How To
Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: 10-20 minutes per day or morning and evening
What You Need:
A nice pen you enjoy writing with
a book or journal or computer
your desire to discover some answers you are seeking.
Here are the steps as to how You can start your inner journey :
- Buy a journal, this may seem like an obvious and simple first step. Reality has it be, not every journal is the right one, what journal you purchase and use is very important. Have you ever, in the past, purchased a journal that you could not bare to right a single word in, the journal was just to pretty to mess up!! Ya, I have too. You can choose from the most beautiful blank books you can find, to a more functional notebook, to your computer. If you go with the blank book option, you can decide between lined or blank pages, with a variety of pens. Use your book to reflect your creativity, or go with functionality first. It’s all up to you and your tastes.
- Set Aside Time One of the most difficult aspects of journaling is not the journaling itself, but findingtime to write. It’s important to block off about twenty minutes each day to write. Many people prefer to write in the morning as a way to start their day, or before bed, as a way to reflect upon and process the day’s events. However, if your lunch break or some other time is the only window you have, take the time whenever you can get it! I have found many benefits in journaling the moment I open my eyes in the morning and the last thing I do before drifting off. I like to have relaxing music and low lighting in my environment as I journal. The environment in which you are journaling, can have a huge impact on your feelings and comfort.
- Begin Writing Don’t think about what to say; just begin writing, and the words should come. Again, you may want to set up your environment (relaxing or comforting music with no words, candles, incense) prior to journaling, so your mind is free to discover those hidden memories. When your mind begins to wander, let it do so and recognize and acknowledge the fact, and refocus on your journaling.
If you are, at first, finding yourself stuck here are some topics to begin the process:
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- Your dreams
- Your possible purpose in life
- Your childhood memories and surrounding feelings
- Where you’d like to be in six months, 1 year, two years
- The best and worst days of your life
- If you could have three wishes…
- What was important to you five years ago, and what’s important to you now
- What are you grateful for?
- What are you afraid of?
- What is your greatest desire?
- What is your passions in life?
- What is not working?
- What do I want?
- Who am I?
- I Forgive you for…
- I Forgive myself for…
- I love you for….
- Write About Thoughts and Feelings As you write, don’t just vent negative emotions or catalog events; write about your feelings, but also your thoughts surrounding emotional events. (Research shows much greater benefits from journaling when participants write about emotional issues from a mental and emotional framework.) Relive events emotionally, and try to construct solutions and ‘find the lesson’. Using both aspects of yourself helps you process the event and find solutions to problems.
- Keep Your Journal Private If you’re worried that someone else may read your journal, you’re much more likely to self-censor, and you won’t achieve the same benefits from writing. To prevent the worry and maximize journaling effectiveness, you can either get a book that locks or keep your book in a locked or very hidden place. If using a computer, you can password-protect your journal so you’ll feel safe when you write.”1
1. Elisabeth Scott
