Journal Therapy Cures

Writer's Block? More Opportunities to Get to Know Your Self Better

Mari — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 16:59:00 GMT

"When you have a disease, don't try to find a cure; find your center, and you'll be healed."

Ancient Taoist proverb

Today 3 people, in the early hours of a steamy Saturday morning, called me stricken with Writer’s Block. Since we all are writers, we’re genetically predisposed to that disease but it plays out differently in each writer’s body. The cause is similar though: we have gotten away from our center, our core and have slipped back into our old ways of living in our heads, stressing and shoulding ourselves incessantly.

That’s what our Journal is there for—to locate our true self and bring us home.

Some Journaling Home Remedies:

1. Dump on your Journal. Just start writing and writing and writing for as long you feel like it. You can begin it any place. Whatever feels good to you. Maybe you crave a certain setting. Then go there. Now.

2. Ask Your Journal a question. Use a civil tone. Remember what Mom said”you get more flies with honey than you do with vinegar”. Use “How can I…” “What do I do… or “Where in the world does this come from”….

3. Write a letter or have a conversation with your Muse or your Inner Coach or someone you admire and inspires you. Ask for their guidance. And follow their suggestions.

4. Download a free eBook on “How to Use Your Journal to Cure Writer’s Block Now".

5. Take a look at some Journaling Tips. Maybe something will prompt you to the page.

6. Read some articles about Writer's Blocks .

And it’s Completely Okay to:

7. Do something. Freak out. Yell, scream, stomp your feet, dance to the music, blare it if you like. Take a walk, go for a run. Take a shower. Soak in the tub.

8. Do nothing. Sit down in a favorite nesting place, come to your senses. Meditate.

How do you cure your Writer’s Block? Please share.

How to Journal Through Sickness to Health

Mari — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 11:16:00 GMT

When our bodies are not well—when we get sick frequently or have recurring aches and pains—the last solution we think of (if at all) is journaling. In fact, journaling can be an excellent starting point for you to discover what is wrong and what your body is trying to tell you. Even the act of writing in a journal can contribute to overall good health. According to Discovery Health , studies show that people who write about their most traumatic experiences feel better and visit doctors less frequently. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association demonstrated that this type of writing exercise improved symptoms for asthma and rheumatoid arthritis patients.

Journaling can lead you through sickness into better health. Once you determine what is ailing you, you can think of new ideas to help heal yourself. (Note: Journaling does not necessarily replace medical care; for serious health concerns, consult your doctor and bring your journaling notes.)

Listen To Your Body

1. Have a daily conversation with your body through the pages of your journal. Ask it questions and carefully write down your responses.

How are you feeling overall? Are you battling any kind of illness?

What is your energy level? Are you feeling tired or sluggish?

Starting with your head and going down to your toes, check in with individual parts of your body. Do you have any pain or tension? Identify any discomfort as specifically as possible.

Is there anything that is bothering you emotionally at the moment?

What improvement would you like to see in your body’s health today?If you could sum up what your body is trying to tell you today in one sentence, what would it be?

2. Continue this conversation with your body every day for a week, then go back and read your responses. On a fresh page in your journal, answer the following questions:

Are there any physical patterns you notice in your conversations? Are you consistently hearing the same message from your body?

Are there any emotional patterns you notice in your conversations?

What improvement would you like to see in your body’s health in the upcoming week?

If you could sum up what your body is trying to tell you in the last week in one sentence, what would it be?

3. Continue this practice of regular writing, reading and reflection each week and make note of patterns, changes and progress. Keep Journaling for the Health of it^TM !

For inspiration, read the blog post, “Writing and Healing and Cures, Oh My!”

Have you ever used your journal as a cure for physical troubles? What has helped you?

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Journaling on the Silver Screen

Mari — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 19:10:14 GMT

Journaling is, by nature, a solitary exercise. We write our most intimate secrets in the pages of our journal, so it isn’t every day that we can share the experience with others. It’s refreshing when we find a movie that portrays the journaling life.

1000 Journals
In 2000, a San Francisco-based artist named Someguy decided to conduct a collaborative, creative experiment by releasing 1000 blank journals into the world. He started with his immediate surroundings, giving them to friends and leaving them in places around his city. As word spread about his project, strangers began to email him asking him if they could participate. He sent journals to people from around the world and they, in turn, shared them with more friends and strangers. In 2003, journal No 526 returned to Someguy with fascinating and diverse entries. In the documentary 1000 Journals, filmmaker Andrea Kreuzhage goes on a mission to find the other 999 journals and discovers a world of shared creativity and expression from people across the globe.

Bridget Jones’s Diary
The film Bridget Jones’s Diary, based on the popular novel by Helen Fielding, is a glimpse into one year in the life of Bridget Jones, a woman in her early thirties who is single, self-conscious and searching for success in her career and love life. Bridget starts writing in a journal on New Year’s Day as a way of pursuing her goals and getting a fresh start on her life, and throughout the year, we witness both entertaining fiascos and important steps in her personal development.

Freedom Writers
Freedom Writers tells the true story of recent college graduate Erin Gruwell (portrayed by Hilary Swank), who begins teaching English to at-risk students at Wilson High School in Long Beach, California shortly after the L.A. riots. Erin discovers that other adults in the education system have written her students off as “unteachable,” but she uses journaling as a way to teach them about literature and allow them to talk about the hardships and challenges they face. While they read The Diary of Anne Frank, her students write about their own experiences living in a war zone, struggling with gang violence, juvenile detention, family problems and drug abuse. The students of Room 203 named themselves the Freedom Writers and published a book called The Freedom Writers Diary.

The Motorcycle Diaries
The Motorcycle Diaries is a film based on the journal (which was published as a memoir posthumously) of the 23-year-old Ernesto Guevara, who would later become the famous Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara. The film tells the story of his 1952 journey, partially by motorcycle, across South America with his friend Alberto Granado. During his journey, Guevara encounters poverty and injustice and finds himself transformed by the people he meets.

Eat, Pray, Love
The highly anticipated movie version of Elizabeth Gilbert’s popular memoir Eat, Pray, Love (starring Julia Roberts), opens this August. Still reeling from a painful divorce, Elizabeth goes on a trip of self-discovery to Italy, India and Indonesia, writing copiously in her journal in each place. She battles her demons of depression, loneliness and doubt to find her own path to happiness and love. Here is one excerpt from the book: “I fell asleep holding my notebook pressed against my chest, open to this most recent assurance. In the morning when I wake up, I can still smell a faint trace of depression’s lingering smoke, but he himself is nowhere to be seen. Somewhere during the night, he got up and left. And his buddy loneliness beat it, too.”

Are there other movies that you love that portray journaling in a positive way? Share your favorites in the comments!

Journal Writing Your Way to Healthy Eating

Mari — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:54:00 GMT

Food is clearly an integral part of our physical well-being, but it is also very much connected to our emotional health. It nourishes our bodies and affects how we feel.

Sometimes, without even realizing it, we turn to food when we are stressed or unhappy instead of confronting our emotions head-on. In addition, though many "comfort foods" (meatloaf, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, oh my!) are delicious and satisfying occasionally, they are not very healthy for everyday consumption. Studies show that a poor diet can lead to mental health problems such as depression and anxiety, so it is extra important to evaluate what we put into our bodies.

Keeping a food journal can help you see not only what you eat, but how and why you eat. You don't need to become an obsessive calorie-counter, but simply writing down the foods you eat and how you are feeling when you eat them can help you make healthier choices. You might not even realize that you drink two colas and eat a bag of potato chips with lunch every day, but it's hard to ignore the facts when they are written down in black and white.

Mireille Guiliano, the author of the helpful book French Women Don’t Get Fat, recommends keeping a food journal at the beginning of a journey toward healthier eating. She bases her philosophy of eating on maximizing the pleasure you get from food, and you can’t enjoy something that you consume unawares. Guiliano shares a week-long food journal of her own and concludes, “The general pattern, as you can see, is that I eat three balanced meals a day with plenty of vegetables and fruit, and always foods (and drinks) that bring me lots of pleasure.”

Here’s an exercise to try:

1. For seven days, keep a food journal. Every time you eat or drink something, jot it down along with the time and date. Add a few remarks about how you were feeling at the moment. Were you happy, sad, bored, tired? If applicable, also write down what you were doing while eating (working, watching TV, reading) and who you were with.

2. Try not to judge yourself or feel guilty while journal writing. Simply record what you are eating and feeling, and you can evaluate your entries later.

3. After the seven days, reread your journal entries. Do you notice any trends? What foods do you eat too often? What foods are lacking in your diet? What emotions do you most commonly describe? Write down your observations and reflect on any changes you would like to make, big or small.

Remember: you are what you eat, so be good to yourself!

How has journal writing helped you eat healthier?

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Journaling Tips the Scales for Personal Development

Mari — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 20:03:00 GMT

Your journal can play many roles in your life, depending on your needs at the moment. It is often a combination of confidante, friend, mentor, teacher and therapist. Journaling helps you stay focused on your goals and is a valuable resource in your ongoing own personal development.

So you have opened up your journal to a fresh page and are ready to write. Now what? Here are three simple tips to help you use your journal to develop your strengths, improve your self-awareness and fulfill your aspirations.

Take notes throughout the day. Jot down those fleeting thoughts and brilliant ideas you have during your day. Carry around a small notebook or a mini voice recorder to record important “headlines” or bullet points as you think of them. Even if you think you’ll remember later, take a second to write that thought down, record it or even email or text yourself a reminder. When you have more time later, reread your notes and use them as prompts for longer entries in your journal.

Find a routine that works for you. If you are always running out the door five minutes late to work in the morning, don’t try to force yourself into writing in your journal when you wake up. Find a time later in the afternoon or evening when you are more relaxed and can fully devote your attention to it. Alternately, if you are falling asleep over your journal when you try to write “Night Notes ” before bed, try an earlier time when you are more alert.

For the morning people:

Write as soon as you get up in the morning (or after you’ve had your coffee if necessary). Describe what your ideal day looks like in detail. Consider questions such as:

What are you excited about?
What do you hope to accomplish?
What are potential challenges you might face, and how can you overcome them?
How will you feel at the end of the day?
Do you have any insights from yesterday?
Were your predictions close to the reality of the day?

Stay focused on what you want to achieve, then later evaluate the day’s actual events.

For the night owls:

Kick up your feet after the kids are in bed or after you’ve finished doing the dinner dishes. Find a quiet place where you can write uninterrupted, and tell your journal about your day. Ask questions such as:

What were your victories?
What were your roadblocks?
How do you feel?
What do you hope for tomorrow?

Again, construct your perfect day and focus on your goals.

Stumped?

Start your entry by writing down five things you are most grateful for or five victories, large or small, from the day.

Go beyond the to-do list. It’s easy to get caught up in thinking about what you need to accomplish in the immediate future, but your journal has the potential to be much more than just an ongoing to-do list. Write about your wild ideas, your big dreams, your crazy “what if…” scenarios. Your journal will never judge you or tell you something is impossible, so feel free to dream out loud on the page. Remember that Leonardo da Vinci kept detailed journals of his art, writing, inventions and other creative imaginings, and he is widely recognized as having one of the greatest minds in history. Keeping a journal helped him sort through his ideas and see life from a unique perspective others may have missed.

How does your journal assist you in your personal development? What journaling tips would you add to this list?

Journaling for a Daily Dose of Focus

Mari — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 23:36:00 GMT

Journaling on a regular (preferably daily) basis can be an invaluable tool to help you determine your goals and create an action plan to achieve them.

We’ve talked about setting SMART goals which are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-Based. Outlining these goals can be tough in the beginning, but staying on track toward meeting them can be even more difficult. Life gets busy with work, family and other commitments, and sometimes staying on top of big goals can seem daunting on a day-to-day basis.

This is where your journaling comes in. It acts as a gentle, friendly reminder that we need to nurture our goals consistently if we want them to flourish, much like we need to water plants every day if we want them to blossom. Write in your journal very quickly every day (or a few times a week) to check in with yourself and your goals, and over time, your aspirations will become more tangible.

1.   At the beginning of each week, write down one goal you would like to focus on. Pick only one so it is more manageable and not overwhelming.

2.   Each day, set aside five or 10 minutes to reflect on your goal for the week and jot down notes on your progress. Choose a time of day you are able to relax and write interrupted, whether this is first thing in the morning, on your lunch break or right before you go to bed. You won’t have major news or breakthroughs every day, but write down even the smallest ideas, victories and questions.

Here is a sample structure you can use:

Goal for the week: ______________
Date: ______________
Today I felt ______________ about my goal because ______________
Victories: ______________
Ideas: ______________
Frustrations: ______________
Questions: ______________
Tomorrow, I expect ______________
I plan to ______________

3.   Keep at it, even if it gets tough at times. Take a day or two if you need to, then start back fresh. Just remember all the New Year’s resolutions you’ve abandoned over the years; these goals will be different!

Have you kept track of your goals using your journal? What tips do you have for staying focused and motivated?

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Creative Journaling: Clear Your Head by Clearing a Place to Journal

Mari — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 20:08:00 GMT

We’ve talked about the importance of clearing mental clutter to overcome writer’s block, but what about physical clutter? Be honest. How many times have you walked into a room in your house and groaned out loud at the clutter and mess around you? Unless you are one of those lucky few creative folks who is meticulously neat, you probably wish you could have a little more organization, especially in your writing space.

Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese practice of positioning objects and buildings in a way that promotes a balance of yin and yang and a positive flow of chi. It dictates that clutter brings low, confusing and draining energy into your home, which is detrimental to your own energy and well-being.

Clearing out physical clutter can seem like an overwhelming and tedious process, but when you live and work in a clear, open space, your mind also becomes free and uncluttered.

Take these simple steps to apply Feng Shui principles to a space where you can write every day.

1. Choose a room where you enjoy writing—an office, spare room or bedroom. Start small and tackle one area of the room at a time. Set a timer and spend 30 to 45 minutes only focusing your efforts on a task or two. When the timer goes off, stop. You can repeat for a few cycles, but don’t burn yourself out. Breaking the cleaning up into pieces makes it more manageable.

2. Create a positive environment for your clutter clearing. Play music that makes you happy, open windows to let in fresh air, enlist help from a loved one.

3. Ask yourself questions about the possessions you are sorting.

Do I need this? Do I love this?
Have I used this in the last year?
Am I keeping it for sentimental reasons that make it special to me? Am I keeping it out of guilt or fear?

4. Be merciless. If you can't think of a reason to keep it in a few seconds, get rid of it! Set aside one box for items to throw away, one to give away and one to keep. When you are done, throw away, give away or put away everything in those boxes.

Take a step back and admire your work. Great job! You have made a huge difference in your writing environment. Celebrate the occasion by taking out your journal, turning to a fresh page and writing about the experience.

What did you see and feel when you looked at this room before? What do you see and feel now?
What old baggage, physical or emotional, were you able to throw away while cleaning? What items were the hardest to get rid of? Why?
How do you plan to keep your writing space fresh, inviting and clean in the future?

Now that you’ve made more space for You and your creative journaling, why not start going on:

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Beginning Meditation: Cultivating Your New Practice

Mari — Tue, 25 May 2010 18:03:00 GMT

Paul B. Schlosberg

Attempting to learn just about any new skill can be a daunting, challenging endeavor; however, starting a meditation practice is unlike other new activities in that it is a relearning process. It is revisiting a part of oneself that has perhaps been forgotten, but when reawakened becomes quite familiar - meditation is a journey back to one's innermost sanctum! Meditation is a simple but not easy act of shifting from "doing" to "being," a transition away from externalized awareness, back to what is described in the field of counseling psychology (e.g., technical terms), as an "internal locus of control." The beautiful thing is one only needs to learn to be receptive and accept this wonderful gift - to just be!

We have all done it many times before, naturally, without even being aware of it. For example any time you have found yourself deeply immersed in an activity such as Journaling, reading a good book or driving, and have lost track of time, space, and surroundings, you were experiencing a glimpse of meditation. You have shifted your awareness toward the inner world and center, away from the outer distractions.

There are definite steps to learn to meditate effectively; some ways better than others, yet, there is no wrong way to meditate (except being distracted!). The key, no matter the style or approach is establishing and maintaining a regular daily practice. Perhaps a good analogy is breathing: most would agree they never needed to learn any special technique to breathe; still, ironically, through practice it is possible to become more adept at both breathing and meditating. The most important thing is to learn to enjoy it, to simply delight in the journey!

Certainly, many varied philosophies and nuanced techniques exist, which may become important especially as one advances in practice; yet from my practice and study of meditation I would like to offer the following basic technique that can form the foundation of a positive practice.

Basic Technique - Seated Meditation

1. Create a comfortable environment free from noise and distractions.

2. Find a comfortable chair that is sturdy, with good back support. Keep the body aligned. It is beneficial to sit straight as many believe it helps align the body's energy centers (chakras). Slouching can be very distracting; however, this is your personal time, so sit how you feel comfortable.

3. Begin to tune inward and let go, move your awareness away from all the external distractions of your day and from your immediate surroundings. Feel your breath as it moves in and out of your nose, listen to it; become one with it.

4. It is useful to find a focal point for your attention as it tends to center the mind. You can repeat a meaningful phrase or prayer, one word e.g. God, Jesus, Buddha, Om, peace, wellness. It can be beneficial to focus on the point between the eyes (the sixth chakra), which is one of the seven energy centers in the body; or loving kindness on the heart chakra (the fourth). Perhaps focus on a candle flame, or point on the wall. Or, if you like you can continue to come back to the breath as an anchoring point when the mind wanders.

Whatever you decide to focus on is OK; just make it meaningful and enjoyable! Experiment with the process, as you progress you will become more accepting of your experiences in meditation, and it may not be necessary to use a focal point; the pure experience of being receptive may be enough. Or continue to use a focal point if you like. You may decide you want to shift back and forth intermittently.

5. What is most important is trust the process and don't strive; when you meditate you are letting go of inner struggle, and letting go of your stress, and distractions.

6. Continue sitting for a time that feels right to you. In the beginning, five to ten minutes may be enough. Two times a day - once in the morning and once in the evening - is optimal. However, even once per day for a short time may be beneficial as long as you practice regularly in a spirited way. As you advance you will find it is easier to sit longer. Your meditations will naturally increase, and sitting for longer periods becomes much easier. Through practice, your mind will naturally come to one pointedness.

References

Bien, T.; Bien, B. (2002). Mindful Recovery: A Spiritual Path To Healing From Addiction. New York, NY: Wiley and Sons.
Kabat Zinn, J. (1990). Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness. New York, NY: Random House Publishing.

About Paul

Paul B. Schlosberg is a coach and teacher of mindfulness practices. He has been practicing meditation for over twenty-five years. As mental health counselor and coach, Paul works integratively and holistically with various mental and physical conditions.

His website is www.mindbodysoulnow.com

Dream Journaling Lets Your Unconscious Speak

Mari — Tue, 18 May 2010 15:33:00 GMT

"The interpretation of dreams is the royal road
to a knowledge of the unconscious."
– Sigmund Freud

It’s not a coincidence that dreams are a common theme in worldwide culture and history, appearing frequently in literature and religious texts. Paul McCartney heard the melody of “Yesterday,” the most covered song in history, in a dream. Freud said that dreams are unfulfilled and repressed wishes. Many people say that they come up with solutions to a problem once they “sleep on it,” and this phenomenon has even been researched.

Paying attention to your dreams is an opportunity to gain insight into your waking life, because they contain bits of real events and emotions that our minds and bodies are processing. These experiences often keep appearing in our dreams until we bring them to the surface and examine them in the light of day. One of the best ways to do this is through regular dream journaling.

Keeping a dream journal is one of the best ways to check in with yourself first thing every morning. Even if you don’t remember your dreams, you still have them several times per night. With practice, you’ll be able to remember more and more detail. It’s up to you to sort out the fact from the fiction, to extract the nuggets of truth from your mind’s fantastic storytelling.

Here’s how to get started with dream journaling:

Choose where to write down your dreams. You may use the same journal as you normally do, or you can use a special journal just for your dreams.
Each night before you fall asleep, tell yourself that you’ll remember your dreams.
Each morning, set your alarm for ten minutes ahead of the time you normally wake up. Before you do anything else, jot down what you remember of your dreams. It can be in narrative or bulleted form, and it doesn’t need to make sense.
Spend a few minutes writing down a few sentences of reflection about your dreams: strong feelings, new ideas, and unexpected events. What do they mean to you? There’s no right answer, just your own interpretation.

Every week or so, take a few minutes to track your progress. What issues has dream journaling helped you face? What new insights have you gained through examining what emerges from your unconscious? What actions have you taken as a result?

Look closely at your dreams for clues about yourself. You might be surprised at where they lead you!

Journaling: My Most A-Muse-ing Journey So Far

Mari — Tue, 11 May 2010 13:24:00 GMT

With more journaling, the new I see,

I’m now the girl I really meant to be

I felt I had but wasn’t sure

If way down deep housed tales galore

Now in class on creative writing

I watch the fictional words alighting

I’m attending (Full Disclosure: I’m retaking a Creative Writing 101class, because of writing confidence gained through journaling and I really liked my teacher). I just turned in my first assignment—writing a 500-word story about:

The Window

Jacoby Cottage, a 15th century Glastonbury bungalow provides 21st century pilgrims bed and breakfast, and spirits at no extra charge. Each day, my sister-traveler CB and I breakfasted with commercial-free BBC 2 radio before resuming residence in our respective writing homestead. CB trekked up into the multi-leveled garden and its yurt to work on her third novel. I cajoled crumbs into the trash bin and converted the dining room table into wide open spaces for writing notebooks, and muses that would surely happen by any day now.

The room's only natural light source was a 12-paned window which two healthy jade plants adorned. British sun, as fickle as its rain drops, prompted my daily aerobic exercise as I got up and I got down and I got up and I got down from the light switch.

I opened my purple-sparkled journal and entered Thursday's question of the day, “Why am I here?” prefaced of course with a spot of tea and a few too many shortbreads. My daily writing jumpstart done, time for a tea warm up and some biscuits. Nursing my Builder’s Tea brew, I glanced out the window, expecting to find uniformed school children en route but saw instead, his densely curled hair, his Oxford accent, his tentative smile. Everything about him last Sunday night.

My bitters and chips craving and general curiosity had drawn me to sample the George & Pilgrims Hotel pub, a 500 year old resting and watering place, at the far end of High Street. While navigating my way to the bar, a sea sprayed JCrew blazer abruptly turned around and presented a chiseled face and a splash of lager to the front of my blouse.

“Ah, sorry,” he said.

“Oh, I'm not,” I replied.
He smiled. “Let me buy you some bitters so you can clean your shirt.”
''Please make that a double since I came into drink bitters, not wear them” I said.

He scanned around me. 'Right. Are you with anyone?”

“If you mean of the human being persuasion, no. I can’t vouch for any spiritual entities that might be along for the ride.”

“Right. How about you catch that table in the corner for us, take my pint and I'll bring the bitters and a proper apology?”

“Great. I was here to get some chips as well. Please?”

“Can do. Chips not crisps, eh?” he wondered.

“And lots of vinegar, too. I added. That’s it, I’m going to find us a table now.”

When he appeared with two bottles plus glass and the chips on order, I felt the panic of attraction, sensing that I didn’t need this rendezvous but wanting it more than anything in my life so far. My right shoulder blade was my first early warning sign of impending danger and it was already in overdrive. Slow and steady breaths helped return me to center.

I released my lower jaw but no sounds surfaced.

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Create Write Now Fans and Friends are invited to submit their 200 word story on “Why Journaling is Important to Me”. You’ll find details under the YOUR STORY tab on Journaling for the Health of It ™’s Facebook Fan Page .

Please visit ‘A Journaler’s Journey’ a collection of blog posts about Journalers' adventures in Journaling. We'd love to publish your article...submit it to Mari@CreateWriteNow.com.

Ask your questions about Journaling for the Health of It ™’

Journaling: A Passionate Pursuit

Mari — Fri, 07 May 2010 10:41:00 GMT

By Dawn Herring

Lists. Dialogue. A dream. A question and an answer. A summary. A poem. A quote. A prayer. There are so many approaches to a journal entry; that’s what I love about journal writing. It is so organic. There is no right or wrong way to do it. You can use the same technique over and over if you find something that truly works for you. Or you can try a different technique every day to keep your entries from feeling monotonous if you bore easily or find you have nothing to say.

Then there is the possibility of keeping more than one journal so you can use different techniques for different approaches and reasons to journal.

I enjoy a summary approach in my daily personal journal, recording events, personal victories and challenges, and brainstorming for better life quality and balance.

In my spiritual journal, I like to quote a scripture or something someone said in a devotional I’m reading, and perhaps add a line or two in applying the principle or action in my own life.

You can do whatever works for you. Because that is the beauty of keeping a journal. And the more active you are in recording things of importance to you, the more you will remember and learn from the process of your life journey.

When I first started out keeping a journal, I was very sporadic with my entries, often going months without a record. That was over 20 years ago. I now see the value of keeping a journal every day; I have 40 or so filled volumes that line my shelves. I can now go back to specific times in my life to read and see where I’ve come from.

Journaling is one of my biggest passions, and I love sharing that passion with others, whether they are regular journalers or are just starting out and are curious about the benefits and approaches to keeping a journal.

You’re welcome to join me for #JournalChat, a chat on Twitter I moderate and host(@JournalChat is my Twitter handle). The purpose of #JournalChat is to have a forum for folks to come together to discuss the benefits, approaches, and techniques of journaling. I hope to inspire those who are curious to get started in keeping a journal, and to encourage those who keep one regularly to share their own approach. We can all learn from other’s journaling experiences and perhaps find another approach that gives us a fresh perspective on our own journaling journey. #JournalChat is every Thursday at 2 EST/1 CST/11 PST on Twitter.

You’re welcome to join the discussion, share your own experience, and perhaps come away with a new journaling technique you can try for your next journal entry.

You’re also welcome to stop by my blog, www.journalwriter.blogspot.com for journaling prompts and tips, or my website at www.dawnherring.net for journaling resources.

Dawn Herring is a freelance writer and avid journal writer of over 20 years.

Journaling and Tarot Go Hand-in-Hand

Mari — Tue, 04 May 2010 18:05:00 GMT

By Ellen Zucker

If you work with the Tarot, you will benefit by keeping a journal handy and using it regularly. That is because you will want to record your observations as you work with the cards.

Tarot cards, like other forms of divination, are simply ways to access and amplify the voice of your intuition.

Often it is difficult to hear that still, small voice and discern its message.

Intuition works best when you are relaxed and centered. If you are angry, upset, or feeling pressured it is likely that you will not be able to tune in.

Working with Tarot cards is an excellent way to crack through that barrier. That is because, like your intuition, Tarot cards speak with symbols and images.

The challenge is to discern the your cards' message.

Reading books about the Tarot is a starting point. There are many excellent books that can instruct you on the conventional interpretations of each card. But book meanings are not always relevant to the situation at-hand.

As a system of symbols, Tarot cards can convey multiple meanings on different levels. Many are not to be found in any guidebook. A deeper reason is, like your intuition, that Tarot symbols speak a language that is individual to you. In that way it is not unlike interpreting a dream.

That is why many Tarot instructors will encourage their students to keep a journal.

There are many ways a journal can help you work with Tarot.

Here you can record your interpretations for future reference. You can record the questions you ask along with the cards that you pick and your interpretations. This is particularly helpful if the meaning of a card is unclear to you. A card's significance may not become apparent until you receive further information or the situation has progressed. Your written record will be an invaluable reference.

My first Tarot teacher encouraged students to take a loose-leaf binder and devote a page to each card. I recorded his interpretation of the cards' meanings and added my own interpretations as I began reading cards individually and in spreads.

Another version of this exercise is to take time out during each day to focus and write about each card. On Day One, begin with the first card, The Fool, work through the Major and then the Minor Arcana until you have covered all 78.

Put away your guidebooks when you do this exercise. Then place the card in front of you and carefully observe it. What is your immediate emotional reaction? Why? Look at the colors in the image. How do they make you feel? What detail(s) grab your eye? Who or what is in the card? What are they saying? What are you thinking?

Write it all of this down for future reference.

Many people will make a ritual out of shuffling their Tarot deck, pulling a card, then meditate upon it. Like the prior exercise you will note your emotional and physical reactions and record them. You may find yourself asking questions of the figures of the card. You can direct questions to the people in the image, but you can also direct it to the animals, if any, the trees, the clouds, the mountains... you get the idea.

Over time you will start to see patterns. Some cards may repeat and others will not show up at all.

Then write about the events of the day and observe how your chosen card correlates with the day's events and your reactions to those events.

Not only is this a wonderful way to work out your feelings and explore your emotions, you will begin to understand the unique language that your cards use to speak to you.

Ellen Zucker uses the practical tools of Astrology and the Tarot to empower you so you can create your place in the Universe. To learn more, visit her website Practical Astrology and Tarot.

Journaling Through the Rough Patches

Mari — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 15:35:00 GMT

By Gillian Burgess

For the last 15 years, I have kept a journal through my hardest and happiest times. The journals have looked different over the years, from crumpled spiral notebooks to sleek black sketchbooks, but they have always served the same purpose: to give me a safe place to vent, gloat, rage and muse about everything important phase of my life. My first journal helped me survive the dramatic ups and downs of middle school, and my latest has chronicled several cross-country moves and my first year of marriage.

I’ve often said my journal is my personal therapist, and I’m not exaggerating. During happy periods of my life, I check in occasionally, writing brief, scattered posts about trips I’ve taken or goals for the future. During challenging times, however, I write a lot and I write often. It is the only place I allow myself to be completely honest about how I’m feeling, and it is indispensable.

One example of these difficult periods is the year of 2005 to 2006. I graduated from college in New Orleans in May 2005, and everything was going perfectly. I was in a great relationship, I had a fantastic group of supportive friends and I had been accepted into a program teaching English in France for the upcoming school year. I was nervous about moving far away from my loved ones for so long, but I was excited for the new adventure.

On August 29, two weeks before I was supposed to fly from New Orleans to Paris, Hurricane Katrina hit and everything changed. All of a sudden, instead of attending farewell parties, I was scrambling to evacuate the city with my passport, camera and a couple days’ worth of clothes. A few weeks later, my friends were scattered across the US and I was alone in a foreign country to cope with the sadness, anger and guilt I felt as one of the lucky survivors of the storm. I was terribly lonely and homesick, but for the first time ever, I knew it wasn’t possible to go home.

I started writing in my journal every day as a necessary form of therapy. Each night, I scrawled page after page, trying to identify and sift through all of my conflicting emotions. I desperately missed my boyfriend, my friends and my city, and I was clumsily trying to move past the culture shock and make a home for myself in a new place. It felt incredibly cathartic to tell my journal everything I couldn’t even tell my closest friends. It was the perfect confidante; I could let it all out without fear of being judged for appearing weak or ungrateful or self-indulgent.

My posts ranged from the frustrated…

I just really miss my people and I feel so isolated without a phone or Internet. During the good moments, I think, “I can do this. My French will eventually catch up to my brain. I’ll be glad I stuck with this.” During the bad moments, I think, “Why am I here? I’m bored, I’m lonely, I’m far from everyone I love and I sound like an idiot when I speak French.”

… to the downright hysterical…

I hate France. I hate Istres. I don’t know why I’m here. I just want to go home. I’ve been sobbing uncontrollably all day and I can’t stop. I just want a freaking phone—is that so much to ask? I hate France Telecom with every fiber in my body. They screwed up and now it will be almost three weeks before I get a phone installed. Kill me. I’m in small town hell, and I hate everything French.

I shed a lot of tears over that journal for the first few months, but I also started using it to record my small victories. I wrote about the wonderful new friends I was making, the successful lessons I taught my students, the colorful French slang I was learning and the amazing food I was discovering. I now had stories to tell about my six-year-old students delightedly learning the words and motions to “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” and the day I spent harvesting olives and eating a two-hour mid-day feast at a local farm. I pasted train ticket stubs and postcards and photos in the pages and started keeping lists of new words and phrases I wanted to remember (favorites that are appropriate to repeat are “C’est marrant!” – “How funny!” – and “Pas de soucis” – “No worries”). I even began writing half of my posts in French, which became easier and easier as the weeks progressed. Very gradually, my enthusiastic entries began to outnumber the tearful ones, and I was surprised to find that I was actually happy.

Even though it was a difficult year for me, I look back on that journal fondly. It was a good friend to me when I needed one the most, and it helped me turn a painful time into a character-building experience. This is an excerpt from my final journal entry before I came back home:

In the end, I can honestly say that I don’t regret this experience. At times, it was almost unbearable because I was so frustrated or isolated or sad. But it’s all part of living abroad, and I’m proud of what I’ve done. There are people and things I will miss, but I am ready and happy to go home. Et voila, it’s the end of this adventure—till the next!

Gillian Burgess is a freelance writer based on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. She blogs about personal development, relationships and food at http://www.no-dowry.com/.

Picture by Kim White of www.webdesignforwriters.com

A Gift to Help You Break Through Writer’s Block

Mari — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 15:12:00 GMT

If you’re reading this now, chances are that you see the importance of journaling to your health and happiness. However, even though you know journaling is good for you, you may have trouble doing it regularly. And although you may not know it, you may have a case of writer’s block, a resistance to delving into your mind and body through journaling.

Recently, I developed a tool specifically for breaking through writer’s block, a short ebook called “We Are All Writers: How to Use Your Journal to Cure Writer’s Block Now.” You can download it for free.

“We Are All Writers” explains why writer’s block happens around journaling, and what you can do to break through it. Although you probably notice the benefits you experience when you journal – a decrease in stress, and a greater awareness of what’s going on in your mind and body – there always seems to be a reason why you can’t sit down and put your pen to the page. You’re too busy. You don’t have anything to say. You’ll write something tomorrow.

All of these excuses come from your resistance. You may have noticed that when you get close to making a breakthrough in your life, your resistance fires up. Your resistance doesn’t want anything to disrupt the status quo.

In this case, the resistance shows up as writer’s block. Your mind senses that when you start exploring your thoughts and feelings, you might have to face some things that will be tough to process. It’s challenging to start sorting through all that “crazycrap” that we carry with us, but once you begin, you’ll see the difference in your well-being within a few days. I tell you this from my own experience healing my Multiple Sclerosis through journaling.

The book guides you through five simple, timed exercises of 15 minutes each:

Step 1: Drain the swamp. Clear your internal clutter to understand what’s most important to your true self.

Step 2: Ask not what to write, but why. Put aside any “shoulds” and realize your unique motivation for wanting to journal for the health of it™.

Step 3: Imagine the worst, then imagine the best. Get to the root of your journaling fears by imagining the worst things that could emerge if you journal – and then imagining the best. Are the potential benefits worth the risk?

Step 4: Collect inspiration. Make a list of things that you would enjoy journaling about, and keep it handy for times you feel stumped.

Step 5: Reap what you’ve sown. Set your pen free on the page, writing fluidly without that pesky old resistance stopping you.

The exercises are timed so you can fit them into your busy schedule, and they’re designed to be fun and spark your imagination. The conclusion will review the steps you’ve taken to break through your resistance and encourages you to celebrate.

What are you waiting for? “We Are All Writers” is free, and the only thing you have to lose is your writer’s block.

Get your Free Writer's Block Cure e-book here!

Journaling: The 7 Principles You Must Follow to do it Write

Mari — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 21:32:00 GMT

1. Always journal the right way.

There is only one right way to journal, and that’s your way. Whether you do it in the morning, or a couple of times a week, whether you just do it to dump the stress, get reenergized or to figure out how to become more productive, whatever the reason, the what and how is your personal choice. Always.

2. Journal the old-fashioned way, with pen and paper.

It is the pen and notebook type of journaling that Journaling for the Health of It™ is all about. There is something organic and something natural about it. There is something about the connection of your hand to the pen to the page that enables you to get into more of who you are. You don’t get that when you are using computers or other electronic devices.

3. Keep your journal simple.

In terms of what kind of journal you use, I’d recommend a notebook around your house or one that you can pick up at CVS or Staples. I think that we’re prone to buying a beautiful, expensive journal and then waiting for the absolutely perfect opportunity to use it. Then you’ll find yourself saying, “Ohh yeah, I bought this beautiful journal about 3 or 4 years ago and I have been meaning to get to it, but….” Simple and inexpensive is best.

4. Note the change in yourself.

If you journal daily or fairly routinely, I would say that within two to three weeks you’re going to notice a change in yourself. With my clients whom I meet with face-to-face, it’s so exciting to see the change in their faces, with fewer wrinkles, or just hear the difference in their voices. It’s not breathy anymore; it’s more grounded and real. It’s very exciting to see those changes. Keep an eye out for even the smallest of changes and document them in your journal.

5. The times when you least feel like journaling are the times when you need it most.

Some of the common issues people have are with stress, energy, and productivity. When you find yourself stressed, unproductive, or frustrated, do a big data dump with your journal. Ask it a question. Have a dialogue with it. When you’re sluggish and the last thing in the world you feel like doing is attaching yourself to the page, that is a perfect opportunity to find out what’s really going on inside!

6. No one will grade your journal writing, so ignore your inner critics.

A big barrier to journaling is fear. Our inner critics tell us that we’re not writers, and we have to dot our t’s and cross our i’s like we did in school. So, when the opportunity to write presents itself, we just automatically shut down. That’s why I recommend the Ten-Minute Missive which is inspired by Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages. You start with something like “Today I feel…” and write in stream of consciousness for ten minutes. You can even do five to get started. You can trash it later, if you like.

7. If you don’t know how to find the time to write, ask your journal for advice.

We have to get into a habit of making time for ourselves. Sometimes even five or ten minutes seems like too much, which is silly if you think about it. Take a few breaths and say okay, this is what I really want to do and I really want to have journaling as a part of my life and my health improvement process. If you need help making time, use your journal to find the answer. Write the question, “How can I find the time to journal?” and do a page or Ten-Minute Missive, and you’ll come up with the answer. We have the answers inside of ourselves. We think that we don’t, but we really do.

This post was adapted from “The Write Way to Wellness ” , an interview with Chris Vasiliadis on Blog Talk Radio.

Journaling: Our Snapshots in Time

Mari — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 19:56:00 GMT

BY Linda R. Prior

I’ve dabbled in journaling off and on throughout my life. Typically, these writing bouts have coincided with significant events. Well, except for my first foray when I was just into “the experience.” In sixth grade, I received my first diary, a red, leather-bound

book with a lock and key. Locating it again recently, I deciphered my rudimentary cursive scribbling, hoping to unearth some profound clues to my uncomfortable adolescence. Unfortunately, it seems the thing most weighing on my mind that entire year was whether Greg Bracken, the pastor’s son, liked me. He did, but his family moved after graduation. (Greg, if you read this and you’re available, call me.)

People journal for different reasons. I’ve always found that writing something down, putting my thoughts and feelings into words gives them real texture and presence. Writing took the frivolity out of the random phrases and the meaningless syllables colliding in my head. It brought order, awareness, reason and, finally, viable solutions. Whether I was learning to cope with the overwhelming loneliness that accompanied a move to London or trying to understand why my first marriage was dissolving, it was journaling that helped me. To move on. To try harder. To believe in myself. To make changes. To accept…me. And, like an old trusted friend, journaling is always there when I need it.

As Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” And what better way to examine your life than to take the time and thought necessary to capture it in black and white?

Journal entries are like photographs, our snapshots in time. Whether we journal on a daily basis or only as needed during those times we feel compelled to do so, our journals comprise the journey that is us.

Enjoy the journey.

Linda R. Prior (www.lindarprior.com) is a freelance writer specializing in corporate communications. She and her husband live in Tampa, Florida.

Journaling: 5 Ways to Work Towards What You Really Want !

Mari — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 21:35:00 GMT

Earlier this month, Chris Vasiliadis, a certified wellness coach from Priority Wellness interviewed me on Blog Talk Radio. She broadcasts the 2^nd and 4^th Monday of every month from 6 to 7 pm, and that evening’s topic was “The Write Way to Wellness.” This post is adapted from our interview and is a follow-up to “Journaling Can Bring What You Want Into Your Life”

As I’ve mentioned, there’s something about journaling that seems to bring what you need into your life. I can’t explain it scientifically – maybe it’s a little bit of magic, mystery and metaphysics (that’s a science, isn’t it?) – but when you focus your energy on an issue and get clear on what you want, and put it down in writing, you set yourself on a path to get it.

As “touchy-feely” as that may sound, the truth is that journaling has very practical applications. The process of journaling gives us clarity on what we really want in our lives when it comes to money, sales/selling, relationships, career, health, and yes, most importantly, our Self. In order to get that clarity and move toward those goals, we have to get real with ourselves, do a lot of journaling and sort through the barriers holding us back, like fear and negative self-talk and thoughts. Once we do that, we realize that all of the answers, the strengths, the abilities, and the courage to make change, are inside of us.

Here are five ways to use your journal to clarify what you want and start manifesting it in your life.

1. ASK YOUR JOURNAL.

Sitting down and writing a question in your journal is something you can do anytime. Oftentimes we have no clue about the answer until we do some journaling, and then we walk away and seemingly out of nowhere, we find ourselves saying, “Ahh, OK, that’s what’s going on! That’s why I’m not getting…! Then you return to your journal to figure out together what to do next.

For example, I work with a couple of people who are unemployed. When they lost their jobs, they began to ask themselves, “What am I going to do now?” And then after lots of journaling, the questions became more positive, more self-aware like, “What kind of work do I want to do? “What are my loves?” “What am I really good at?” And even “Hmm…how do I start my own business?”

2. WRITE “NIGHT NOTES”.

One of my clients, Ann, said that her biggest challenge was to get enough sleep. She was almost to the point where she feared going to bed because she didn’t know how to turn her brain off. She was starting to think, “If I don’t start getting a good night’s sleep, I’m going to have to see my doctor and get a prescription for something.” Instead, Ann started journaling in the evenings, doing what I call “night notes,” writing down whatever she felt, just dumping out stuff from the day, giving a message to her brain that it was time to shut down because her body needed time to heal. After a couple of weeks, Ann found that making a habit of journaling before bed had really helped her sleep better and be rested enough to work on her future. She was surprised, and very pleased, especially when she didn’t need any drugs!

3. CHANGE “I CAN'T” to “HOW CAN I?”

Our journal is a place to change the way we talk to ourselves, to make it less critical and more encouraging. One of the fans on my Facebook page wrote, “I should be journaling,” and I replied, “Maybe you want to think in terms of saying, ‘What are my goals?” Rather than telling yourself, “I should …” for example, say instead, “I would really like to be able to…” or “How do I … Be more positive, and you’ll find yourself excited to work towards your goals.

4. WRITE A STRONGLY WORDED LETTER.

Write a letter to someone or something that is driving you crazy. Afterward, you can wad it up and throw it in the trash. Just releasing that negative energy will help you feel calmer and reconnect with your positive, healthy energy.

5. PICK A PROMPT, ANY PROMPT.

On my website under Journaling Tips, there are around 50 prompts you can use in your journal. One suggests picking a song that’s been in your head for a time and just sitting down and write the lyrics to the song. That simple exercise, or any of the others, will kick start your journaling, and get you through your self-imposed barriers.

Journaling helps you reduce stress, fears, and deal with inner crazy characters so you can get back to your wise center and resume envisioning, creating and working towards your goals.

How do you use journaling to get what you really want?

Journaling Can Bring What You Want Into Your Life

Mari — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 15:00:00 GMT

Earlier this month, Chris Vasiliadis, a certified wellness coach from Priority Wellness interviewed me on Blog Talk Radio. She broadcasts the 2nd and 4th Monday of every month from 6 to 7 pm, and that evening’s topic was “The Write Way to Wellness.” This post is adapted from our interview. Chris asked me how I had used journaling to achieve my goals and how I had then helped others through a similar process.

When I developed multiple sclerosis, I lost feeling on the right side of my body. With most other episodes I’d had with MS, they normally cleared up in a couple of weeks. This time, I got this sense that things weren’t going to be clearing up right away. So, I figured that I needed to find a way to teach myself how to write with my left hand.

Surprise, surprise – shortly after I had set my intention that way, a woman I met happened to introduce me to a procedure called “Morning Pages,” which was created by a writer, Julia Cameron. Every morning, I sat down with a pad of paper and wrote three pages of stream of consciousness, whatever came to mind. I just thought, “One day I will get to the point of writing legibly and sign my name with my left hand.” Soon, I started making progress in my southpaw. Day after day, I focused on this goal, and each week I noticed my writing improving.

Well, as I got into the process, I found all kinds of exciting things. Inner personal things kept coming up. I started remembering things from my childhood. I started hearing “chatter,” which I later realized was my inner critics, the overwhelmingly noisy voices inside my head that told me I wasn’t good enough, or I wasn’t capable of doing the things that I wanted to do and/or….

All of this fascinated me, so of course, I continued to pursue the journaling. My journal became my therapist. I would ask it questions, and the answers would somehow surface. I was stunned to find that those answers were already inside me.

Through regular journaling, I’m really able to clear out all of my internal stressors, or, as I call it, the “crazycrap” we all carry around inside our bodies. I can’t say enough how much stuff -- stress and irrational beliefs -- we carry around with us that started collecting there when we were impressionable children.

Getting clear on a goal and focusing your energy on it sets a path in motion for it to become a reality. There is a mystical, spiritual aspect to journaling. It just seems like if you’re able to get out all of the negative, critical stuff on the paper, you open up your energy field and your internal health, and somehow the universe gets the message. Somehow, the very thing that you needed shows up in your life. You’ll get a phone call or someone will give you some info they “just knew” you’d be interested in.

One client of mine, a woman in her mid-80’s, was living with her daughter after she had some health issues, and she was just not happy. She was living out on Cape Cod but she had been born and raised in Boston and was really a city girl. So, she took to journaling to help her figure out how she could get back into the city. Journaling was like having her own personal therapist to work through everything: how she was going to make the move, and setting goals: the date by which she wanted to move, for example.

Then she started to investigate different housing places, and she found a perfect senior housing community. She’s now been back in the city for 3 years,near where she used to live and she's reunited with her dearly beloved church.

I don’t know how it all scientifically works. All I know is that by continuing to go through the process of setting your intentions through journaling, it’s like you’re giving your spirit, your soul, your body, and your brain all kinds of really good opportunities to heal, get clarity, find more energy and get more goals.

Next week I’ll post a follow-up article on journaling techniques you can use to get clear on what you want and bring it into your life.