JournalTalk | Write4Life

It seems that everywhere you turn, someone is offering yet another challenge. Doesn’t life bring us enough challenges without having to invent more? Today’s journaling question was asked innocently by someone who wanted to understand “What is a journal-writing challenge?”

My friend Jayde Gilmore of Wings Life Coaching returns to the co-host microphone to help me deconstruct the idea of pushing yourself to new levels of passion, clarity and purpose. We mentioned several resources, including:

Your turn to answer: What are the ways you’ve challenged yourself with writing? What have you learned from your own private writing practice? Do you find ways to stretch yourself with writing, or do you simply write when the mood strikes? Post your responses in the comments section at the bottom of this webpage, or join the fans, followers and friends in the JournalTalk community, to share your unique perspective and tips regarding the question-of-the-week.

You may email your own journaling question to be featured on a future episode of JournalTalk. Or, pick up the telephone and leave a voicemail with your question at 1-805-751-6280. When your question is featured, we will send you a thank-you gift for sharing your voice! (JournalTalk Q&A, Episode #38, February 2, 2016)

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For Coaching with Nathan Ohren: Click here.

The post Q&A: “What is a Journaling Challenge?” first appeared on Write4Life.

My guest this week was pioneering the field of writing therapy before such a field even existed, and long before the word “journaling” became an internet buzzword. Susan Borkin continues to make a difference for seekers of healing through words, as a psychotherapist and author of books including: When Your Heart Speaks, Take Good Notes, and Writing From The Inside Out. Her newest book, The Healing Power of Writing: A Therapist’s Guide to Using Journaling With Clients, contains a practical collection of exercises for anyone interested in personal transformation.

Our conversation knocked on the doors of many interesting questions. Are some people more affected by the power of words than others? How did the practice of psychotherapy promote the notion of writing to heal? What was the origin of the “Aha!” moment? Is writing therapy more effective than talk therapy? You won’t want to miss the unique journal-writing exercise that Susan shares with her clients to reduce anxiety and manage unrealistic fears.

Exclusive Offer for JournalTalk Listeners: Listen to this episode for details about receiving a copy of Susan Borkin’s book When Your Heart Speaks, Take Good Notes absolutely free. (JournalTalk, Episode #67, January 26, 2016)

To Join our Community: Please post comments and questions below, to further the dialogue. And connect with other JournalTalk friends in our private Facebook group. 

To Subscribe to JournalTalk:

For Coaching with Nathan Ohren: Click here.

The post When Your Heart Speaks, Take Good Notes! first appeared on Write4Life.

Leslie, a friend and co-facilitator of journaling workshops in Thousand Oaks, California asks, “When leading a journal workshop, should you read your own private journal as a way to invite others to share their own writing?”

A journal-writing workshop is an ideal place to discuss the context and content of your own journal. On one hand, it’s engaging for the participants when you are vulnerable yourself; it provides a real-life example; and it contributes to creating a safe space for connection through sharing. On the other hand, “oversharing” could trigger unexpected or undesired reactions from the students, derailing the intention of the course.

Janet “Wizzy” Wiszowaty of Family Connekt is my co-host this episode. We share our tips, resources and personal examples about encouraging people to share, without letting people’s personal issues overshadow the content of the course.

Your turn to answer: Are you a learning to become a journaling facilitator? Do you read your own journals to people in your workshops? If you are an experienced facilitator, what are some other ways that you encourage participants to share their writing, without risking the course turning into a “therapy circle”?  Please post your responses at the bottom of this webpage, in the comments section.

You may email your own journaling question to be featured on a future episode of JournalTalk. Or, pick up the telephone and leave a voicemail with your question at 1-805-751-6280. When your question is featured, we will send you a thank-you gift for sharing your voice! (JournalTalk Q&A, Episode #37, January 19, 2016)

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The post Q&A: “(How) Do You Ask People to Share Their Journal Writing?” first appeared on Write4Life.

In December of 2012, a remarkable book hit the virtual shelves of Amazon.com, called The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8AM). In it, author, success coach, and keynote motivational speaker Hal Elrod explains the benefits of a powerful morning routine. This book continues to be a wonderful wake-up call for personal growth.

If you haven’t already heard the story of Hal Elrod’s amazing physical and emotional recovery from what was considered a fatal car accident, you can listen to it here. In this episode of JournalTalk, Hal shares the six key habits he cultivated to redefine himself and his career. (Yep, one of them is journal-writing!) I asked Hal how to develop a life-changing morning routine, even if you are not a “morning person.” This hour is jam-packed with great advice, a few laughs, and as always, a valuable journaling prompt!

Exclusive Offer for JournalTalk Listeners:  For a limited time, Nathan is offering JournalTalk listeners a full week of customized journal-writing exercises, tailored for their unique concern or situation at a discounted rate. Get details here. (JournalTalk, Episode #66, January 12, 2016)

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For Coaching with Nathan Ohren: Click here.

The post Six Steps to a Miracle Morning first appeared on Write4Life.

Publishing for a public audience and keeping a private journal are two spheres of a Venn diagram that do, in my opinion, have a very interesting intersection. This episode, long-time JournalTalk listener Nestor asks, “How can journaling help me through the process of publishing my book?”

Janet Wiszowaty, a Jack Canfield success trainer, joins me in sharing tips and ideas about using a private writing practice to further the publishing process.

I’ve also interviewed several writers on previous episodes of this program, so I offer this list of related conversations which highlight different ways that journal-keeping have helped people succeed in the writing process:

Nestor also mentioned how transcription might help with the authoring process, and I’ve heard people experience great success with Dragon Dictation.

Your turn to answer: Has journaling helped you to complete a novel or other writing project? Does your diary deserve some credit for anything you’ve published?  Post your responses at the bottom of this webpage, in the comments section.

You may email your own journaling question to be featured on a future episode of JournalTalk. Or, pick up the telephone and leave a voicemail with your question at 1-805-751-6280. When your question is featured, we will send you a thank-you gift for sharing your voice! (JournalTalk Q&A, Episode #36, January 5, 2016)

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The post Q&A: “How Can Journaling Help Me Get My Book Finished?” first appeared on Write4Life.

My favorite year-end tradition is a private ritual I learned from my 11th grade English teacher: writing my future self a “year in review” letter.

Just like a time capsule, I open the letter from last year sometime after Halloween (sometimes the letters are like ghouls from the past!) and before January, I make the time to compose a new letter, expressing my excitement, disappointments and advice for the coming months.

With ten simple-yet-probing questions, my guest this week has authored a proven method for making those annual letters truly phenomenal. Jinny Ditzler is the author of the twenty-year bestseller, Your Best Year Yet, a guide to getting results in business and in life. She is also creator of the “Best Year Yet” year-long coaching system (for individuals or teams). She firmly believes we each possess a deep and trustworthy well of wisdom that we can tap for strength, healing, and guidance. Jinny’s passion is to help people plug into those inner resources easily, in a way that brings fulfillment, purpose and power in life. (JournalTalk, Episode #65, December 26, 2015)

Exclusive Offer for JournalTalk Listeners:  Jinny would love to connect with you personally, and send you the new articles she writes for the Huffington Post. In addition, she will send you (absolutely free!) a 35-page PDF that outlines the first three steps for making this your best year yet. Listen to this week’s episode for Jinny’s personal email address. 

To Join our Community: Please post comments and questions below, to further the dialogue. And connect with other JournalTalk friends in our private Facebook group. 

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To Listen to this week’s JournalTalk: Click on the “play” button > at the top of this page.

The post Journaling for My Best Year Yet first appeared on Write4Life.

Meeting extraordinary people like Laura Probert is my favorite part of producing these JournalTalk podcast episodes.

A black belt in taekwondo, Laura is trained in physical therapy, and calls herself a warrior healing expert. She wrote about her own healing journey in Living, Healing and Taekwondo, and today, she is a teacher for people who are fed up with pain and fear. She is the owner of Bodyworks Physical Therapy (her own private physical therapy practice), and Soul Camp, a company that helps you redefine healing. I enjoyed our conversation about the interconnectedness of all things, especially our mind and body! I learned a few things about myofascial tissue and acupuncture.

You’ll love the journal-writing and body awareness activity that Laura shares. For me, it was a reminder that writing is not only a thinking activity, but also a doorway into our whole body-mind awareness. Writing can be just as much a connection to ourselves at it is a release of ourselves.

I was deeply moved by “Quantum Leap”, the poem Laura wrote which launched a series of beautiful, printed journal notebooks that contain awe-inspiring artwork and poetry from a variety of authors. She even inspired me to contribute my own poem, which appears in the third book of the series, Warrior Soul.

Exclusive Offer for JournalTalk Listeners:  Just for being a JournalTalk listener, Laura is making available a free digital copy of her favorite journaling prompts. Click here to get those now. (JournalTalk, Episode #64, December 16, 2015)

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To Listen to this week’s JournalTalk: Click on the “play” button > at the top of this page.

The post Journal-Writing for the Warrior’s Soul first appeared on Write4Life.

Dima Dupéré introduces a beautiful acronym (M.O.S.S.) to help us remember that journal-writing includes a vast, multi-dimensional, array of options.

Passionate about the therapeutic value of words and art, Dima is a social worker who engages creatively to help people thrive. Whether conducting a community workshop, training professionals or offering individual counselling, her focus is on the stories people tell others and themselves, since that is the place where healing begins.

Dima has recently updated and re-released her book, Feeling, Writing, Empowering: A guidebook for helping professionals. We had a stimulating conversation about the many benefits and techniques of journaling, including:

Exclusive Offer for JournalTalk Listeners:  For a limited time, Dima is offering to send any JournalTalk listener a custom journal-writing exercise, tailored for their unique concern or situation. Or, she will send you a PDF copy of her book! Listen to the podcast for details on how to receive this for free. (JournalTalk, Episode #63, December 1, 2015)

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To Listen to this week’s JournalTalk: Click on the “play” button > at the top of this page.

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One of the deepest fears people have about keeping a journal is having their privacy violated.

And rightly so. For most of us, privacy ensures safety. And only in a space of complete safety can we allow ourselves to be vulnerably honest. Journal-writing is valuable only to the degree we are willing to honestly explore ourselves and our most precious desires.

Whether you’re hiding your notebook, or password-protecting your computer, how can you be sure that your journal is secret? Jayde Gilmore and I discuss our tips and tricks (while also revealing some embarrassing phases of of our own paranoia!) for maintaining privacy, on this episode of JournalTalk Q&A.

Your turn to answer: Do you ever worry someone is reading your journal? How do you keep your journal private? Or, are you okay with your journal being an “open book”?  Post your responses at the bottom of this webpage, in the comments section.

You may email your own journaling question to be featured on a future episode of JournalTalk. Or, pick up the telephone and leave a voicemail with your question at 1-805-751-6280. When your question is featured, we will send you a thank-you gift for sharing your voice! (JournalTalk Q&A, Episode #35, November 24, 2015)

Credits:

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The post Q&A: “How Do You Keep Your Journal Secret?” first appeared on Write4Life.

When I first started keeping a journal in 1985, I had not anticipated its profound impact. By simply recording miniature stories of my daily drama, I unknowingly conjured to life a supportive, consistent voice for the interpretations of my experience. This compassionate narrator offered me a sense of friendship with myself, which was both powerful and healing. It allowed me to connect even the smallest details of my day to a larger, more meaningful story, filled with adventure and purpose. I imagine this is what Anne Frank  experienced when she wrote of her own diary, “So far, you truly have been a source of great comfort to me … and I can hardly wait for moments when I can write in you.”

In this episode, my guest is Stephen Van Vugt, IT Manager, singer, Toastmaster, storyteller, and a long-time friend of Write4Life. Steve has spent years telling stories for museums, charitable foundation events, and storytelling concerts. Twice, he organized a World Storytelling Day Concert for his hometown storyteller’s guild in Ontario, Canada. I enjoyed learning more about him, and the role that storytelling plays in creating a connection with our community, our work, our culture, and ourselves.  (JournalTalk, Episode #62, November 11, 2015)

Exclusive Offer for JournalTalk Listeners:  In this episode, Stephen generously offers JournalTalk listeners a special audio file he’s recorded, of a story called “Untold Stories,” which underscores the importance of each person sharing their own stories. Listen to the podcast for details on how to receive this for free. 

Additional Resources on Storytelling:  I have been enjoying these other resources which emphasize the power of storytelling:

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The post Journal-Writing for the Storyteller’s Soul first appeared on Write4Life.