As the saying goes: only dead things don’t change. But for human beings change and growth are often uncomfortable and not altogether simple things. In this modern world of ours we are presented with near infinite choice, which can be crippling. So, if you find yourself at a crossroads unsure which way to go or what to do next you could probably use a discernment practice.
Discernment is one of those words that gets tossed about quite a bit in spiritual communities, and we often forget that at its most basic it means simply “the ability to judge well.” But how does one judge well? there are many, many ways to get to that place where one can make wise choices, but this article will talk about one of those practices, that of long journaling.
Why Long Journaling?
June is a month of rampant and rapid growth here in the Northern Hemisphere. In the climate where I live June is full of roses blooming abundantly, and berries ripening. Soon we’ll be feasting on fresh strawberries right from the garden (if the rabbits don’t get them all first) and the first tender sugar snap peas.
And as I sit enjoying the breeze through the window I am thinking about growth, and sweetness, and long slow practices that will carry us not only into the slow hot days of summer that are almost upon us, but beyond. And this is where long intentional journaling comes in. But I might just as well be sitting at the edge of autumn looking forward to the turning inward of fall in winter. Growth and change mark every part of our lives after all.
Not everyone is a diary person and that is fine. I have never been a “write in a diary” daily person myself, but still this practice works for me. So don’t be put off if dairy practice hasn’t been successful in the past. The goal is to write something, even write my paper for me regularly (not necessarily daily) for a year. But, and this is important, the reason this is long journaling is that the practice doesn’t end with the writing.
At the end of that year you sit down and you reread the last year’s entries (generally, you could choose a different length of time that makes sense for you, but it really should be over at least a full season). You highlight, and note, and look for patterns. And this is exactly why long journaling can be helpful when making changes in your life, or when you are feeling stuck. It can be helpful when you are trying to discern a new direction or get a handle on the “what next” of your life.
How To Start a Long Journaling Practice
When I started this bout of long journaling (you can start now, there is no need to start on January 1st or any other arbitrary day, just journal round the seasons and back again) it was because I realized that I was dissatisfied with where I was and what I was doing, but I could not articulate “what do you want” without the expectations and assumptions of my culture and past.
So I grabbed a blank book, dated the first page, and jumped in. As I said earlier, I’m not a diary person. So I use prompts to get me going. I’ve written about journaling and prompts before and you can find those here and here.
For long journaling I go into the writing period with a goal in mind, or something I want to work out. That’s the first step. What’s the question you want to get clarity on over the coming year (or whatever period of time you have chosen)? You might be discerning whether you should change jobs, move to a new country, or even keep working on a relationship. I find that for long journaling (which is really dredging up from our subconscious the things we are trying to articulate in the conscious world).
If you are journaling for a year then you will need to sit down and spend dedicated time journaling at least once a week. If you plan to use a shorter period of time you will want to journal more frequently. The goal is to be able to find patterns within your writing and for that to happen you need a good number of entries over a good period of time.
After that? The sky is sort of the limit. There are very few hard and fast rules but I do have some suggestions.
Prompts for Discernment
While this form of journaling lends itself very well to stream of consciousness writing you may find yourself sometimes needing a bit of help to get going.
My favorite long journaling prompt is pulling tarot cards. And you can find more on tarot as a practice (including how it might relate to journaling here.) The goal after all with this long journaling is to get at our subconscious, at the things that are brewing within us that we perhaps can’t put into words yet. And I find exploring archetypes through something like tarot (and certainly there are other options) to be helpful to get digging. But this is just one tool for your exploration.
If you have a tarot practice already try combining it with your journaling practice, asking questions of the cards/self that help further your discernment.
I also like using whatever books I’m reading at the time as jumping off points. I’m a serial highlighter, and I’ve found that sometimes wise authors can send me down a whole deep rabbit hole with one or two sentences. I might not even take it the direction they do, that’s OK, reading is meant to be a conversation and so too is journaling.
Other prompt ideas are to ask yourself imagination questions. Imagine that you made choice A instead of B, what do you imagine things might look like? What feelings does that stir? Or write a letter to yourself from five years in the future, what might you wish you’d known right now? What might you change?
Sometimes the best prompt is to treat this sort of journaling like Morning Pages. Morning Pages are a concept from The Artists Way by Julia Cameron where every morning you sit down and write for a set period of time. Just write, stream of consciousness without stopping. You might start out grumpy, writing over and over how you have nothing to say but eventually the words start to flow and what reveals itself can be quite revelatory. This method requires patience and letting go of control but I recommend it at least a few times in a long journaling period.
Reviewing
The key component of a long journaling practice is the review at the end. So don’t neglect this. You might want to set a reminder when you start for one year out. Mark the date on your calendar, or set a reminder on your phone to let you know, the year is over and the review is ready to start.
Most of us who journal never read those pages again. The book gets filled and set up on a shelf never to be touched again. And that isn’t necessarily bad, often the point of journaling is the writing in the moment. But the hope with a long journal is that we can review what we’ve written and find in the entries themes that will help us discern whatever it is we are wrestling with.
So at the end of your journaling period sit down with your journal and read. Do not edit. This is not a time to critique your grammar, or criticize your tangents. Instead read like an archeologist carefully looking for clues. Read slowly and gently and pay attention to a few things:
- emotion (both the emotion in the writing and what the entries trigger in you now)
- themes (repeated phrases, questions, or themes)
- sudden changes or revelations
You might want to use a highlighter to highlight themes you see repeated. Or jot notes in the margins or in another book or computer. Either way, read with curiosity and gentleness. If you work with a therapist or spiritual director now might be the time to take what you find to them (or to a trusted friend) and discuss what you learned from your year of journaling.
Conclussion
One of the reasons I like this practice is that you don’t need to be “spiritual” to do it. You don’t need to believe in a diety. You may have days where the world is sparkly and mystical and days where what you see is what you get and all of them are equally interesting for journaling. And equally likely to reveal something about yourself to yourself.
And also, anyone and everyone can journal. Use the voice memo on your phone and create for yourself a year long podcast, type it out in a private blog, write it out longhand with a ballpoint pen or a fancy fountain pen. There are no rules outside those you set for yourself.
I do find it helpful if you journal at least weekly. For your end of year readthru to have patterns to find you do need at least weekly entries. But if you miss a time or two there really isn’t any punishment. Just start where you left off.
And finally: we just might learn something about ourselves along the way. Which seems like an important part of being whole, curious, growing human beings.
