JournalTalk | Write4Life

By far, Tom has sent in the toughest journaling question I’ve been called upon to answer. You can even hear my subtle attempts to avoid it.

With co-host Jayde Gilmore, I wandered into the wilderness of related side-conversations: Grief, gratitude, trance writing, loving-what-is, depression, and comparing the various levels of journal certification to reiki! We may have even stumbled over the inspiration for the 1990 hit song by They Might Be Giants, “Birdhouse in Your Soul”.

I apologize for having no better way to summarize the dialogue from this episode. I’m hoping Tom will accept our invitation to write again with a few clarifying details. I’d also appreciate hearing which parts of our answer were most helpful.

Your turn to answer: How do you use journal-writing to address those yearnings of the heart which cannot be described? Do you have tips for diving that deep in your writing? How does writing help you move through your darkest hours? Or, how would YOU answer this week’s question? 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 #24, March 10, 2015)

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Proving once again that journal-writing is NOT just an introverted, navel-gazing activity, Carolyn Koehnline shows us how to use our journals to remove clutter from our homes, heads, hearts and schedules.

Author of “Confronting Your Clutter”, a practicing mental health counselor, and Certified Journal Therapist, Carolyn guides us toward our compassionate inner voice to support us through transitions. In fact, Carolyn’s are some of the most potent writing prompts in the Looking Back, Looking Forward journaling challenge, a month-long journal-writing course designed to help you review the recent stepping-stones of life, and design a compelling future.

In this episode, I share a personal story about the three years I avoided a storage room full of my “stuff”, and how, thanks to Carolyn’s journaling suggestions, I found courage to tackle the overwhelm, and save $300 per month in storage fees!  (JournalTalk, Episode #51, March 3, 2015)

Exclusive Offer for JournalTalk Listeners:  In this episode, Carolyn invites listeners to contact her for a free gift, simply for mentioning that you heard her on JournalTalk.

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The post Spring Cleaning: Journaling to De-Clutter! first appeared on Write4Life.

Julia Cameron suggests 3 pages. Jeff Goins recommends 500 words. Some popular websites say 600 or 750 words is the goal. WHAT’S THE STORY HERE?

Co-host Jayde Gilmore and I both agree that having a mental marker can help with the consistency and depth of your writing practice. But being overly concerned with word count can backfire also. In this episode, learn some principles about that balance between the two. We answer a listener’s question, “What is the minimum number of words to write each day that yields the best results of journal-writing?”

Fuel the dialogue: Do you use a word counter to determine how much to write in a given session? Can you make a great journal entry in less than 10 words? What standards or goals have been helpful, and when do you change them? 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). If your question is featured, we will send you a thank-you gift for sharing your voice! (JournalTalk Q&A, Episode #23, February 10, 2015)

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After frantically rushing to get to my yoga class on time, I learned a big lesson in mindfulness.

In this 50th episode, I give a personal “fireside chat” about my true motivations for this podcast series. I describe the traits of people who live passionately and “on-purpose,” and reveal three simple habits that support them. 

Completing a second year of JournalTalk, I make a straight-forward request to all who are listening: If you have enjoyed this program, please show your support by spreading the word. Here are a few suggestions to help broaden the reach of this work:

I’ve got some big plans coming together in Year Three of JournalTalk, and I’m looking to see who its supporters are. Please step forward, and demonstrate your voice with action. And thank you to everyone who already and so consistently does so! (JournalTalk, Episode #50, February 17, 2015)

Audio Editing: Netrix Marketing

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The post Journaling for Mindfulness first appeared on Write4Life.

The recent podcast on Journaling for Transformation became quickly popular, and some listeners have asked for more specific examples.

Kim Ades of Frame of Mind Coaching is my guest co-host, and she surprises me (completely unscripted and unplanned, I promise!) with a testimonial from a JournalTalk listener, who took Kim’s journal coaching program!  

If there’s any area of your life where you’re seeking to create more freedom, power, and ease, then you are welcome to test-drive the Frame of Mind Journal-Coaching program for free.  From career concerns to relationship woes, journaling can reveal brand new avenues for transformation. Start with this assessment, which will automatically begin your private journal account, and invite a trained FOM coach to call you back for next steps. 

Fuel the dialogue: What’s your best story of personal transformation through journaling? 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). If your question is featured, we will send you a thank-you gift for sharing your voice! (JournalTalk Q&A, Episode #22, February 10, 2015)

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The post Q&A: “What Are Some Examples of Transformation Through Journal-Writing?” first appeared on Write4Life.

The most powerful promise of a journal-writing practice is its ability to transform any dilemma the writer is wrestling with into something completely new, approachable, and inspiring. This shift from oppression to opportunity, from turmoil to tranquility, hardly comes without practice, and is often accompanied by the guidance of a coach.

Jayde Gilmore is one such coach, and my guest expert this week. In this episode, we celebrate our “win” of NaNoWriMo (having written 50,000 words of a coherent story)! Our conversation also mingles through some of her earliest writing memories, and raises examples of writing for personal breakthrough.

Jayde will be a new voice on JournalTalk Q&A, joining me to answer your questions about journal-writing. She is also one of the talented sponsors (with Jackee Holder, Kay Adams, Lynda Monk, Carolyn Koehnline, Carrie Leigh Sandoval, and others) of the Looking Back, Looking Forward Journaling Kit, a three-part toolkit designed for transforming your experience of any milestone or life transition. It offers practical, bite-size steps for reviewing your journal for reflection and wisdom, and exercises for designing a compelling future. (JournalTalk, Episode #49, February 3, 2015)

Exclusive Offer for JournalTalk Listeners:  In this episode, I share some hints about a new service offering I am dreaming up. I invite your input in making it something truly worthwhile. In exchange for your ideas, you will be added to my VIP pre-launch, scheduled for later this year.

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The post Journaling for Transformation first appeared on Write4Life.

Cassandra asks, “Where can I get some good journaling prompts?” Co-host Jayde Gilmore and I spread out a few ideas, but they all add up to exactly what Dorothy said after returning from the Land of Oz, “If I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again, I won’t go any further than my own backyard!”

There are both advantages and disadvantages of using journal prompts. And also, some creative ways to be sure you NEVER run out of juicy journaling prompts that are specific to you and your life.

To be sure, random writing prompts can be found abundantly, but there are ways to find and collect ones that are relevant, and inspire your best writing.

If you are looking for a month-long series of powerful writing prompts to help commemorate a transition or milestone (such as a new job, a birthday, graduation, or anniversary) here’s a journaling kit for you! Jayde Gilmore is one of ten amazing featured sponsors.

Fuel the dialogue: Where do you get your best journaling prompts? Post your response at the bottom of this webpage, in the comments section.

You may send 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). If your question is featured, we will send you a thank-you gift for sharing your voice! (JournalTalk Q&A, Episode #21, January 27, 2015)

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The post Q&A: “What Are Some Good Journaling Prompts?” first appeared on Write4Life.

For Joan Porte, looking inward and looking upward are nearly the same thing.

As a karmic astrologer, she uses the position and trajectory of celestial objects as her prompts for reflection. And from that angle, she arrives at life’s passion, clarity and purpose with astounding results!

Those who know me, (including Joan!) know that I’m a skeptic about such things, and yet her insights provide an entire universe of journal-writing fodder. Her ability to make sense of what she’s describing, and explain the profound conclusions in simple terms, helped me to grasp that perhaps, maybe, if our lives can be affected by Earth’s gravitational pull and miniature waves of light, radiation, and heat, then perhaps somehow, just maybe, we might also be affected in similar proportion by the energies of very largest objects in the known universe!

Join me in this interview with Joan, and let’s ponder questions about our life’s guiding purpose. See also: Joan’s astrological cookbook (you read correctly!) called, Signs of the Tines, a one-of-a-kind collection of recipes inspired by the energies of the zodiac. (JournalTalk, Episode #48, January 20, 2015)

Exclusive Offer for JournalTalk Listeners:  In this episode, Joan shares how you can receive a special discount on her signature product, a full thirty-minute audio recording of YOUR karmic birth-chart interpretation, complete with visual aids and explanations.

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Sandra asks, “How does someone become a journaling coach?” And the answers are many! Do you have a passion for sharing the benefits of journal-writing with others?

Have you experienced some of the tremendous benefits in keeping a personal writing practice, and now you feel the urge to help others obtain those same benefits?

In this episode, Heather Severson helps me list of some of the numerous ways to go about becoming a “Journal Coach”. And with a dose of giddy playfulness, I also remind everyone, in the words of Dr. Frankenfurter, “Don’t dream it; Just be it!”

There are several options discussed in this audio, so don’t feel there is just “one right answer” here. But there are some pragmatic and trusted roads you can take that will land you into being a confident and effective coach. Among my most highly recommended, especially for “non-therapists” is this:

Become a life coach who uses journal-writing as the primary tool to help clients get unstuck, and transform old patterns that no longer serve them. Take this assessment to see if Frame of Mind Coaching is a beneficial path for you! I am an affiliate of the Frame of Mind Coaching program because I absolutely love it, and strongly recommend it.

Fuel the dialogue: Are you looking to become a certified journal instructor or life coach? Post your response at the bottom of this webpage, in the comments section.

You may send 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). If your question is featured, we will send you a thank-you gift for sharing your voice! (JournalTalk Q&A, Episode #20, January 13, 2015)

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The post Q&A: “How Do I Become a Journaling Coach?” first appeared on Write4Life.

We kick off 2015 with a guest who shares tremendous encouragement for expressing our creativity, and discovering what lights us up. Luisa Tanno is an instructor in many disciplines, including dance, yoga, and writing.

I open this episode with some confession about my own vulnerability, and share some ideas that I’m using to incorporate my BODY in my journal writing.

During my interview with Luisa, she  weaves through unique ideas for pursuing your passions as more than just a hobby, shares some eye-opening journaling prompts, and carries a warm encouragement for opening to your Self in a powerful, unashamed way. I felt so much more trusting and accepting of myself as a result of our conversation, and I think you will, too.  (JournalTalk, episode #47, January 6, 2015)

SPECIAL OFFER:  In this episode, Luisa shares how to take advantage of several online workshops in creativity and personal expression. She has extended this “twofer” special offer especially for you. Mention “JournalTalk” when you register for ANY ONLINE WORKSHOP, and you can register your friend for FREE! What an excellent way to get even more from Luisa’s training!  What an excellent way to start the year!

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