Tuesday, January 7, 2024

Tuesday, January 7, 2024

When you shine the light of awareness on yourself, you begin to awaken to an authentic life. How does one become conscious of one’s own self? Partly, with the help of daily journaling. When you pen down the thoughts and emotions that run through your mind like a broken record, leave them behind on the pages of a notebook. They will washout and leave you with clear mind and lightened heart.

Place the bubbling thoughts of bitterness, anger, resentfulness or sorrow triggered by a family or social event on the pages of your journal. Then watch the petty or vindictive thoughts, careless actions or unnecessary words get soaked up by the pages. So go ahead, pour your heart out in that notebook and watch how it cures you. Your private thoughts and emotions hurt. But jotting them softens their edges and are eventually absorbed.

When you are distressed, your creative flow gets restricted. Emotional gunk plugs your artistic faucet. But self-disclosure in a notebook cleans it, reduces your blood pressure and stress level and improves your spiritual well-being. You are more honest with yourself, more grounded and more spiritually at ease. Uninhibited, extempore “expressive writing” was prescribed by James Pennebaker and following him by numerous psychologists and therapists.

Once your inner world is clear your outer world shines brighter. You declutter the dark, nebulous mental mess that accumulates every twenty-four hours. Doing so changes the outer circumstances. Clear headed, you are ready to tackle your day with more clarity.  

Evidently, journaling helps clear mind and expand heart. It is not some magic but scientifically proven fact. After a few months of practice you get hooked on filling 2-3 pages every day. This is so because on these pages you can scream silently as you jot down your frustrations. 

There are days when there is nothing negative to write about. Perhaps something wonderful has happened or just simple good things have come your way. Don’t let them pass without noting them down. Emphasizing positives is as important as underlining negatives. 

When journaling turns into a habit, the notebook turns into a most intimate friend you communicate with in silence and solitude. It’s your own therapist, a wise teacher within.

When you have collected enough notebooks, say six months or a year, go back and reread some. You’ll feel distanced from the disturbing emotions that you experienced when they were triggered. And the pleasure of rereading would delight you, make you proud of yourself. 

I used to shred or burn my journals after five years but now I destroy them at the end of the year but not before reading the sections where I feel the heat of passion. I save some of these gems of ideas still smoldering under the heap of word ash.

You’re on an exciting journey of journaling. Keep at it and watch the positive effect it is going to have on your emotional life.

With love and gratitude,
Madhu