JournalTalk | Write4Life

It’s gift-giving season, and those well-meaning friends or relatives know full well that you enjoy journal-writing. But they might not understand your personal style enough to give you the perfect journal notebook!

Has this ever happened to you? Someone gives you a diary or journal, maybe one they spent some thought picking out for you, but you just don’t “get along” with it?

Jenny asked for some advice on how to accept the gift, without accepting the pressure that comes when they start wondering why you’re not using it!

Fuel the dialogue: Have you ever received a gift journal notebook that you hated? Was it from someone who keeps pressuring you to use it? What did you do with it? Can you tactfully turn it down? What’s the best way to be honest without “looking a gift horse in the mouth”? 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 #19, December 30, 2014)

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Ever since my experience with NaNoWriMo, I’m convinced more than ever that journal-writing helps to sharpen the skills needed to write any story or novel.

My guest this week is Danielle Hanna, a crime fiction author who believes that her journal is (more often than she’s consciously aware!) the source of her material for publication.

Danielle shares some great tips from her new book, specifically for fiction writers to use their journals in developing a keen sense of awareness, feeling, and composition. She also shares how her dealings with a family tragedy led her to agreement with Oscar Wilde’s conclusion that “Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life.” My favorite part of this discussion with Danielle was our chuckling that the phrase “based on a true story” is probably applicable on some level to every novel and movie ever made.

For more journal-writing tips inspired by the world of fiction, please be sure to check out my interview with Anne Marvin in episode #78.

This interview with Danielle Hanna also reminded me of a JournalTalk Q&A episode, where a listener named Raul wrote in to ask me, “Can Journaling Help Me Become a Better Writer?” Raul, this episode is for you, and not-surprisingly, Danielle’s answer is: DEFINITELY!

Exclusive Offer for JournalTalk listeners:  Danielle’s book, Journaling to Become a Better Writer, is available for a limited time on Smashwords.com, in any format for any reading device, for just $1.99. You must use the code QG87T on check-out to receive this discount.  (JournalTalk, Episode #46, December 23, 2014)

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Do your journals scream out like Cheryl’s do, “Should I stay or should I go?”

Mari and I stand on either side of this debate with great pointers for anyone who wonders “why hang on to these notebooks?”

Cheryl first started keeping her journals because she wanted “proof of her existence”. Today, she believes she’s collected enough; or maybe her reasons for journal-writing are different now?

Whether you write just for the zen of it, or you have other reasons for journaling, Mari and I offer ideas in this episode that help you keep your focus on YOU, and whatever you’re needing from the soul-supporting practice of journaling.

In the all-new 30-Day Journaling Challenge, titled, “Looking Back, Looking Forward”, you can also hear dozens of terrific ideas for using your journals to review and harvest from your old writings, and then design a compelling future for the new season ahead.

Fuel the dialogue: Do your journal notebooks have a “shelf-life”? 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 #18, December 16, 2014)

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Having grown up in the throes of conflict and controversy in the Middle East, Emmanuel Dagher learned to turn hardships into inspiration, adversity into empowerment.

Emmanuel is known online as a spiritual teacher and healer, who offers transformation in the areas of relationship, prosperity, and more. In this podcast, he shares some of his style and techniques; and, just as I guessed, journal writing plays an important role!

You’ll need to listen to one of his transformative conversations to fully appreciate Emmanuel’s miracles. He borrows from Napolean Hill and all the Law of Attraction masters, but puts a modern-day spin for applying the principles of gratitude, mindfulness, and attracting what we need and want. Please contact Emmanuel, and let him know you heard him on JournalTalk!

SPECIAL OFFER:  Get a copy of any of Emmanuel’s books online, and JournalTalk will receive a valuable donation from Amazon.com.

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Making a return on JournalTalk, Heather Severson is back to help me answer a few of your journal-writing questions.

Those who have experienced the relief, the insight, the rekindling of passion, or any other benefit from their writing, have noticed how momentary it can be. And when our attention goes sailing another direction, it is normal to forget to come back and keep the writing habit going. That’s why so many people ask for tips on how to keep their journal-writing consistent.

Heather and I share some basic and advanced strategies for staying with your writing. Because this is one of the most common questions I get, I’ve also written a short eBook about it which you can get right here.

Fuel the dialogue: Have you noticed that you get far more from your writing when you do it consistently? Or, do you prefer to turn to your journal only on special occasions?

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 #17, December 2, 2014)

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Our journaling prompt this week: “What was the best part of my day today?”

With her motto, “Cake Every Day”, my guest this episode helps us to identify and appreciate the celebration in every single day. Whether you’re dealing with anxiety, panic, depression, or any other energy imbalance, Raychelle LeBlanc coaches methods for healing and gratitude.

One main ingredient in her personal prescription for healthy life-balance is journaling. Raychelle shares a no-nonsense, tangible approach for working with the written word, including a few focus points that have been helpful in her experience: gratitude, honesty with self, laws of the universe, and connecting to source. Icing on the cake: Listen to Raychelle’s elegant way of turning everyday complaints and judgements into valuable choices.

Click on this link, or the book image, to learn more about Raychelle’s book, Your Daily Slice Journal. (JournalTalk, Episode #43, November 25, 2014)

SPECIAL OFFER:  In this episode, Raychelle invites you to contact her and mention JournalTalk, for a FREE one-on-one meditation and journaling session featuring her “balance wheel”.

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A brand new listener asked, “Apart from the obvious (recording your thoughts) what does journal-writing actually do for you?”

Each and every single episode of this podcast provides at least one unique answer to this, but Mari and I thought it would be nice to take this opportunity to share OUR favorite benefits.

At the conclusion of the 30-Day Digital Journaling Challenge, we asked the 1,400+ participants to share what benefits they experienced by keeping an electronic journal. If you’d like to see those results, please add yourself to our mailing list here, and take the Challenge yourself!

In the book, 101 Reasons To Write a Journal, the author devotes an entire chapter to eight main benefits he received personally from journal-writing over 20 years. Here are the chapters:

1. Self-Improvement (Reasons 1-28)

Fuel the dialogue: What benefits have YOU received from keeping a journal? Post your response at the bottom of this webpage, in the comments section.

You may also reply with your own journaling questions 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 #16, November 18, 2014)

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Our journal-writing activity this week: Choose a magic power you’d like to use in a dream tonight. Follow along with the guided instructions in this episode, for a mini writing meditation!

While many writing coaches encourage us to describe and clarify our waking dreams (goals, aspirations, etc.), there are many reasons to explore and befriend your nighttime dreams, too. In this episode, I share fun facts about oneirology, the scientific study of dreams. I promise you that every dream contains powerful insight or application to your actual life, once you learn how to decode them.

Let me guess: You’d love this episode even more if you could only remember your dreams? Count yourself in the majority, which is why my Dream Journaling Workshop specifically addresses this, by including proven techniques to guarantee dream recollection or your money back. (JournalTalk, Episode #44, November 11, 2014)

SPECIAL OFFER:  Save $50 on the upcoming Live Dream Journaling Workshop by using the code “JournalTalk” upon checkout. Offer expires 12/31/14. Seating is limited to 15 people, unless there are international participants. The course is delivered by weekly live webinars on Sunday evenings (U.S. time zones) over a six week period starting January 11, 2015.

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Steve raises a question on which Mari and I respectfully (and playfully) disagree. Are your journals stuck in a past that is no longer relevant? Or, are there good reasons (besides wandering down memory lane) to go back and re-reading old journal entries?

Some lifelong journal-writers will say the best part about keeping a journal is the zen-like attention and awareness of the present moment; and going backwards in time to read old stories is completely counter to that intention. Mari even (gulp!) throws them away!

And while I agree with that mindset, I know that my journals contain some deliciously captured moments, and zen-like insights of which I enjoy reminding myself.

Perhaps the best answer lies in the paradox somewhere in-between. Write as if you’ll throw away your journals, but keep them so you can cherish those “in-the-moment” reflections! (Click here to Tweet this!)

Please share: What do you get from re-reading your journals? Inspiration? Material for publication? Future blog-posts? A chronology to pass on to future generations? Entertaining reminders of a time gone by?

If you have a question for a future episode of JournalTalk Q&A, please call 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 #15, November 4, 2014)

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Kim Ades takes journal-writing to a whole new level. Her company, Frame of Mind Coaching, combines the power of journaling with trained, professional coaching to help clients achieve breakthrough results in a very short period of time.

Through her licenseable, online journaling software, JournalEngine, Kim’s clients tap into their own thought patterns to identify hidden beliefs that are holding them back from the success they seek.

I enjoyed discussing the concepts of coaching people through an active journal-writing routine, and I’m considering joining Kim’s team. Please let me know what you think?  (JournalTalk, Episode #42, October 28, 2014)

SPECIAL OFFER:  In this episode, Kim offers a free trial of the “Frame of Mind Coaching” program. After completing this short assessment (be sure to tell her that you heard about it on JournalTalk!) you will be matched up with a journal coach, who will work with you using a daily journaling practice, to get new results in your life, and make dormant dreams a reality.

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