Welcome to the Self Study Lesson on Journaling. There are several lessons on this topic below. Take as long as you want on each lesson, focusing on the action step at the end. Then, go to the next lesson.
LESSON 1: INTRODUCTION TO JOURNALING
Q. What is journaling?
A. Journaling is taking pen to paper, voice to recorder, or fingers to keyboard to record your thoughts. It is a tool that helps you focus your thoughts to see what pushes your buttons and more importantly, why.
Q: Why should I journal?
A: Journaling allows what you are thinking and feeling to come out and be seen by your observer-self. Once you have written a thought or a feeling, the mind cannot deny or change it. You get to look at it directly.
When you are able to see your thoughts and feelings directly, they lose the grip they have on you. Getting out of the grip of your thoughts and emotions is freeing and helps you to heal those parts of yourself that need to be healed.
Q: How does journaling help me to learn more about myself?
A: By journaling your feelings and your thoughts, you are able to understand yourself better. Journaling assists us in focusing our thoughts and allows information to arise in our consciousness and can get to the root of the problem faster than talking about it.
Q: What are the benefits of journaling?
A: Have you ever felt overwhelmed by emotions or experienced a situation that you could not understand? Have you ever been so mad at somebody you thought it would be impossible to ever forgive them? Journaling helps you through both of these situations.
Q: Why should I keep a journal?
A: At times it will become helpful for you to go back and revisit your old thoughts and insights.
Action step to take:
Journaling assists us in focusing our thoughts and allows information to arise in our consciousness and can get to the root of the problem faster than talking about it.
Write down thoughts, images or feelings you are experiencing. Whatever comes to mind. Going back and reading what you have written can spark surprising insights.
LESSON 2: PUTTING JOURNALING INTO ACTION
Q: Why is it important for me to journal?
A: It facilitates a flow of consciousness that opens up channels
that disclose hidden information.
Q: What if somebody in my home reads my journal?
A: If you believe somebody may read your journal in your house, it may be good to destroy your journaling pages when you are done. You may also find it is a nice release and brings closure to whatever you were journaling about when you’re able to shred, rip up, or even burn the journal pages. You may even journal on loose-leaf paper instead of a more traditional journal.
You should never avoid journaling about somebody who lives with you out of fear that they may read your journal. Living with a spouse, child, or significant other means you will definitely have some journaling to do about the experiences and emotions that come up. You may even do most of your journaling about those you live with.
Action step:
Here are some journaling questions that will spark solutions when you are caught in the drama of a life situation:
What emotions are you feeling?
Who or what pushed your buttons?
Does this always happen to you? Is this a pattern in your life?
What is your soul trying to show you?
If your soul was in charge, rather than your ego, how would you see/handle this differently?
LESSON 3: OVERCOMING RESISTANCE TO JOURNALING
Q: What should I do when I resist journaling my real feelings?
A: Remember that even if these real feelings are uncomfortable, they are only a part of what you are thinking or feeling right now, they are not the entirety of you. Write these feelings down and don’t censor yourself. Soon, you will see certain patterns or themes that will lead you to a clear understanding of these deep feelings.
Q: How do I overcome resistance to journaling?
A: When you experience resistance to journaling, this is an indication that you have something you need to journal. If you experience resistance to journaling, it can often mean that there is something your limited-self does not want you to see – something it wants to hide.
The key to overcoming the resistance to journaling is starting. If you can get yourself to start journaling, you will find the resistance begins to dissolve quickly. The parts that are unhealed in you, do want to be healed, and journaling is a great tool in the healing process.
Q: What type of excuses might prevent me from journaling?
A: If your mind tells you any of the following things, you know it is time to journal:
I can do my forgiveness work in my head, without having to journal it all out.
I don’t need to do journaling to understand this situation.
I will journal about this later (but you never actually do).
I journaled about that person or situation before, I don’t have anything else I need to journal about regarding that person or situation.
Action Step:
There is no better way to bring this hidden information to light than by journaling about it. Start by journaling the answer to the questions:
“Why am I feeling resistance to journaling right now?”
“What is it that I am hiding from myself?”
“What is it that I do not want to see?”
LESSON 4: JOURNALING TIPS:
Q: What do I do when I find myself journaling on the same subject repeatedly?
A: You may find that you need to repeatedly journal about a particular person or a particular subject – this is perfectly normal.
Even though you may feel closure on a particular subject after journaling, you may have it come back in full-force a month, a year, or a decade later. You may find that when it comes back it is just as strong as it was in the past. This is okay. Allow it to be okay that the issue has been brought to your attention again and do what you need to do to journal about it until you receive the information your higher self is trying to give you.
Remember, there is always a reason something will come up to be journaled. Honor the reason by doing the work and receiving the message.
Action Step:
Ask each day, “What is my higher self trying to teach me today?” and then sit with your journal and let your Higher Self prompt you to discover those people or situations that are mirroring something for you. Journal about those situations to glean the message that is trying to emerge.
