Les 1
Flow Journaling
Today we begin with an introduction to Flow Journaling. Though there are many wonderful journaling techniques, this is the approach I favor, and the one I recommend for the course.
Flow Journaling gives us an opportunity for free-flow expression, letting go of grammar, spelling, paragraphs, and sense-making. Just putting pen to paper and seeing what spills onto the page. It can include images as well as words; everything is allowed.
We'll explore how long to write for, how to prepare your space, and how to keep returning to compassion as your guiding principle while you journal.
Les 2
Mindful Prompts
Today we'll explore what can get in the way of journaling. And, while journaling is something we tend to do on our own, I find there’s something powerful in knowing others are writing with us, so I’ll also share my own journal entry from yesterday.
These are my actual journal entries. And I am resisting the urge to edit because I want to share them in their raw form. Broken grammar, jumping thoughts, and moments of clarity - the true spirit of Flow Journaling.
When we journal this way, our brain slows down – we can't write as fast as we think. And often our inner thinking or feelings are revealed and we discover a fresh insight.
Or not.
Which is ok, of course. We’re not journaling ‘for’ something. We’re simply journaling.
Always without judgment. Always with compassion for whatever arises.
Each day now has four parts: a reflection on an aspect of journaling, the extract from my own journal (for the previous day's prompt), a mindful moment, and today's new prompt for you to explore.
Les 3
Journaling Practice
Today we dig a little deeper into some of the feelings that can arise when we journal.
We might think or feel that it’s something we ‘should’ do but rarely if ever pick up our pen.
We might have a sense of ‘when this... then...’. For example, 'when I have some peace and quiet, then I’ll journal' OR 'when I’m feeling calmer, then I’ll journal'.
We might feel self-conscious about it, feeling it’s something others do but not really for us - perhaps unsure of what the process is unlocking inside us and a sense of discomfort at the unfamiliarity.
And we'll look at what can be useful to help us overcome these (and other) barriers.
Following the reflection, you'll hear an extract from my own journal (for the previous day's prompt), a mindful moment, and today's new prompt for you to explore.
Les 4
The Process of Journaling
Choosing how long to write for can be a interesting part of the journaling process. Today we'll look at a couple of different approaches that you may like to experiment with.
Following the reflection, you'll hear an extract from my own journal (for the previous day's prompt), a mindful moment, and today's new prompt for you to explore.
Les 5
Releasing the 'Rules'
Many of us find we have learnt certain 'rules' from our care givers and educators that we find hard to let go of, as we move through our adulthood. Today we explore how it is to press up against those rules. This isn't about throwing out all the grammar and spelling we ever learnt. It's about seeing those rules through a compassionate gaze, to see what they may mean on a deeper level - and how they may be influencing how we journal.
Following the reflection, you'll hear an extract from my own journal (for the previous day's prompt), a mindful moment, and today's new prompt for you to explore.
Les 6
Non-attachment
Today we explore whether or not to date your journal entries. It can sound like such a small thing but you'll hear how it can make a big difference to your experience - and how it can influence your sense of self-compassion.
Following the reflection, you'll hear an extract from my own journal (for the previous day's prompt), a mindful moment, and today's new prompt for you to explore.
Les 7
Playful Experimentation
To build a habit, employing discipline in the beginning can be essential - but there also needs to be room for compassion. Not as a way of 'getting out of' doing something, rather as a tool to help you notice what might get in the way.
Today we'll look at how journaling with compassion helps us use it as a tool for playful experimentation; where what you write about might feel like a serious thing, but your approach is light.
Following the reflection, you'll hear an extract from my own journal (for the previous day's prompt), a mindful moment, and today's new prompt for you to explore.
Les 8
Gratitude
Our focus today is on gratitude. And how we can use our journaling practice to help cultivate an attitude of gratitude.
Following the reflection, you'll hear an extract from my own journal (for the previous day's prompt), a mindful moment, and today's new prompt for you to explore.
Les 9
Creating a Channel for Change
Throughout this course we've looked at various practical 'hows' of journaling. Today we're looking at one of the ‘deeper hows’: learning to trust the process
Just in the act of choosing to journal, you are creating a channel for things to begin to shift
We can’t always see what’s happening - and in the moment it may not feel as though much is very different - but trust that deep in your subconscious, there is a process taking place
Following the reflection, you'll hear an extract from my own journal (for the previous day's prompt), a mindful moment, and today's new prompt for you to explore.
Les 10
Writing Without Judgement
Today we return to the idea of acceptance. Exploring how journaling - and accepting what we write, just as it is - can help us accept the whole of us too. We acknowledge how it is human to be or feel critical and how we can shift that by bringing in deeper compassion. This act of compassion can feel the LEAST familiar and the MOST rewarding aspect of FLOW Journaling - the simplicity of being with ourselves, without agenda.
Following the reflection, you'll hear an extract from my own journal (for the previous day's prompt), a mindful moment, and today's new prompt for you to explore.
Les 11
Taking Stock
Today we offer up a moment to take stock. With an invitation to reflect on the value of looking back at what you've written. Asking: what do you notice (with love, always with love)? We also consider how for some of us, never re-reading what we've written may feel best - remembering there is no 'one' way to journal. There are no rules!
Following the reflection, you'll hear an extract from my own journal (for the previous day's prompt), a mindful moment, and today's new prompt for you to explore.
Les 12
Begin Within
Just as with journaling we can explore our inner experience, and through that, create clarity and calm in our outer experience; so the loving kindness meditation, or METTA, shows us how we begin with ourselves and then extend our compassion to others. So today, we are doing something a little different. We're spending time dwelling within a METTA meditation, in order to deepen the practice and experience of journaling with compassion.
Following the reflection, you'll hear an extract from my own journal (for the previous day's prompt), a mindful moment, and today's new prompt for you to explore.
Les 13
A Love of Words
This day is about reflecting on your experience of writing in your life. I share some words I wrote as a very young child and how as a young child we don't write 'for a reason'. We simply enjoy the act of creativity.
Following the reflection, you'll hear an extract from my own journal (for the previous day's prompt), a mindful moment, and today's new prompt for you to explore.
Les 14
Time to Reflect, and Look Forward
Some final observations and reflections, with a piece of poetry written for (and inspired by) this Journaling Quest. We look at three key observations including the value of... noticing how we can carry a lot of resistance when we begin (or restart) a journaling practice, how we can feel a sense of judgement when we stop or miss a few days and how comparison can arise (eg about how or what ‘others’ write). And we see how these can be wonderful to include in our practice too.
Following the reflection, you'll hear an extract from my own journal (for the previous day's prompt), a mindful moment, and today's final prompt for you to explore.
