Journaling- do you?

chela

I am going to start journaling, for the sole purpose of processing and investigating my thoughts and thought processes, especially after meditation and Dharma discussions. Just curious to know if you journal, for what purpose (or do you have a clear purpose) and also what types of things do you record.

BhikkhuJayasara

I've tried many times throughout my life. The daily journal thing never caught on for me. I keep what I call a "renunciation Journal" with regards to the process of me moving towards becoming a monk, my thoughts on it, any issues that come along etc. It has also become the place where I chronicle good quotes, sayings, similies and parables of dhamma that i've heard and that I come up with myself. I seem to write in this so far on average a few times a year.( most of the time I end up writing the stuff down first in my phone because I'm at work meditating etc).

there is one exception though, when I do a retreat or even visiting Bhavana Society I write extensively in the journal near every day. It seems to flow easier for me at the monastery.

Cory

I was never able to keep up a journal. It's not a thing that everybody, but you have a good purpose and goal. Do it, see how it works for you.

lobster

it is suggested as part of the free meditation course I am doing
http://aromeditation.org/
I also blog
http://yinyana.tumblr.com/

. . . maybe I should tweet too or I could just sit quietly (not much chance of that)

Jeffrey

I keep a journal of important dreams, but I have since stopped writing.

I also have voices sometimes and I keep a journal of the voices.

genkaku

I have a basement full of dusty journals I once kept. Many of the entries center on a vain attempt to capture or gain a better understanding of the Buddhist practice that was pretty intense at the time. It didn't work, but I doubt if it did any serious damage either ... practice has a way of informing practice in ways a journal never could.

chela

genkaku said:

I have a basement full of dusty journals I once kept. Many of the entries center on a vain attempt to capture or gain a better understanding of the Buddhist practice that was pretty intense at the time. It didn't work, but I doubt if it did any serious damage either ... practice has a way of informing practice in ways a journal never could.

I have always enjoyed writing as a means to bring clarity to thoughts and ideas (by organizing those thoughts/ideas and giving them space to be expanded on). I never thought of this as being vain in and of itself. Of course, if you are writing because you are trying to develop an audience because you think your ideas or opinions are that lofty, that may be vain. I like what you said about "practice has a way of informing practice in ways a journal never could." I am thinking of the journaling more as a supplemental activity to practice. If it feels like a lot of effort with little value, I am sure I would drop it.

genkaku

@chela -- There's something to be said for "how do I know what I think till I see what I say." Sometimes something useful pops off the end of the pencil or pen. I've done writing most of my adult life so I am sympathetic to the exercise. No need to worry too much about vanity ... when you get down to it, anything can be (or might not be) an exercise in vanity. And one of the good things about 'journaling' is that this time you're not running your vanity on anybody else.

chela

lobster said:

it is suggested as part of the free meditation course I am doing
http://aromeditation.org/
I also blog
http://yinyana.tumblr.com/

. . . maybe I should tweet too or I could just sit quietly (not much chance of that)

Thanks for mentioning the free meditation course. I signed up because I like the idea of the format (weekly instructional emails with an easy way to opt out if needed).

lobster

The course starts with 5 mins of meditation, covers posture, focus on breath and we are now in 'just sitting'. You can do longer if you wish and you are given exercises to develop insight. The 'journal' for me is descriptive - couple of sentences but others might write more.

BhanteLucky

During the most difficult times of my life, the thing that helped me the most was a pen and paper.
I was so lost in cycles of rumination and confusion. Journalling was a vital tool to clarify what the issues were, what I thought about them, what my emotions were, and how best to move through the confusion.
Putting it all down on paper clarified the issues, made me aware of things I didn't realize I was doing and thinking. It was SO useful.
I don't do it any more, as my life is quiet and pretty trouble-free these days.
I highly recommend trying it out, whatever your purpose for doing so.

riverflow

I had tried keeping a journal many times before, but never was able to maintain it with much consistency. Last year I kept a journal of thoughts--though it got quite complex, digesting a lot of ideas, working through things. Much of it might appear to be overly abstract, but it was actually my own peculiar way of dealing with deeper personal issues. So last year I finally was able to keep the habit going. (I understand it takes three weeks of consistency before a the momentum of a good habit gets going)

Since then, I have been keeping a journal (on Tumblr), but I don't write as frequently, and with greater brevity, as my concerns have shifted somewhat. I do think keeping a journal can be helpful, as a way of recording one's own insights--putting thoughts in your own words can help bring a certain degree of clarity I think.

/\

Yaskan

I tried to keep a journal many times as a kid, but couldn't keep up with it. Then when I had a bit of a mental breakdown, I could barely stop writing! My thoughts were often going to fast for me to even process or there were too many topics going round. Writing kept my mind on one topic and slowed everything down. It was very calming and also very interesting and eye-opening.

There were two websites I found yonks ago and intended on using, but didn't. The first is incredibly simple (ohlife.com), while the other has lots of features, including a paid version (penzu.com). This thread (along with a clean up of my bookmarks!) has pushed me into joining the former. The site sends you an email asking about your day, you reply and that's it! You can customize the time the email is sent and how often, there are no social features, complicated formatting or spam. Not sure if I will stick with it, but I'm feeling hopeful and what will be, will be.

Dandelion

Writing is so cathartic. The problem with keeping a diary/journal though (for me anyway), is I feel I HAVE to write in it every day. But really, you can actually just write as little or as much as you like. And again, I don't know about anyone else, but I find even if I start writing with the intention of just writing a bit.... it turns into an hours worth or writing. Writing? I mean ramblings lol... so good to get it off your chest, whatever it is. When I was little, I devised a writing code. It meant that if anyone ever found my diary they wouldn't be able to understand it. The problem was, it took me AGES just to write a sentence as I had to keep referring back to my 'code' sheet, and even then, I couldn't properly read what I had written myself. I am sure nothing I wrote was ever that interesting; certainly not worthy of such a covert operation!!!

Yaskan

Dandelion said:

Writing is so cathartic. The problem with keeping a diary/journal though (for me anyway), is I feel I HAVE to write in it every day. But really, you can actually just write as little or as much as you like. And again, I don't know about anyone else, but I find even if I start writing with the intention of just writing a bit.... it turns into an hours worth or writing. Writing? I mean ramblings lol... so good to get it off your chest, whatever it is. When I was little, I devised a writing code. It meant that if anyone ever found my diary they wouldn't be able to understand it. The problem was, it took me AGES just to write a sentence as I had to keep referring back to my 'code' sheet, and even then, I couldn't properly read what I had written myself. I am sure nothing I wrote was ever that interesting; certainly not worthy of such a covert operation!!!

Re: Writing turning into hours of ramblings - This is mostly what would stop me from writing in my journals. Even when I intended to only write one paragraph, I knew that once I started it would be ages before the floodgates closed again, but I never felt I had enough time (plus it was exhausting), so didn't write anything at all. It felt like a short entry wasn't worth the effort, but putting off many short entries is likely to make one big entry...which I didn't have the time to write... I'm endeavouring to focus on short entries this time around, while allowing myself to write more if I feel up to it.

Re: Codes - I did the same! Though, I would write it all in English first on a scrap of paper, then apply the cipher when writing in my notebook. It was great fun, but I can't say I always finished the translations...

Dandelion

@Yaskan it's the ramblings that I find so cathartic lol! Plus, it means another persons ear drums are saved from a world of pain I have a tendency to go into parrot mode when something, often trivial, is bothering me :eek2:

For me, writing a diary is a way of release I suppose. I swear a lot when I write (I have a private on line diary) :sawed: as my language has become very bad and at times quite aggressive. Right now though, I feel I just have to get it out of my system, and it is better to do it in a diary, than to someone's face. I hope to be out of this phase in the future though.

Have you started your journal yet?

Yaskan

@Dandelion Your 'cathartic' is my 'exhausting'

shadowleaver

When I feel unhappy in some way, I often write my thoughts and feelings down. I try to be as sincere and honest with myself as I possibly can. More often than not that eases whatever negative psychological state I'm in. It's as if there's something needing to be heard inside and the writing gives it that opportunity. After that I typically feel relieved.

I'm a big believer in writing. It's the best form of self-therapy I've discovered so far. Merely expressing thoughts and feelings has a magical effect on me. In addition to that, I can re-read those journal entries later on, which helps me take a more detached stance towards my self: been there, done that, nothing special.

darkprincess128

I keep a journal and every day I write not even a page worth of stuff. I write how long I meditated for, which texts I studied, and which times of day I chanted. I also write if there was anything I couldn't stop thinking about during meditation, or anything that seems like it's severely hindering/otherwise affecting my practice. I indicate if it was one of the four moon-phase days because it's part of my personal tradition to more strictly practice on those days.

I also do this thing where I start the last sentence of my daily entry, "I need to remember..." and finish it with any thought that prevailed in my day. Past examples include "I need to remember I'm not a nun," "I need to remember that speaking it is one thing; I need to act it as well." etc.

DaltheJigsaw

Does blogging count? http://www.leonbasin.weebly.com

DaltheJigsaw

lobster said:

it is suggested as part of the free meditation course I am doing
http://aromeditation.org/
I also blog
http://yinyana.tumblr.com/

. . . maybe I should tweet too or I could just sit quietly (not much chance of that)

Thank you! That sounds interesting!!

lobster

Does blogging count?

everything counts . . . at different times . . .
For example I would love to hear from the lurkers . . .
. . . If you can not speak . . . Listen
. . . Most strangely of all, when you listen . . . You learn to find your voice . . . :clap: