I have used a journal on and off over the years for recording dreams and for writing about personal issues as well as to help me sort through difficult or complicated situations.
Since I simplified my life and have started my inner search, I’ve expanded my idea about what a journal can be. It has actually branched into a spiritual workbook. I’ve found it an invaluable tool for keeping track of my thoughts and feelings, and for recording the progress of my quest.
Now, in addition to sections for dreams and journal writing, I have space for recording affirmations and visualizations, since these change on a regular basis as I adapt them to my needs.
I have a section for recording rune readings (#86), since this is such an effective way to stay in touch with and develop my intuition. It’s been helpful to be able to refer back to see how the runes have guided me in the past on a question that may keep coming up.
I also have a section for special issues I may be dealing with from time to time, such as forgiveness or negative thinking. And, perhaps most importantly, I make room to record unusual experiences and perceptions that come from my meditations and from quiet times of doing nothing.
Even though we may have greatly simplified our lives and reduced much of the outside stimuli that assault us on a daily basis, it’s amazing how quickly we can forget important insights that can help us in our growth. So not only does a journal serve as a device for working on solutions to problems as they arise, but it also serves as a reliable memory.
I’m careful not to become a slave to a journal, however, and I don’t feel I have to use it every single day. It’s simply there as an ally when I need it.
If you think a journal would be helpful to you on your odyssey, come up with a format that works for you.
I use a six-by-nine-inch spiral-bound notebook and tabulate it for dreams, runes, or whatever, depending on my needs. I find this size is easy to keep on a bookshelf with other books, and is a convenient size to travel with. It is also less forbidding than a larger notebook, and therefore easier to dispose of when it has served its purpose. Thus, it doesn’t ultimately become one more thing to clutter up my life.