Tag Archives: journaltalk

JournalTalk answers your questions about journaling

Q&A: “How Do I Stop Writing In Circles?”

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JTQA_LogoOur journaling question this week touches on a very important concern, especially for those who are using journal-writing to work through some difficult issues. Sometimes we feel we are writing in circles, rehashing the same thoughts over and over, without any progress, relief or resolve. If you have ever experienced this, Mari and I have a few layman’s tips to offer.

We discuss some ways to reframe this process, not necessarily to force change or jump to a false conclusion, but to help find some out-of-the-box ways for you to approach your journaling, so that you get the sense of movement, or progress.

Please join the dialogue. Especially if you’re a therapist or trained counselor, you’re welcome to write your comments and suggestions about “how to stop writing in circles”.  Or, send us your own questions that we can feature on a future episode of JournalTalk. (JournalTalk Q&A, Episode #8, July 22, 2014)

Credits:
Audio Editing: Netrix Marketing
Music: Pond5.com
Voiceover: Thomas Gerrard

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JournalTalk logo with Nathan Ohren

Journaling Mid-Year Resolutions

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JournalTalk logo with Nathan OhrenDust off those notebooks from January! Let’s take a look at what we promised ourselves, and check-in with our progress. July is a great time to make course-corrections, and bring a fresh enthusiasm to our goals. You didn’t set any goals for 2014 yet? No problem, it’s not too late.

I have learned that the biggest factor at play when I fail to achieve my new year resolutions (or any goals for that matter!) is simply going “unconscious” about what I declare important. Call it head-in-the-sand, call it absent-mindedness, or maybe it’s avoidance.

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So I’ve used this episode as a “wake up call” to review some goals of my own, and I hope it inspires you to do the same. We discuss the principles from my workbook, The Journal-Writer’s Guide to Staying Started, with some journal-writing techniques that focus attention on actionable next steps, and begin a system for success in the next six months. You may purchase the workbook, right here.  (JournalTalk, Episode #35, July 15, 2014)

Credits:
Audio Editing: Netrix Marketing
Music: AudioNetwork.com
Voiceover: Kym Maher, Tami Egbert & Thomas Gerrard

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JournalTalk answers your questions about journaling

Q&A: “What Can I Write in Just 5 Minutes?”

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JTQA_LogoWe are all so pressed for time. Busy is the new cool. Our journaling question this week is for all who feel they have such a full, hectic life that that they simultaneously have too much going on and nothing (or no time) to write.

Like Carolyn who brings us this week’s question, you may have heard experts say that just five minutes of writing can have great benefits. But can five minutes of writing really be a productive way to do journal-writing? Where should you start, or how can you narrow down in such a limited time? Mari and I have some suggestions!

Please join the dialogue. You’re welcome to write your comments and suggestions about “what to write in just five minutes”.  Or, send us your own questions that we can feature on a future episode of JournalTalk. (JournalTalk Q&A, Episode #7, July 8, 2014)

Credits:
Audio Editing: Netrix Marketing
Music: Pond5.com
Voiceover: Thomas Gerrard

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Devotional Journaling Expert

Devotional Journaling and the S.O.A.P. Method

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Devotional Journaling ExpertMy guest this week is Brandon Starnes, the Associate Pastor of Student Ministry at the Church at Clayton Crossings. Brandon is co-author of Impact Journal, a book of Biblical journaling prompts packed with incredible discussion points for each day.

I enjoyed talking to Brandon because:  (a) He is living proof that journal-writing is not just for the female of our species!  (b) He reminds me of how I first started journal writing as a teenager, responding to passages I read in the Bible and other sacred texts of study, and (c) Because he introduces an easy-peasy journaling method called S.O.A.P.

We also get to hear a little about the journal-writing app called Day One, which will be featured in this year’s Digital Journaling Challenge in October. (JournalTalk, Episode #34, July 1, 2014)

Credits:
Audio & Photo Editing: Netrix Marketing and Steven Zhou
Music: AudioNetwork.com
Voiceover: Kym Maher, Tami Egbert & Thomas Gerrard

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JournalTalk answers your questions about journaling

Q&A: “How Can I Archive All My Handwritten Journals?”

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JTQA_LogoWhether you type or handwrite your diary or journal, you’ll eventually need to answer the question, “How can I preserve and protect all this writing from fire, flood or other natural disasters?”  Unless you are Mari L. McCarthy, who throws all her journals away (wouldn’t you love to be her trash man?) this question is not easy.

As we discuss the implications of converting all handwritten journals into digital format, Mari and I send listeners to our respective sites for more information: CreateWriteNow’s Facebook page, and my other podcast series, “Capturing Life Through Technology” at Easy Journaling.

Fuel the dialogue! Feel free to write your comments below with more journaling questions. Or, provide your own answers and opinions to this week’s featured question. (JournalTalk Q&A, Episode #6, June 24, 2014)

Credits:
Audio Editing: Netrix Marketing
Music: Pond5.com
Voiceover: Thomas Gerrard

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JournalTalk answers your questions about journaling

Q&A: “How Do I Keep My Diary Private?”

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JTQA_LogoAll the experts agree that privacy is one of the most important factors to getting great benefits from journal-writing. In this episode of JournalTalk Q&A, Mari L. McCarthy and I respond to someone who asks, “How do I keep my journal private from a family member with whom I usually share everything?” Mari and I offer up a few suggestions, and we look forward to hearing yours!

Speaking of privacy issues, in this episode I also share an update on my project to electronically scan all of my hand-written journals into PDF files. You can learn more about that in my other podcast series, “Capturing Life Through Technology” at EasyJournaling.com.

Fuel the dialogue! Feel free to write your comments below with more journaling questions. Or, provide your own answers and opinions to this week’s featured question. (JournalTalk Q&A, Episode #5, June 9, 2014)

Credits:
Audio Editing: Netrix Marketing
Music: Pond5.com
Voiceover: Thomas Gerrard

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JournalTalk logo with Nathan Ohren

My Experience of the Progoff Intensive Journal Workshop

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JournalTalk logo with Nathan OhrenDespite its revolutionary methodology, and the unique impact it has made on so many well-known writers and artists, I fear that the Progoff Intensive Journal Workshop is no longer as well-known as it once was. After venturing to Arizona to experience it for myself, I returned a new man. In this short episode, I share the three most amazing aspects of the journal-writing workshop, and the one disappointment. (JournalTalk, Episode #32, June 1, 2014)

Book Review: Albert Diaz Cruz gives a brief book review for “Writing Begins with the Breath” by Laraine Herring. Click on the cover photo to purchase, and Amazon.com will donate to JournalTalk a 4% commission. Thank you for your support, and for the investment in your journal-writing!

Credits:
Voiceover: Kym Maher, Tami Egbert & Thomas Gerrard

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JournalTalk answers your questions about journaling

Q&A: “How Can I Get My Teenager Interested in Journaling?”

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JTQA_LogoIn this episode of JournalTalk Q&A, Mari L. McCarthy and I contemplate a question sent to us from a parent who asks, “How can I get my teenager interested in journaling?” Mari and I offer up a few suggestions, and we look forward to hearing yours!

Fuel the dialogue! Feel free to write your comments below with more journaling questions. Or, provide your own answers and opinions to this week’s featured question.

For further enrichment, please also reference JournalTalk Episode #10, featuring Carrie Leigh Sandoval, who offers some additional ways to talk to teens about journaling. (JournalTalk Q&A, Episode #4, May 19, 2014)

Credits:
Audio Editing: Netrix Marketing
Music: Pond5.com
Voiceover: Thomas Gerrard

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Beth Terrence on JournalTalk

Journaling for Reconnection to Self

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Beth Terrence on JournalTalkListen to Beth Terrence share some ways journaling can facilitate a sense of connection. Beth Terrence is a Shaman, Holistic Health & Wellness Practitioner, Speaker and Writer. She has been working in the field of holistic healing and transformation for over eighteen years. Her mission is to support others in living a heart-centered, balanced and joyful life by discovering their healer within.

Beth’s writes regularly on her blog, The Heart of Awakening, which offers holistic and transformational resources including her annual program, “May Is For Metta: 31 Days Of Loving-kindness Practice” for virtual meditation. Beth is also a facilitator and program developer for Heal My Voice, an international organization that helps to empower women through writing and sharing their stories. She is currently developing a pilot program that brings writing and journaling into addictions treatment and recovery.

In this episode, we learn from Beth about personalizing your journal notebook to support a theme or intention, and some additional tips for using journal-writing to foster a sense of (re)connection of our parts to wholeness and balance. (JournalTalk, Episode #31, May 12, 2014)

SPECIAL OFFER: Beth has created a special gift and offer for JournalTalk listeners who would like to explore “A Holistic Approach To Life & Self-Care”; this includes a journaling exercise she shares with her clients. Access this offer at http://www.bethterrence.com/JournalTalk.html

Journal Writing Guidebook "The Way In"Book Review: Albert Diaz Cruz gives a brief book review for another classic journaling guidebook, Rita D. Jacobs’ The Way In: Journal Writing for Self-Discovery Click here, or on the book cover photo to purchase, and Amazon.com will donate to JournalTalk a commission. Thank you!

Credits:
Audio Editing: Netrix Marketing and Steven Zhou
Music: AudioNetwork.com
Voiceover: Kym Maher, Tami Egbert & Thomas Gerrard

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JournalTalk answers your questions about journaling

Q&A: “What Activities Do I Offer in a Journaling Group?”

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JTQA_LogoMari L. McCarthy from Create Write Now joins me as we answer your questions on journal-writing. This week, we were excited to hear from someone who wants to start her own neighborhood journaling group, and asked, “How should I structure the time we spend together journaling?”

Fuel the dialogue! Feel free to write your comments below with more journaling questions. Or, provide your own answers and opinions to this week’s featured question.

For further enrichment, please also reference some of the episodes of JournalTalk listed below which feature experts who provide tips on starting your own journaling group. (JournalTalk Q&A, Episode #3, May 5, 2014)

Related Posts:
Episode #20 – “Journal Magic” with Sue Meyn
Episode #17 – “Journaling After Brain Injury” with Barbara Stahura
Episode #12 – “Turning Journals Into Memoirs” with Joan Leof
Episode #11 – “Journaling in Groups” with Lynda Monk

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Audio Editing: Netrix Marketing
Music: Pond5.com
Voiceover: Thomas Gerrard

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JournalTalk answers your questions about journaling

Q&A: “Does Blogging Count As Journaling?”

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JTQA_LogoMari L. McCarthy joins me as we answer your questions on journal-writing. This week, we answer a blogger’s question: Does my blogging count as journaling?  Mari and I should have stated a humorous caveat to our answer, “It depends on whether anybody is reading your blog!”

Feel free to write your comments below with more of your questions, or your own opinions to the questions already posed, to fuel the dialogue some more!

For further enrichment on this question, please also reference Episode #8 of JournalTalk, to get the perspective of Dr. Joseph Bernard, an accomplished blogger and journal-writer. (JournalTalk Q&A, Episode #2, April 21, 2014)

Credits:
Audio Editing: Netrix Marketing
Music: Pond5.com
Voiceover: Thomas Gerrard

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How To Manage A Lifetime Collection of Journals

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JT_HeatherSeversonMy guest this week is Heather Severson, an award-winning writer, educator and gypsy scholar, plying her craft wherever adults gather for self-development and education. Heather’s formal writing practice began with diaries written at the feet of her scholarly grandfather. Thirty-five years and two hundred and sixty-five notebooks later, Heather has a myriad of effective, healing, and life-improving practices to share with other journal writers. She goes beyond writing prompts and periodic venting, and helps people find sustainable happiness, as well as ways to keep organized!

Heather is the facilitator of the popular Write It Out Journal Workshop discussion group on LinkedIn. She has quite the list of accomplishments on her resume, and we only had time to discuss a few of them. Speaking of resumes, I loved hearing Heather give us a journaling exercise you won’t want to miss: Write out your personal “resume of survival” to remind yourself of the challenges you’ve overcome. A great gratitude boost!

It was this episode that I learned about hypergraphia, a condition which Heather modestly confesses she is blessed to have.  When she’s not working on publishing her memoir (a gruesome tale about being taken advantage of by a schoolteacher) Heather enjoys sharing the joys of journaling with others, and helps people organize their journal collections so the material is accessible for future reference.

Book Review: Albert Diaz Cruz gives a firm book recommendation this week for Dr. Ira Progoff’s At A Journal Workshop: Writing to Access the Power of the Unconscious and Evoke Creative Ability. Use the link here and JournalTalk will receive a small percentage of your purchase. Thanks for supporting this podcast! (JournalTalk, Episode #29, April 14, 2014)

Credits:
Audio Editing: Netrix Marketing
Music: AudioNetwork.com
Voiceover: Kym Maher, Tami Egbert & Thomas Gerrard

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JournalTalk answers your questions about journaling

Journaling Q&A: “Paper or Plastic?”

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JTQA_LogoWelcome to the first in a sub-series of JournalTalk podcasts! Mari L. McCarthy from Create Write Now joins me as we answer your questions on journaling.

This week, we open the lively and ever-evolving debate about Handwriting vs. Typing your journals. Mari and I touch on several aspects of this question, and hope to bring you an answer that puts things in an empowering perspective. (JournalTalk Q&A, Episode #1, April 7, 2014)

 

Credits:
Audio Editing: Netrix Marketing
Music: Pond5.com
Voiceover: Thomas Gerrard

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Shannon Hernandez

Journaling Her Way to Freedom

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Shannon HernandezMy guest this episode wrote in her journal the details of the last forty days of her exit from the public school system, and into her own business as “The Writing Whisperer“. Today, Shannon Hernandez helps people solidify the words they use to connect with their audience, as creator of the “Word Ambassador Circle”, of which I am proud to be part.

WAC-Badge

With laughter and playfulness, Shannon and I discuss a variety of journaling topics, from the simple (How many notebooks do you have going at one time? Do you use pens or pencils?) to the profound. Shannon shares her plans for “writing expeditions” — connecting journaling with the outdoors — as well as a helpful “Year in Review” journal-writing exercise.

Book Review: Albert Diaz Cruz gives his journal-writing book recommendation this week for Christina Baldwin’s book, One to One: Self-Understanding Through Journal Writing. Use the link here and JournalTalk will receive a small percentage of your purchase. Thanks for supporting this podcast! (JournalTalk, Episode #28, March 31, 2014)

Credits:
Audio Editing: Netrix Marketing
Music: AudioNetwork.com
Voiceover: Kym Maher, Tami Egbert & Thomas Gerrard

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Ruth Folit with JT logo behind

The International Association for Journal Writing

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JT_Ruth_FolitAs promised in Episode #13, Ruth Folit (the brains behind the LifeJournal Online software) has come back to share about the International Association for Journal Writing.

In this episode, we discuss how the Association got started, its reputation and offerings, and what Ruth has learned from her time as founder. As usual, we get to hear some inspiring ways that journaling can produce amazing results in daily living.

Special Offer: For listeners of JournalTalk, Ruth is extending your IAJW membership by six months, when you gift a year’s membership to a friend. Know anyone who loves journaling? They’ll thank you for this library of resources! (JournalTalk, Episode #27, March 17, 2014)

Credits:
Audio Editing: Netrix Marketing
Music: AudioNetwork.com
Voiceover: Kym Maher, Tami Egbert & Thomas Gerrard

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