I love Joan Didion’s quote, “I don’t know what I think until I write it down.” I find writing, and especially journaling, a great tool to form actual ideas and thoughts from the mass of swirling emotions, memories, and images in my mind.
Do you journal? I encourage you to try it today. It’s a helpful tool to get in touch with and process your emotions. In our search for mindfulness, writing things down can bring your thoughts into the present. Journaling can also help you consider things that you may neglect in your day to day life.
Here’s a list of various prompts for spirituality and mindfulness. You can write in response to them, but you can also meditate on them during prayer time or use them as discussion points with others. Let me know how the process goes.
- What about me gives God joy?*
- What do I enjoy doing that makes me sense God’s pleasure?*
- What did I do today to give love to myself, others, God, or the earth?
- In what ways do I want to share love tomorrow or for the rest of the week?
- How did I receive love today from others, God, or the earth? What was my response to those doses of love?
- How is my inner child right now? Do they need to be nurtured, encouraged, or reassured?
- If my state of mind at this moment were a color or a blend of colors, which color(s) would it be?
- If my state of mind at this moment had a sound or a mix of sounds, which sound(s) would it have?
- How does my body feel at this moment?
- Am I holding any tension in my body? What can I do to release that tension?
- Write nonstop for five minutes about something that has been upsetting me lately.
- What can I learn from this thing that’s been upsetting me? If all things are here for our edification, what purpose could this one serve?
- What is truly nourishing to me?**
- What drains me?
- How can I incorporate more nourishing practices into my life? And reduce draining practices?
* Taken from The Gift of Wonder by Christine Aroney-Sine
** Taken from Yumi Sakugawa’s webinar “How to Spend More Time Offline in Quarantine”