Tag Archives: Wings Life Coaching

Q&A: “What is a Journaling Challenge?”

It seems that everywhere you turn, someone is offering yet another challenge. Doesn’t life bring us enough challenges without having to invent more? Today’s journaling question was asked innocently by someone who wanted to understand “What is a journal-writing challenge?”

My friend Jayde Gilmore of Wings Life Coaching returns to the co-host microphone to help me deconstruct the idea of pushing yourself to new levels of passion, clarity and purpose. We mentioned several resources, including:

The (free) 5-day Journaling Through Transition challenge. Develop your intuition and internal guidance system during times of stress and change. An audio workbook and five sample prompts guide you to consider your present milestones and transitions. Optionally, you may extend this to a 30-day challenge.
The (free) 30-day Digital Journaling Challenge. Discover for yourself whether tapping your thoughts is as effective as writing longhand. Get tips on using electronic journal apps and a variety of prompts for 30 days. This research paper co-authored by Nathan Ohren and Kathleen Adams (founder and CEO of The Center for Journal Therapy) outlines some amazing insights captured by the first 1500 participants of the Challenge.
The Greater Good in Action challenges. Science-based practices you can adopt for a meaningful life. This site includes doable steps to increase awe, compassion, kindness, empathy, and many other life-enriching traits.

Your turn to answer: What are the ways you’ve challenged yourself with writing? What have you learned from your own private writing practice? Do you find ways to stretch yourself with writing, or do you simply write when the mood strikes? Post your responses in the comments section at the bottom of this webpage, or join the fans, followers and friends in the JournalTalk community, to share your unique perspective and tips regarding the question-of-the-week.

You may email your own journaling question to be featured on a future episode of JournalTalk. Or, pick up the telephone and leave a voicemail with your question at 1-805-751-6280. When your question is featured, we will send you a thank-you gift for sharing your voice! (JournalTalk Q&A, Episode #38, February 2, 2016)

To Subscribe to JournalTalk:
By email: Click here.
Apple/iPhone/iTunes: Click here.
Google/Feedburner: Click here.
Blubrry site: Click here.

For Coaching with Nathan Ohren: Click here.
To Join the JournalTalk Community on Facebook: Click here.
To Listen to this week’s JournalTalk: Click on the “play” button > at the top of this page.

Q&A: “How Do You Keep Your Journal Secret?”

5 Replies

Podcast: Play in new window

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

One of the deepest fears people have about keeping a journal is having their privacy violated.

And rightly so. For most of us, privacy ensures safety. And only in a space of complete safety can we allow ourselves to be vulnerably honest. Journal-writing is valuable only to the degree we are willing to honestly explore ourselves and our most precious desires.

Whether you’re hiding your notebook, or password-protecting your computer, how can you be sure that your journal is secret? Jayde Gilmore and I discuss our tips and tricks (while also revealing some embarrassing phases of of our own paranoia!) for maintaining privacy, on this episode of JournalTalk Q&A.

Your turn to answer: Do you ever worry someone is reading your journal? How do you keep your journal private? Or, are you okay with your journal being an “open book”? Post your responses at the bottom of this webpage, in the comments section.

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

To Subscribe:
Apple/iPhone/iTunes: Click here.
Google/Feedburner: Click here.
Blubrry site: Click here.

To Listen: Click on the “play” button > at the top of this article.

Q&A: “How Can I Avoid Journaling Burnout?”

Q&A: “How Can We Use Journaling for Healing After Community Tragedy?”

1 Reply

Podcast: Play in new window

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

The traumatic student shooting in Columbine, Colorado (April 1999). Racial tragedies such as those in Charleston, South Carolina (2015) and Ferguson, Missouri (2014). The Los Angeles race riots of 1992. The World Trade Center collapse of 9/11. Events so profoundly sad and far-reaching inspire many people turn to their journals for reflection, prayer, grieving, and hope. Is it possible that journal-writing can offer healing on a community level? This precious question came from a member of Kay Adams’ Journal-to-the-Self community. For those who advocate a healthy journaling practice, how can one use their knowledge and training to bring strength and peace to entire communities of people in their time of need?

Jayde Gilmore and I discuss several ideas and resources, such as James Pennebaker’s Writing to Heal, John Evans’ work, and Lynda Monk’s Writing Alone Together. I am delighted that there are people both skilled and caring enough to bring this work to communities of people, and this episode will hopefully encourage more to prepare to do the same.

Your turn to answer: How can journal-writing be offered to communities who have suffered? Or, to mend the relationship between two groups of people? What ways have you shared the healing of power of words on a community level? Post your responses at the bottom of this webpage, in the comments section.

You may email your own journaling question to be featured on a future episode of JournalTalk. Or, pick up the telephone and leave a voicemail with your question at 1-805-751-6280 (only normal toll charges may apply). When your question is featured, we will send you a thank-you gift for sharing your voice! (JournalTalk Q&A, Episode #31, July 21, 2015)

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

To Subscribe:
Apple/iPhone/iTunes: Click here.
Google/Feedburner: Click here.
Blubrry site: Click here.

To Listen: Click on the “play” button > at the top of this article.

Q&A: “What are the Rules of Journaling?”

16 Replies

Podcast: Play in new window

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

In the first session of every journal-writing workshop I teach, we spend a little time sharing (and debunking!) the myths and rumors we’ve all heard about “the rules” of proper journal-keeping. So when I saw this question online, I knew I had to make an episode about it.

Should I start a certain way? Does each entry need to be a minimum length? Do I have to use pen and paper? Do I have to write every single day? I think people ask these questions because they want some structure, and want to hear some of the “best practices” that have worked for others — not because they want to be boxed-in.

Starting from my favorite pet answer, “there’s no wrong way to write,” Jayde Gilmore and I work backwards into a select few guidelines for best results, including: dating your entries, practicing complete honesty and exploration of feelings.

Your turn to answer: What journal-writing “guidelines” have served you the best? In what ways do you “break the rules” in your journal? Post your responses at the bottom of this webpage, in the comments section.

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

To Subscribe:
Apple/iPhone/iTunes: Click here.
Google/Feedburner: Click here.
Blubrry site: Click here.

To Listen: Click on the “play” button > at the top of this article.

Q&A: “How Can Journaling Be Used As Meditation?”

1 Reply

Podcast: Play in new window

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Mapping the inner journey. Mindful reflection. Developing awareness. Sharpening perception. These are some of the ways people refer to their writing practice. Is it true that journal-writing can be used as a kind of meditation?

Jayde and I take turns with examples we have used, and share ways that have helped others. For example: incorporate breathing, nature, and focusing your senses on the present moment.

Your turn to answer: Have you found journal-writing to be a meditative routine, or can it enhance meditation? What are your tips or techniques? Post your responses at the bottom of this webpage, in the comments section.

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

To Subscribe:
Apple/iPhone/iTunes: Click here.
Google/Feedburner: Click here.
Blubrry site: Click here.

To Listen: Click on the “play” button > at the top of this article.

Q&A: “Do You Ever Feel a Burning Hole in Your Soul?”

Q&A: “How Many Words Make a Decent Journal Entry?”

5 Replies

Podcast: Play in new window

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Julia Cameron suggests 3 pages. Jeff Goins recommends 500 words. Some popular websites say 600 or 750 words is the goal. WHAT’S THE STORY HERE?

Co-host Jayde Gilmore and I both agree that having a mental marker can help with the consistency and depth of your writing practice. But being overly concerned with word count can backfire also. In this episode, learn some principles about that balance between the two. We answer a listener’s question, “What is the minimum number of words to write each day that yields the best results of journal-writing?”

Fuel the dialogue: Do you use a word counter to determine how much to write in a given session? Can you make a great journal entry in less than 10 words? What standards or goals have been helpful, and when do you change them? Post your responses at the bottom of this webpage, in the comments section.

You may email your own journaling question to be featured on a future episode of JournalTalk. Or, pick up the telephone and leave a voicemail with your question at 1-805-751-6280 (only normal toll charges may apply). If your question is featured, we will send you a thank-you gift for sharing your voice! (JournalTalk Q&A, Episode #23, February 10, 2015)

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

To Subscribe:
Apple/iPhone/iTunes: Click here.
Google/Feedburner: Click here.
Blubrry site: Click here.

To Listen: Click on the “play” button > at the top of this article.

Journaling for Transformation

3 Replies

Podcast: Play in new window

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

The most powerful promise of a journal-writing practice is its ability to transform any dilemma the writer is wrestling with into something completely new, approachable, and inspiring. This shift from oppression to opportunity, from turmoil to tranquility, hardly comes without practice, and is often accompanied by the guidance of a coach.

Jayde Gilmore is one such coach, and my guest expert this week. In this episode, we celebrate our “win” of NaNoWriMo (having written 50,000 words of a coherent story)! Our conversation also mingles through some of her earliest writing memories, and raises examples of writing for personal breakthrough.

Jayde will be a new voice on JournalTalk Q&A, joining me to answer your questions about journal-writing. She is also one of the talented sponsors (with Jackee Holder, Kay Adams, Lynda Monk, Carolyn Koehnline, Carrie Leigh Sandoval, and others) of the Looking Back, Looking Forward Journaling Kit, a three-part toolkit designed for transforming your experience of any milestone or life transition. It offers practical, bite-size steps for reviewing your journal for reflection and wisdom, and exercises for designing a compelling future. (JournalTalk, Episode #49, February 3, 2015)

Exclusive Offer for JournalTalk Listeners: In this episode, I share some hints about a new service offering I am dreaming up. I invite your input in making it something truly worthwhile. In exchange for your ideas, you will be added to my VIP pre-launch, scheduled for later this year.

Credits:
Audio Editing: Netrix Marketing
Music and Voiceovers: Music Radio Creative

To Subscribe:
Apple/iPhone/iTunes: Click here.
Google/Feedburner: Click here.
Blubrry site: Click here.

To Listen: Click on the “play” button > at the top of this page.

Write4Life

Journaling for Passion, Clarity & Purpose!

Tag Archives: Wings Life Coaching

Q&A: “What is a Journaling Challenge?”

Q&A: “How Do You Keep Your Journal Secret?”

Q&A: “How Can I Avoid Journaling Burnout?”

Q&A: “How Can We Use Journaling for Healing After Community Tragedy?”

Q&A: “What are the Rules of Journaling?”

Q&A: “How Can Journaling Be Used As Meditation?”

Q&A: “Do You Ever Feel a Burning Hole in Your Soul?”

Q&A: “How Many Words Make a Decent Journal Entry?”

Journaling for Transformation