We all have buried stories.
~ Writing Down Your Soul:
How to Activate and Listen to the Extraordinary Voice Within
by Janet Conner
Henriette Anne Klauser is the author of Put Your Heart on Paper and Writing on Both Sides of The Brain. In Write It Down, Make it Happen: Knowing What You Want—and Getting It!, she writes: “Too often, people drift through life with a vague sense of uneasiness, longing to find some adventure or purpose and envious of those whose lives seem exciting.” Klauser is just one of myriad folks who recognize the power of writing.
Some of the benefits of journal keeping are the same as meditation or other forms of relaxation. It clears the mind, opens the heart, and boosts the immune system.
I am not new to journal writing. In fact, I have a closet full of journals, going back over 40 years! The benefits of keeping a journal are something I have to be very conscious not to be a zealot over. I included the following Tips for Journal Writing in Falling Together in Love: Stories From My Heart for and about YOU.
Purchase a blank book, or notebook to be used exclusively for your journaling. Provide a page or two for each of the following sections:
- Record childhood losses. Include how you felt. What helped you then? What made it more difficult? How much better do you feel about it all now?
- Record any losses during adolescence. Answer the same questions.
- Record losses in your adult life. Again ask how you felt then and now.
- Visualize your ideal future. Put in as much detail as you can create.
- Write a letter to your body or to a loved one who has died. Express your needs and desires. Shift gears, and imagine what your body or your loved one would write back to you.
For those who want to start journaling, using an electronic journal, or if you are interested in moving from paper and pen to an electronic version, here are some helpful hints:
- Use one document per year, or choose an appropriate schedule that will keep the document to a workable size
- Use links within the document so it is easy to find important events or time periods
- Reference previous dates where relevant for ease in spotting recurrent themes
- Color code themes such as dreams, quotations, or significant images
- Use templates for repetitive themes such as ongoing goals
- Keep values statements or inspirational phrases at your fingertips
- Set up password protection if that lets you know it is safe for you to express
“[O]ne of the wonderful things is that writing opens you up to new learnings, new neural plasticity. Your brain does have the ability to learn, and as you write, you create new neural pathways. You are literally moving your brain. You are breaking old neural habits and creating new ones. It may be hard at first, but it gets easier.” (Writing Down Your Soul, p. 66)
This week, recognize the amazing benefits of journal writing. Imagine some of the greatest works in the world that might not have come to be if not for this worthwhile practice. Take the first steps to develop your own style. It may not make you rich, but it will make your life richer.
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Rev. Debra Basham
Voice: (269) 921-2217 Email: debra@scs-matters.com https://scs-matters.com http://ImagineHealing.info http://SurgicalSupport.info Small Changes … Infinite Results™
“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” ~Mother Teresa Tips from 5 April 2010 to 6 August 2012 are here: Archived Tips |