One practice that I have really honed in upon over the past number of years is the art of journaling.  When I was younger, journaling or writing in a diary meant writing about my day and experiences and got rather boring after a while! So, I dropped the practice for a long time.

In 2016, a woman I was working with encouraged me to pick journaling back up – as a business tool.  She gave me prompts to write about each day such as writing down three daily goals, three things I was grateful for, etc.  I diligently did this for months and when that began to get boring (repetitive) I was pleasantly surprised to find that suddenly I had LOTS to write about each day – without the structured prompts and without simply regurgitating my day onto paper!  Suddenly I was writing about my feelings about things, about ideas I had, about dreams I wanted to fulfil.  

I journaled religiously every day for almost 4 years and then … we got a puppy!  Who has time to journal when your new puppy is suddenly awake with you in the early mornings – wanting to play and pee and eat and play some more?!  For six months I did not journal.  And you know what?  I felt … ‘drifty’.  That’s the aptest word. 

Gertie, our puppy, is now ten months old and she sleeps in more than my husband and I put together!  I am back to having my quiet early mornings and I have gotten back to using that peaceful time to journal.  And it has been wonderful!!! After having a break from it, I can see how important journaling is (for me) to keep my head more clear and less cluttered.  Journaling feels like an anchor to my true self and provides me with greater self-awareness.  

Journaling is something I now recommend to my clients … 

If you feel resistant to the thought of journaling (like I did back in 2016), I’ve created a few prompts to get you started.  My hope for you is that eventually, these prompts will evolve into a more free-spirited form of journaling for you.  Enjoy the process and be curious to what arises!

• What are three things that bring gratitude to your heart today?
• What are three traits/feelings/energies that you would like to cultivate in your life? For example:
  • Feelings: compassion, courage, self-acceptance
  • Traits: wittiness, to be a better listener, to be more passionate
  • Energies: graceful energy of Mother Mary, healing energy of Archangel Raphael, forgiving energy of Kuan Yin
• What are three ways to express kindness to yourself or another today? For example:
  • To yourself: allow time for a cup of tea and journaling, have a warm bubble bath, treat yourself to a massage, rub your feet, paint your nails, go for a walk in Nature, cook yourself a gourmet meal, buy yourself flowers
  • To another: make a batch of cookies/muffins/soup and share with someone, call a friend you haven’t spoken to in a while, shovel your neighbor’s walkway, mail someone a card (you could even make a homemade one!), take your dog for a walk and allow them to guide the pace – stopping and smelling the roses (well, stopping to smell other dog’s pee in the case of dog walking!), smile at a stranger, buy someone a coffee

I hope this post inspires you to tuck in this fall and winter and do some gentle self-exploration.  It truly is nourishing.

Many Blessings,

Meriah Theresa