Novelist, screenwriter, and founder of LA Writers' Lab Alan Watt tells host Tess Callahan his extraordinary experience of recovering a childhood memory through meditation. This memory from infancy, preverbal and terrifying, had already begun to surface through the writing of his novel, Diamond Dogs. Watt asserts that the desire to write is connected to the desire to evolve. He first began meditating decades ago to help with insomnia. His practice calmed his nervous system, lessened anxiety, and helped him sleep. With his mind stabilized, the repressed memory was able to surface and be healed. In spirituality and in writing, Watt is all about inquiry. In this interview, he encourages you to give yourself permission to write, to exorcise whatever within you wants to be freed, to be clear on your boundaries, and to release limiting beliefs about yourself and the world. A brilliant teacher, Alan talks about bringing a sense of trust and mutual respect into his online courses, and discusses the challenge of balancing teaching and writing.

Alan Watt is an L.A. Times best-selling author, screenwriter, and consultant to Hollywood writers and producers. He has won awards for his novel Diamond Dogs and his feature film "Eddie, Kill the President." His popular books on writing include The 90-Day Novel, The 90-Day Memoir, The 90-Day Screenplay, and The 90-Day Rewrite. Alan is the Founder and Creative Director of L.A. Writers' Lab, where he teaches online workshops to writers throughout the world.

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Host: Tess Callahan
Substack: Writers at the Well
Interview Podcast: Writers at the Well
Meditations on Insight Timer
Meditations on YouTube
Tess's novels: https://tesscallahan.com/
Music: Christopher Lloyd Clarke.
Audio Editing: Eric Fischer of Audi-Refined.com

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Thank you for listening!

DISCLAIMER: Meditation is not a substitute for professional psychological or medical healthcare or therapy. We do not accept any liability for any loss or damage incurred by you acting or not acting as a result of listening to this recording. Use the material provided at your own risk. Do not drive or operate dangerous equipment while listening.

Drawing from ancient wisdom traditions and inspired by Ram Dass, this timeless meditation invites you to bathe in liquid love, release sadness and loneliness from your heart, and become an instrument for peace, light, and love. The meditation begins with a relaxing body scan before focusing on the heart. You are invited to visualize a wisdom figure whose heart connects to yours. This being lovingly receives any old energies and patterns you wish to let go of. The meditation ends with a lovingkindenss practice. Relax and enjoy this gentle alchemical experience.

Music by Christopher Lloyd Clarke.
Audio editing by Eric FIscher of Audi-Refined.com.

Support the show

Host: Tess Callahan
Substack: Writers at the Well
Interview Podcast: Writers at the Well
Meditations on Insight Timer
Meditations on YouTube
Tess's novels: https://tesscallahan.com/
Music: Christopher Lloyd Clarke.
Audio Editing: Eric Fischer of Audi-Refined.com

By tapping "like" and "follow" you help others find the show.
Thank you for listening!

DISCLAIMER: Meditation is not a substitute for professional psychological or medical healthcare or therapy. We do not accept any liability for any loss or damage incurred by you acting or not acting as a result of listening to this recording. Use the material provided at your own risk. Do not drive or operate dangerous equipment while listening.

Friends, this episode is a departure from my usual offerings. I will return to meditations and occasional interviews after my mini book tour, but today I'm talking about my novel DAWNLAND, and what IT has to do with meditation, particularly the question: Do we sometimes meditate by accident? And if so, what’s happening there? Inadvertent meditation might seem like an oxymoron. We usually associate meditation with intention and focus. Even devotion. But I think there are moments when life meditates us. And the more we practice, the more we open ourselves for this to happen spontaneously. The characters in DAWNLAND don’t meditate in a traditional sense, but they each have their own way of connecting inwardly. I describe examples in case they resonate with you. This talk invites you to relax your grip on "solving" and "fixing," to be radically open to the silences that emerge in your day, to notice when life meditates you. Savoring those moments, even for a breath, allows a sense of spaciousness to seep into your mind and your body, a spaciousness that allows the responses you need in any given moment to arise on its own. Thanks for listening!

You can find DAWNLAND at Bookshop.org, Amazon or Audible.

Audio by the magnificent Eric Fisher of audio-refined.com.

Support the show

Host: Tess Callahan
Substack: Writers at the Well
Interview Podcast: Writers at the Well
Meditations on Insight Timer
Meditations on YouTube
Tess's novels: https://tesscallahan.com/
Music: Christopher Lloyd Clarke.
Audio Editing: Eric Fischer of Audi-Refined.com

By tapping "like" and "follow" you help others find the show.
Thank you for listening!

DISCLAIMER: Meditation is not a substitute for professional psychological or medical healthcare or therapy. We do not accept any liability for any loss or damage incurred by you acting or not acting as a result of listening to this recording. Use the material provided at your own risk. Do not drive or operate dangerous equipment while listening.