Daido Moriyama explains why he doesn't like SLR cameras in his documentary "Near Equal" (10:02):
"If you use a SLR, you see things like this (through the viewfinder)
[...]
and when you do this, you want to have perfect focus"
I've been shooting compact cameras for a few weeks now and I have to agree with Daido.
Viewfinders put you inside your image. Using the LCD screen keeps you in the present, aware of your environment. You don't see the fine details, only the big picture of what you are trying to create. You don't worry as much about the exposure or the focus.
All of this makes for a more spontaneous photography, and creates imagery that comes from the gut.
I've been trying to apply street photography principles to landscape and fine art, as opposed to the more meditative and slower process that is usually involved in the making of this kind of images. Instead of adjusting my composition and settings to perfection, I take in my surroundings: the sounds, the smells, the textures, the colors. And then I shoot what feels right.
I don't think either approach is better or worse than the other, and images might not be that different after all. I do enjoy the process more this way, though, and in that sense it's been liberating.
I'd encourage you to give this a try: ditch the viewfinder and embrace the LCD screen for a distraction-free photography.
