004 Journaling: A Pocket of Peace

Journaling is a powerful tool that can help us process our thoughts and feelings while providing a peaceful pocket for reflection and creativity. We discuss how different styles of journaling can enhance self-awareness and foster happiness.

• Beginning the journey of journaling and early struggles 
• Sharing the 3 journals that I currently maintain:
  • The importance of having a Meditations journal for personal reflection 
  • Insights gained from creating and maintaining a Crafted Today Journal 
  • Exploring prompts and their benefits with a dedicated Prompt Journal 
• Understanding journaling as a form of self-love and acceptance 

Transcript

Introduction to Journaling

Richmond 0:05

Hi , you're listening to Pockets , a podcast about finding joy , meaning and purpose in life's simplest moments . I'm Richmond Camero . Let's dive into today's journey . I started journaling around September 2020 , but I wasn't regularly writing in my journal . That reflective journal that I'm using back then is the same one that I'm using now . Before 2020 , I had attempts on starting a journal , but I wasn't sure what I wanted to write , and the ones I attempted to do did not appeal to me . Should I write what I did that day , or maybe I should write 10 things that I'm grateful for ? It took several trials and errors before I found what worked for me .

Richmond 1:04

Today , I'm going to talk to you about why and how journaling becomes an important pocket in my life . As with all things , let's start with our why . Why am I journaling Without thinking too much about the benefits yet, the primary reason I journal is to process what I think and feel . I write in order to think . I have to unload what I carry in order for me to understand . Yes , I can spend time analyzing all of those things in my head , but having that second brain allows for more clarity . Maybe it's similar to drawing or molding a clay . You might have this vision in your head , but it might translate differently once you put that into paper or started shaping the clay . It took me a while to finally get into the rhythm of maintaining a journal .

Richmond 2:00

This year I'm maintaining three journals and I'll walk you through how I use them to spark some ideas on your journaling adventures . The first one is my Meditations journal . The idea of naming it Meditations comes from the book with the same name , meditations by Marcus Aurelius . Marcus Aurelius was a Roman emperor and is often linked to Stoicism . This book contains his reflections and the processing of his thoughts and emotions . It's a good motivation that your journal will become a book one day . Right , so I'm using my meditations journal to capture my deepest and lowest thoughts . This is where I can free myself and just say what I want . This is a journal that I keep for myself and it's not for everyone , and I think that's important to understand that . Journaling is for yourself . You have to protect that pocket of safe space to provide yourself with an avenue of authenticity . Imagine a journal where you have to censor what you want to say . It's difficult and weird . My meditations journal helps me clear my thoughts and clarify my intentions . With that said , I don't write in this journal on a daily basis . I write in this journal when I'm stressed or when I'm trying to figure out a problem or when I want to slow things down .

Richmond 3:26

My second is Crafted Today Journal . I read something from an author named Joanna Penn . She said Measure your life by what you create . It was an aha moment for me . I've always wanted to put something out . I want to tell stories , I want to write , I want to do art , but I never got the habit of pursuing my creative endeavors regularly . Then I realized if I want to measure my life by what I create , then I have to measure my day by what I create . It's a very simple change , really , but powerful , and it reinforces two habits that I want to do to create something on a consistent basis and to journal regularly .

Richmond 4:13

Crafted today is my daily journal . In this journal I write about what I crafted or created that day . Most of it would be something that I wrote a draft for a podcast episode like this one , a few paragraphs for a chapter in a book I'm writing . It could also be some other art form that I'm trying , or a social media post maybe . In this section I just list what I brought into the world that day . Then the second part is for me to write about what I think about the things I created . It could be the realization that I had for the creative session , or it could be a reflection of my mental state while I'm creating . It's also helpful for me to examine what strategies I can adapt in terms of my art .

Richmond 5:01

My third journal is my prompt journal , but I'm still experimenting with this one . I'm using it for reflections on external prompts . I'm using it for reflections on external prompts . If my meditations journal is for the things that I want to figure out internally , this is if I want to actively have a journaling exercise from a prompt or external source . Usually , I write in this journal when I'm answering prompts like when do I feel most at peace or what am I thankful for ? I also use this for assimilation of non-fiction books I'm reading . When I'm reading , I'm highlighting or taking note of passages . Then I will write that in my prom journal and think about why that passage resonates with me . For sure there will be some overlap with my meditations journal , but I wanted to distinguish this one from the thoughts and feelings I want to process . Now that I've walked you through how I journal , I wanted to talk about what it brought me and why journaling has been a reliable pocket of peace For me .

Richmond 6:04

Journaling allows me to slow down and be mindful . There was one entry in my meditations journal where I did test this . I was anxious because of the things I wanted to do back then and I recognized that I needed to take a break . This is what I wrote in that entry . Okay , firstly , I'm trying to find out if the actual physical sensation of journaling will help me slow down and relax . So far it does , as I pay attention to the ink of my pen and the words I'm writing . I know and I believe that journaling is always associated to slowing down , but with this test , every journaling session matters and it provides relief in those moments .

Richmond 6:53

Journaling also gives me something to look back to . Sometimes I skim through my entries from a few years back . Then I would see that there are behaviors that I still do since then and there are behaviors that I have changed . I would be able to identify patterns and common themes and from there I would see how I responded . It gives me a snapshot of the things that I've been through and what I've become because of them , and sometimes I'd feel a sense of appreciation , like , hey , I've been through that and I'm okay and content . Right now I am at peace .

Richmond 7:31

Third , journaling helps me shape what I want to do with my life . My Crafted Today journal is the most evident example of this . That journal ensures that I am mindful with how I want to spend my day and therefore my life . My meditations journal allows me to think how I want to behave and it challenges my beliefs and principles . Even my prom journal has a part in this , providing mental exercises in different situations .

Richmond 8:04

Lastly , journaling is a form of self-love and self-acceptance . Self-love seems to be paired with journaling a lot of times , but this is how I break it down in my head Self-love and self-acceptance mean allowing us to be ourselves , so that means being comfortable with our own thoughts and feelings . It takes a bit of practice and it would feel awkward in the beginning , but journaling helped me to be comfortable with my own skin . I think it's important to accept yourself first before seeking acceptance from others , and journaling allows me to show the authentic me .

Richmond 8:47

There are so many ways to do journaling . I actually attended a creative journaling workshop Nica by Cosio last Nick last January and it gave me ideas on what else I could explore . One thing that stuck with me is the creative use of scraps and ephemera tissue papers , tickets or paper placemats as materials for your journal . It was such a wonderful workshop and I'm looking forward to trying out things from what I learned In the end .

Richmond 9:15

If there's one thing that I should say as a must for journaling is that you do it for yourself . It's your own pocket of space , and in that space you're not looking for permission , you're not looking for approval , you are being you , and that , my friend , is more than enough . You've been with Pockets . Thank you so much for sharing this space with me . Now go embrace the moments , build your pockets of meaning and keep curiosity a sure guide .