Back to basics is the ongoing theme in the next few weeks here on Healthy Spirituality. A good point in time to ask ourselves what are our essential practices and if we are really practicing them? Often we get rushed, lazy, distracted and forget what best slows us down and aligns our hearts with God.
This week let’s explore keeping a spiritual journal. This is a popular topic in the Healthy Spirituality community, and I have written much about it in the past. Maybe some of these will inspired your practice. Here are a few of those posts:
- Old Journals – Keep or Destroy
- Lessons Learned from Keeping a Journal more than 43 Years
- Six Beginning Tips for Keeping a Journal
- Harvesting a Spiritual Journal
What is a Spiritual Journal?
A spiritual journal is a notebook or some type of recording of your faith journey. The focus is on your relationship with God, how you see life through your spirituality and where you prayerfully think God may be inviting you next in life.
A spiritual journal is not a diary – where all the nuances of daily life are documented. Significant life events or what is impacting you in ordinary living can be the framework, but the essence of what you write is through the lens of your faith. How is that event transforming you? What does God want you to learn from this situation? What is most lifegiving at this time?
Joan Chittister calls journals “the x-rays of our souls. They refuse to let us hide from ourselves.”
Why Keep a Spiritual Journal?
Keeping a spiritual journal is a prayer in writing. I collect a variety of words, quotes, insights on those pages, but the majority of my writing expresses my conversations with God.
I see entries in my journal as markers or signposts on my path. Where I was at this particular time? Writing regularly helps to capture my emotions, thoughts, and prayers that often slip away from my conscious, but linger in my unconscious.
A journal helps me see and hear God in a tangible way. My journal holds my inner thoughts, my reflections on life and my faith walk and becomes my companion on this earthly journey. Keeping a journal for me is one of the key essential practices in my spirituality.
Here are some other reasons for keeping a journal:
~ Writing helps us to articulate our relationship with God.
~ Gives us a place and process to organize our thoughts. I often see themes emerge as I write.
~ What a safe place to explore our hopes, dreams, fears, joys, and concerns.
~ Provides a record for my insights and great quotes that resonate in my heart.
~ Keeps prayers and conversations with God we have so they’re not forgotten
~ Creates a time and space on a regular basis to be with God and make some sense of life (sometimes we’re so busy living life that we don’t take time to get perspective)
~ I hear myself in my journal – often our voice is drowned out by the noise of the world and my own internal chattering I miss my true desires and what God is whispering to me.
~ Journaling helps me discover myself and know God better. My story within God’s story.
“I begin these pages for myself, in order to think out my own particular pattern of living, my individual balance of life, work, and human relationships. And since I think best with a pencil in my hand, I started to write.”
Anne Morrow Lindberg
These are just some of the valuable reasons to keep a journal and I know this practice nourishes my soul.
Do you keep a journal? How has it helped your faith journey?
Journaling has been such a cathartic spiritual discipline for me through the years. I’m not consistent with it, but when I’m in distress, it’s a sure way to help me find some clarity. I’m grateful for your example through the years to continue journaling!
cathartic is a great word to describe this practice. I am grateful too for this practice.
As you know, I keep several journals at once, each with a different emphasis. My journaling may take a slightly different path than yours, Jean, but I think we glean many of the same benefits. I greatly appreciate the way writing provides greater opportunity for discovery and inisight as well as augments my learning.
I remembered you were a fellow journaler. Yes so beneficial however we write, right?
It’s been long time since I kept even a regular journal, Jean. Reading this here today makes me want to start keeping a spiritual one.
Thanks for this down-to-earth way to connect with God.
Blessings!
I know I HAVE to write things down in my journal so I forget or let wisdom escape like a flying away balloon, It is a primary practice for me. Hope you try it again.
thank you jean..i have and do journal but always a combo of life events and God..never only a spiritual journal…because i have not, so many
interactions with God cannot be revisited…only if Holy Spirit brings back to mind..my current journaling is very sporadic..and i miss it..peace
Don’t worry when journaling is sporadic. – Journal when you can and as how the spirit lead. I try to “regular” but don’t tie that down to daily or even weekly. Peace to you too Pat!