How To Start Your Journaling Practice

Journaling is a powerful tool for personal and spiritual growth. As a spiritual practice, it can help bring to light insights that we might otherwise overlook.

However, many people never pursue it because it can seem too difficult and time-consuming to incorporate into their lifestyle, but this is not true. Getting started with journaling is much simpler and easier than people think.

First, remember that you don’t have to write entire essays in your journal. You may want to write a few pages one day, but then just a sentence or two for the next few days.

There’s really no right or wrong way to journal, so don’t create rules or expectations about how much you should write or even what you should write about. At first, you may feel like you don’t really know what you want to write about. That is okay. Don’t judge what you write and don’t pressure or censor yourself in any way. Allow yourself to write whatever you feel moved to write.

You may just want to reflect on some mundane events that happened on an ordinary day, while another day may bring up some strong emotions that you want to write about. Journaling is a great way to vent, and there is something healing about putting your thoughts and feelings on paper.

Also, you don’t have to have a lot of profound ideas and insights to write about in order for them to be “worthy” of recording. Even things you may think are unimportant can be very enlightening and rewarding to contemplate. The goal is not to judge your writing, but simply to enjoy the process.

Whether you’re keeping a journal or writing as a meditation, it’s the same thing. What’s important is you’re having a relationship with your mind ~ Natalie Goldberg

Regularity

For journaling to be truly meaningful, however, it is important to do it regularly. Make it a habit to write at least something most days. Ideally, every day. Even if it’s just a sentence like, “I don’t know what to write today.” Like any spiritual or metaphysical practice you get the best results if you practice it regularly and consistently.

Privacy

It is probably not wise to share the contents of your journal with others. The main reason for this is that you may be more inclined to censor what you write for fear of others’ judgment. Your journal should be a safe place where you can say what you think and feel without fear or hesitation.

Sometimes you may feel that you are judging yourself for the things you think and feel, and this may cause you to want to hold back. I suggest that you simply record these reactions as well! Acknowledge your authentic thoughts and feelings and reflect them truthfully in your writing. In fact, this is one of the ways we can gain deep personal and existential insight through a journaling practice. The very act of writing things down can cause us to reflect in ways we might not have otherwise. It can also bring up things we didn’t even realize we were thinking and feeling.

Free Writing

Another hack I recommend for journaling is to try some “free writing. Free writing is a technique that involves writing continuously for a period of time without worrying about grammar, spelling, or the quality of the content. The goal of free writing is to help you overcome writer’s block and generate new ideas.

Just write down whatever comes to mind without hesitation or the need to make sense of it. Don’t worry about making coherent sentences or forming complete ideas as you write. Just write down the words as they come.

This may sound strange, and it will feel very unnatural at first. That’s a normal reaction to freewriting. We’re used to forming the thought first and then putting it down on paper in a coherent, composed sentence so that it makes sense when we read it back. Free writing frees us from this convention, so you can really write what is on your mind, completely unfiltered.

If you’re not sure what to write first, free writing can be a great way to get started with journaling. New feelings, thoughts, and insights often emerge that you were not aware of. It gives you a glimpse into new nooks and crannies of your heart, mind, and soul. Free writing can be a very powerful form of journaling.

Whenever I’m feeling frustrated, sad, confused, lost, alone or insecure, I pull out my journal (now in the form of my laptop!), and unload whatever it is that’s not serving me ~ Rebecca Rosen

Automatic Writing

Once you are comfortable with the process of free writing, you may want to take it to the next level by combining your journaling with a spiritual channeling practice known as “automatic writing” or “psychography. Automatic writing is a process by which one channels written text without conscious thought or awareness.

Originating in the Spiritualist movement of the 19th century, automatic writing is used by some psychics and mediums to channel information from the spirit realm or universal consciousness.

The practitioner typically holds a pen or pencil and moves his or her hand freely, allowing the subconscious mind to guide the hand to write or draw messages or to transcribe the channeled psychic perceptions.

Well-known psychic mediums known to use this technique include Tyler Henry, also known as the “Hollywood Medium,” Rebecca Rosen, and psychic twins Linda and Terry Jamison.

Several famous spiritual authors are also said to have used automatic writing in their work, including Jane Roberts, author of the Seth Material, Helen Schucman, author of A Course in Miracles, and author Neale Donald Walsch, author of the Conversations with God series.

In recent years, automatic writing has also been used for a variety of non-spiritual purposes, including creative writing, journaling or self-exploration, and therapeutic purposes.

There is no single method for automatic writing. However, the following general steps are often used by practitioners:

1. Find a quiet and comfortable place where you will not be disturbed.

2. Set a clear intention before you begin. What do you hope to learn or discover? Having a defined purpose can guide your experience. Depending on your personal belief system you can also choose to connect with your higher self, spirit guides, angels, the spirit realm, source energy, the akashic record, the divine or a higher power.

3. Tense and release different muscle groups in your body, starting with your toes and working up to your head. This will help release physical tension and promote overall relaxation.

4. As you relax your body, begin to gradually slow your breathing, making each inhale and exhale deep and rhythmic. Focus on the rise and fall of your abdomen and chest, allowing your mind to be present only with the flow of your breath.

5. You can also listen to soothing meditation music or nature sounds to further relax your mind and body.

6. Before you begin your channeled writing, you may also want to center, ground, and shield your energy field or aura with a visualization meditation or prayer to ensure your spiritual protection.

7. The goal is to dissociate slightly and enter a light to medium trance or altered state of consciousness where you have a deep sense of relaxation and detachment from the outside world.

8. After a few minutes, or whenever you feel ready, hold a pen or pencil in your non-dominant hand and simply let your hand move across the paper without conscious thought while keeping your mind calm and clear, focusing only on the present moment. If you find your mind drifting, simply let your thoughts and feelings pass by without getting involved or caught up in them.

9. Continue writing for as long as you wish.

Reviewing

Finally, I recommend that you regularly go back and read what you’ve written in your journals. Review your entries every month, every six months, or even a year or more. You may be surprised at what you learn.

It’s also a rewarding way to recognize the growth you’ve experienced and how your perspective has changed over time. It allows you to reflect on your own journey.

Journaling is much more than a personal hobby or pastime. Getting to know ourselves better and how we fit into and relate to the world is an essential part of our spiritual growth and soul evolution in this lifetime.