“The worst loneliness is not to be comfortable with yourself.”
~Mark Twain

Journal writing can be a valuable tool that will allow you to hear the wisdom of your inner voice and to get to know yourself deeply. I find this to be my greatest tool for growth and self knowledge. Aren’t we always aspiring to develop our relationship to others, to get to know them deeply, and placing effort into doing just that with all of the people that we love? Learning to be in tune with myself as I am with others is not as easy; I have learned that it can be achieved in part by listening to my thoughts and feelings via my journal. Who am I, really

In my past I have ignored the little sounds of that nagging voice; I cruised through my day on auto pilot. I never wanted to be alone with my thoughts and myself. What does it mean to be comfortable with being alone? How do you feel about spending time with yourself, alone? Is that something you like to do, or is it something you avoid if possible? Journal writing is putting thoughts to paper; we can gain much more self understanding and awareness when we write and review our words.

I was able to gain insight about my life when I utilized a technique called brain drain as described by Julia Cameron in the Artist’s Way. This journaling design had me write every morning, even before meditation, to fill three pages with narrative writing. I would have no agenda with this journaling, just writing to get thoughts on paper. I did this form of journaling consistently.

The one thing I noticed, and it was quite obvious, was that I complained about the same issue day after day and week after week. This was very enlightening to me; I didn’t even realize that I was in such a rut. Once aware of this, I found some support, to help me move forward, and soon my writing had little mention about the issue. I began to write much more about other details of my life. I know this helped me to work through an old pattern of problem solving. This old pattern was being helpless and complaining; with recognition of this, I was able to recognize what I was doing, ask for help and to creatively problem solve. By putting the thoughts on paper, it helps to see them more objectively.

Until Next Week,
Lorraine

This entry was posted by Lorraine Calhoun on January 22nd, 2007 under Mid-Life with keywords .

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