 "The starting point of discovering who you are, your gifts, your talents, your dreams, is being comfortable with yourself. Spend time alone. Write in a journal." ~ Robin S. Sharma
One of my favorite parts of my April solitude month is journaling every day. I start each day with my morning meditation and then flow into writing in the journal. I am coming from that silence and stillness of meditation and I the words freely flow to my pen and paper. There is never a plan for what I will write about; sometimes it may be based on something that arose during the meditation. Sometimes it is a list of all the things I am grateful for and other times it is a dialog of thoughts about an issue I am wrestling with and usually by the end I have a plan for dealing with the situation. I have found that writing is really a great way to get to know who I am at my deepest levels. These journal entries are only for me and so I am brutally honest about my flaws, mistakes, and areas I want to improve upon. I also share about the wonderful things in my life too. On the times that I am angry and upset about something, I release all of my feelings on the paper and then I burn the paper as way to symbolize letting go of the situation and moving on. I attended a weeklong silent retreat with the Chopra Center entitled Silent Awakenings which was life changing. I highly recommend this retreat. During our time together, the Chopra staff shared that a journal is a listening device. It is our friend. It allows what needs to be released. I agree with these lessons as I know that journaling allows me to kind and gentle with myself as discover who I am at my core. Plus, through the writing process, I release the things that no longer serve me and I surrender issues that I used to hold on to and dwell on in my mind. Do you have a journaling practice?
2 Comments
Mary Ann
4/5/2016 02:57:11 pm
I can attest to the power of journaling. Over three years ago, I started writing daily. It began with what I was doing, trips, holidays, social activities but also included gratitude for people, pets and my life. It quickly evolved into an especially therapeutic writing that has allowed me to "move on" from hurts, regrets and disappointments and live more in the present moment. I recently went back to a particular journal that was written during a very challenging and dark time. Some of my entries brought back how painful a time it was but I was also surprised at the strength I had at that time. I hadn't remembered being strong- but I WAS. This turned out to be a good exercise for me, as it reminded me how far I have come in my spiritual journal and that I am a strong person. Wow- who knew?
Peggy
4/5/2016 03:23:58 pm
Mary Ann, Leave a Reply. |
Author
Peggy Steffens is an artist and Chopra Certified Meditation Instructor My goal is to build a community with like-minded individuals who want to grow, share and learn from one another. Please post comments to enrich the experience for all.
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