Feeling Purposeful, Encouraging Journaling as a Lifestyle

“Writing is medicine. It is an appropriate antidote to injury. It is an appropriate companion for any difficult change.” – Julia Cameron

When I first started writing my thoughts and feelings on paper, it was in a neon-pink diary, at the age of ten. It had a golden lock and key, and it felt like a safe place to bare my soul. I transitioned to a journal in my teens. Back then, my journaling moments arrived in stops and starts, in alignment with my emotions. I didn’t begin a regular practice until I was in my thirties, on the verge of a mental breakdown, and it didn’t transform into a lifestyle until later still.

I started to journal purposefully, as a tool for self-awareness, when I felt like I was losing myself in my roles and the expectations of others. I was folding laundry, watching Oprah interview her guest, Sarah Ban Breathnach, about her book, Something More: Excavating Your Authentic Self. A deep yearning to discover my true self was ignited. I purchased a copy of Sarah’s book as soon as I could, then read it cover-to-cover. I gathered all of the materials I needed, then started in filling the blank pages of my artist’s sketchbook journal with drawings, cut-outs from magazines, photos and words.

Not long after that, I discovered The Sacred Journey: Daily Journal for Your Soul by Cheryl Thiele. My planner personality embraced Cheryl’s goal-setting, and writing in the framework she provided created a solid foundation for my developing self-discovery. My soul felt witnessed, as I engaged in my own personal writing inquiry.

Years later, after finally finding the courage to leave an abusive relationship of twenty-six years, I dove into The Artist’s Way Writing Course by Julia Cameron. The morning pages were a huge breakthrough for me. I never missed a day. Three pages of freefall script over twelve weeks. I bared my soul and filled an entire volume of blank lines. Along with my collection of journal entries, exercises and tasks, I wrote five pages of what would become the inspiration for my first novel, The Healing.

Fast forward over ten years, and I’m still writing in my journal almost every day, usually first thing in the morning. For me, it’s an effective way to clear away the emotional cobwebs that cling from the day before. As I reflect, I often find solutions, but sometimes it is simply a release. The opening creates a pathway for my creativity to flow. Later, when I sit down at my laptop to write, my thoughts flow like a river to the ocean, unencumbered.

At the end of each year, I dedicate a significant space of time ~ at least an hour every day over for a week ~ to reflect. Sometimes I’m in awe of how far I’ve come since the year previous. At other times, I feel frustrated. I notice where I’m stuck, still spinning my wheels. When that happens, I find that reminding myself of my successes helps me to be more honest about my challenges and to see them as opportunities for growth rather than to judge myself as a failure.

In the first week of January, I move from reflection to setting my intentions and goals. I start with my core beliefs. Are they the same, or have they shifted? From there, I go inward, to access my heart. What is it calling me to? I write goals for the year around work, leisure, travel and relationship. I include the things I’ve identified during my end-of-year reflection as unhealthy knots of resistance and strategies for untying them.

I still write when the seasons change, at the solstices and equinoxes of the sun and the moon. I go to my mat and sit in silent meditation for as long as my mind can stay quiet. I think about the last season, and focus on gratitude for the gifts that it brought. I retrieve my journal and pen, and write whatever comes up. My blessings give me insights that guide my thoughts into action.

At the end of each month, I ask myself, what stood out? What did I learn? Then I set my intention for the new month that has begun. I choose affirmations that feel in alignment. I compose lists of everything I’m grateful for. I write in the present moment, not the past or the future, beginning with “I am…” I consider what I hope to achieve and write goals for wellness, work, social connection and personal growth.

For me, journaling as a lifestyle requires mindfulness. It’s like any muscle, habit or routine. If you stop exercising for a month, when you pick up the weights again for the first time, you quickly realize how much strength you’ve lost. You often have to go a little lighter until you build up again. But if you make it a regular practice, several days a week, your endurance builds. Awareness is the same. It is a muscle of the mind. Your journal becomes a part of your daily check-in and a tool to stay aware of your thoughts and feelings, choices and actions.

It might sound easy, but it isn’t. When unexpected life events throw us curve balls, it can be hard to stay committed to our healthy routines and practices. Yet that is usually when we need them the most. During those stressful times, I find taking time for reflection even more important than ever. Sometimes these events offer spotlights into shifts you need to make. At others, they are invitations to really shake things up.

When I’m busy and finding it difficult to juggle everything, I find it helpful to make modifications instead of abandoning what I know keeps me on track. Instead of journaling every day for thirty minutes, I might aim for three blocks a week for fifteen. Instead of exercising every day for an hour, I may plan for three days a week for twenty. It requires letting go black and white thinking and playing around in the grey, to find and maintain balance and to live your authentic purpose with self-awareness of what that means for you in every moment.

My journaling journey took another huge leap when I decided to write my own guided journal. Several people who’d read my novels expressed curiosity about my character, Cate Henderson’s journaling process, as well as my own. A few admitted they’d would like to begin their own journaling practice, but didn’t know how to begin. It seemed like an opportunity to make a difference and to spread the messages I’m passionate about in a different format.

The Holding & The Healing Companion Journal launches on October 23, just over a week from now. I’m beyond excited. Another dream come true for me. I hope that working with the prompts in my journal will create space for people to expand their own self-awareness and to live their lives with even greater authenticity than ever before.

So yeah, I’m feeling purposeful, encouraging journaling as a lifestyle.

Updates

·      Interview with Valeria Teles on her new platform, Freedom to Feel, available soon

·      Oct. 19 Pre-launch Happy Hour reading at Picasso @ 5 pm (Coronado, Panama)

·      Oct. 21-25 Reviews posted on The Book Review Crew website

·      Oct. 23 The Holding & The Healing Companion Journal book launch; available for order online on Amazon

·      Oct. 23 Launch party & reading at Luna Rossa @ 5 pm (Coronado, Panama)

·      Oct 23 Guest Blog on Create Write Now

·      Oct 23 Companion Journal Reviews on Amazon and Goodreads

·      Oct 25 Author Journey Interview with Anne O’Connell of OC Publishing, @ 3 pm EST

·      Oct 25 Books available for purchase at Picasso Tuesday Market, 9-11 am

·      Nov 01 Watch for a new YouTube video on My Channel on Gratitude

·      Coming up in November, an interview on USA Global TV Corner Bookstore

·      Stay tuned on social media, Face Book & LinkedIn