Join the Journalution!

Remember the scene in The Wizard of Oz when Dorothy asks Glenda the Good Witch how to get back to Kansas? Glenda tells Dorothy, “My dear, you’ve always had the power.” We all have the power to create a life we love. But often, like Dorothy, we look in faraway places for our answers when the real answers are in our own backyard. It’s tempting to look outside ourselves for answers to life’s big questions. After all, if we could just read a book or go to a seminar and discover our true purpose, it would make things so much easier. While the answers that others have found may inspire you, ultimately you have to answer life’s big questions for yourself, and your journal is the perfect place to begin figuring out your hopes, dreams, and visions. Think of your journal as your very own pair of ruby slippers.

How do you use your journal to manifest a life that is exciting, fulfilling, and rewarding — one that makes you want to jump out of bed in the morning because you are so excited to be alive? We’ve all experienced moments of Divine inspiration, when nothing feels out of reach; the world is our oyster and we’ve got it all figured out. Your journal can help by being a magic cauldron for creating more of these Divinely inspired moments.

What Do You Really Want?

In my workshops, I often ask, “If I had a magic wand and I could grant you anything, could you tell me what you truly wanted?” Many times, I see panic on the faces of the participants; although they may have an idea of what they’d like, it’s difficult for them to put it into words. Ask yourself now: Do you really know what you want? If you had to state your greatest desire out loud, in a succinct, passionate sentence, could you do it?

Having a vision for your life inspires you and guides you every day in all of your actions. It gives your life meaning and purpose. It’s easy to just go through the motions, checking things off your to-do list and never looking up long enough to ask, “Is this what I really want?” Having a written vision for your life keeps you on track. When distractions come up or you have to make tough decisions, it can help to go back and look at the vision you created, reminding yourself of what you truly want. Then you can ask yourself if this next step or decision is in line with your greater vision. So take a moment and answer this question in your journal: Is this what you really want your life to look like?

Is This What You Really Want?

Write the question “Is this what I really want?” at the top of a blank page in your journal. Then close your eyes and take three deep breaths. Now write for ten minutes. Write about all the wonderful things you have in your life. Write about all the things you may have forgotten you wanted. Write about the things you let go of because they seemed too difficult or too time-intensive or financially impossible.

Let yourself write what you really, really want. Don’t edit anything; allow your thoughts to flow onto the page. If you envision yourself as a lawyer fighting for children’s rights and you haven’t completed high school, don’t worry; just write it down. This is not the time to critique your dreams but to get your desires down on the page. No one ever has to read this. Whatever the critic inside your head is saying to you, release it and surrender it. Keep writing your deepest dreams and desires, and soon the critical voice will fade into the background. As you write your dreams, you give them wings. They will float off the page and conspire with the universe to bring you the life you really want.

How did that feel? Did anything surprising show up on the page? Did you feel hopeless that you’ll never have what you really want, or did you feel excited about rediscovering something you lost? It really doesn’t matter; just remember that any emotions that come up for you can all be worked out on the blank page.

Writing in your journal about what you really want will automatically attract circumstances that can arrange for those exact things to happen. That is why you must be very clear. They say “Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it.” To some degree this is true, but in a good way; as these things you’ve always wanted begin to appear, you may realize that some are not so important to you after all. Your vision will begin to shift and develop into what you truly desire. In fact, your vision may change dramatically over time, so it is a good idea to consistently recreate and revise your vision in your journal. If you do so, it will always reflect what you want to attract. Use your journal to make certain that the work you are doing and the life you are living, every day, reflects your greatest vision for your self.

Article based on JOURNALUTION: Journaling to Awaken Your Inner Voice, Heal Your Life and Manifest Your Dreams, New World Library, May 2005, Trade Paperback, $14.95 Order online at: www.newworldlibrary.com