Journalling

“Working with the morning pages, we begin to sort through the differences between our real feelings, which are often secret, and our official feelings, those on the record for public display.”

– Julia Cameron

Journalling is great for problem-solving and decision-making. I find it particularly helpful if I’m stressed about something or if I’ve got lots of thoughts chasing around my head. There’s something quite cathartic about journalling. I think of it as a tool similar to Dumbledore’s pensieve. Putting my thoughts down on paper gets them out of my head. It creates room in there and gives it a chance to breathe. It’s almost a kind of meditation. Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way, created the practice of “morning pages” or journalling first thing in the morning before meditating. This practice helps to clear our heads so that it’s easier to meditate.

Journalling also helps to arrange our thoughts in a more logical order so we can make sense of them. Writing things down helps us to see problems from different perspectives and enables us to see things more clearly. It often helps me find new ideas and solutions. One of the best things about journalling is that it helps me access my intuition and the wisdom of my higher self.

A couple of years ago I had a profound experience when I was journalling. I wanted to decide whether to replace my Buddhist chanting with a different type of meditation. I felt quite confused about the right thing to do. One morning after I had finished chanting, I journalled about it. When I finished journalling, I felt much clearer about my decision. The most amazing thing was that I had a vision of an umbilical cord connecting my tummy button to my Buddhist Gohonzon (Practitioners of Nichiren Buddhism have altars in their homes where they enshrine the Gohonzon, which can be translated as “object of devotion – Soka Gakkai International). I felt totally blown away. I am often disappointed about what I perceive to be my lack of intuition and I was amazed to discover that I am more intuitive than I realised.

To Practise Journalling

To practise journalling, I suggest spending time alone and writing down whatever the problem is or whatever you want to gain clarity about. Keep writing until you’re unable to think of anything else. Cover all the bases. Write all your thoughts and all the possible solutions, even if they seem silly or far-fetched. This will help unlock your creative potential further. Ask yourself questions such as what does that mean? Why is that important to me? What would I do if I had a magic wand? Keep coming back to those questions. When you think you’ve exhausted all the options, ask yourself what else? Give yourself another few minutes to see if anything else comes up. This is often when we find hidden gems, buried in our subconscious. Finally, if appropriate, ask “What is my next step?”

I like to light candles and burn incense while I’m journalling. Sometimes, I play meditative music in the background. Journalling can be incorporated into a morning routine of spiritual or well-being practices.

Check out Julia Cameron’s morning pages practice mentioned earlier. As I said, she suggests practising before meditation. On the other hand, it might be beneficial to journal after meditating so that your brain is already relaxed, connected to your intuition, and more open to new ideas. Try both ways and see what works for you.

If you prefer to watch the my reading this post on YouTube you can do so here: Journalling.

I’m Samantha Brook.

I’m a Happiness blogger and coach.

I am the Amazon #1 bestselling author of Happiness Club: Learn to Be Happy and Get What You Want.

I empower people who are fed up with feeling fed up to take action to feel Happier and Get What They Want.

If you’d like to work with me there are a few ways you can do that including 1. Join the *free* Happiness Club Facebook group. 2. Sign up to the *free* Design Your Dream Life Masterclass. 3. Buy the book – Happiness Club: Learn to Be Happy and Get What You Want! 

This post was originally written for Happiness-Club.co.uk in 2021 and I updated it in 2024 for the book Happiness Club: Learn to Be Happy and Get What You Want.