Why I Write Two Journals Instead of One
The Power of Writing and Journaling
As you may remember from what I wrote in this article recently I mentioned how helpful it is to write a journal, and how revealing it is to look back and see how life has unfolded because you can clearly see your own spiritual growth and how things sometimes shifts radically from one day to another.
I felt inspired to elaborate on that a little bit because I really want to get through to people how incredibly wonderful it is to have a journal where you write your thoughts and feelings, and also how you can use it to the fullest.
Some people have one journal, but I actually have two.
One is for asking questions, and one is for writing down my desires/visions etc, and sometimes I write in both (intermingle them) when I sense that the channels are wide open and I just continue writing as the words flows through me.
(I don’t interfere with the flow by suddenly changing journal just because what I write about ‘should be in that other journal’).
What I always do, and this is important, is that I honor my time when I write in my journals and I consider it sacred and I do not allow myself to be distracted by anything when I do this.
I take time writing, and I consider it to be one of the most helpful things to do and I urge everybody to get a journal or two and start writing.
As you can see from my scribbles (see pics below) you don’t have to write “beautifully” or edit or correct yourself or anything; feel completely free when you write and write anything you want to with total honesty.
(Forget about doing this perfectly, it’s your sincerity that is most important).
We can all feel when we have come to a stage in life where there’s a shift or ending and new beginning that is taking place and that is the greatest time to sit down and go back and contemplate what has happened since the last time there was a shift taking place in your life.
There are small shifts and big shifts in life but they are all definite endings and you can sense a newness of things to come, but you can’t yet put your finger on what the newness is about so take this time to go within and to meditate and contemplate.
Usually the days around these shifts (if they are recognized as such) are days when not much goes on and maybe we feel more tired than usual and need more rest and so forth. (That should be respected, we always need both rest and action and play and work).
You might like this article: Stop and Smell the Flowers
This is a great time to take note of what has been and to kind of draw a line in the sand before the new phase of life begins.
I had one of those days yesterday, and I wanted to share my process with you because it brings me so much joy to do these things in my own life and what better is there than to share what is helpful with others as well?
I’m always intensely focused on what I chose to do and I am also very selective with my time and energy as I know everything is an investment, so since that particular date when my life took a new turn (as I mentioned earlier) I have had my entire focus on the new direction and I have loved it as I always do (I’m very passionate:).
But as with all things in life, things evolve, unfold and transform, so I felt that I once again had come to an ending and that a new phase is to begin. (And it’s going to be even more wonderful!:)
So here’s what I do and I hope it inspires you to do something similar as well.
Yesterday I spent many, many hours on reading my journals and going back to see how things has unfolded for me since April 19th and as always there’s a lot of Aha’s, a lot of LOL’s and a lot of Oh, Wow’s when we go back and read our thoughts and all the questions we have asked ourselves.
Because here’s the thing I want to emphasize that I think is vital:
Ask, ask, ask! I swear, you do get the answers you seek – but you have to ask.
So one of my journals is for questions; questions for my intuition. In this journal I literally write “Q for my intuition” and then I ask away as the questions flow through me.
This is obvious to me and to many of you, but for someone who is new to asking questions, see to it that the questions you ask are questions you want answers to and that they are life affirming, that will help you move forward.
Like for example, if you have questions about a relationship, or your money/work, here’s a few examples on how to ask versus how not to ask:
ASK:
How can I improve my relationship with _________?
What do I need to be aware of when it comes to _________?
What is the best way for me to approach ________ with what’s in my heart?
DON’T ASK:
Why is he/she treating me like this, why doesn’t he/she listen to me?
Why is this always happening to me? I always attracts scumbags and people who lie to me.
Why oh, why? (You get the point).
ASK:
In what ways can I provide a service to others that also helps me increase my inflow of money?
What is my true expression and how can I share that with the world while at the same time make a good living out of it?
How can I add value to other peoples lives and at the same time make money doing it?
DON’T ASK:
Why don’t I have more money? Why am I always poor?
Why am I stuck in this dead-end job? Why can’t I never get ahead?
Point is; Ask questions that will help you move forward and upward and not downwards into even more stagnancy and self-pity.
Ask questions that lifts you up, like for example “how can I make more money”, “how can I prosper in my work/career?”, “how can I move upward and forward in life?”
I ask all kinds of things, small, big, there’s nothing that I wouldn’t ask, and I enjoy asking (I have always been the curious type of person) especially since I know I get the answers, that makes it all so much more fun!
The other journal I have is for my desires, visions and other writings such as realizations and insights.
I write this in communion with my first journal.
Lets call them “intuition-journal” and “intention-journal” just to make my point understood easily.
Like for example if I have come to some kind of deeper understanding, I might ask my intuition how to teach and share that.
And then there’s a communication going on and I get the answers as insights, inspirations, or something comes to me that can help me progress and then I immediately make use of what comes to me. (Never postpone an inspired idea or thought!).
In my intention-journal I also write my thoughts about something, I write about things I want to do and experience and I always write with complete honesty and dedication to the wisdom within me.
It’s like having a deep conversation with your very best friend.
The two journals functions in this way, to explain it in a few words:
- The Intuition-journal is the receptive process. (You ask/listen)
- The intention-journal is the active process. (You intend/tell/share)
And it all happens in consciousness.
Before I sat down yesterday to read and look back etc I told myself what I was going to do.
I turned off the phone, sat down and became quiet (closed my eyes and became still) and spoke to myself and said something like this: (Use whatever words that feels natural to you).
“I can sense that things are coming to an end now and so it’s a perfect time to recap and get things clear before the new phase. I’m now going to go back and read what I have written and then I will write a letter that encapsulates the essence of what is most important to me, and then I will let it all go to the wisdom within me that knows everything about it and knows exactly how the path will unfold from here”.
I make sure that my mind gets that this is an important and sacred moment, and how you do that is that you are very sincere and you really feel every word you say with your heart.
That’s why it’s important that you use your own words so that the process feels authentic to you.
After I had done that I opened my eyes and I started to read and take notes of things that stood out in my journals, like for example different realizations I have had, the times when I had felt my heart was bursting with gratitude, when I had learned/realized something new about myself, or when I had made a choice that was in alignment with me.
As you read and take notes of what you later will use when you write the letter to yourself, only take the essence, it should not take more than half a page. Be selective and take only what speaks to you the most.
If you’re sensitive you can feel the thread that speaks the most to you so you pick out those things, and of course you know what areas of life that has been most important to you recently.
Maybe your thing has been about relationships, or money, or your children/family or whatever.
So you take out the most important things and then take a new paper in your journal where you write a letter to yourself that contains the condensed message that you want to convey to your consciousness.
Before you do that, draw a line in your journals to make it clear that you’re ready for the new phase.
Now it’s time to write the letter, and you can use one of your journals for that.
It’s best if the letter is clear, to the point, and not more than 1-2 pages.
This is how I write, but you can chose whatever format that resonates with you:
I begin with acknowledging the gifts I have received, the different revelations I have had, the insights and teachings and whatever it is that I feel gratitude for. This can take up almost half a page.
Next I write my most important desires and visions, and I state them all in one clear sentence, remember you write to yourself and if you understand what you write then your intuition understand it too!:)
This takes up the rest of the page.
After that I write a few sentences about what I have realized within myself and my development and I make it clear that I have received and understood something that is of importance to me in terms of wisdom.
Lastly I create an image in my mind that captures the core of it all that will help keep me focused on what’s to come when the next phase begins.
You have a clear sense what the new beginning is going to be about by now, it’s like a decision is made and the image contains it and it makes you feel expectant of good to come and it feels wonderful.
The letter-writing part is the most emotional one and even if it’s only a page or two this particular part can take a while to do. I feel this is the most important part and I really give my all to it.
After I have written the letter I go into a meditative state again, and when I’m in that state I begin reading it out loud to myself (you can slightly open your eyes for this without loosing the relaxed state) and I really feel every word with my whole heart and I elaborate on every point (by speaking them out loud to myself in a conversational manner) as I feel inspired to and I can feel when I’m done with one point and when it’s time to move on to the next.
This process is very emotional and there are tears involved; tears of gratitude and tears of joy. (At least for me, we are all different but it should evoke something within you where you feel an inner agreement with what you just said).
When I have done this (and it can take some time as I never leave a subject until I feel in my heart that I have communicated it all very clearly and that it has been received so to speak) then I say something like this:
“I now leave this to the wisdom within me with absolute confidence that it has all been received and understood, and that wonderful things will come out of it. Lets do it!”.
Then I dry my tears and I close the journals and then I do something completely different.
There needs to be a clear break with ‘the past’.
Yesterday for example after I had done this I went out for a swim in the ocean and after that I watched a movie, which I haven’t done in many weeks. I haven’t even watched TV since I don’t know when, so this was something that was a ‘clear break’ and a letting go took place.
You have to completely take your hands of it all and let It (your inner power and wisdom) take over.
So do something ‘new’, or something you haven’t done in a while to make it clear that one phase has come to and end and a new one is about to begin and know that in between those periods there’s a resting-phase which can take a few days, or you can wake up with a huge inspiration already the next morning and feel compelled to do something, go somewhere or talk with someone that suddenly comes to mind.
The most important thing after all this is done is to listen to your intuition and inspiration and go with it immediately when it strikes your awareness because that’s the cue to the new phase and it can only begin when you respond to your nudges.
And then of course you continue to write in your journals as the path unfolds for you and then you do the same process again the next time you feel the ending and new beginning in your life (or when there’s a shift of some kind).
I hope this has inspired you to go and get yourself a journal (or two) and start writing, it can really be a great help in forming and understanding your place in life and the development of self awareness and intuition.
Bra skrivet, läser allt du skriver, skulle kanske kommentera mer, men gör det lite nu och då:-) ha en fin dag siss<3
Tack Hanna! 🙂 <3 Roligt att veta att du laser mina artiklar:)
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Really great tips 😊 I’ve noticed that my journal is a lot heavier once I finish writing in it (the whole journal I mean), than when I first purchased it with empty pages, lol! Could it be that releasing all this energy through words and putting it down on paper can have an actual weight?
I don’t know, maybe! 😊 I guess that the ink weighs a bit too, and that the moisture from it makes the paper weigh more too. I know it definitely can at least look heavier (or thicker) because of that. 😊
Yes that makes sense!
Was scrolling through articles on journaling, and found myself back here! 😅
In the last months I’ve been journaling a lot everyday and had a major breakthrough recently, probably the biggest of my life. Once I had the breakthrough though, I felt it was time to stop writing and have a break from journaling, as it’s been taking too much of my time (4 hours a day roughly – which I realised is way too much but a lot had to be untangled I suppose).
In saying that, personal development never stops and journaling has played the biggest role in my breakthroughs since I started writing a few months ago, so I’m just curious what your thoughts are on taking a break? I think I know the answer already (if that’s what I feel I need to do now then that’s the right thing to do), but thought I’d ask anyway, as I know you journal too and was curious if you ever have periods like this 🙂
LOL! Welcome back here again Val! 😊
To respond to your questions;
It depends on your personality (some people journal as way of keeping a diary for example), and where you’re at in your own personal and spiritual growth and what your current focus is on in life and so on.
When you’re in a personal growth/awakening process for example you might be writing all the time, but eventually all the processing and intense inner work comes to an end, simply because you no longer have things to work out and get ‘untangled’ as you put it.
But while you are in an intense growth process as you are now, you will at times reach a plateau where you don’t write much at all (or even ‘do’ much), but then it begins again suddenly, and then it stops again, and starts again, and so it goes.
It’s natural and a sign of progress. It means you have come to the end of one phase and now you’re taking a break (naturally and organically) where you integrate and embody whatever it is that you have been working on, and when that phase comes to an end as well, then you begin a new one, where you become active again.
So it goes in waves, or cycles, where you reach plateaus and enter the Sabbath of a growth (or an intense action-taking) process, and then a whole new growth process (or evolutionary unfolding) begins again after the quiet phase.
You might even burn your journals at some point (or even many times) as a ritual of letting go of the old and entering into a new phase in your life, as I shared from my own life and awakening process in this post:
https://mariaerving.com/new-level-of-awakening-2 (might be for members only)
So it depends on your growth and where you’re at in your own inner (and outer) work and evolution.
It also depends on what your focus is on in your life.
Life flows pretty unhindered through me and in my life nowadays, so I don’t journal much anymore the way I did in the past (the article is from 2014).
My focus nowadays is more ‘life’ and work-related, so my journal now is more like a notebook where I write down ideas, inspirations, things to do, reminders to myself about things, notes, next steps and so forth etc etc.
I also use it as a way of communicating with my higher self/Life, but that too I do mostly directly within myself nowadays.
Of course things still happen in life and when they do, I journal and write about them, but the suffering or struggle is no longer there (and you work through things very quickly/learn what you were meant to learn from the experience) so the writing/journaling is different from what it used to be in that sense too.
Evolving and growing as a human being can be a joyous process too, so I would say that the journaling has changed from being (mostly) inwards focused, towards being more outward focused on things related to my work and life overall, and I don’t write much at all anymore (compared to before) so the journals lasts for a lot longer now too! LOL
I’ve always been a writer and of the contemplative nature so I’ve always kept some type of journals/notebooks and will most probably always do, but the way I write nowadays is very different than it used to be, but you can compare that to how I wrote as a teenager too, or when I was even younger than that, and then to how and what I wrote about in my twenties and thirties for example too.
We write and journal about things that are relevant to us in our own lives, and since life is ever-changing and we’re always in a process of evolving, then of course the content of our minds, lives, hearts etc changes too as we grow.
It’s just the natural way things are and how life unfolds, so if you feel an inner nudge to take a break from journaling then do that, but don’t do it because ‘you’ want to do that (the small self), or think that you ‘should’.
To be writing for many hours every day might be exactly what you need at this time in your life, so take a break only if it feels like the next natural step, and then Life will always nudge you again when it’s time to start journaling and writing again, about (and on) whatever the focus is going to be on next for you. 😊
Thank you so much Maria, that makes perfect sense 😊
The thought to stop writing never even crossed my mind, until I revealed the root of my suffering aka “the event” from childhood and once I did, I knew it was time to put the pen down and just be. In that moment I realised that my whole life has been dictated by that event and I didn’t even know it, so I didn’t want to spend another moment writing about it and letting it take up my time and joy – I wanted to enjoy my life instead of digging in the past, as I was calm in knowing there is nothing left to dig for anymore. At least not now and not of such intense and grand nature.
I’m glad I did the digging it definitely had its place, but I found what I was looking for and it was time to have a well deserved break. That realisation came on very suddenly so I knew it was the right next step 🙂
I understand what you’re saying about communicating with life from within too. And interesting idea about burning the journals! I never considered that 🙂
Yes, once a root-cause is revealed and the inner work around it is done and you feel you’ve genuinely released it and you have had a breakthrough etc, then you naturally come to the end of one phase, so the feeling of calm you have and the inner knowing that it is done is exactly right.
Sometimes there are things that needs to be revisited (you have to do the work again, because it didn’t ‘stick’/it wasn’t deep enough, or because the pain/struggle returns due to a trigger or something), but childhood stuff can be easier to let go of once you’ve seen what you were meant to see/realize/uncover.
Provided that you’re willing to forgive whatever and whoever it was that caused/created the trauma or pain of course. Everybody has the ability to let go of the past, but not all people are willing to.
Beliefs (and fears/worries) can be a bit trickier (because they can be even more deeply in the unconscious), so whatever you’re working on in terms of inner work, it’s important to go all the way, all the way to the end where you feel the matter is completely cleaned out and neutralized.
If you still feel even the smallest ‘negative’ or heavy emotional response or reaction to anything (or feel afraid of going deeper into something), then it’s important that you don’t leave it half-done, but that you go back and you do the work until it’s absolutely completed.
Ask yourself questions like “why am I afraid of looking at this”, “why am I avoiding this matter/conversation/going deeper?” and then listen to the inner guidance and you will be shown where the blockage is.
If there is any resistance then immediately go right into it so that the inner work around it really comes to a completion.
Clean up everything until there is no more fear left, no more worry, unforgiveness, remorse, guilt, shame, resentment, anger, pain, etc etc, whatever it is, clean it out, and then move on.
But I don’t mean that it should be obsessive where you look for things to ‘fix’, that’s not what I mean, but if something is creating struggle/suffering/disharmony in your life, or you feel that there is a blockage that is in the way of your good, such as a limiting belief, then yes, do the inner work until its completion.
It’s really about you choosing freedom and happiness over that which hold you back from living your best life, so it’s a choice between a small, limited life, and a higher, expanded, and more fulfilling life.
Then later you can go back and read your journals and realize how much you’ve grown, and go wow,
‘I’m not that person anymore. I don’t have that fear anymore, I don’t feel that way anymore, I don’t have those thoughts anymore, the trauma/pain/suffering/struggle is gone, I’m not angry anymore, my beliefs has completely changed, I’m not that person anymore, Wow. I’m actually free.’
And then you can’t ‘take things back’ even if you tried, because it’s no longer part of who you are, or your life or life experience, as your consciousness has shifted and the result of it is irreversible (permanent).
And then there’s all the other stuff too; the things you have embraced and accepted (self-acceptance, self-love, worthiness, confidence etc), awakened to, and your personal dreams and desires for your life and so on and so forth.
So journaling is such an intimate and personal thing to do where you share and write about the most private things about yourself and your life and the processes you go through.
So powerful!
About burning journals;
Yes, trust me, you will get to a point where you feel you have to do something! lol
Because they will start to pile up, and also, you will feel it intuitively when you have come to a major ending of a life cycle, then you will feel intuitively that you don’t need to keep/save them anymore.
But of course there are people who save them too, all their life, and that’s perfectly fine too as we are all different. Oprah for example has all her journals locked inside a secret valve somewhere.
The first time I remember burning all my writings was when I was 15 years old.
Me and my then boyfriend took everything I had written in a huge garbage bag and went to the woods and made a bonfire there.
I remember I was crying and felt a huge release/purge, it was very cathartic.
Here in Spain you can’t do that (start bonfires in the woods/nature!) so what I do here is that I shred everything into small pieces and I put them in a bucket of water with lots of dishwasher liquid, and then I let it soak for maybe 24 hours or so, and then I mush everything and make ‘snowballs’ of them that I then throw away in the garbage.
Doing it this way guarantees that there is no way any of it can be read! 😊
Nowadays I only save maybe one or two (or three) journals before I ‘burn’ them, but I have had journals for longer too before I burned them.
It’s a feeling you get, when you just know you are ready to part from them.
I remember once when I moved from one place to another here in Spain, I had fifteen or so journals in a luggage/briefcase and it ended up with some other people (it’s a long story) for a while.
It was with them for maybe a day or two before I could go there and get it, and it was not fun to think about what could have happened if they had opened it! 😬😅
Journaling is a big topic and there’s a lot more I could say about it and share! It truly is life-changing and incredibly powerful when you do transformational inner work. (Essential, really).
Another thought that came to mind now that I don’t think I have mentioned to you before, but the last time we talked, below one of my articles about forgiveness I think it was, I forgot to mention that I have a (free) PDF with a forgiveness exercise that is very powerful too, in case you feel the need to do any of that work.
You can find the PDF here:
https://mariaerving.com/the-power-of-forgiveness-and-acceptance-free-pdf/
And I think I recall the exercise being somewhere in the middle of it, so have a look if you feel guided to.
The PDF is from 2012 so it’s very old, but the forgiveness exercise specifically is something I still share with people all the time, because it’s very powerful.
Thank you Maria, I must admit when I read that I had a small panic attack and had to sleep on it LOL. I instantly felt this really uncomfortable feeling inside, like “oh no I can’t imagine living having zero fear, being completely free. It will take me so long and so much work, if that’s even humanly possible etc etc”.
Then I calmed down and decided something really surprising and unlike me at all, I decided “It doesn’t matter how long it takes. In fact I won’t even put a timeline on it at all, no end goal. I will work on whatever I feel called to work on, AND I will start enjoying my life starting NOW. I can do both, and I won’t wait to be “healed” anymore to start living fully. I am a constant work in progress, and I can finally accept that”. I don’t know, but that shifted something, and felt very liberating!
Lol about the journals being in the hands of other people! I would 100% freak out 😂 some stuff even to me doesn’t make sense at times, God forbid someone reads them 🤣
Sometimes I don’t even know what I’m writing, I will just ask a question and the answers start writing themselves for pages and pages. I then have to go back and read what the answers are! This only happened a couple of times so far, but both times it was a very cool and surreal experience 😊
Thank you for sharing the PDF, I’ve actually had it saved to read for a couple of months now! I will check it out for sure 😊
LOL! Yes, the ego has a way of freaking out, and especially when it comes to fear, because it’s one of the main tools it uses against you – I mean, just think about it; what would it be without it? 😊
I’m glad to hear that your higher self spoke to you and directed you towards Truth instead.
Because you really don’t ‘have to’ do anything, unless you feel guided to do so, or if it’s obvious, like if you know you have limiting beliefs for example, or fears that are crippling your experience of life and that are holding you back.
One of the greatest things in life is to come to a place of wholeness and self-acceptance and being totally okay with who you are. Then personal growth is more about enjoying the process of evolving, rather than trying to ‘fix’ and ‘heal’ yourself as if there was something wrong with you.
And the way to come into wholeness and self-love is by seeing through the ego/conditioned self, and releasing its lies about you that are out of alignment with who you really are.
The thing you mentioned with your writing, I do that too, many times when I write articles for example, I know it’s not ‘me’ who writes them, but they are written through me.
It’s also a powerful way to connect and communicate with your higher self/the Universe, by asking questions etc, so I’m glad to hear you’re doing that, that’s wonderful. 😊
Ah yes, makes perfect sense 😊♥️ Thank you Maria, this was very insightful and helpful – as always! 🙏
Thank you Val, and you’re so very welcome – Glad I could help. 😊