Get out your pens and paper!
Writing and keeping a journal has been a New Years Resolution almost as much as going to the gym. It can be difficult, and often daunting to set aside time each day to write down your own thoughts for seemingly no other reason than to hope someone finds them and reads them one day.
However, we here at Indigo Tent know that journaling is a key aspect of health and a big part of your journey to connecting with your higher self. Journaling is important because it is a key way in which your higher self communicates with you. Your higher self is your real self and it empowers you to connect with the universe at large and your true potential.
Several people find it difficult to hear messages from their higher self but this is because it takes practice. Like any other discipline, the more you work on listening to your higher self, the easier it will be. Journaling is the easiest way to help you get consistent practice in listening to your own thoughts and feelings.
Also, there are numerous health benefits to journaling and when your health is better, your connection to your real self will be easier to feel and your divine potential is unlocked. Journaling can greatly improve your mental health and your physical health. Read on or listen below.
But, what are those Health Benefits?
Health Benefits of Consistent Journaling
- Manage anxiety
- Reduce stress
- Cope with depression and loss
- Help prioritize problems, fears, and concerns
- Tracking symptoms or habits to help recognize triggers and learn ways to control them
- Provides a platform for positive self-talk and the identification of negative thoughts and behaviors
- Strengthens emotional functions
- Keeps memory sharp
- Improves immune function https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/writing-can-help-injuries-heal-faster/
- Boosts your mood
Journaling gives you a form of expression and when we can express ourselves properly, these are the things we can expect as a result. Not to mention, our higher self is easier to connect with. Therefore it is helpful to make sure that we are consistent.
Strategies for Consistent Journaling
It is obvious that journaling can be beneficial. So the real question becomes: How to journal? or at least: How to journal in a way that is consistent and effective?
Write by hand
There are definitely benefits of writing on both the computer and writing things out by hand. Writing on the computer is great for keeping track of information you may need to find again. However, when connecting to your higher self and unlocking your full potential it is much better to write by hand.
Handwriting activates more parts of your brain because you have to form every letter directly from the brain. As you think about each letter, it activates your brain’s reading circuit which is more similar to reading than typing.
When your brain is active during the writing process, it improves your memory and stimulates your creativity. Just like walking or jogging, the action of writing unlocks your creativity and allows you to be more open to the ideas and insights from your higher self.
If you are looking for a way to combine the benefits of handwriting with the trackability of computer technology, I recommend looking into the Rocketbook Core. They have an awesome notebook made of special paper that can be infinitely re-used. Each page can be scanned using their app and uploaded to a cloud service like Google Drive or Evernote so that you can come back and find it late. We use these notebooks to get the best of both worlds when it comes to writing in a journal.
Plan Your Journal Entries
It seems weird for us to suggest for you to plan out your writing. However, hours of staring at a page and not knowing what to say has taught us that a strategy can help guide us. Without a good strategy, we get lost in our minds and run out of things to say to ourselves. We start writing entries that look like this:
Dear Diary,
Today was a good day. Pretty much the same thing as yesterday. Looking forward to the same thing tomorrow as well.
Sincerely,
Me.
This is checking the minimum requirements of a journal entry, but is a miss in terms of the value that can come from journaling. Instead try out some different strategies that you can use to fill your journal with valuable insights.
Strategies for Consistent Journaling
Dream Journal
Immediately after you wake up, write as much about the dream you just had as you can. Have pen and paper by your bedside and record your dream before you start forgetting the details. You can even draw it if you enjoy drawing but record as much detail as you can. Then compare that to your life and look for patterns that might reveal what you’re subconsciously thinking about. It takes some practice but this is a great way to start learning and connecting with your true self.
Make a list
Lists can be a great way to organize the things you’re thinking about. Problems, tasks, fears, or things that make you happy can all be great lists for your journaling. Lists are awesome because they help you extract ideas from your brain and this is always a good practice.
Mind Maps
Mind maps are a cousin to lists because they are lists that focus on how the list items are connected. This is a great way to get organized when you wear several different hats and need to focus on certain things at a time. Mind maps are also used often in creative exercises so they are a great way to get your creative juices going.
Goals and Gratitude
Goals and gratitude journal is a method of knowing what to write about. Whenever you struggle to know what to write about, it is always easy to do a goals and gratitude entry. First, list all the things you are grateful for, or just write about one thing you are grateful for in detail. Then, set and evaluate the goals in your life. Starting with gratitude allows us to appreciate what we have, then setting goals helps us gain determination to go after what we want.
Unsent Letters
Unsent letters are a great way to get your feelings down about a relationship. Having trouble with a coworker or family member? Write them an unsent letter in your journal. Unsure how to express your love for a spouse or romantic interest? Write a letter for them in your journal. This is a great way to examine how you feel, without jeopardizing the relationship in any way. This can also be used as a great way to cope with and feel connected to loved ones who have passed on from this life.
Dialoguing
This is a trick authors use to practice getting inside the mind of the characters they are writing about. However, it can be similar to unsent letters in that it can really help you get your thoughts out about a potentially conflicting relationship or conversation you may need to have. Think about yourself and the other person as two characters in a story and write a dialogue of how each person would respond during the interaction. Really try to get into their motivation and understand each character. The better understanding you can have for both yourself and the other person, the easier the relationship will be.
Perspective
Think of an event or story in your life and write about it from three different perspectives. Maybe this can be present you, past you and future you talking about a big event in your life. This can be stretched out over several days as well. It could also be three different people reacting to an event in the world. Whatever you think would be beneficial in helping you understand different perspectives and explore ideas in your life.
5 Year Higher Self Journal From Indigo Tent
The Higher Self Journal is a five year journal that gives you 365 prompts which are all a mix of these different techniques. Each year, you will answer the same prompts on the same day but will get to see your responses from the previous years so you can take note of your growth and your own personal journey to connect with your higher self.
Be consistent
Each of these are different strategies you can use but the most important thing is consistency. As you are consistent, you will start to see the benefits take hold in your life and your mood. On top of that, you will be significantly better at hearing and understanding the feelings and insights that come from your higher self.
