Journaling My Way: A Creative Practice

Before I get to Therapeutic Journaling and Visual Journaling I want to discuss how I journal because it is a very personal process; no one should tell you how to journal. And no one method is right; just like our values are personal to us.

Elvis Presley said: Values are like fingerprints. Nobody’s are the same but you leave’em all over everything you do.

This is true of journaling as well, our personal styles in journaling are like fingerprints.

How often do you journal:
Let your fingerprints linger where your values lie. You might not want to journal everyday but rather once a week. Some people feel they couldn’t journal every day. Although the word ‘journal’ has its roots in old French, meaning: day or daily there isn’t a set formula. To be completely transparent I don’t automatically journal every day. As a youngster I did and it certainly helped me create the habit of journaling. My aim is to journal as often as I need to sustain my balance and equilibrium; or to enhance my growth but I am not a machine. So there are times when I don’t manage it.

Creating a habit:
When we establish a positive habit for the first time it will, at first, be difficult changing the old habit but once we’ve practiced it long enough the habit becomes part of us. It becomes woven into the fiber of our beings. When the beneficial practice is abandoned, for whatever reason, we notice that we miss the benefits of the habit. The absence creates a craving and we make plans to pick it up again. That is the same with journaling. There are times, like right now, where it would be beneficial me to journal more often, even when I am stressed and I think I am too busy. The very act of journaling can slow our pace down.

If you want to experience the benefits of journaling, you might want to plan a regular routine for a designated amount of weeks so that it will become a good habit. Some people suggest 21 days or a month, while others will find that 90 days or 6 months is what works to create a new habit. It’s the personal fingerprint.

Where to journal: in a book, online or phones?

Creating a habit of journaling could include having a special, designated place. Our minds are inclined to associate with routines, sounds and places, such as: having a place, a beverage, a candle, sitting on the floor or in a comfortable chair, at your desk, as well as having your tools for journaling become a comforting event.

I like sitting in a sunny place outside or in warm light inside in winter and listening to the birds chirping or soothing music. Tea is part of my little ritual. Reading some form of wise book or the Bible or something inspiring can add to my experience. Sometimes I will listen to an uplifting podcast. Sometimes just breathing consciously or doing a visualization brings me to a place where I know what I want to journal about. The most important thing is that we are alone and relaxed.   

How would you like to journal? Pens, pencils, coloured pens, morning, afternoon or evening; in a designated place or on the fly? 

The big question these days is: do we journal in a real notebook or do we use technology, like mobile phones, computers or tablets etc. I mostly use a real notebook but since technology has been made commonly available I use the phone for impromptu notes, and a computer for consolidating notes but my inner creative-thinker needs the hard copy in her hands. I need to draw, sketch and write with different colours.

Labeling and tagging:
I enjoy using coloured tabs to label my dreams, poems, stories, note taking of things I hear, my thoughts, important decisions and ‘aha’ moments. They all get tagged in different colours. The colour, shaggy tags and my sketches are all part of expressing me as I am, even if it doesn’t look pristine.

Here are some photos of the way I journal, have a peek.

Introspection is a fundamental part of my existence and so making a time and place for it in my life is a priority.

At first I was scrupulous and rigid; proud of my disciplined. Now I have learned that my comfortable life practice is about allowing the ebb and flow of days, time and energy to guide my actions. I follow the yearly cycles and my own rhythms.  I mostly try to let go of rigid expectations. Sometimes I don’t get it right but it’s my aim to follow my rhythms. I use a creative flow and intuition allowing peace to rule in my heart; upholding compassion and mercy towards myself and others. So when I am too busy to journal I don’t lambaste myself, I flow with mercy and compassion, but when I  notice I am out of balance I steer myself back to my journal practice to express my thoughts and feelings after sensing my inner world. Sometimes the inner call is ‘come my sweetheart, you need to slow down. Listen.’

Speak to my heart:

Journaling is a safe space to look forward to. It’s nurturing but when I am too distracted to know what to write I ask myself questions like these:

• How did my day go?
• How are you feeling?
• What have I learnt from the week?
• Did I achieve what I set out to do?
• Is all this busyness necessary?
• What is it doing to you?
• How is it affecting you physically?
• What is the reason for not journaling?
• What can I do about making time for myself?    

Being reflective and drawing close to our own Souls or the Guiding Spirit is uplifting but what if someone tells you that is is all just a waste of time? What do you think?

Have a wonderful weekend