When we think about journaling we usually focus on:
- What to write
- When we will write
- What journal to choose
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What if there is nothing to write about
Yet, there is a whole other side of journaling that no one talks about. It is the power that lives in reading your past passages. I invite you to take time to collect all your journals and put them on your bookshelf for easy access. So often we have shelves full of everyone else's ideas and thoughts, hoping to find the answers within others experiences and ideas. Yes, it is valuable to learn and get different perspectives, no argument there. But, sometimes we forget the wisdom that lives within us, and that we can uncover it by tuning into our own bodies and minds. What if every now and then you took a moment to reflect on your own journal, containing your unfiltered thoughts, feelings and ideas.
The practice of reading past journals will also support your meditation practice. The focus of meditation is to understand you are not your thoughts, taking a birds eye view of the constant stream of ideas that run in the background of your life. Reading your past journals gives you another, more literal, opportunity to practice taking this bird's eye view. Now that you are outside of the feelings you had when you wrote your journal entry, you are able to notice how you were feeling when you were angry, in love, sad and everything in between. You will notice where you see growth in your process and where you can benefit from more compassion, love and patience on your journey.
Consciously Creating The Day I Deserve is a guided journal that prompts you to focus on how you are feeling and how you speak to yourself on a daily basis. A few weeks into my daily practice with this journal I decided to flip through some past passages. I was surprised to read how similar my thoughts were from day to day. Prior to this reflection I knew I struggled with negative thoughts, however, seeing page after page illustrating the same struggle was a new perspective that helped me better understand and enhance my self awareness.
This brings me to my next point. Looking at yourself in your most raw and real thoughts sometimes can be challenging. I invite you to allow this challenge to be your best teacher. This challenge is the light that shines on when and how harshly you judge yourself. Are you avoiding reading passages because you do not want to see yourself in your vulnerability? Do you have a hard time looking at yourself with all of your beauty and your flaws? This is totally normal and you are not alone. This is why meditation is so challenging as well. We are face to face with ourselves with no distractions, talk about being uncomfortable, but, like anything else in life, it gets better with practice. When you want to avoid yourself, be it in your meditation or journaling practice, take a deep breath and tell yourself that you're safe, that you can allow all of your feelings to surface. This time, instead of looking away or judging, look at yourself as you would a friend that you love and admire deeply. Feeling love, compassion and understanding for yourself in every circumstance. Tell yourself that you deserve to live free, free of self condemning thoughts. Tell yourself that you are worthy of loving yourself, that you are a perfectly flawed incredible human being, and you belong here. Then begin your practice as uncomfortable and unwilling as you may be, you will always be grateful for yourself after.
Let me know if you give it a try, and what you noticed as you took a birds eye view of what it is like to live in your mind and body.