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JOURNALING RETREATS IN LAKE NORMAN, NC IN SEPTEMBER

Bud — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:26:24 +0000

Spiritual Journaling is a broad space in the road where you can pause and record your journey toward God. But it also has a deeper dimension as a reflection of your soul. It is a time where what you are writing, even on paper napkins, connects you with God. It is a time of personal development where your concerns about life – goals, work, politics, relationships, and innermost thoughts are expressed as a pathway to receiving His grace. Spiritual Journaling allows us to ask those vulnerable questions, to remember significant events, to debate our causes of sadness and anger and above all, to express our praise and the wonder of our life.

These retreats will be offered Sep. 13 AM and Sep. 27 PM in Cornelius, NC. Email me for a flyer with more info, bud@inspiredtojournal.com.

Year-Round Thanksgiving

Bud — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 19:46:29 +0000

I’m sure we all said “Thanks” last Thursday on Thanksgiving day. But what about today or everyday? We need to refocus our attitude away from our debts, burdens, complaints and aches. We need to affirm the good things that happen to us each and every day.

You can easily incorporate a “Gratitudes” section in your daily journal writing. Some people keep a separate journal by using 1/2 of a standard 3X5 file card (available precut in multiple colored packs at office supply stores). That is an easy media to also use during the day to take a few seconds to record the gratitude afte you have received it — a “real-time” journal writing.

If you want to recall those gratitude events on your return-to-home-commute, put a sticky note on your dashboard to remind you, “What THANKS did I get today?” Then it will be easier to remember them for your nightly standard journal entry.

And as you start recording the thanks given to you, start giving some back;

Pay It Forward

Grateful people feel better and are more resilent to tough times. Grab some of this free medicine by making your very own “Thanks-for-giving” days.

A Discernment Journal – Part 1

Bud — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 13:12:21 +0000

The main definition of discernment is faithful discrimination for the purpose of making decisions. Beginning to discern, therefore, means to become more and more accustomed to realizing the nudges from a Higher Power in your life and responding to them. You will be focusing on places and times to “listen” that you never did before.

Spiritual journaling becomes an important, actually a necessary, tool in this discernment process. Keeping a record in your journal of your experiences by way of your thoughts, feelings, judgments, questions, etc. will document your journey and lead to better discernment the next time. You will recognize patterns, “best practices”, key metaphors and images that will enhance and improve your decision making performance.

More later.

A Joint Journal For Maintaining Those Romantic Unions

Bud — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:47:05 +0000

A University of Texas study found that when couples wrote about their relationships for 20 minutes at a time for three days, they were more likely to be together three months later. I think that may be too brief of a journaling time to create a “more lasting” relationship, but there is something about writing that prompts good feelings. If you both take the time to use pencil and paper, or establish an email/IM message conversation daily, it has a way of maintaining those romantic emotions.

So, jointly pick up a journal and a place in the bookshelf to store it. Then you and your significant other can alternately write in the journal and place it back on the shelf for the other person to pick it up the next day to continue the process. Or mimic the process using online tools.

Start out with one sentence and then increase the amount of writing; “I love you” is necessary but not sufficient. Just Journal.