Thursday, January 18, 2018

Journaling Keeps Me Sane

I have two journals I write in every day. They are for different reasons and emotions. One is for more happy and poetic entries, which also contains things I receive from the Gods during my meditations each day. I have another one that contains the angry and sad things I write out. Keeping the emotions separate has for me, given me the ability to track the symptoms of my depression and anxiety. Writing in 2 journals helps me to find words of positivity and encouragement when I need it without having to flip through pages where I've written about the things that make me want to crawl under my blankets and not come out. I know some people would say this is just too much to do and that's ok. This is my system and I don't expect it to be acceptable or work for anyone else.

That's the greatest thing about free choice, everyone gets to decide what works for them and no one has the right to tell you or even expect you to do things in any particular manner. Now, having said all this here is some information about two new things I've found this year that I've begun to work with and has so far given me a bit more peace of mind. No, I've not had any issues with my chronic need to be perfect with these, I've actually been able to make mistakes in them and not freak out with the white out or ripping out pages. This has really been an exercise in self-control for me, and I'm excited to see where they are going to take me and how that journey is going to progress.

Along with the personal journals I already keep, I've also discovered a fantastic group on Facebook which is tied to Blessings Manifesting with lots of free downloads and support for anything you might be going through. One of my Yule gifts is the workbook planner called Self Love Witch Life. It was late getting here because they print them as they are ordered and so I had to catch up with the daily activities. So far, I'm loving everything about this planner, the freebies from the website and the group. I've begun adding to my planner each day and using the inspirations I find in the group and site to keep me motivated and working through this year's bout of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). The exercises I'm doing in the planner seem to be helping ... I'm actually kinda enjoying the dreary skies and probability of up to 5 inches of snow we are supposed to have today, LOL!

This planner workbook helps even the most seasoned Witch work through the moon cycles, the Sabbats, and the feelings each cycle of the year brings about. I think the most promising section, at least for me, is the ability to write down each day of the year something I'm grateful or thankful for. The ability to track or keep record of our Blessings is something that I think more people should do, this way they can see in black & white (or color) the things that are happening to them daily and then at the end of the year, to reread the entries to be aware of the change that has taken place in their life.

Then, I've also found Bullet Journaling. I'd quite by accident discovered it a couple years ago and even created a board on Pinterest for ideas, but never did anything about actually starting a BuJo or keeping up with it. This year, I repurposed an older journal I hadn't begun to use yet, and have begun the creative process of keeping track of the things I do. The things I want to accomplish this year, the appointments I make, weight loss, exercise, meditations, meals, vacations ... you can track and plan every aspect of your life in one of these things! I belong to a couple groups on Facebook and some of the trackers they use crack me up (only because they aren't pertinent in my life), they've got trackers for their Moon Cycles (I don't have those anymore, LOL) and call them "Shark Week", some are even tracking the number of times they have sex with their partner, and while these are absolutely important to the person tracking them, they aren't to me and gave me a big smile when I read about them. My point here: Bullet Journals are great for EVERYTHING you want to plan and track in your daily life.

No, I don't have any pictures of my personal BuJo to share with you, but if you are unfamiliar with the concept and the things that make this system work, please Google Bullet Journal and see the world unfold before you. Also, if this is something you might be interested in, search for Bullet Journal groups on Facebook and join a couple of them. They are a great help, not judgemental at all and very supportive of all the members. Some even have giveaways every so often so that's a bonus too!

That's all for this time, catch you later!