Just As I Am: Finding Your Journaling A-ha Moment

That A-ha Moment. When you know you’ve found your rhythm, that’s when to take it deeper. 

Welcome back. In the last post, I talked about finding the right time for journaling. I am hoping you have found that perfect time and location and are starting to find your groove in journal writing.

Perhaps you have experienced that A-ha moment. This is the moment where you realize something new. It may come on suddenly causing you to cry out, “A-ha!”

This moment can be an awakening of something inside yourself – something that you may have teased out in your daily journaling posts. For me, journaling gives me an opportunity to pause and be curious. I can start with writing a question like, “What do I need to know?” and just write what surfaces, unfiltered. Sometimes what I need to know shows up as I’m writing and sometimes it shows up in other ways.

For example, I might have a conversation with a friend the next day, and my questions might be answered then; or it may come to me in a song played on the radio, or seeing particular animal in nature. I have been seeing a lot of blue jays lately and staying open to the information they have to share. Journaling can be a way to de-clutter the mind so that we can truly listen. Once we create space, there is room for the answers to surface.

Other questions that I find interesting to ask myself and see how it shows up include:

• Who am I?
• What is my heart’s desire?
• What is my truest gift? And, how can I share it with others?
• How do I want to show up?

In my own personal practice this morning, I asked the question, “What do I need to know?” As I listened, the answer that bubbled up was, “Be gentle with yourself.”  I was amazed at this because I have been hard on myself recently. So today, I am allowing this to guide me throughout the day as I practice gentleness and kindness towards myself. Remember, the key is to try not to force an answer to surface. Simply ask the question and write what you notice. It could be thoughts that you are aware of, emotions, sensations in the body, images, etc. The possibilities are endless; and there is so much information available inside and out when we take time to pause and listen. You might notice that as you begin to become more inquisitive and ask questions, the answers may lead to even more questions to explore!

What is something you have noticed about yourself thus far into this journaling experience?