Journaling

Do you keep a Diary or Journal?  Journaling is a great way to get in touch with your feelings.  Writing out your thoughts can help you understand yourself and can help you to work through emotional situations.  Self-expression is a form of creativity that can move you forward in your life, and can help to heal past conflicts. This web page is a great place to learn more about Journaling.  Further down on this page, we present an article called, "The Power of Journaling."  The article is written by a woman who shares her reasons for Journaling and the positive results that came from it.  Read the article and learn how to Journal and how it will benefit YOU!  After you read our article, follow the Related Links we provide to other informative and interesting web sites about Journaling.  We've also linked to a few of the more popular online journal/blog sites.  Buy a few of the Books we recommend below, to learn more about Journaling.  Two of the books are Journals that you can use for your own writing.  Many people have enjoyed the benefits of Journaling.  Don't you think you should look into this, too?  Related Links: DailyPowerWords, Journaling articles  Three informative articles on how journaling heals, journaling styles, and the keys to successful journaling.  HealthierLiving, How Journaling Keeps You Healthy  A good article about Journaling and Health, with links. WritersDigest, Journaling for Kids  This article explains the benefits of Journaling for children, "Writing in a journal about the ups and downs of everyday life helps children deal with their emotions, permitting them to enter a magical realm of self-expression that might otherwise lay dormant. Journaling also helps children to think creatively and develop a stronger grasp of the English language. Plus, journaling with your child can enhance the relationship you share."  wikipedia, Diary and Journaling A comprehensive article on keeping a Diary, Blogs and Journaling, with links. Salon.com, Online Journals  A longer article from 1998 that discusses the history of online diaries and journals.  It also talks about why journals are popular with both writers and readers.  Diariest.net   Blogger   ChristianForums Blogs   myspace   Xanga Five popular online diary/journal/blog web sites.  Diariest has been around since 1998.  Blogger is owned by Google.  Christian Forums blogs are very popular.  Myspace and Xanga are popular with young people.  Parental guidance is a must on these sites!   Read These Books: Passages Journal: A Personal Notebook with Quotes on Growth, Change, and Understanding Printed on deluxe recycled parchment paper, the best-selling Running Press journals are enhanced by lovely 2-color illustrations. This journal is enhanced by by thoughtful, provocative, often witty quotes. Ample space is provided in each, allowing the reader to record personal reflections and practical notes on special themes. Journalution: Journaling to Awaken Your Inner Voice, Heal Your Life, and Manifest Your Dreams Studies confirm what avid journalers have always known: that writing about difficult experiences helps the writer move forward. Many self-help books recommend journaling as a way to express emotions and explore past hurts - as well as to simply get organized, make plans, and set goals - yet few of the books offer advice on how to do it. In Journalution, Sandy Grason combines the writing guidance of Julia Cameron with the emotional nurturing of Shakti Gawain. With chapters including "Completing Your Incompletions," "Masterminding Your Destiny," and "Communicating with a Higher Power," the book balances basic instruction in the art of journaling with intimate entries from the author and her workshop participants. Activities, such as timed and stream-of-consciousness writing exercises and keeping a dream log, follow each chapter. Throughout, Grason offers guidelines and prompts, encouraging readers to pick up the pen and journal their way to greater self-awareness. Life's Companion: Journal Writing As A Spiritual Quest In Life's Companion, Christina Baldwin points out that writing is a means of expanding our inner horizons, of relating more meaningfully to the world we live in and to other travelers on the spiritual path. Baldwin, a leader of the renaissance of personal writing, has taught personally more than 30,000 people the joys of journaling.   The book illuminates its text with enlightening quotations, exercises, questions, and techniques to nurture the writer and seeker within. Centered in a broad spiritual philosophy, Life's Companion shows readers how to transform writing into a tool for self-growth, heightened awareness, and personal fulfillment.   The stunning cover and beautiful interior art was designed by renowned spiritual artist Susan Seddon Boulet. Brown Leather Wrap Traveler's Journal This luxurious leather journal is the perfect gift for anyone who appreciates the finer things in life. What better way to keep track of all of your adventures and discoveries?

The Power of Journaling by Christine Cristiano   2/13/06 The act of journaling dates back centuries to early civilization. From the Romans to the sea captains that sailed across the waters - most kept a log or journal to chronicle their experiences and way of life. Journaling is still popular for the same reasons and researchers have discovered that it can reduce stress, anxiety and depression. Journaling allows the writer to express feelings, thoughts and emotions without the worry of revealing one's inner self. Because a journal won't judge and is forever impartial, the writer need not worry about feeling inadequate, foolish or ridiculed for releasing their inner feelings. After the sudden death of my father, I was experiencing a profound sense of disbelief, sadness and grief that resulted in some health issues. I have never been one to keep a journal for any length of time and the thought of scribbling my inner grief didn't appeal to me. Writing in an old-fashioned paper bound journal required me to sit down and think - exactly the opposite of what I wanted to do. I didn't want to write down my feelings and then relive them every time I opened my journal. I wanted to release them and be done with them. Quite by accident, I came across an online journal site. For some strange reason, the prospect of an online journal appealed to me. It didn't require any special fancy leather bound book to start and I liked the idea that I could remain stationary at the computer and journal online if the mood struck me. After a quick internet search, I narrowed my journaling choices down to two sites. The first site required the user to submit a photo and await approval from the administration before any journaling could commence. I didn't have the patience or inclination to submit my photo nor did I want to wait for some faceless administrator to give me the stamp of approval before I could begin. The second site was more suited to my needs. The home page announced the site as a gathering place for artists (although not limited to them) to explore their emotions and express themselves. A quick read of the entries confirmed that this was a site where I felt I could become part of the community of journalers. After signing up and creating my user identity, I made the decision to make my entries public. I was craving feedback from other journalers who would read my entries and send me validation that they had experienced the same sense of loss. I wanted to be reassured that eventually I would heal and find peace within. At first, my entries were short and sporadic. Although my real identity was not made public, I was still shy and hid behind idle chatter in my entries. I had kept my emotions in check for so long that it was difficult to bring them to the surface. In time, my entries became longer and focused on various emotional obstacles other than my father's passing. I began to increase my journaling to a couple of times a day when I felt the need to vent, clarify or unload various emotional responses. I began to look forward to revealing my inner self and liked the idea that others would read it .The anonymity of the online journal appealed to me because it gave me the opportunity to present the world with a snapshot of my true inner self instead of my outer shell. Benefits of Journaling Journaling is a useful tool for healing many psychological afflictions that plague the human race. We live in a stressful world where demands from our family, work and relationships are forever increasing. Journaling allows one to speak freely and 'vent' without causing hardship to others. It's a safe way to release negative emotions to make room for more positive thoughts and reactions. Negative emotions have a direct impact on our physical and mental health and journaling provides an outlet of release. Reasons to Journal There is no 'right' time to begin journaling. Many avid journalers start as a way to express themselves while others journal as a form of meditation for their troubled thoughts. Often a dramatic event, troubled relationship or difficult period will compel the sufferer to sort through their feelings in a written form. Regular journaling can help release inner feelings of discontentment, frustration, anxiety and resentment towards someone or something or to confront and dispel an inner emotion that otherwise wouldn't be addressed openly. It can influence an inner shift of thoughts and emotions and lead to self-discovery and a re-establishment of one's own internal values and sanity. How to Get Started Journaling doesn't have to be a complicated affair. Some journalers are happy recording their entries on lined, loose-leaf paper while others prefer a proper bound journal purchased at your local stationary store. Online journals have increased in popularity over the years and some sites cater to different segments of the population including men, women, teens, children, parents, sexual abuse victims or sufferers of various diseases. One major benefit to a traditional paper style journal is that you can take it with you anywhere and add an entry on the fly. Online journals work well for those individuals who spend a lot of time on the computer. Most online journal hosting websites afford the journaler the option of having their journal entries viewable by others or keeping them private solely for the writer. Try the following tips to establish a regular journaling routine: Decide upon a journaling medium (handwritten or online) that you'll be comfortable with. Experiment with both before making your final decision. Set aside some 'me' time to write in your journal. Pick a time when you're not feeling rushed or pressured to do anything. If you are having trouble starting the process, consider making a list of the ten things you would like to change in your life. Another good starting point is to write a letter to that certain someone who you have harbored feelings of resentment, angry, envy or perhaps admiration or love for. Find a comfortable timeline for your journaling. Decide if you'll write daily, bi-weekly, weekly or sporadically. However, accept that you may write more or less at certain times. Write when you feel the need or have the urge to express yourself. If you're writing to overcome an obstacle, or difficulty in your life, try and write regularly while your emotions are still near the surface. Suppressed negative emotions tend to fester over time. Whatever the reason, experiment with the written word to discover if this method of mental cleansing will benefit your heart, spirit and soul.

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