There is a friend at the end of your pen which you can use to help you solve personal or business problems, get to know all the different parts of yourself, explore your creativity, heal your relationships, develop your intuition…and much more.   This friend, of course, is your journal.  Empty, blank, smooth—a beautiful gift waiting to be unwrapped!  

—-Kathleen Adams from Journal to the Self: Twenty-Two Paths to Personal Growth

One of the main components of WHOOP Classes is journaling.  What makes journaling important to opening our purpose whole heartedly?

• Journaling is one way we get to know ourselves. By having a place to express yourself you can begin to see what you believe, value, think about and have passions for.
• By expressing thoughts you are having and feelings you are experiencing, you can discern your mind more clearly.
• By jotting down quotes, scriptures or songs lyrics you like, you can begin to see what inspires you and occupies your thoughts.
• By putting down in writing your insights and revelries about those quotes, scriptures or song lyrics you can learn about yourself and integrate knowledge you are longing to acquire.
• Answering self reflective questions can clarify your personal views and preferences.
• By journaling a circumstance you find yourself in, you can calm your mind and access your creative problem solving abilities.

Journaling becomes a way for us to know our WHOLE self….our WHOLE HEART…with more clarity.

Journaling is one method that helps people unfold.  It can produce spiritual growth because one is learning about themselves.  It helps us stay in touch with and establish a connection with our underlying reality which is our personal source of meaning, strength and purpose.   —Carl Jung 

Journaling gets us in touch with thoughts and a deeper level of beliefs and patterns of thinking that may not be serving us and once we know them we can get rid of them.  Journaling creates new life and more authenticity as a person.   —-Mari McCarthy 

Journaling helps one know what their lives are trying to become.   —-Ira Progoff

My pastor at church calls journaling “PSALMING”!  Psalms are full of feelings and thoughts that aren’t all pleasant and loving, yet, you will notice a pattern in many of the psalms. First there is a dumping of fears, feelings and thoughts about a situation. Then there is a transformation to gratitude leading to a new more positive perspective.    This, too, can happen with us when we journal.  I know firsthand that just putting on paper a feeling I wish I wasn’t having can diminish it.  I also know by experience that journaling out my thoughts on a situation can help me clarify what is really going on with me or the truth in a situation.

I know there can be fear around journaling, especially in regards to putting your thoughts and feeling on paper.  My next blog post will talk about some of the fears you might be having.

Encouraging Your Whole Heartedness:

1. Read some Psalms and look for the expression of fears, feelings, and thoughts…and then the transformation that happens.
2. Be brave and jump in….Pull out a piece of paper or journal and jot down your fears about journaling.
3. Click here to check out a couple of my favorite journaling tools and books to get you started.
4. If you are an avid journaler, I’d love for you to inspire others by sharing what you love about journaling in the comment section. Thank you!