Perhaps you already enjoy a regular journalling practice and have experienced its many benefits. You may have once kept a journal but let it lapse, and now feel somewhat guilty for not writing on a daily basis. Or you may not have journalled at all, and are curious to learn what it’s all about. These pages are designed to offer you some information and inspiration for continuing, revitalizing, or beginning a journalling practice. Bookmark Jumpstarts for new journalling tips and ideas each week. If you’re interested in learning more, check out The Reading List and Upcoming Workshops.

Why Journal?

Creative

  • a journal is not just a place for recording events: it can be used like a scrapbook of your life. Ticket stubs, photographs, doodles, stickers, letters, all of these can be used to chronicle and expand the richness of an experience.
  • a journal is a place to write about what if’s, why not’s, to create dialogues with the self and with others, living and dead, real and imaginary
  • writing is a generative process, an act of creation, that encourages our understanding and growth
  • the creative potential of writing invites healing and transformation

Fun

  • a journal needn’t always be a serious endeavour, or a daily or even weekly one. It can be a place to record favorite jokes or focus on what went well
  • writing can be playful and spontaneous
  • you can keep a shared journal with a child, a friend or a partner as another way to celebrate your connection with one another

Useful

  • a journal is a place to make decisions, cope with change, and gain perspective
  • writing is a very practical and concrete tool for managing life’s hassles
  • a journal, when viewed over time, offers information about beliefs and behaviours that limit us
  • a journal also offers us information about what brings us gratitude and joy