Journaling is Self-Care

Today, I’d love to introduce you to one of my beloved spiritual practices, journaling. I have been journaling for many years and I have always felt positively supported, uplifted, and relieved when I journaled. So keep reading if you are interested to learn more about journaling and how you can incorporate journaling and shadow work into your spiritual self-care routine.

What is Journaling and How does it Work?

Journaling is a practice that has been around for centuries and can be used to help individuals develop self-awareness and make sense of their thoughts, feelings, and experiences. It involves writing down your thoughts, feelings, and experiences in a journal or diary. This practice can help you gain insight into yourself, reflect on your life, process emotions, set goals and intentions for the future, and cultivate gratitude and mindfulness practices. Journaling is also a great way to express creativity through writing. By expressing yourself through words on paper or digitally you can create something that is meaningful to you now and something that will remain with you for years to come.

Journaling is a great way to improve the well-being of our mind, body, and spirit. It helps us to get in touch with our inner thoughts, feelings, and emotions. It also helps us reflect on the events that have happened in our lives and how we can use them to grow and become better versions of ourselves. Journaling can be used as an effective tool for self-reflection, creativity, problem solving and stress relief. Writing down your thoughts can help you gain clarity on difficult situations or problems that you are facing. It can also be used as an outlet for expressing yourself without fear of judgement or criticism from others. By journaling regularly, you will learn more about yourself and develop skills that will help you cope with life’s challenges in a healthier way. There are many types of journals such as gratitude journals, night-time journals, self-love journals, and so on.

Journaling and our Subconscious Mind

Journaling is a powerful tool to help us tap into our subconscious mind. It can help us understand our thoughts, feelings and emotions in a deeper way and gain clarity on the things that are going on in our lives. Through journaling, we can explore the depths of our inner world and uncover hidden patterns or even limiting beliefs that may be holding us back from achieving our goals.

Journaling is also an excellent way to practice self-reflection and become more aware of ourselves. By writing down our thoughts, we can gain insight into how we think and feel about certain situations or events. This in turn can help us make better decisions and take more effective actions in the future. Moreover, by connecting with our subconscious mind through journaling, we can gain greater understanding of who we are as individuals and how we interact with the world around us.

What is Shadow Work?

Shadow work is a concept developed by Carl Jung, one of the most influential psychoanalysts of the 20th century. It refers to the unconscious aspects of our lives that we often overlook or ignore. According to Jung, these aspects can have a powerful influence on our behavior and decisions. By understanding and embracing our shadows, we can gain insight into ourselves and develop healthier relationships with those around us. Carl Jung believed that shadow work was an essential part of self-discovery and personal growth. He argued that it could help us better understand ourselves and our motivations, as well as to identify areas where we need improvement. Shadow work can also help us develop empathy for others who may be struggling with similar issues.

Shadow work is my personal favorite journaling technique. It is an effective technique for understanding our limiting beliefs and how they shape and influence our lives. It helps us identify the areas in which we are stuck, so that we can start to make changes and create more meaningful lives. Shadow work encourages us to explore the parts of ourselves that we have been avoiding or denying, allowing us to gain insight into our deepest fears and desires. By looking at our beliefs and patterns, we can begin to make conscious decisions about how we want to live our lives. Shadow work is a powerful tool for self-discovery and personal growth.

What is the Shadow Self?

According to Carl Jung, the shadow self is an unconscious part of our psyche that contains the repressed emotions and memories of our past. It can be seen as a dark side or hidden aspect of our personality that holds our unresolved issues, fears, and desires. The shadow self is often associated with feelings such as shame, guilt, fear, anger, and sadness. By understanding and accepting this part of ourselves we can learn to heal the wounds of the past and lead more fulfilling lives.

Here are some example prompts if you are curious to practice some shadow work:

· Is there an emotion that you are trying to avoid? What triggers lead you to feeling that emotion? How do you react to those triggers?

· Are there certain traits in other people that you dislike? What makes these traits so unlikeable by you?

· What makes you feel disappointed? When was the last time you felt disappointed?

· When was the last time you felt jealous? How do you react to feelings of jealousy?

· Who has the most influence on you? How do you feel about this influence?

How to Use these Prompts You Ask?

Choose one or a few of the prompts above and start writing down whatever comes to your mind when you ask yourself these questions. Be honest and try to write without judgments if possible. When you are satisfied with your answer, ask yourself: “What makes me think this way?” or “What made me answer this way?" or just simply ask “Why?” and continue writing your answer to your new question. Keep writing and keep asking yourself “Why?” until you get to a point where you cannot keep asking why. This is a powerful place to be. You may feel a lot of emotions come up. So, take it easy and be kind to yourself.

You may light a candle, light some incense, and sit in meditation with your emotions for a little bit. Focus on your breathing, and watch your thoughts and emotions pass by like fallen leaves flowing by on a river.

Keep journaling and let me know on comments below about your journaling experiences!