these. In fact, I hope those who give this a shot are the ones who struggle with making space creatively it all. Art liberates us. It helps us see things in a new way. It helps us connect to our younger self. I hope you love.
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I really love this idea. I will often just make small circles on my page. My mother use to do this while she was talking on the phone or just waiting and needed to fidget. I picked up the habit along the way. In my journal, if I have nothing to say right away I’ll just start making small circles in the corners of the page or down the margin until I get my words out. I’m going to try this spiral pattern next time. Doodling is such a meditative practice that I think we take for granted sometimes.