Mapping the inner journey. Mindful reflection. Developing awareness. Sharpening perception. These are some of the ways people refer to their writing practice. Is it true that journal-writing can be used as a kind of meditation?

Jayde and I take turns with examples we have used, and share ways that have helped others. For example: incorporate breathing, nature, and focusing your senses on the present moment.

Your turn to answer: Have you found journal-writing to be a meditative routine, or can it enhance meditation? What are your tips or techniques? 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 (only normal toll charges may apply). When your question is featured, we will send you a thank-you gift for sharing your voice! (JournalTalk Q&A, Episode #29, June 23, 2015)

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The post Q&A: “How Can Journaling Be Used As Meditation?” first appeared on Write4Life.

Recovering from pneumonia was precisely the reminder I needed to breathe deeply, and move forward on my most important projects in a steady, self-compassionate pace.

Before then, I had been burning the candle at both ends, pushing myself to work harder, faster and smarter than ever. Now that I’m healthy and getting back into my stride, I’m confronted with mountains of tasks, and a gnawing urge to catch up to where I would have been if I hadn’t gotten sick. Can you feel me?

In this episode, I share a favorite 5-minute journaling technique, which I call the Ta-Da! List, for when I’m overwhelmed and need a system for making small steps of progress on the things that matter most.

This episode is also a grand unveiling for three exciting projects I’ve been working on.

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The post The Soul of Success first appeared on Write4Life.

It seems like every subject in school is requiring students to keep a “journal” for enhanced learning. My first reaction to this awareness was happy. But I wonder whether students can be truly honest, while they are also hoping their teachers will award them a good grade? Doesn’t this violate some of the defining characteristics of good journaling?

Kim Ades, from Frame of Mind Coaching in Toronto, Canada, joins me to answer this and other interesting related questions. You can learn more about Frame of Mind Coaching by taking this assessment. Receive a free consultation from a Frame of Mind coach. Please let them know that you heard about them on JournalTalk!

Your turn to answer: Do you keep a journal as a school assignment? Do you feel it helps you personally, or is it just another assignment? Teachers, how do you see journaling helping your students? 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 (only normal toll charges may apply). When your question is featured, we will send you a thank-you gift for sharing your voice! (JournalTalk Q&A, Episode #28, June 9, 2015)

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The post Q&A: “Is Journaling in Schools a Good Thing? first appeared on Write4Life.

Here’s a short episode to share that I’m feeling much better, and on the mend! Sarabelle Prince, a colleague of mine through the Center for Journal Therapy, shared a very unusual cold remedy with me, which worked wonders. She also shares a great opportunity to take part in a summer Journal Camp. (JournalTalk, Episode #55, May 12, 2015)

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The post Let’s Go to the Hamptons for Journal Camp! first appeared on Write4Life.

Joyce asked a beautiful journaling question: “How can I write in my journal in a way that I’ll enjoy re-reading my entries in years to come?”

Seasoned journal-writers know that there’s a treasure chest full of good reasons to go back and re-read past journal entries. But often those gems of wisdom are hard to locate among all the “chatter” that often permeates the pages.

Heather Severson, my friend who founded the Write It Out Journal Workshops returns this episode to join me in sharing tips about journaling in such a way that makes future reading more interesting. We both conclude that this is one of those journal-writing paradoxes: The most fun and interesting entries to read later are the ones which are simply honest and present, seemingly written for no future audience!

Fuel the Dialogue: Do you write for your future self to read? What types of your writing do you most enjoy reading later? 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 (only normal toll charges may apply). When your question is featured, we will send you a thank-you gift for sharing your voice! (JournalTalk Q&A, Episode #27, April 21, 2015)

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The post Q&A: “What Kind of Journal-Writing Makes for the Best Future Reading?” first appeared on Write4Life.

What’s the connection between the mind and the body when it comes to writing? How might moving our bodies affect the way we feel, think, and express ourselves through language?

JournalTalk listeners are in for a treat this week. Elizabeth Schwyzer, freelance writer, newspaper arts editor, and dance critic, shares a special exercise in this episode to help us combine writing and body movement, for a fuller, richer experience of knowing and trusting ourselves.

Participants in her “Write from the Body” workshops have found great enjoyment and therapeutic release as well as a sense of having freed up their creativity. After listening to her describe the connection between movement and writing, you’ll understand her passion for using both forms of expression to help writers access their truest voices.

To find out when Elizabeth is putting on her next series of Write from the Body workshops, you may keep in touch with her. Or, you may request she bring her workshop to you (or your studio). She’s currently based in the Bay Area, but happy to travel to share this powerful method of connecting with yourself and your story. (JournalTalk, Episode #54, April 14, 2015)

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The post Write From The Body Workshops first appeared on Write4Life.

Carol from New Zealand asks “What do I do with the guilty feelings I get when I stop journaling?”

It might be easy to quip, “Just process those feelings in your next journal entry,” but often, the shame is accompanied by unrealistic hopes of “catching up,” and then we avoid journaling altogether.

Jayde Gilmore and I both relate to that nagging cycle of feelings. Over time, we’ve learned to recognize them as gentle reminders to come kindly back to our Self. We offer several suggestions to Carol and others who put tons of pressure on themselves to write more. This seems to be one of the paradoxes of journal-writing, and perhaps any worthwhile habit — pushing yourself to do a little more than what’s convenient, while knowing how to be kind to yourself when you slow down.

Fuel the Discussion: Do you feel guilty when you’ve stopped writing for awhile? How long is too long to go without writing? What do you tell yourself when you’ve stopped the habit? 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 (only normal toll charges may apply). When your question is featured, we will send you a thank-you gift for sharing your voice! (JournalTalk Q&A, Episode #26, April 7, 2015)

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The post Q&A: “What To Do With Journaling Guilt?” first appeared on Write4Life.

Does keeping a journal encumber your vacation, or enhance it? Lavinia Spalding agrees wholeheartedly that journaling on vacation deepens one’s travel experience. But because we understand the inherent challenges, we offer simple, practical tips for travel journaling without feeling like you’re missing the boat.

Lavinia Spalding is the author of Writing Away, A Creative Guide to Awakening the Journal-Writing Traveler (named one of the best travel books of 2009 by the LA Times) and also, With a Measure of Grace: the Story and Recipes of a Small Town Restaurant. She is also the series editor of an annual anthology called “The Best Women’s Travel Writing”. 

In this interview, Lavinia shares wisdom from her travel-writing experience. Don’t miss her TEDx Talk about Travel Writing and World Peace, which is equal parts entertaining and profound. She’s makes an excellent case for keeping a journal when taking that next trip, whether it’s a business trip, a family vacation, or a simple visit outside of our area code. (JournalTalk, Episode #53, March 31, 2015)

Exclusive Offer for JournalTalk Listeners:  In this episode, Lavinia offers you her “Friends and Family” discount for either an editing project, or a writing coaching session. Send her a request to schedule, and let her know that you heard her on JournalTalk. 

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The post Don’t Leave Home Without Your Journal first appeared on Write4Life.

Today’s question from Mark is one of terminology. What do you call a person who helps others achieve new insights and accomplishments, using the power of journal-writing? Is it a Journal Coach? or a Journal Therapist?

We could have also discussed the role of Journal Facilitator (which I am currently studying at The Center for Journal Therapy) but let’s stick to Mark’s question!

Kim Ades, from Frame of Mind Coaching in Toronto, Canada, joins me to answer this intriguing distinction. You can learn more about Frame of Mind Coaching by taking this assessment, and receive a free consultation from a coach. Please let them know that you heard about them on JournalTalk!

Your turn to answer: Are you a Journal Coach or Journal Therapist? If so, how do you describe and distinguish your role? If not, with whom would you rather work, a journal coach or a journal therapist? 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 (only normal toll charges may apply). When your question is featured, we will send you a thank-you gift for sharing your voice! (JournalTalk Q&A, Episode #25, March 24, 2015)

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The post Q&A: “What’s the Difference Between a Journal Coach and a Journal Therapist?” first appeared on Write4Life.

As soon as I bought her book, “Getting Real“, I knew I wanted to invite Dr. Susan Campbell to be a guest on JournalTalk.

I’ve often shared that the one thing you need for a healthy journal-writing habit — far more important than whether you type or handwrite, or whether you write daily or just sporadically — is the ability to get completely honest with yourself.

In addition to being author of incredible books, Dr. Campbell has helped people embrace their authenticity in all areas of life, through workshops and coaching programs. She’s been featured on several national television spots and magazines for her insight and step-by-step instructions on using our truth to understand, connect, and heal ourselves and our relationships.

I’m hopeful that our conversation, both contemplative and giggly, will delight and inspire you. We discuss several of her books about authenticity and relationship repair (click here for a library of them on Amazon.com). We ponder what to do with our stacks of disregarded journals of the past. And, Dr. Susan shares a number of journal-writing exercises to try. One of them she calls the “Do-Over”, a powerful series of questions that help you revise a statement or promise you’ve made to someone when you weren’t being 100% authentic. Dr. Susan invites me to share my own example of this, and, thinking for a moment that I was in the privacy of her office, I allowed myself to share something very personal about a relationship with someone from high school. (JournalTalk, Episode #52, March 17, 2015)

Exclusive Offer for JournalTalk Listeners:  In this episode, Dr. Susan offers to send listeners a downloadable “cheat-sheet” of the Revising/Do-Over exercise, when they contact her and mention “JournalTalk”. This is a wonderful activity that helps you practice authenticity in your communications with others, even if you haven’t been as authentic with them as you could have in the past.

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The post The One Thing About Journaling: Getting Real first appeared on Write4Life.