Transcripts
1. Journaling as Meditation: Journaling can be more
than just writing. It can be a path to self discovery,
reflection, and peace. Hi. I'm Ramina, and I have found incredible value in journaling. And because of that, I am so excited to be able to
guide you through this. Journaling has helped
me to find clarity, to manage my stress, and to connect more
deeply with myself. And I am here to share these benefits with you
through this course. Using journaling as a
form of meditation, it has so many incredible benefits. Journaling
as a meditation can lead you to
that quiet focus, the stillness that
you need to have more time to explore
thoughts and feelings, doing this without
any form of judgment. There's no judging here. And this sort of
thing can help you to deepen self connection, which can increase your
mindfulness and help you to better self awareness,
which pauses all of these amazing benefits to an Earth like emotional balance, being able to release and organize all of your thoughts and your emotions onto a page, which then helps you
to reduce stress. It grounds you by putting all of these thoughts that
you have into words. And then, of course, reaching that greater self understanding
that we all strive for. Being able to
identify patterns and the needs that we have
and defining our values. All of these things
can happen through journaling. Our approach to journaling in this
course, it's not perfect. You don't have to have these
lengthy and eloquent entries in a beautiful notebook in order to get all
of these benefits. I want you to focus on the experience versus
whatever ends up on the page. And in this course,
you're going to learn how to use journaling
as a form of meditation and be able
to develop the tools to help you journal
anytime that you need to. So if all that sounds amazing and you are ready to dive in, head over to the next lesson where we are going
to set the stage for you to make your journaling
session more powerful.
2. Creating a Sacred Space for Writing: Creating a space where
you can fully focus on your writing can make a big difference in your
journaling practice. Having a dedicated space
for your journaling time can create this boundary
that separates your daily, everyday routine, life from your writing,
your journaling. This can help your brain to
get into the right mindset. It can help you to
focus to slow down, to minimize any
distractions that can interrupt meditative
journaling practice. I just sends signals to
your brain that it is time to focus on writing
to focus on journaling. I would suggest having something that's quiet and comfortable. It doesn't necessarily
have to be super quiet if it's something that you
are comfortable with. The most important thing
is that you feel comfort. So it can be at your desk, maybe your favorite armchair, or maybe you go to your favorite cafe in
order to do this. As you can see, it doesn't
necessarily have to be quiet, but the most important
thing is that it feel comfortable and you
should be able to focus. You should have some
sort of control when it comes to the removal
of distractions. You don't want to
have interruptions or have too many
interruptions that pull you away from your
meditative state as you are in the flow, as you are writing
and journaling. You want to stay focused. Remove any distractions like
your phone, any clutter. If your desk is disorganized or your room is disorganized or
there's clutter everywhere, those are things that might
distract you from your focus, which is your writing. So only keep the things
that you need for your journaling practice
around you and try to minimize the distractions
as much as possible. Personalize customize your
space, make it yours. Do the thing that makes
you feel like you, so that you feel safe
so that you feel open, so that you're open minded, and you feel like you are your deepest self Manifest that through your
physical space. So make it calming. Add a candle, put some plants, put some action figures, whatever it is that
brings you joy and that brings you peace and that
calms you and grounds you. These are the things that
you surround yourself with in your space for
your journaling time and, of course, have any of the
writing tools that you need. So if you're using
notebooks and pens, feel free to get as
creative as you want. Of course, the most
important thing is to get into the flow. So don't get too distracted with the creative part of but have everything that
you need in your space. So whether it's your notebooks, your pens, or if
it's your tablets, then make sure that you have your stylus or your keyboard, whatever it is that
you're going to use, make sure that everything
is plugged in, that you have all the
chargers that you need. Just think about all of
these things ahead of time so that these interruptions don't come into play when
you've already started to get into mood for writing. Set the stage before
you start writing. Make sure that you
get into the mood. You can do this by doing some deep breathing
exercises or lighting a candle or getting your favorite
blanket that you can put on your lap or
wrap yourself with. Play some of your
favorite music or play something like just go on
YouTube and look up spa music. Do something that creates
this physical space around you that gets you
into the mood for writing. Something that is
going to ground you. So that's why I say
that it's helpful to breathe because that way
you can center yourself, you can ground yourself
before you even put the pen on the page, and you can prepare your
mind for introspection, because once you start, you want to keep up that momentum
and that flow going. With your journaling space
all set up and ready to go, you will deepen your
writing experience. And in our next lesson, we'll look at some journaling
techniques that'll help keep your writing
focused and meaningful. Very important. All right. I will see you in
the next lesson.
3. Begin Your Journaling Practice: Few different ways to
go about journaling. And in this lesson, we're going to explore some
simple journaling techniques that will help you to start
your practice with intention. The first one is free writing. So free writing, the idea behind this is that you're doing
it without any editing. You're not overthinking things. You're just letting the
words flow onto the page. And that is the key
word here is flow. We want to enter that flow
state so that you can release your inner thoughts and get past any mental blocks. A really great way to do this is by setting a timer
because it can be really motivating because once you have a timer and you see that the clock
is going down, then it doesn't really
give you a lot of time to stop and go
back and overthink and kind of judge yourself
because you got to just keep going and putting
words onto the page. So the idea with
free writing is that you write whatever
comes to mind. Next is prompt based journaling. So prompt direct your thoughts. And in the next lesson, we're going to
explore a little bit more on prompt based journaling. But to give you an idea, it is really good for when you
don't know where to start. If you're just kind of
like, I don't know what to write right now and you've
got the pen in your hand, prompt based journaling can really help you to get started. It can be the fuel to
your journey, right? And it can make your journaling
entries really hyper focused because you can choose what prompt to use in
order to get started, and that will make your journal entries
based on what you need. So some examples of
these prompts are, what am I grateful for today? How am I feeling
in this moment and what's something I'd like to
focus on more in my life. So these are just
some ideas of things that you might see in
some prompts for journal. And you can find them online. You can save the
ones that you want. Or when you are in a
different mindset, you can create your own
prompts that you will use when you want to do this kind
of prompt based journaling. The next is reflective writing. It's pretty much
what it sounds like. You're reflecting
on an experience or an opportunity that you have or maybe a challenge that
you recently faced. And it's very focused on
something that is specific. And this sort of writing can you clarity for future events, maybe an opportunity
that you are presented with that you'd
like to think about. It can give you perspective
on past events, maybe something that
you went through that was a positive or a
negative experience, and you want to reflect on that. Some challenges that you've
had to overcome recently, and it really helps
you to focus on your thoughts and your feelings and things that you learned, whatever you learned based on this specific experience,
this specific event. There are other
journaling techniques, but these are just
some of the ones that I wanted to cover in this course to help
you get started. Of course, the most important
thing out of all of these techniques that I can
show you is consistency. It's important to
create some sort of routine because it
builds a stronger habit, and over time, you're going to feel that it is
more intuitive. Journaling becomes instinct. It becomes an intuitive thing. And then it'll help you to hop into this meditative
state a lot quicker. Every time each time
that you journal, you'll be able to enter
that meditative state, that flow that we were
talking about earlier. You'll be able to
reach that quicker. That will help you to access
deeper thoughts over time, turning this into a habit,
creating that consistency. It's not something that
has to become a burden or to of your everyday life. Even just a few minutes each day can help you to create
that consistency, that schedule that we
are talking about. So don't feel like it has to be something that has to
take over your life. Just 5 minutes a day can be enough to really
get this going. Now that you've got a few
methods to work with, you're ready to bring journaling
into your daily life. And in the next lesson, we'll dive into some prompts
specifically designed to spark insight and self
discovery. So I'll see you.
4. Prompts for Self Discovery & Reflection: Now I'm going to go
through some prompts that can help you
explore your thoughts, feelings, and goals
on a deeper level. Feel free to save any of the ones that you like.
You can come back. You can revisit this lesson
whenever you need to. And if you don't
want to use any of these prompts at all, then you absolutely don't need to. This is more of a way to help inspire you
and to maybe light a little bit of a
spark for you to get started on your
journaling session. The first one is focused
on self discovery. What brings me joy? What am I passionate
about and why? What are my core values? And how do they guide me? These questions can help
you uncover certain things and can help you to define
what your motivations are, what your values are, help you to solidify your strengths, maybe even identify what
are some of the things that might want to work on or
maybe you need to work on. Reflection. What did I learn
about myself recently? What am I grateful
for at this moment? What challenges am I facing? And how can I approach
them differently? The intention behind
these prompts are to review recent events, things that happen
to you experiences, and give you some
kind of perspective that can allow you to learn
something new about yourself. It can increase your self
awareness for future events, give you that clarity that you need. Next, we
have some vision prompts. What do I want my life
to look like in a year? What small steps can I take
now to reach my goals? What would I do if I
weren't afraid of failure? These vision prompts, they can help you to clarify your goals, your aspirations, and then
you can outline your future. You can make a
path for yourself. It can be really
eye opening, and then you're able to make definitive plans and
reach your goals. Lastly, I'm going to cover
some daily check in prompts. How do I feel today,
physically and emotionally? What's one positive thing
I experienced today? What's something I can
improve on tomorrow? See, these kinds of questions, they can help you
with self awareness, and they can give you
that intentional growth. And that's the thing that we are striving for here through our journaling sessions and by using journaling
as a meditation. It can also help you to keep accountable with
yourself because once you write these things
down, it's tangible. You've got these
words on a page. So you can really check in with yourself and see
how you're doing and see what your progress actually is and not
what you think it is. These prompts are
designed to bring you more depth and to
inspire you and motivate in your journaling practice. You can choose one or two or three of the
ones that I mentioned, the ones that resonate the
most with you so that you can reflect on them
and start journaling. Or if none of them
were inspiring to you, then you don't have to
choose any of them. Now, you are fully equipped to get started with your
journaling session. So if you are ready
and if you welcome me, we are going to do
a little bit of journaling together
in the next one. Alright, I'm going to go grab my notebook and I
will see you there.
5. Journaling Together: All right. Let's take
the next 5 minutes to journal together. I have my notebook right here, so grab your notebook, your journal or whatever it
is that you're going to use. Make sure to get comfortable, and I'm going to be writing
alongside with you. So remember to write
whatever is on your mind. So you can do whatever it is
that you're grateful for, maybe your dreams,
your manifestations, things that you want to
happen in your life. Or maybe just write
some affirmations, tell yourself how amazing you
are for taking this course. There is no perfection here. There is no judging. Nobody has to read these except for yourself
if you want to. And you can think about
any recent experiences, any opportunities that
you have coming up. Just let it flow and get
the thoughts on the page. So remember, this
time is just for you. So when you're ready, we're
going to get started. And that is the end
of our session. So make sure that you jot
down any last reflections, thoughts, any feelings
that you have. Make sure that you
wrap those up. At the end of your session, you can read over whatever
it is that you wrote, or if you want, you can just close the
book, your notebook, and let it settle, let it go, do whatever it is that feels right for
you, whatever you need. In this moment. Thanks for writing with me. Thanks for joining me here and for allowing me to write
alongside with you. I appreciate that because I did I did need to do this today, so I feel pretty good. Hopefully, you feel
good, as well. Join me over in the next lesson whenever it is that you
are ready so that we can talk about how to maintain
this new practice and grow this habit and make it into a long term thing for
you in your life.
6. Lasting Peace and Clarity: Awesome. Alright. Now that you've started
your journaling journey, let's look at some
ways that you can make this a lasting
part of your life. How do you turn this
new journaling practice into a routine? Take a time of day that fits naturally into
your schedule. Obviously, if you
are working 10-12, then don't choose that time. Choose something that already fits into the schedule
that you currently have. So identify if
that's going to be in the morning or
in the evenings. Maybe it could even be your lunch break if you have a pretty heavy
work schedule. So find something that works for you and then stick
to that schedule. Make sure that whatever you
choose is non negotiable. And decide if this
is going to be a daily practice for you or
a weekly practice for you. This is very important. That is how you are going to create that consistency that you need that will lead to
it becoming routine. And like we learned
earlier in the course, keep everything that you need, all of the tools
that you need to get started in a visible spot, to make sure that it is there and ready and
accessible for you. It has to be easy to access
because you don't want to create any obstacles between you and starting your practice. That's going to help
to set this routine. If you are able to leave it in a spot where you can see it, that can help you to
remember to do it. If you see your beautiful
little notebook with your pen on a little
coffee table every day, then you're going
to remember you should be journaling every day. Above all, keep it simple. Don't overthink it too much because the most
important thing is to keep it consistent over having
lengthy journal entries. You don't want to get so into the nitty gritty of
what you are doing within your journaling practice that it makes it
seem like a chore. We want to be able to
just grab a pen and write a stylus and
a tablet and write. You don't want to
create any obstacles, anything that is going
to get in the way of you being consistent. Consistency here is the key. Like we learned before, having just a few minutes
can get you going. So if all you can afford to
do is three or 5 minutes, then it's better to do that
than not do it at all. This sort of
consistency can make it really impactful because you start to create those habits. There is no right or
wrong way to do this. There really isn't just
have to express yourself. Don't worry about being perfect. Don't worry about grammar. Don't worry about punctuation. Just focus on getting
words on a page. Something that can
be really helpful is reflecting on your progress. Look back at some
of your entries. Feel free to flip
through some of the pages when you've been
doing this for a few weeks, and you can really start to see the growth that
you experience. Maybe it's something that's
going to be small and subtle. It might be a little
bit difficult to see once you get started. But after a while, after you're doing
this for a long time, you can really start
to see your progress. Sometimes I'll look at some journal entries that
I wrote years ago and I, and it seems like a totally different person because I have grown from that. It's just really interesting
to be able look back and see where you started
and where you are now. You can see your
perspectives changing. You can see your self
improvement on a page. You can even see recurring
patterns or themes. So if there's something in
there that you want to change, but haven't seen
that sort of change, then you can identify what
that is that needs to improve. That can lead to a
change in mindset, which of course leads
to personal growth, which of course is what
we are aiming for. Anything, sometimes
we will get bored and sometimes we start to
not see that progress. So in order to keep up this
new practice over time, feel free to change things up. Say inspired, find new prompts. Look for something that
is going to inspire you, motivate you in a whole new way in your journaling journey. So if you start to see that your inspiration and
your motivation, your routine starts to dwindle, change up the style, maybe
find another notebook. Just keep Fresh. Remember to think
of the benefits. Feel free to come back to
this course at any point to get some more inspiration to get that motivation
that you need, anything that is going to
serve as motivation for you. So take notes of the things that inspired you with this course. Remember why it is that you started this journaling
practice in the first place. Because that can really help
you to get back on track and to get back into the group into the
routine of journaling. Be kind to yourself because
it's fine if you miss a day. It's not like you have to
journal every single day. It's okay if you miss a day. Just remember to get
back on the horse. And don't worry.
Nobody's judging you. This is a practice for yourself. This is to help you to find that stillness
in your busy life. And to be able to reflect on the things that are
important to you, it's a personal journey. Just start again, whatever
it is that you are ready. And again, remember the
things that motivate you. Remember what inspires
you to journal. Journaling can be very powerful. It can be an amazing
tool for self discovery, clarity, and peace, and
should just be plain fun. So keep exploring and connecting with yourself
through your writing, knowing that each page brings you closer to
understanding yourself. Congratulations on
completing this course. I really hope that you enjoyed this course and that
you got something out of it. Thank you so much for
joining me on this journey, for allowing me to join
you on this journey. Keep your pen moving and trust the process and
enjoy where it takes you.
REDROMINA, Creative Entrepreneur
