You don’t have to be an amazing writer to keep a journal. Journaling is for everyone. And it’s been proven to help increase clarity, improve perspective and reduce stress.
Some famous people who kept a journal include:
Anne Frank
Franz Kafka
Andy Warhol
Harry S. Truman
Virginia Woolf
Ronald Regean
The ancients also tell stories of journaling and its healing effects. The ancient Hindu ritual of “maha vasana daha tantra” describes writing down problems and bringing them from the subconscious into the external mind and then during the ritual, releasing the suppressed emotions.
“The more light you allow within you, the brighter the world you live in will be.”
~ Shakti Gawain
And then there’s the science. University of Texas at Austin psychologist and researcher James Pennebaker confirms that regular journaling strengthens immune cells, called T-lymphocytes.
Other research indicates that journaling decreases the symptoms of asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. Pennebaker believes that writing about stressful events helps you come to terms with them, thus reducing the impact of these stressors on your physical health.
The act of writing accesses your left brain, which is analytical and rational. While your left brain is occupied, your right brain is free to create, intuit and feel. In sum, writing removes mental blocks and allows you to use all of your brainpower to better understand yourself, others and the world around you.
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Here are 13 ideas for getting the most of your journaling practice:
1. Draw or paint. Sometimes we don’t have words for what we are feeling and can begin to let the emotion out in the form of artwork.
2. For five to ten minutes just start writing as a “stream of consciousness.” Remember, don’t edit your thoughts or feelings and don’t bother to correct your grammar. Don’t censor your thoughts. Just go.
3. Talk to your inner child by writing his/her thoughts with your subdominant hand. Then respond back with your dominant hand. Notice what you find and what comes up.
4. Ask yourself key questions and then answer them from an open space, perhaps after a meditation. Are you right where you want to be? With work, your relationships, where you live?
5. Gratitude. Make a list of a few things you appreciate every day. Use positive quotes you find that uplift you and put them in your journal.
6. Just write about presence. Write about the present moment and where you are, what you feel, do, see, think… TODAY.
7. Snap a picture of a place/person/nature object that makes you feel something. Put it in your journal and write about it. Connect to your surroundings, especially the environment.
8. Write about when you succeed every week. Think of each success and log it in your journal for future inspiration.
9. Write as you play music that inspires you or moves you deeply. Songs may even trigger memories, let the stream of feelings and thought flow through you.
10. Write in third person if there is something that is hard to get out, that you struggle with, or that you find difficult to share even with yourself.
11. Write letters to people you cannot express what you feel to. This could be deceased relatives, your partner, your children, a co-worker. Keep them in your journal as you reflect on what you learned from your thoughts on the situation with them, so when you approach this person to talk, you feel more clarity or you just have a much needed emotional release in your journal.
12. We all have dark days, black moods, and anxious feelings. Use your journal to explore this darkness. You will actually find your inner light when you do.
13. Lastly, pause and breathe. Write down questions you have about life or concerns you feel then take a deep breath and listen for a response from your Higher Self. Let yourself
write automatically. If you don’t get an answer right away, look for signs during the day and record them. This is your intuition speaking.
Aleth – This is such a great story. My story is very similar to the friend you spoke to, and you can add me to the list of people who really needed to hear this. Ally – Thank you so much for posting this! Thanks for giving your readers a different perspective, and opening up the conversation a little more. I really appreciate what you’re doing!
I wish I were a hardcore coffee gal and could give you tips on how to recreate a pumpkin spice latte for yourself. But I love the idea of purchasing pumpkins and swishing around the coffee inside. That should do it. Be sure to send the pumpkins to me for some carving; mine rotted 2 weeks ago
Don’t set your hopes too high :-). For the time being, I’m just browing around for fun. I currently don’t own any of the DSLRs we talk about here, but I thought I’d have a look at D700 just because it doesn’t follow the same packing logic at all.
I was not surprised by the first statement of Equine Canada. One wonders who Mike Gallagher is trying to impress with his first comments. Sorry Mike you made the wrong call yet again. You consistently take the side against your own membership. Perhaps it is time for you to step down and let someone who understands the needs of Equine Canada’s membership from the recreational ride through to top level Olympic competitors.
Hey Max, I noticed that you got an error 16 message so you needed to return your phone, all you have to do to fix an error 16 is call Sprint and get a tech on the phone that knows what he/she is doing, then they have to change a code that revolutionary changes while trying to root. Then you will be able to use you device again then you might have to update pg86img.zipI needed to do this 3 different times that I rooted 3 different EVO 3ds, but that’s ok though.Thank you for all of you help, I love it.
Très intéressant, des nuances cuivrées qui rendent bien l’ambiance de cette soirée d’été (on suppose), une façon très personnelle de distendre la perspective, une patte Masmoulin que l’on commence à reconnaître !Bonne continuation !Yves
Stephanie, how much more nudity can your eyes handle?BBM, I don’t have any problems with your blog, and ask Karl about that Typepad subscribe to comments thing.Cajunvegan, I try for clever titles sometimes but it doesn’t always work.Angel, yeah, I noticed. Sigh.BB, it’s okay. I will always be better at spelling and grammar than you are. It’s just in my nature.
Entièrement d’accord avec cet article. Arretons de subir cette course au gaspillage entretenue par la sécu, les fabricants, les labos et certains coprs soignants ! Tout un business qui les engraisse.. Qui plus est, pourquoi se faire torturer par la mammographie alors que le petscan s’avère bien plus efficace ?
Jag andvände utvecklarna.se . Men sen när man har lagt ut några blogginlägg kommer det en ny sida. Och det är problemet. Då hamnar bloggmätarn på andra sidan och den nollställs? Varför det så? Jag fick lägga in mätarn som ett blogginlägg eftersom inget annat gick. Hjälp tack?!
I wish this comment can by helpful for many. I follow the wisdom of spirituality for long time now, and I reach a stage that, a connection is been made with my real entity, probably this last two words “Real Entity” can be confuse or unclear for some people, but this is the reality, we are a beings so precious our real essence is love, serenity, light we are a very special beings in this vast, vast universe and I tell you this when you made this encounter with the source that is your real you, you can create “Miracles” because you are not any more against your real essence.
And I agree with you Puja with your first idea,..”Draw or Paint”. I drawing “sacred geometry” and I know that what I doing Is a message from my soul to others is an expression of beauty, and you not need to analyse anything just enjoy with your inner eyes and let go to reach blessing moments into your life. You must connect with your being inside, when you do you will be guided to reach the best in your life,… remember if you do, you will experience the discovering of the secret of life, life will be different, this is my contribution to you from a personal experience, and I wish I can expand to the world.Thank you Puja- Amish for your special contribution of kindness this bring inner fulfilment to so many people.
I really enjoyed reading these ideas and have to confess that I have been practising journaling for the last 6 months. The benefits have been truly amazing.
I don’t think I would ever do it. There is no way to control the access to a diary at all times and I would not want somebody (anybody ) to do an autopsy on my soul. I should have absolute control over who and when is allowed in my holiest of holy.For therapeutic benefits one can always write things down and then destroy the writings.My privacy is paramount!
Thanks So much For Posting.