Journaling Exercises

Select an egg, a seed, a seashell, a bud, a burned tree, a fallen bird, or blossom - some evidence of the beginning or ending of life as we know it. Draw it carefully. Write about the beginnings and endings of your life, what they have meant and why they matter, especially to you. Give thanks for beginnings and for endings. Both are evidence of life's - and your own - continuing journey.

A Circle of Gratitude
with Lynn V. Andrews

(Source: Love and Power Journal: A Workshop for the Fine Art of Living, Hay House, www.hayhouse.com or www.lynnandrews.com)

Reflection: When you meet the challenge of exploring your own depths, you will be rewarded with even more light. Be grateful for the magnificent life you have been graced with, grateful for the experience of the forces of nature that surround you, grateful for the consciousness and the awareness to experience Spirit in your life. It is in this state of grace, living within the heartbeat of God and the Goddess, that you experience a life of mastery and bliss.

Sacred Practice - Gratitude It is time to celebrate what you have accomplished this year! What you have left undone is as much a part of your accomplishment as what you have done. Celebrate it all, and find a place within yourself where these two opposites become one. Look at this past year from the place of the sacred witness. Are you judging yourself for not doing this work perfectly? Is there some issue or obstacle that seems to be standing in the way of you and your evolvement toward self-realization? Remember, it is within the flaws of your being that mastery is found, just as it is in the flaw of a crystal that we find the rainbow gateway.

Sit for a moment. Simply sit in silence reflection honoring and acknowledging all of the experiences and all of the people in your life that fill you with gratitude. Living in the presence of grace, you can discover a way to remove or release the obstacles in your path. Focusing on gratitude, you will feel yourself expand, able to contain even more love and power. Who in your life are you truly grateful for? Let them know. Thank them for their gifts. Express your gratitude to them. And always, always express your gratitude to yourself. Do something special for yourself. You deserve it! Remember, as you complete one turn of the wheel, another begins. We are always moving.

The Self-Care Minder
with Jennifer Louden

( Source: The Comfort Queen Newsletter, www.comfortqueen.com)

How do you use writing to create your life, to take responsibility for noticing and nurturing your wholeness into being? Writing is how I shape meaning. My current obsession is exploring how body practices and movement can unlock and enhance the creative process. Here are a few of my favorite playful journaling prompts -- see if they move you to write your way someplace new.

Comfort Cluster
Write the word comfort in the middle of a journal page. Circle it. Give yourself permission to write down the first association about comfort that pops into your head. Circle this word. Connect it with a line to comfort. What associations spring up around this new word? Write them down, circle them, and connect them back to the word or phrase that gave birth to those associations. When something new strikes you, begin again at comfort and create a new string of associations. Create a mind map of all the ideas that the word comfort brings to mind. Don't stop until you fill the page up with a web of associations.

Without pausing, turn to a new sheet of paper. Write the word self-nurturing in the middle of this page. Circle it. Now fill the page with clusters of associations for self-nurturing. Keep your hand moving -- flow with it.

When you are finished, read both pages. What patterns can you see? What are the differences between comfort and self-nurturing for you? Is one more active than the other? Does one involve people and the other being alone? Does one reflect things that aren't so healthy, like shopping or trainloads of chocolate? Forget judging what you find and simply view what you read as new, useful information.

Try clustering with these pairs of words: Deserving and deserve, asking and receiving, soul and spirit, discipline and compassion, surrender and obey.

Comforting Resources
Across the top of a journal page, write 3-6 of your most common moods. You may need to observe yourself for a few days to name your moods. Underneath each mood, record a mood shifter, something you can do, read, listen to, watch, or someone you can reach out to that helps you shift or expand your mood in a positive, healthy way.

For example:
Irritated
Sniff lavender essential oil
Take off my shoes and walk in the grass

Overwhelmed
Make a list of what is making me anxious
Ask someone for one specific act of help
Dance to music by Cesarea Evora
Do 3 yoga sun salutations

A Spiritual Check-in
Begin by breathing in slowly while counting to five and then breathing out slowly for five counts. Record your responses to these questions:
What am I yearning for in my relationship to the Divine?
What is missing in this relationship?
What is present and good?
What limits do I put on my relationship with the Divine?
What am I not willing to accept or be open to when exploring my spiritual path?
What does being spiritual mean?
What does having a spiritual practice mean?

Soul Between the Lines
with Sheila Bender

(Source: A Year in the Life: Journaling for Self-Discovery, Walking Press (www.writersdigest.com)

In her book Soul Between the Lines; Freeing Your Creative Spirit Through Writing, Dorothy Randall Gray talks about a methods she calls finding seeds. She says those words that have an extra charge for us are important, whether they are our own words and phrases or those of others we overhear. This week write a journal entry about a sentence you overheard recently or in the past and what you made of the words. The words might have floated by or seemed to thrust toward you like a sword. Begin your writing by telling where you were when you heard the words. Who was saying them? How did they stay with you the rest of the day? How do you feel and what do you think of as you write them down now? More "Life is Good">>

LINKS FOR JOURNALS

Journal for You

Shows you how to enhance your life through journaling. Articles, resources, interviews, and more. www.journalforyou.com

Nan Fischer's Journaling Inspiration

Prompts, quotes, writing contests, essays, blank journals, and books, covering women's issues, self-discovery, transformation and empowerment www.inspiredtojournal.com

Illustrated Watercolor Journaling Journaling

is a whole lot more than just writing. www.watercolorjournaling.com