Preparing for the Spiritual Journey -- Part 2: Journal Creation / Reviewing

 

A word on keeping a record

We would like to suggest that you consider keeping a Diary or Journal. By doing so you can record events that occur each day and your reactions to them. Used daily we believe you will find it useful to reflect on your entries and see how you are progressing.

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In keeping a journal we suggest that reviews are carried out on a monthly basis. Choose a journal that feels right for you. Remember that it has to be large enough to hold what you write, but small enough to be able to be laid away: it also needs to be kept close to you.

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Consider also where you will be writing. Do you need a hard or soft backed book? A book with a colourful, flowery cover may help to inspire you, whilst a spiral bound book can be laid fully open. Do you need lined paper or plain paper? Write as clearly as you can and that way you will avoid any confusion when you come to review it.

Lastly, try to write at the same time each day, and that way your journaling will become part of your daily routine. An ideal time, we suggest, is at the end of each day: that way you can allow the day to unfold from start to finish. Remember to let the day play back at its own pace without forcing the issue.

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Keeping a Journal has many benefits. It may be that you write only a few lines or perhaps you will write pages, but what you are creating is a record that you can consult at any time; all your thoughts and experiences are in that journal. The format of your journal will evolve as you grow; you design your journal according to your needs at any given time.

When keeping a journal you record your experiences, dreams, ideas, desires, and thoughts. You are recording how you perceive and experience life. Your experiences of the past can teach you much, and help support your future. In reviewing what you have written you will quickly see if you are still writing about the same things over and over again, and it can help to identify what is working in your life and what is not. You are creating a record, and with that record in hand it is easier to see patterns, changes and shifts.

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Benefits of keeping a Spiritual Journal

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Keeping a Spiritual Journal helps you to:

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Identify your goals: Writing down your thoughts makes it easier for you to see what is going on in your life and help understand what you want, see what is important to you, and how you feel. Then you can create goals and resolutions to support what you are thinking and writing about. Be grateful for all insights.

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Give insights into your life: Describing your day, noting the highs and lows will allow you to identify your strengths and what qualities you need to develop. This leads to spiritual growth.

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Improve relationships. You can use your journal to record your feelings, and this will help you to understand others. Patience and unconditional love will be strengthened.

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Question negativity: Thoughts can sound good, but not be as appealing when written down. Use your journal to question negative thoughts.

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Improve communication skills. Writing down how your day has gone will help you to eliminate vague expressions and confusion: your ability to communicate clearly will improve.

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Listen to what the Universe is saying to you: Asking for spiritually inspired guidance assists us in understanding what needs healing in our life.

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Affirm your journey and helps you focus on it: Writing about your spiritual progress adds meaning and power. You create more personal awareness and thus identify the issues that are important to you.

Give you time for yourself: The routine and habit of writing up your journal means you have made time for yourself. By doing so you will benefit and gain in other areas of your life.

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Reduce or relieve stress: Once you have made an entry in your journal, you don’t carry as much of what you have written about within you: it is on the paper in your journal. What you have done is give yourself a powerful form of self-expression, and through that expression you can gain clarity, release and relief.

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It is best if we are not harsh on ourselves, instead assisting our progress with daily entries in our notebook or journal, as we note down each day what occurred, how we reacted, and how we felt. The next step to take is to ask what lesson was being presented and what insights can be gained. We can then go to sleep in peace knowing that we are willing to learn, and that our ego is taking a back seat as we allow our spiritual qualities to shine forth. (You may find it helpful to use our Evening Affirmation to assist you. You will find this at https://seekersoftruth.wixsite.com/home/affirmations.)​

The subconscious mind is like fertile ground and will provide sustenance for whatever is planted in it. Thus the thoughts you create will manifest and grow, affecting not only your life, but the lives of others as well.

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Be still

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A daily period of stillness is recommended as a still mind is a blank screen onto which answers can be projected. We find it helpful to keep pen and paper, or a notebook, close to hand so that ideas can be recorded when your period of stillness comes to an end.

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Completing / Reviewing your journal

• Relax and be open to the Universe as you go into the stillness and ask for guidance in bringing to mind the day’s events. This includes experiences, feelings, interactions and such like.

• Allow the events of the day to replay themselves to you in their own time. Do not try to rush things.

• Ask for insight to teach you what can be learned from the events. What feelings, behaviours and attitudes come to mind as you replay the day? Consider these and note what you did well and also what you would have liked to have done differently or better.

• This is not an exercise in self-criticism: it is about making changes for the better, so listen for the Universe to reveal its guidance to you. Are there actions that need to be taken? Perhaps there is a need to forgive someone, or to ask for forgiveness. Perhaps you need to forgive yourself.

• Consider where you have put your attention throughout the day. Perhaps you were worrying about a material situation? Did you trust help was there to guide and support you?

• As you review your journal entries consider if you are willing to make the changes you have identified and what these might entail.

• For what are you particularly grateful? Remember lessons teach us to be grateful for what we have learned during the day.

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