A practical way to start healing the wounds of suffering within us is journaling. Writing our daily thoughts and feelings in a journal is not only therapeutic, it can also be insightful. It is a very effective way to relieve the stresses of our daily lives.
You can keep the entry, which is entered in your own time, as frequently or infrequently as you want, whenever and wherever you like. You can choose to save it or discard it. Shred it or burn it. Maintain it all, or in part, like a diary or an erasable white board. It’s your journal, your entries, your self-healing process, and yours to do with as you like.
If you’re in therapy, you can share your journal entry with your therapist, or maybe you’d rather not. It’s yours to reflect upon, gain insight from, and to do with as you please.
Journaling can be a very safe way, a very personal and private way to get to know your most inner thoughts and feelings, to get to know your personality, your mind and your heart in a deeper, more sincere and more authentic manner than you thought before.
Through the journaling experience, we open the door wide to the possibility of living life with greater authenticity and integrity of self. Dare to be yourself. Be true to yourself and all who surround you will be influenced in subtle ways to be true to their self more and more.
Journaling with pen and paper is best as it simultaneously activates and engages different parts of the brain directly connected to stressful experiences, deeper thoughts and emotional realities, and affords the opportunity to release them. However, if you prefer the computer or tablet, it’s better than not.
The road to increased self-awareness and freedom is greatly fostered through journaling. Give yourself the chance.
So why not start journaling today and your growth is on the way.
- Dr. Al Levy