Truth be told, I had been thinking about
this book for quite a while – a long while before I finally got it together and
sat down to begin the writing process. I
give credit to so many of the authors and experts I have interviewed on the
Happy Healthy You podcast for the inspiration to finally get the words down on
paper and submit them for publishing.
The process of writing down my own story was
daunting. I suppose that was part of the procrastination issue. The book is my
story of healing after the death of my first daughter Meghan and the lessons
that I learned from that journey. In writing about it, I came to realize just
how much there was to say about my experience and it was a lot! It was also
quite self-revelatory. So many of the insights that I had while writing the
book only came to me once I sat with myself and started writing.
And then, there was the issue of personal
exposure and opening myself to the good opinion of others that was a bit scary.
Personal exposure about my inner journey, my sacred spiritual journey that was
mine and mine alone. Personal exposure of my writing skills – that’s a
frightening one. Oh dear.
While I do believe that certain things in
our lives are sacred and shouldn’t necessarily be shared with others, this
journey of mine was one that was common to us all and my inner guidance, God would not leave me alone about it. I needed to tell this story and perhaps give
hope to someone else who might be going through a similar experience.
Have you had this feeling, this longing to
create? It is a pressure that just intensifies the longer it is ignored until
finally I had to just succumb and begin writing. When I did start – the writing
– the pressure started to slowly back off with each chapter. Childbirth is like this. Nature wants us to
push when it’s time and there’s not much anyone can do to stop it. That baby is
ready to be born at a certain time and the mother is best served by relaxing
into it and allowing that precious new creation to flow right through her. Such
a miracle, this birthing thing!
Now that I am familiar with this feeling
and the relief that comes from just surrendering to the process, I trust that
future creations will be birthed that much more gracefully and with less
resistance on my part. I can be so annoying to myself sometimes!
Yep, this
book had to be written and, funny thing, once I began there really was nothing
that could stop me. For several months I was a taskmaster to myself, giving myself
deadlines for chapters to be completed by certain dates. I was tough. I didn’t
put up with slacking off. Not sure exactly why, but I told myself that I wanted
to finish the book and have it ready to go in time for the holidays and that I
did, getting it done just before all the festivities began.
In retrospect, I must say that the process
of creation for me – for all of us is really very sacred and very, very
miraculous. We all have creative
potential within us. We all have something to share with the world be it small
or large things. We all have a purpose. Sometimes our purpose has to do with
our woundedness and we must pay attention to that which stands out like a proverbial
sore thumb. Sometimes our purpose is a
gift that wants to be shared to teach, to heal, to inspire others, or to bring joy
and peace to the world, again in small or large ways.
It can be scary to think about exposing
our vulnerabilities and shadows and fears and needs but wow, can it be healing!
And what we come to find as we are exploring our inner world with honesty and
truth is that the human experience is common and we are not alone; not by any
means. We all go through tough times and joyful times and both can be
overwhelming in their intensity.
So how to begin? I believe that we begin
with the word. In the beginning was the word, after all. Start by journaling
every day, or at least as often as you can make the time. Old fashioned though
it may sound, get a pen and paper and write. Just write. Successful people
throughout history have kept journals, from presidents to kings. Oscar Wilde the 19th-century playwright once said “I never travel without my diary.
One should always have something sensational to read on the train.”
There is increasing evidence that
journaling has certain health benefits.
According to University of Texas psychologist and researcher James
Pennebaker, regular journaling strengthens immune cells called
T-lymphocytes. Other research contends
that regular journaling reduces symptoms of asthma and rheumatoid arthritis.
Journaling can help us to come to terms with the stressors of life before they
become health issues.
The act of journaling, of writing down what
is going on inside, accesses the left-brain which is the analytical and
rational side. While that left side is
occupied, the right brain – our creative side is free to do its thing, which is
to intuit and feel our way through the quagmire of our inner world. Here are some more benefits of journaling
that you might experience:
A clarifying of your thoughts and feelings
You will know yourself better
Stress will be reduced
Problems will be solved
We will better understand disagreements with
others
We can track patterns, habits, and growth
Change requires some amount of awareness
and journaling can help foster radical self-awareness. It is by far the best
discipline I can think of for coming to know ourselves better.
Try journaling
for about 20 minutes a day. Julia Cameron, author of the awesome book The Artist’s Way suggests we write three pages longhand each day.
Don’t get too attached to the amount or writing you do – just do it. Let go of
worries about spelling and punctuation and anything else that might block that
flow. Be free about your writing, but if you feel inclined create a theme for
your day, week, or month. Try to keep rules at bay as much as possible. Make the
journal your best friend that you can tell anything to. Keep your journal private
and close to your heart. These words are yours and yours alone.
If you would like, you can try the journal
that I created as a companion to my book Back
to Happy. It’s called Gratitude,
Grace and God Things and it’s available now at Amazon.com. In it, I teach a
simple reflection method based on the theological reflection model that is
powerful and has been my go-to method for getting deeper messages from my soul.
I give this method a lot of credit for helping me get Back to Happy written! Or, if you want to make time for the discipline of journaling in a more comprehensive way, try the third book in the Back to Happy series, a journal called Happy Healthy New You! which is a journal to record progress in all areas of mind, body, and spirit. It is also available at http://amzn.com/1505809312.
My prayer for you is that your journal
becomes a sacred practice for you that you will find solace, self-realization
and joy in the discipline of journaling that you are establishing for yourself.
Happy, healthy New Year my friends and
happy, healthy journaling!
