Tuesday, 13 July 2021

I cherish everything about the process of Journal Keeping: choosing the book, setting aside the time, the ritual of arriving, the feel of the pen scrambling across the page and the residual good effects that linger. It feels like a personal super-power. I love this because it is an extreme paradox to the vastly evolving world of keyboard technology, which seems to be moving us further and further away from this art.

Over 40 years of expressly slouching (I counteract that with yoga), I’ve filled enough pages to strip a forest bare of its bark. I’ve penned thousands upon thousands of letters and words. Strung long sentences and under-punctuated paragraphs together, which all reside in pages of purposeful – hard and soft covered – mediums. Some journals have been bought with the intention of day to day acknowledgements and others (way prettier) with a larger legacy-oriented intention. The latter sit waiting to be filled (and may never be), not for lack of story but fear of defacing their pristine perfection.

So what is it about the act of journal keeping that is so appealing and what might you do to create a consistent practice? Let’s take a look at the prompts that have turned my own journal keeping into a cherished and consistent exercise:

Combine Journalling with another habit

When combined with something else that you already do habitually you are creating an imprint.

Consider the things in your life that are good and healthy habits and a part of a daily or regular ritual for you. These practices have helped support and set you up for success, tried and tested, time and time again. You go there because you know – through persistent practice – how it makes you feel afterwards, right?

Here is your perfect prompt and great foundation to begin writing from, a starting point you established long ago, perhaps? You have a space that makes you physically, mentally and soulfully alive. So the only modification that you need to make to this already established habit is; add a book with empty pages, a pen and a few extra moments. It all starts with a word or a question to yourself, some kindness and a little patience to see some writing results.

Make Sense of Your Internal Dialogue

Consider journal keeping as a form of mental housekeeping

If a part of you resonates with me, then you will understand that when you have an intention towards making some sense of your internal dialogue, you will want to have a tangible reference point to call back on. It might begin with a strong desire to befriend – or at least understand – your coping strategies. The journal’s purpose might be to realise and manifest your dreams or speak of your burning aspirations. For the deeper contemplaters you might pen your epilogue and how you want to be remembered through the things you are living and creating now. For me writing is metaphorically like pulling weeds from a garden that has been lovingly established over a period of time.

Guage your Progress

Re-reads will help you identify predominant themes, thoughts and theatricals

I find something so deeply comforting – and entertaining – in returning to the vaults where my thoughts dwell in the dusty and weathered pages of my past. From time to time I enjoy rifling randomly to a page to assess just how far I have come or how similar I remain. The act itself has huge powers of providing perspective. The things that might have felt dramatic and earth-shattering in that given moment might now be dreamily over-shadowed by clarity. We are already whole and writing can help identify the process of remembering what we came here for and who we were.

Make It a Collaborative Project

Share Your Writing and Find Inspiration through your Tribe

A few years back my sister’s and I decided on a collaborative journal project. We filled the pages with our dreams, thoughts, poems and sprinklings of gratitude and sometimes even our deep fears. We circulated this journal via the post, floating between Brisbane, the Whitsundays and the abyss that was the back of my sister’s car (taking the long way round to the Post Office).

Sharing YOU through your writing with someone close can impart a connection in such a deep and integral way. This may not be for everyone as it might feel like defeating the purpose and invading your privacy. However, if one of your goals for keeping a journal is as a legacy then it may just be a consideration.

Make It a Cathartic Experience

Better Out than In and Copping It On The Chin

The more practice, the more the act itself becomes a cathartic experience. Journal keeping can begin to feel like letting go of judgement, firstly for yourself and then towards others. More knowledge, more power of who you truly are and understanding that dealing with some big stuff and sweating less of the smaller stuff somehow has the ability to lessen the body and mind drama and put everything back into perspective. It’s always about the bigger picture and how much of the actual landscape you can encompass.

Some of the research into the benefits of a journal keeping from Positivepsychology.com include (and definitely not limited to):

• Boost your mood/affect;
• Enhance your sense of well-being;
• Reduce symptoms of depression before an important event;
• Reduce intrusion and avoidance symptoms post-trauma’
• Improve your working memory (Baikie & Wilhelm, 2005).

Studies have also shown that the emotional response of journaling can help to alleviate stress and anxiety leaving you feeling happier.

Writing for me, has and still is – liberating, motivating, encouraging and revealing. I believe that if we can take baby steps towards making this art a habit for ourselves, we have the potential to reach others from our own modelling.

In concluding, start your own practice by having a clear goal in mind. What is it that you want to see unveil and transpire from the simple act of placing a pen in your hand and allowing the ink to flow? Is it personal or some kind of legacy that you deeply desire to leave behind? Is it a creative outlet, an expressive exploration or simply a way for you to experience a moment in time with yourself and for yourself?

Please leave some of your own journal prompts in the comments below. They may resonate and create a starting point for someone that is just setting off on their own personal Journal Keeping endeavour.

Words will set us FREE… Write On!

Namaste