Two of my favorite gifts of all times are these journals pictured above (given to me by my best friend and ex-boyfriend, ET). I’ve been ‘journaling’ most of my life and love reading through them from time to time to see my growth and re-live memories. I can tell yah, the journal entries from high school (dating, family, school, identity, growing into a woman)…it was a deep time. It’s so great to read how I’ve evolved since then.

I always recommend journaling (on paper or private blogs) for my clients and V’stars because it helps uncover deep, rooted issues, captures your true feelings with free flow writing.

With technology and the internets, now I journal my thoughts onto blogs. In a way, this blog is part of the journey of documenting thoughts, experiences and growth along with you. Here’s a great excerpt from DailyOM on “Journaling as Meditation-Mapping the Inner Journey”:

In working through challenges, it can be helpful to first empty all worries from our heads onto the safe pages of our journal. Fears can be brought to light rather than allowing them to haunt the dark corners of our subconscious. We may even feel heaviness dissipate once our heads are free from clutter, leaving space for inspiration and the creation of positive images in their place. Often in the process of writing out all the details of an event that troubles us, something that had been forgotten will come to the surface, providing a missing piece of the puzzle. Then we can truly begin to come up with answers, and write them down beside the worries to map the way from concern to constructive thought.

V’stars, do you journal? Take a picture of your journal and send to ayvanae@gmail.com. I’ll post it below. If you don’t journal, Vanae’s tip of the dae, START TODAE! Either in a notebook or a private blog, for starters, jot down:
what’s on your mind?
why you’re feeling that way?
what you think is causing it?
and what you’ve learned?

IT’S GOOD FOR THE SOUL.

V’star Martin’s Journal and bits of my life

V’star Samuel’s “Journal/planner/personal development/a whole bunch of shit”

V’star Ricardo’s journals