Retreat Recap

This past weekend, eight women gathered on the Oregon Coast for a weekend of journaling. We had yummy breakfasts of quiche and crepes and oatmeal, laughed and laughed, wrote & stamped in our journals, talked, reminisced, and shared some of our personal journeys.

Overall, I think the retreat was a big success. Some things can only be learned by experience, though, and I now know better how to be an effective host and leader. I'm so thankful for the seven ladies who joined me in being, to quote Holly, "The Original Eight."

To the seven ladies who were gracious with my veteran attempt at leading a journaling retreat: for your encouragement, excitement to learn, and support of my dreams, I thank you.

One of my favorite parts of the weekend was Saturday evening, when we gathered around a large table and talked about using writing to process and heal loss, trauma, relationship difficulties, and our own damaging perceptions. I had prepared writing prompts for emotional, physical and grief healing. We set a timer for 20 minutes and each chose a prompt to write from. When the timer rang, we shared what we had written. It was a powerful exercise and I'd like to thank everyone for being vulnerable with your feelings. For those of you who weren't there, I'll post the prompts we wrote from in my next blog.

It was incredible to watch healing begin, and inspiring to witness these women be open to releasing damaging perceptions, forgiving those who had hurt them, and processing their traumas. I love journaling -- the creativity, the expression, documenting life -- but the aspect I feel most passionately about is that it can heal us. Thank you, members of the Original Eight, for letting me be a part of your journey.

This journal cover was made by Kezia during the weekend. Oh, and before you think the words on the cover were pre-printed on the paper, she hand-wrote them.... The talent and creativity of these ladies was so inspiring!

Gillian

Holly & her journal
Verna & her journal

Thanks again for everything, ladies! It was a weekend to remember...

Retreat

Tomorrow begins the long-anticipated, first ever, Live Art.fully journaling retreat. 8 women gathering for a weekend of rest, journaling, good food, hot drinks, laughter, creativity, inspiration, and reflection. I can't wait!

I believe so strongly in the benefits of journaling. There are so many positive aspects:

• goal-setting and tracking your progress
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  recording the moments -- big and small -- of your life
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  writing your life story
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  dreaming, and watching those dreams take shape
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  resolving unfinished business, perhaps after a complicated relationship has ended, whether by separation, break-up, death or divorce
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  creative expression
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  leaving a legacy for your children or future generations (wouldn't you be interested in reading your great-great grandmother's life story?)
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  decreasing blood pressure
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  reducing stress levels
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  documenting your impressions, perspective and insights
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  recording meaningful conversations
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  and the list goes on and on...

I am a peculiar breed of person who simply thinks best by writing. I like to say I do my best thinking in ink. Many famous writers and journal-keepers have been quoted saying that they write to discover what they think. That certainly rings true for me. I always feel more calm and centered after writing.

So tomorrow, we retreat.

For those of you who aren't attending, take some time this weekend to journal. It will be great to meet up here again on Monday and talk about it.

Possibilities & Potential...

I was excited today to step on the scale and find I have made more progress on my goal to shed some extra pounds this year.

In 4 days, I am leading a journaling retreat for 7 ladies and we are going to spend the weekend laughing, reflecting, writing, sipping hot drinks, and "retreating" from our normal, busy lives. I can't wait to spend time with these women, and to focus on journaling for a couple of days.

When I started this blog last September, it was my dream that maybe someday it would be a foundation for things like journaling retreats. I can't believe this dream is already becoming reality.

The sunshine today (for the 2nd day in a row!) reminded me of Spring, and sure enough, even on the calendar, it is just around the corner. I heard the sound of lawn mowers in my neighborhood all afternoon, and wondered, on the way to pick up my Kindergartener, where my sunglasses are. The whole day seemed to be a reminder that there is always hope, there is always possibility and potential and promise.

Do you have goals for the year? Do you have dreams? Are you making any progress? What's one small step you could take this week to begin, or continue?

Writing for Healing

Something close to my heart is the desire to help people heal. I am not a doctor or a nurse or a surgeon. I am not a pastor or spiritual leader. I am not a therapist.

I am a writer.

One of the incredible aspects of the art of journal writing is its healing properties. Studies have shown that journaling reduces stress levels and lowers blood pressure. People have used writing to help rid their bodies of physical pain (for more on this, check out Pain Free for Life by Scott Brady, M.D.) Writing is invaluable, when used with therapy or by itself, to process loss and trauma.

So how do we do that?

The first step, as so often said, is identifying the problem.
The second step is to say it aloud or write it down. This makes it more real.

Now that it's written down or verbalized, the mind can begin to work on processing it.

A book I highly recommend is Writing as a Way of Healing by Louise DeSalvo. A couple years ago, I used an idea I found in her book to journal out an issue I had. It was a big enough problem that it was bogging me down. I didn't know how to heal from it, but wished I could so that my life could be more functional and I could be more free.

So I decided to write about it. I took a pen and a journal and I began to write as quickly as I could without paying much attention to what I was writing. I wrote and wrote and wrote and wrote until my hand cramped and my body had stopped shaking. A few days or a couple of weeks later, I wrote about it again, in the same fashion, trying not to think between sentences, trying not to self-edit or "correct" my own thoughts.

It worked.

Today I consider myself to be significantly healed on this issue, which was something that had been effecting me negatively for many years.

Writing it down gave me new perspectives I hadn't thought of. Having it down on paper gave me a way to have it separate from myself. Transforming my pain into words, written down in black and white, dejumbled things. It was more manageable somehow.

I believe everyone has baggage (issues from their past or present), and that everyone deserves to live a functional, joyful life. If we can flush out some of the toxins from our traumas, they will just be a part of our past, and won't continue to harm us as much. We can go forward without the extra load.

Thoughts Going into the Weekend

Taking a break to chill on the couch with a precious 3 year-old. This girl has long eyelashes, long hair, long fingers & long legs. She is looking like such a big girl.

Lots on my mind today. First of all, I'm enjoying the sunshine (a rarity here in the rainy Northwest), and looking forward to family time and a change of pace this weekend.

I'd also like to warmly welcome those of you who have found my blog via Bonita's Encouraging Words for Writer's blog. It's great to have you here!

Using some sea life stamps made by Cavallini in my journal today. I have three sets of Cavallini stamps. They come in tin boxes, and I love them. If you've never tried using stamping in your journal, I encourage you to try it. I prefer brush markers over stamp pads.

I am praying for a friend of mine who is in the hospital right now, and wishing I could ease her pain.

What are your plans for the weekend?

Encouraging Words for Writers: Revelations of a Fresh Journal Page

Encouraging Words for Writers: Revelations of a Fresh Journal Page

I just have to share a blog post with you from Bonita at Encouraging Words for Writers. Her post echoes my thoughts exactly.

I challenge you (and me, too) to pick up a pen and write today. It's amazing how quickly the pages of our lives slip through the gaps in memory like sand through fingers. Write it down!

Thoughts on Journaling

Looking back, I think it happened in college: the knowledge that journaling isn’t just a hobby for growing up, but for growing. I knew then that I never wanted to live my life without incorporating journaling.

When my first daughter was born, I didn’t write much until she was nearly a year and a half. I began again then, recording taking my toddler to the ocean on an uncommonly warm May day, my fears that I would lose my grandfather when he was admitted to the ICU after an operation, and when my friend’s mother was diagnosed with a serious medical condition and died not long after.

Writing is how I process my experiences, how I (attempt to) stay calm and engaged in my life, how I remember, and how I express myself creatively. Writing is also how I heal. There really is no way to sum up the tremendous value journaling holds for me.

I never view my past writing as a waste of time. On the contrary, I find inspiration and joy in going back and rereading the pages of my past. I love that by opening a notebook, I can relive almost any part of my life that I choose. I can be a newlywed again, a college student, pregnant with my first, a mother of a toddler and a newborn, or, if I want to be embarrassed, a teenager. The times that I have loved most in my life, challenged me, and even the times that have been the most painful are all there – like grapes or cheese they are aging into something better – life lessons, wisdom, experience.

Why do you journal? What keeps you writing?