Mollie Stein

SRT 285 / Dr. Leap

Wisdom of Tradition Paper
November 8, 2016
Wisdom of Tradition: Journaling
Journaling is a technique that can be used in a variety of ways for a variety of things. It is
a way to record personal experiences, beliefs, ideas, thoughts, and emotions. Journaling is a
practice that should be done at the end of every day, to record and remember daily experiences.
By engaging in journaling everyday, it slowly and easily becomes part of ones daily routine
(Infed, 1). Some benefits of journaling are recording to remember later, to reflect, and to work
out what is right and what is wrong. Journaling also gives one a sense of freedom because one
can express thoughts and ideas freely in an independent way without fear of judgment or
ridicule. A journal in this experience is supposed to be a friend and in a sense a mirror to the
writers soul. What one writes down reflects his or her soul, their personal and meaningful
beliefs and ideas. Journaling can aid in self discovery and is there to listen to the writers every
meaningful thought, making it a significant friend (Haywood, 1). Not only is journaling still
widely used today, but it also has been used throughout the course of history.
Diaries and journals have been around in the world for centuries and has often been
deemed a significant feature in the search for spiritual development throughout time. It has been
found that journaling dates all the way back to the tenth century, when ladies of the royal court in
Japan used journal keeping to record personal experiences and thoughts (Adams, 1). It was not
until the 1960s that this type of writing came into public awareness and began to be widely used.
During this time, Dr. Ira Progoff offered classes on intensive journaling and taught people the use
and techniques of intensive level journaling. In 1977, Christina Baldwin released her book, One
to One: Self Understanding Through Journal Writing (Adams, 1). This book was written at the
time to encourage journaling and show readers how journaling can be a form of self expression
and self reflection. In 1978, Tristine Trainer wrote New Diary, which was a guidebook for how to
use a journal for self discovery and self exploration. Journaling was like the new diary (Adams,
1). Both are ways to record thoughts, experiences, ideas, and feelings but only one can be used to
reflect and find ones self. When one hears diary, one often thinks of teens writing down their
adolescent problems into a notebook. Journaling sounds more professional and widely used.
These books and classes introduced people to the act of journaling and helped teach people that it
is a really helpful way to express ones self and learn from doing so. In the 1980s, schools
caught on to journaling as a form of learning and journaling began to be used in classes at public
school. When people have practiced journaling in the past and for people that are practicing
journaling currently, there are multiple reasons as to why one would choose this practice. Some
are forced to practice journaling for school or work, while some choose to engage in the practice
on their own. Some purposes behind journaling are self reflection, self understanding, recording
of daily thoughts, a technique to remember later, and also for spiritual enlightenment (Haywood,
1).
What is spirituality? Spirituality is the quest for life integration through self-
transcendence toward the horizon of ultimate value (What Is Spirituality, 1). Journaling can help
aid one following a spiritual journey in his or her life. One can express their understanding of
God and it gives one the freedom to express his or her beliefs freely. This is important because
these are concepts that one might not express otherwise, due to fear of judgment or ridicule by
others. By one putting out their ideas and thoughts of God in front of them, one can thoroughly
analyze and connect their understanding of God to their beliefs. Journaling is also a way to
record spiritual experiences, thoughts, and realizations which will help one better reflect and
respond to these concepts (Haywood, 1). By reflecting and responding to these concepts
throughout ones journaling journey, one can later go back and examine the growth that they
have experienced. A journal will log ones growth and experiences by each entry. When one goes
back and reads previous entries and compares them to a present entry, one can see how they have
changed throughout this practice. Through this practice, the writer can better get to know
themselves as an individual (Haywood, 1). The writer gets in touch with his or her deepest
beliefs and values. By observing the change throughout each journal entry, one can see how they
evolved as a person throughout the journey, whether spiritually or not. Many people who use
journals to record their spiritual journey often write down the prayers that they have prayed to
God. When God responds, this is also recorded as well. Making note of this can help the writer
see and make note of how God is always listening and responding to ones prayers (Haywood,
1). Many also use journaling as a way to record and think out their struggles, something that I
use my journaling practice for. One can write down their personal struggles or conflicts in their
lives and build upon them. By having my struggles written out in front of me, I am able to
further process what is going on in my life and come up with solutions to learn and grow from
these conflicts. In relation to these struggles, when one is on a spiritual journey and faces is a
conflict in their life, one often looks to the Bible for comfort and advice (Haywood, 1). A journal
is a great place to record ones personal insights from the Bible and aspects of ones devotional
life. One can use their personal experiences and conflicts and recording of their personal insights
from the Bible to make connections between their personal life and the scripture (Haywood, 1).
Connecting personal experiences to the Bible, in my personal opinion, would be a comforting
revelation. While following Gods word is part of ones religious spiritual journey, another aspect
that comes hand and hand with it is the concept of sin. Every single person sins, no matter who
they are or what they do and it is an inevitable fact. While many people do not have the intention
of sinning and doing wrong, it is at least comforting to know that no matter what ones mistake
is, God is there to offer forgiveness. One just has to ask Him (Haywood, 1). Some people go to
confession to confess their sins and ask for forgiveness from God, but there are other ways. One
can use journaling as a way to confess their sins and ask for forgiveness, from God and from
themselves. Journaling is a great way to not only express ones mistakes and sins, but also to
express how one plans to change and grow from them. One can only move on and learn from
their mistakes, and God can help everyone with that (Haywood, 1). Because God is always there
to listen, it is extremely important to express ones thankfulness for Him. Journaling is another
way to express ones gratitude and thankfulness for God. By reliving through ones journal
entries, it is easy to express gratitude after one has seen and looked back on what all God has
done for them through their practice (Haywood, 1).
I chose journaling because I love to write and it is something that I already do, but not on
a spiritual level. One main aspect of this practice is making in a part of your daily life, which I
did not do prior to this project. I would only write in my journal when I felt necessary or had
time, I never made it a routine. I enjoy writing because I feel that I can best express my thoughts
that way and I love that I can go back to re-read my entries to in a sense relive an experience or
reflect on it. Journaling in a spiritual sense seemed like a difficult task to me, even though I was
already experienced when it came to the practice of journaling. It seemed difficult because it is
hard for me to express my deep, personal emotions and realizations outwardly, some thing that
must be done to journal on a spiritual level. It is also often difficult to take time out of ones day
to sit down and write and reflect on ones day, let alone make it a part of ones daily routine. The
beginning of this process proved difficult for me, for it was hard to remember to engage in the
practice every day and to journal on a spiritual level. As time went on, I found that it became
easier for me to write and for me to write more. I became more comfortable as the process went
on. I also started to think more about my experiences and gradually related them to God. As this
process went on, I started to make a greater realization of Gods presence and I began to see how
faith connects with everyday life. The practice of journaling aided me in my spiritual journey and
can aid others looking to take the same journey as well. Journaling got me more in touch with
my faith, which is something that I have been wanting to do for a long time. I never thought
journaling would be the answer, but it was. I believe that I had more communication with God
that I have had in awhile and I definitely thought about my faith and God more and more each
day. Integrating this practice into my daily routine gave me more time to incorporate my personal
faith and God into my world every day. Not only did this practice help me with my spiritual
journey, but also in general when it comes to expressing my emotions. I gradually became more
comfortable with expressing my emotions, thoughts, and beliefs throughout this process.
Through my physical research on journaling for a spiritual purpose, I found three great
articles that reflect the benefits from spiritual journaling. The first article that I analyzed was
called, Journaling: Creating Space for I by Jennell P. Charles. This article talks about journaling
as a reflective activity that is used to discover meaning. Journaling is a practice with no
structures and guidelines and no clear outcome. This article primarily focuses of nursing but I
believe that journaling can be used for any profession (Charles, 180). Journaling is defined as a
reflective activity, a way to reflect on ones own practices and behaviors and evaluate them. It is
a process where one is forced to pay attention and try to understand themselves and their
experiences. Journaling has one in a sense caring for themselves and developing a sense of
responsibility not only for themselves but also for others. Journaling has been proven to enhance
critical thinking skills and help connect theory to practice (Charles, 181). In a spiritual sense, one
can use journaling to put their spiritual beliefs and ideas into practice. Writing can also help one
make sense of a confusing situation or help make missed images and details in our life more
apparent. One benefit for journaling that this article highlights, is the fact that there is no clear
structure (Charles, 182). I believe this makes journaling appealing in any sense because it gives
the writer the freedom to make this process their own, with no right or wrong answer involved.
The second article that I found was titled Reflective Journaling by Maria Prikhodko. This article
focuses on the educational aspect of reflective journaling. By writing down their thoughts and
learning experiences, journaling helps students analyze and reflect on their learning. Also,
journaling stimulates psychological, emotional, and cognitive ways in ones mind. This in turn
results in meaningful self-examination, a process one can genuinely learn from (Prikhodko, 1).
Even though this article solely focuses on journaling in the educational aspect, I believe
journaling can help anyone reflect and analyze their learning on any topic whether it be about
their profession, school, or learning and experiences in relation with God and ones spirituality.
The third journal I analyzed was titled Autoethnography: Reflective Journaling and Meditation
to Cope with Life Threatening Breast Cancer by Patricia Ann Sealy. This article detailed how
journaling can help one through the healing process. While this article focuses on healing from a
life threatening disease, I believe that journaling can aid with all types of healing, even spiritual
healing. The author of this article talks about how journaling was a way to cope and heal during a
tough time for her. It contributed to cognitive insights and gave a way to express personal and
intrusive thoughts (Sealy, 39). While breast cancer and any form of a life threatening disease is
extremely serious, everyone at some point in their life experiences some type of great conflict or
struggle. Journaling can be an effective way to cope, heal, and move on from this point in ones
life (Sealy, 40). Journaling and reflective on ones work can help identify cognitive patterns in
responses. The author also explains that journaling expresses free energy to pursuit joy and
happiness in such a tough time. One may find happiness in ones spiritual experiences or
relationship with God and to reflect on these concepts would be a source of healing and joy for
them. Journaling helped the author reflect on the joy and happiness she had experienced
throughout her life to ease her pain during a trouble time (Sealy, 41). Journaling can help one use
their spirituality and relationship with God to find a source of happiness to overshadow ones
struggle for at least the time being. I have yet to find patterns in my own writing and in my own
personal experience with journaling. I now have written about my personal emotions and
insights, but I have never written about school or my profession, like some of the articles on
reflective journaling suggests. I look to God for help with my emotions and insights rather than
for help with school and my profession. I know that I can look to God for both, and I can ask for
God in the form of journaling now, and I may start doing so. While I have never used journaling
for these types of insights, I can see why others would. A question that remains unanswered for
me and requires further research would be, what different types of journaling benefit people? I
always think of journaling as using tools such as a notebook and pencil to write thoughts down,
but are there other ways of journaling by using technology or some other means? These are
things I have never thought of before and still remain unanswered to me.
As a Christian I look to God for advice and help. A lot of my thoughts and feelings that I
want to express or tell God I do not feel comfortable saying aloud, so it is easier to write out.
Also, writing it out makes it easier to reflect and analyze. Journaling could be a place to write
and analyze prayers and where to write your daily actions and events and make a connection
between them and God. Journaling your day could help one see where God exists in their daily
lives. While journaling is helpful in ones communication and relationship with God, it can
simply be helpful for ones spirituality no matter what religion they practice. Journaling is a great
way to analyze and put forth ideas about life, relationships, family, careers, and citizenship. In
my personal opinion, it is easier to write about my emotions than say them aloud. Also in fear of
forgetting the things that had happened throughout my day, I want to write down everything.
Having everything in front of you makes it easier to review, reflect, analyze, and make
connections between your daily events. Just has this practice has helped me throughout these
couple of week, it can help many other people get in touch with their spirituality as well as any
other purpose one might use journaling for.

Works Cited
Adams, K. (1999). A Brief History of Journal Writing Journal Therapy. Retrieved November

05, 2016, from httpp://journaltherapy.com/get-training/short-program-journal-to-the-

self/journal-ti-the-self/journal-writing-history/

Charles, J.P. (2010). Journaling: Creating a Space for I.. Creative Nursing, 16(4), 180-184.

Doi:10.1891/1078-4535.16.4.180

Haywood, M. A. (2003). How to Keep a Spiritual Journal. Retrieved November 05, 2016, from

http://home.earthlink.net/-haywoodm/SpiritualJournal.html

Sealy, P.A. (2012). Autoethnography: Reflective Journaling and Meditation to Cope With Life

Threatening Breast Cancer. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, 16(1), 38-41.

Smith, M.K. (2014). Writing and keeping journals. A guide for educators and social

practitioners. Retrieved November 05, 2016, from http://infed.org/mobi/writing-and-

keeping-journals-a-guide-for-educators-and-social-practitioners/

What Is Spirituality? Taking Charge of Your Health & Wellbeing. (n.d.). Retrieved November

05, 2016, from http:www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/enhance-your-

welbeing/purpose/spirituality/what-spirituality