|
|
|
Journalling for Balance
“I find a little time for writing before breakfast” - Jane Austen
While a little writing before breakfast might have been all very well for Jane Austen, sometimes the only writing before breakfast I can manage is a few words on the steamed glass as I take a hasty shower. There I quickly place notes and affirmations, as I jump-start my brain for the day.
Nonetheless, keeping a journal seems a valuable exercise, and many have done so throughout history.
To view the patterns and happenings of our lives it seems almost essential that we keep a journal, if only to make an entry once a week. Without out it, things are easily forgotten. It is not only people with dementia who forget. In the busy-ness of this fast paced world we forget all the time, even things that might have happened only a few days ago.
Perhaps you are a doodler. This seemingly nonsensical preoccupation might be a precursor to journaling in that it is the brain’s way of saying ‘I want you to write down your thoughts’. Many people doodle as they talk on the phone and it’s possible this is a very basic approach to problem solving through using the fingers.
Dedicated journal writers testify to the strange magic that happens when we engage our brains and fingers to put words on paper. At such times, a kind of therapy – call it healing, call it meditation – takes place. Through it we tune in to our inner being and find out a little more about who we really are along the way.
Writing or keeping a journal can also be a transformational experience. Putting thoughts and emotions on to paper, even if only to screw up or burn it after completion, can transform raw emotion into a more constructive approach to dealing with a problem – whether it be grief, anger, jealousy or hate (although Louise Hay would say that all the forgoing result from fear).
Grace Gawler in her book Women of Silence – the Emotional Healing of Breast Cancer writes: ‘When our inner life is paralyzed by emotions such as fear and anxiety, the power of story can cut a path directly through, causing movement within … (and) the process can bring about transformations in a non-threatening and non-judgmental manner.
Putting the story – your story - down on paper gives something tangible and concrete to deal with in an objective way. And reviewing what was written at a later stage somehow puts the problem into a better perspective.
Often when the dramatic events of our lives are consigned to a journal and examined a year later, we wonder what on earth we were so upset about. Or we might realize that the particular instance of chaos brought a much-needed change of direction, and that it was actually ultimately beneficial. Change might not have happened otherwise.
American writer Sark describes books and journals as being food for the soul. As author of The Inspiration sandwich – Stories to Inspire our Creative Freedom she writes ‘I love journal keeping because it helped me to discover and uncover myself, to encourage my own bravery, sort out my difficulties with other people, to invent new ways of being….’
Anais Nin kept many journals, and wrote: ‘The diary taught me that it is in the moments of emotional crisis that human beings reveal themselves most accurately.. the great value of journals is that you can be spontaneous and honest and know one else has to know’. Although Nin refers to it as a diary, and a creative journal might well contain a list of day-to-day events, a journal is more often accompanied by the thoughts and feelings surrounding the event (s).
It seems then that through the use of a journal we are able to let the emotion out - from mind via fingers onto paper. And there it is, out in the open, to be examined on a page, for only you to see.
Lucia Capacchione, author of the The Creative Journal claims a journal can have a variety of audiences, or it can simply be about an on-going argument with some part of you. It can partly comprise an unsent letter to someone who has grieved you - or about a situation that has greatly upset you. Or have made you happy; it doesn’t have to be a negative experience that provokes you to write. Maybe it is a journey through ill health to wellness that is the catalyst.
Drawings, poems, photos pasted in, and even mandalas sometimes accompany the writings. Cuttings from magazines or papers, a dried flower or autumn leaf, quotes from something read, a dream from the night before, all is up for grabs in this highly individual and creative piece of work. Different colored pens, pencils, inks and paints can be used.
Types of journals are many and varied; some exquisitely expensive, or leather bound and ornate with small locks to prevent prying eyes.
Others might be of handmade paper, coloured and perfumed – something to make a lovely gift for a dear friend (or once you get it home decide to keep for yourself!).
Plenty of cheaper versions can be found in two-dollar shops, to decorate and individualize in a creative fashion to make the journal exquisitely yours. But, in truth, it doesn’t matter what you write in; it is the activity that is critical.
There are certain guidelines like keeping it chronological dating it with year. But unless you want to write each morning before breakfast like Jane Austen, it can be done spontaneously – just when you feel like it.
But as with meditation, you need to warn loved ones that your journal writing time is off limits – a time you need to yourself. For busy people the only time available might be the middle of the night. This is a solitary occupation and should be viewed as having similar benefits to meditation. For this reason it often has to be behind locked doors.
The physical environment is often important to the journal keeper. Apart from a quiet place, a familiar and comfortable spot that allows the mind to open up and the creative juices to flow is also necessary. Journal writing might be in a favorite chair, under a magnificent tree on a hot day, in the bath (if you don’t go to sleep and get your book wet), in front of a fire, at the kitchen table or simply in bed.
Australian writer Elizabeth Jolley’s character in the film The Night belongs to the Novelist, taps away on an old typewriter set upon her knees in bed with a lampshade upon her head. Jolley said of herself her best time for writing was when the day’s work was done, the evening meal cooked and eaten, dishes washed and family in bed. It was then that she would take out her notebook and pen and write until the wee hours of the morning.. I’m sure many writers would agree, if they could stay awake.
Journal writing is a healthy, cost free occupation - apart from pen and paper and your time. And who knows, one day your journal could provide the basis for a book that could reward with an income. Not only can journalling foster health, but the endeavour might also bring wealth, as it has done for writers the world over.
Further Reading
The Creative Journal: The Art of Finding Yourself
Lucia Capacchione (Newcastle Publishing, California 1989)
The Diary Vols. 1-6
Anais Nin (Harcourt, Jace and World (1966-1976)
Memories, Dreams and Reflections
C.G.jung (Random House, New York, 1961)
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
Anne Frank. (Doubleday, New York 1952)
Mapping Inner Space: Learning and Teaching Mind Mapping
Nancy Margulies (Zephyr Press, 1991)
Inspiration Sandwich – Stories to Inspire Our Creative Freedom
Sark, (Celestial Arts, California 1992)
Back to top |
|
|