Journal Writing Cures

Journal Writing Therapy Now Comes in Book Form Too

Mari — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 20:29:37 GMT

Samara O’Shea has written THE BOOK on journaling. She shows us how journaling fits into our life and gives us a hand with the slings and arrows of getting a life.

She deals with the “reasons” we give for not journal writing like: I'm not a writer. Her response: “If you are a thinker, you are a writer. Writing is simply thoughts making their way to paper…if a thought is begging to breathe the fresh air then it's best to open the door and let it out.”

She shows us there is only one right way to journal -- our way. It's our choice as to whether we write every day, alternate Tuesdays, once in a blue moon or whenever. She says she “writes what she wants when she wants.”

In NOTE TO SELF, we learn from journals of Tennessee Williams, Lewis Carroll and John Wilkes Booth (yes, Virginia , journaling is a guy thing!).

I loved all the honest and insightful chapters and my favorite today is Chapter 5 -Sense of Self, which opens with a William Shakespeare quote, “Self-love is not so vile a sin as self-neglecting”. That's why I love Journaling: I discover more and more and more about myself, experience my true/real self and build a healthy, compassionate, forgiving relationship with my self. The more I journal, the smarter I become about Me, Myself and I.

Journaling does what Samara says it does--it helps me with everything from achieving goals to sorting out my sexuality.

I recommend NOTE TO SELF to all my clients and subscribers and have stolen some of Samara's suggestions for my own journaling and for my workshops.

Well done indeed, Samara!

Happy Christmas to All and to All a Good Write !

Mari — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 17:19:07 GMT

I have a Christmas present for YOU! Go to the Therapeutic Writing Bookstore, pick out a book you want, send me your snail mail address and you'll have it for Christmastime. Quantities are limited and this offer ends December 31.

I came upon this verse so clear from a Christmas Card I'd created long ago:

We want Santa, yes we do
Can hardly wait, he's overdue
We never stop, we never wait
We drive ourselves past way too late
We search the shores, traverse the malls
Scour the attics, deck the halls
But when we dare time with ourselves
Then...we'll catch Santa and the elves!

Around the holidays, many people (who me?) see their Stress levels increase. Keeping a Stress Journal will help you realize what is causing you to stress out and then help you figure out ways to overcome it. With Journaling, you give yourself a present of permission to express whatever's inside you. You can start easily with a Ten Minute Missive.

What do I want this Christmas?

I'd like to get the world to write
In their journals everyday.

Then they can live their life at last
in new and playful ways!

What the Bleep is 'Journaling for the Health of It ' ?

Mari — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 16:56:25 GMT

'Journaling for the Health of it’ means taking advantage of the free health benefits regular journaling provides. By starting and keeping a Personal Journal, we uncover and unload the unhealthy baggage (negative self-image, inner critics, self-sabotage, fear, and assorted other crazycrap) that we’ve been carrying around since Day 1.

Journaling is our BFF guide who shows us how to begin our self-explorative journey and directs us to our really good stuff.

Keeping a journal is a BIG CHANGE. It means spending the time you swear you don’t have on You, You, You. I can hear your inner critics now, they are jabbering away… going bonkers that you might even remotely consider doing something healthy for yourself let alone doing something self-full like journaling on a regular basis. Heck, just getting to the page is an unbelievable challenge but the more you do it, the better you feel and the more you’ll want of this all-natural drug.

'Journaling for the Health of it' is one of the easiest and most powerful ways to accelerate your personal development. By getting your thoughts out of your head and putting them down in writing, you gain insights you’d otherwise never see. And you’ll be astounded at your creativity, intelligence and power.

Journal writing helps you reach a deeper understanding of yourself as you lead a more fulfilling life as you become your own Primary Care Provider.

Oprah says, “As you become more clear about who you really are, you'll be better able to decide what is best for you - the first time around.”

Questions? Comments? Want more info?

Journal-ing, Journal-ing, Journal All The Way, Oh What Fun it is to Write in My Journal Every Day

Mari — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:28:16 GMT

This year do something new and different--put “You” on the top of your Christmas list. Gift yourself some time. Write a letter to Santa with all your wishes and wants. The North Pole is now open 24/7 so Santa will be sure to read your letter. Here’s mine:

Dear Santa Baby,

ThankyouThankyouThankyou for all the presents I’ve gotten this year. My most favorite present is My Journal. What an adventure to daily explore my inner world, my universe of infinite possibilities. Each journal entry is a source of interest, amazement and often surprise. I’m happier, healthier and more successful than I’ve ever been. Most importantly, I am oh-so-peaceful inside. I’ve banished the idle chatter of my Inner Critics (as dramatic as the Wicked Witch’s demise in The Wizard of OZ) and what I hear are words of love and wisdom. My true voice. I breathe better and deeper and that has definitely helped my singing performances.

From my personal journaling practice, I get answers, to questions I never even knew I was asking! I’ve cleared away more mental, emotional and physical crazycrap and gotten to the good stuff and that would be the real ME. I live my life from the inside out gaining more self-confidence with every stroke of the pen. I love the healthy relationship I’m developing with myself. Another reason it’s calm and content inside Me is that I’m not carrying around the whole world. I know my boundaries and with my self-acceptance comes the trust that I can help the rest of the world more when caring for myself more, not less. With my journaling, my physical health has improved and as I say to everyone I am my primary care provider, on a first name basis with every member of body.

What do I want for Christmas? More Journaling, please. I know that I’ll discover more wild and crazy beautiful things about myself and how to master my challenges, accomplish my goals and sleep in heavenly peace!

HO! HO! HO! Let me know what Santa says!

Just for the Health of It --Journal Writing

Mari — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 07:36:50 GMT

Manpreet Juneja is today's guest columnist . You can find her at the Women network and at Blog #1 and Blog #2 .

This is reprinted from June's Journal-Write NEWS.

Writing to me was just a way of detailing out something that was unclear or getting in touch with friends via email when they were out of reach otherwise.

One incident brought about a paradigm shift in my thoughts about writing, following which I got to understand its 'healing' benefits. I was going through a tough face taking everything in a negative perspective, being unable to vent out my frustrations and this was just adding onto my stress levels. Out of the blues, I picked up a letter pad and started writing 'Letter to God'. I went on to writing out all my frustrations and asking questions to God about my suffering and all negative things happening to me. I ended up writing a 10 pages long letter!

As soon as I finished writing that, I could feel the soothing calmness in my mind. The angry thoughts had just settled down. I could feel my mind so relaxed and free of all the clutter and was feeling happy instantly. That was the MOMENT and I had started thinking about the good side of happenings in my life. After that I got into a habit of writing out all my frustrations, doubts, good things and bad things whenever I felt low.

The best part was that I had also become more observant of smallest things around me giving me more and more happiness. This is how my blog on real life inspirational and short stories took its birth. I ended up writing whatever touched my heart and spreading message to the masses via my blog. My friends started liking my blog and they also ended up creating their own blog.

One of my friends also could identify his hidden talent of writing beautiful poems which again ended up acting as a 'therapy' for him. He regularly takes on to writing poems now whenever he feels low.

After seeing these major benefits of writing and expressing the thoughts, I am on my way to writing a book that inspires people. Life has simply changed for me and my friends with this discovery of 'therapeutic writing'.

Happy writing!
Manpreet

Journaling the Change We Need

Mari — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 11:30:29 GMT

Barack Obama becomes our 44 th president on January 20, and in this transition period he is beginning to transfer power back to where it belongs—We the People. As we have voted for him to help us reclaim our country, a vote for journal-writing helps us reclaim ourselves and use our power (YES WE CAN!) to create a better life than what we've had. We will now learn how to be responsible for our behavior rather than placing blame on the outside world. Keeping a personal journal helps us change the way we've always lived and create the future we want. In writing down our thoughts and feelings, we understand the internal origins of FEAR (False Evidence Appearing Real), like our fearsworrystress over Money. And what better time to confront and choose to eliminate our financial fears also known as MONEY PROBLEMS than now that we are in the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression?

Writing a personal journal is free. A journal is a notebook, an 8 ½ x11 pad of paper or computer paper 3 hole punched into a binder or any writing paper you want to use.

I recently gave Magic Journals to two seniors who were worried sick about their finances. Anne started her therapeutic writing by setting a goal of doing one page at a time. She was surprised to see how freeing the journaling was, how costly worrying has been and that she rediscovered her sense of humor after only one page. Linda uses her Sunday mornings for her personal journaling. She looked at her retirement money, came up with some ideas for how to live more simply, and then met with her broker to tell him what she wants him to do.

Remember: there is only one right way to write journals…your way!

An early Christmas present! Send me your snail mail address and I'll give you a Magic Journal write now!

Frank Sinatra Was a J-Man

Mari — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 07:14:13 GMT

I wish he were a friend of mine. I always understood each single word he said and he always sang some mighty fine rhyme.*

Yes, Ol' Blue Eyes kept a personal journal. In fact “KEEP A JOURNAL” was one of the first things he told his daughter Nancy when she wanted some advice for succeeding in the music business.

In preparing to perform a song, Sinatra had a personal sound system. He spent hours and hours handwriting and rewriting lyrics. No wonder when you hear him sing, you believe he experienced every word of that song's story. His next step was to take a sheet with just the lyrics. No music. At that point, he said, “I'm looking at a poem. I'm trying to understand the point of view of the person behind the words. I want to understand his emotions. Then I start speaking, not singing, the words so I can experiment and get the right inflections. ” His journaling system enabled him to record songs like “My Way” in one take!

Many of us get a song “stuck in our heads” and we drive ourselves crazy trying to get rid of it. But what if we worked through it like Sinatra? In your journal (notebook, Staples pad, whatever) write down those lyrics from that song you keep hearing. Write, write, write...following wherever your journal-writing leads you. Which of course reminds me of a song, “Where you Lead, I will Follow” by…Carole King (thank you ITunes).

How about that? I'm gonna use that as a journal entry today.

On my upcoming CD,
I write a song--"Since Forever".

*My lyrics for “Joy to the World” by Three Dog Night.

Obama’s Well-Written Campaign

Mari — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 15:15:23 GMT

Well, Their greed and egotism and arrogance have really created a financial fiasco big time (I’m so tired of hearing about the Perfect Storm!). Based on the Dow’s reaction, there is not going to be a quick fix. While the great financial whiz kids figure out what’s going on….

Now is the time for us to come to the aid of our country of Y-O-U. Rather than allowing our fears to overwhelm us again, how about taking some time for ourself and working through our @#$% emotional stuff so we can come up with our own solutions and action plans. Yes, stop selling yourself short. Grab a pen and a notebook and just start FreeWriting. Please don’t stop to think. Just do it for yourself write away.

We can take a page from Obama’s book—continue eating well, exercising and writing. My bet is that he is a journaler as he writes his own books and speeches. It shows. His writing helps him maintain his legendary cool, and communicate confidently and compassionately. BTW, Obama’s campaign song is “Slow Hand” by the Pointer Sisters:

I want a man with a slow hand
I want a leader with an easy touch
I want somebody who will spend some time
Not come and go in a heated rush
I want somebody who will understand
When it’s time to lead, I want a slow hand

View video Obama speaking at Chillicothe, Ohio on October 10, 2008:

The Still Point: Entering Journaling's Sacred Space

Mari — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 07:01:24 GMT

Today’s Guest Journal-Writer,
Carol Ohmart Behan is a published novelist
as well as a pilgrimage and labyrinth facilitator.

On my writing room shelf is a set of a dozen or so pocket-sized books that I treasure, a set of journals kept by my Great-great Aunt Mary from 1908 to the late 1920s. The short entries, written faithfully each day, are full of the doings of her life on a small farm. Again and again she writes, "A beautiful day". She passed this journaling habit to her niece, my mother, and this special legacy came to me early on at the age of 12.

Both women lived in bustling households and that they made time to write almost daily has been an instructive image for me. For one, I learned that making time for writing is not indulgence, but necessity, and yes, deeply pleasurable. I've always pictured each of them sitting down, likely at day's end, opening their journals, and with a grateful sigh entering a space apart from all that was going on about them, a place of quiet and reflection, a still point. It is a place that I've come to know as a blessed and sacred space.

For those of us drawn to writing, the clamor and rush of our 21st-century lives makes journal writing all the more vital. And without such quiet reflective time how otherwise could we plumb our hidden depths or sail the vast seas of our imaginations? My book shelf now holds many years' worth of my own journals, testament to countless hours spent between their varied covers, pen in hand, my creative spirit happily engaged. This daily, nourishing ritual of writing is a gift of grace that I cannot get along without. May each of you reading this be similarly blessed in your writing lives and if not, don't go another day without embarking on this marvelous journey, journal and pen in hand.

Writing Your Wrongs

Mari — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 08:44:03 GMT

"As long as a man stands in his own way, everything seems to be in his way"
Ralph Waldo Emerson

I now admit I had a childhood! The most amazing thing is how I have been living my life over and over again as the scared, shy child I was 50 some years ago. I now see that who I am today cannot be blamed on mommy, daddy, the St. Bernard School nuns, or the crotchety neighbor across the street. I am responsible for who I am, what I say and what I think. If I am not happy with my life then I can do something about it. That’s why Journals were created: to help clear out the clutter we’ve accumulated and get into living life from who we really are using all the gifts we brought into this life with us.

Before I started journaling I survived in an abusive self-relationship. My inner life was a rainy rush hour hundred car pileup. And that was on a good day. I treated myself dreadfully. As the authors of "The Mindful Way Through Depression" informed me I employed an ongoing “rumination” process of self-blame, criticism and worse. Changing my word choices like “Why do I always do that…to “Hmmm, I wonder what’s really going with me here?” make me feel healthier. Lots and lots of journaling later, I enjoy approaching inner peace. My inner chatterboxes are quieter, and well into my process of elimination.

According to Wikipedia: Journaling is the oldest and most widely practiced form of self-help through writing is that of keeping a personal journal in which the writer records their most meaningful thoughts and feelings. One individual benefit is that the act of writing puts a powerful brake on the torment of endlessly repeating troubled thoughts to which everyone is prone. Quite what happens when near-obsessive ruminations, which frequently take place in the small hours of the night, are committed to paper is difficult to describe. It does feel as if the trap door of a mental treadmill has been opened to allow persecutory thoughts to escape. Though the accompanying feelings may persist for a time, the thoughts begin to integrate or dissipate or reach some constructive resolution.

Whose Life is this Anyway?

Mari — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:06:07 GMT

Before Journal Writing, “Suffering was the only thing that made me feel I was alive”.

When a wintry MS (Multiple Sclerosis) episode kidnapped my body’s right side, I wanted to teach myself how to write with my left hand. Right on time, the universe presented me with “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron, a book about reconnecting with my creativity (yeah, right) which included Morning Pages--three daily stream of conscious handwritten pages of whatever. NO thinking, NO old English class rules. So I wrote and I wrote and I wrote. For weeks and weeks and weeks.

Then, strange things started happening. Interesting words, phrases and rhymes appeared. I began to write poetry for the first time. I started remembering pieces of my childhood. I began to FEEL I was alive. My writings gave me courage to investigate my early life (Pandora’s?) box of essays, report cards, letters, first diary, prize ribbons, clippings from my first real job as a weekly newspaper editor. What I couldn’t understand was why I had repressed such awesome events. Curious…I kept writing.

I modified my Morning Pages practice, making it more a dialogue and less a data dump. I asked my pages questions: "Where do these (no confidence, hypercritical, frustrating…) feelings come from?" "Who told me that?" "How did I ever think…?" With journal writing, I get answers not only in my notebook but in the shower, at the supermarket, in my sleep.

As my mood swings, I invent different types of writing methods, like Ten Minute Missives or Night Notes. No matter what routine I use, I write every day. Today, I’m using the Morning/Mooring/Moaning/Mourning Pages to bring my right hand back home.

Journal-Writing helps me make sense of my personal universe: accomplish my goals, solve problems, and cure my diseases. With journal writing, I transform my life--I explore my past, expand my present and envision my future.

And I (drum roll, please) “Haven’t got time for the pain”!

So, what showed up in your Journal Writing today?