Journaling to Converse with your Authentic Self

I have been journaling for as long as I can remember. When I was a young girl, my diary was my treasure chest of juicy secrets, which mostly consisted of which friend had betrayed me & my vow to NEVER speak to her EVER again and which boy was a total fox. To ensure that my secrets were safe, the diary had a little lock & corresponding micro key. Sadly, my diary days ended when the key was lost (or potentially stolen, after all, there was some good blackmail info in there). As a grew into a teenager, I moved on to a journal (which sounded much more sophisticated than a childish diary). Over the years, consistency was not the technique that I used to pursue journaling, but healing was. Working through my emotions or a difficult situation was my motivation…it’s where I found respite. As an adult, I filled up every line and every page while journaling during my divorce. The journal was my therapist. And my savior.

Writing to me was (still is!) something that doesn’t feel completely natural. But journaling…ahh…what a totally different experience. Assuming that my eyes will be the only to gaze upon the pages, I am free to release all of me. My crazy dreams, my ranges of emotions in their fullest, my fears, my longings, my agony, my angst, my happiness…my authentic self. Somehow the freedom of the lines in the journal is enough to allow me to pour my soul out and populate each line with my essence. I will write and write and write until my fingers cramp but can not stop until I am empty. When the words no longer flow.

A beautiful thing about re-reading those words which poured out of my soul is the kindness that I feel for the one who created the scribe. For at that time, even if it’s the next day, I feel like a different person from the one who flooded the journal. I do not judge her, no matter what was said. I embrace her and acknowledge what she was going through. The entire process of allowing the words to gush out unedited and then to peruse later has given me the ability to be gentle and accepting to myself. That feeling of compassion, patience and empathy that you give a friend when she’s going through a difficult time…the self-nurturing we all need to experience.

Because of how journaling provided such comfort, insight and awareness for me over the years, it became the foundation for the 21 Days to Bliss program. It’s the journey into the wisdom of your soul.