A personal record of reflections and experiences, a journal is an effective way to self-care and self-develop. This book is a grounded guide to the reflective practice of journaling for those in the helping professions. Full of original ideas, exercises and examples, it provides everything needed to establish and advance journaling skills.
Transformation through Journal Writing is a grounded guide to self reflection through journaling for those in the helping professions. Journals are shown to be an effective method of self-care and self-development. Full of inspiring and original ideas, this book provides everything you need to know about developing and advancing journaling skills. It covers a range of different styles, from the logical and structured use of templates, frameworks and models, to the creative and organic process of art journaling. Each technique and its transformative potential are clearly explained, and readers are encouraged to start writing through expertly crafted exercises and journal examples. It is a flexible resource that will inspire readers to start a reflective journal for the first time or to try out new techniques and methodologies. A comprehensive handbook to self-reflective journaling, this book will be of interest to everyone in the health professions including complementary and alternative practitioners, supervisors, counsellors, psychotherapists, and art, music and drama therapists.
We write letters to express what we struggle to say aloud. We put pen to paper to voice the secret sides of ourselves, and often, the letters don't need to be sent to set us free. Through guided prompts and interactive questions, The Secret Letters Project offers a safe space for writers to explore relationships, deal with difficult situations, and embrace the joy around them. This journal will help you: Find peace with past relationships Give thanks for new opportunities Experience personal growth Project and celebrate positivity Broken down into letters addressed to different recipients (Dear Ex, Dear Soul Mate, Dear Stranger, Dear Me), this journal helps you create the life you've always wanted through the healing art of letter writing.
ÿWriting for Blissÿis most fundamentally about reflection, truth, and freedom. With techniques and prompts for both the seasoned and novice writer, it will lead you to tap into your creativity through storytelling and poetry,examine how life-changing experiences can inspire writing,pursue self-examination and self-discovery through the written word, and,understand how published writers have been transformed by writing.Poet and memoirist Raab (Lust) credits her lifelong love of writing and its therapeutic effects with inspiring her to write this thoughtful and detailed primer that targets pretty much anyone interested in writing a memoir. Most compelling here is Raab?s willingness to share her intimate stories (e.g., the loss of a relative, ongoing struggles with cancer, a difficult relationship with her mother). Her revelations are encouraging to writers who feel they need ?permission to take... a voyage of self-discovery.? The book?s seven-step plan includes plenty of guidance, including on learning to ?read like a writer,? and on addressing readers as if ?seated across the table .? Raab covers big topics such as the ?art and power of storytelling? and small details such as choosing pens and notebooks that you enjoy using. She also helps readers with the important step of ?finding your form.? --PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY "Writing for Blissÿis about the profound ways in which we may be transformed in and through the act of writing. I am grateful to Diana Raab for sharing it, and I trust that you will feel the same as you read on. May you savor the journey." --from the foreword by MARK FREEMAN, PhD "By listening to ourselves and being aware of what we are saying and feeling, the true story of our life's past experience is revealed. Diana Raab?s book gives us the insights by which we can achieve this through her life-coaching wisdom and our writing." --BERNIE SIEGEL, MD, author ofÿThe Art of Healing "Only a talented writer who has fought hard to overcome life?s many obstacles could take her readers by the hand and lead them through the writing process with such enormous compassion, amazing insight, and kindness. Diana Raab is a powerful, wise, intelligent guide well worth our following." --JAMES BROWN, author ofÿThe Los Angeles DiariesÿandÿThe River "Writing for Blissÿis far more than a 'how-to manual'; it enlightens the creative process with wisdom and a delightful sense of adventure. Bravo to Bliss!" --LINDA GRAY SEXTON, author ofÿSearching for Mercy Street: My Journey Back to My Mother, Anne Sexton "Uniquely blending inspiring insights with practical advice, Diana guides you on a path to discover the story that is truly inside you?and yearning to be told." --PATRICK SWEENEY, coauthor of the New York Times bestsellerÿSucceed on Your Own Terms DIANA RAAB, PhD, is an award-winning memoirist, poet, blogger, workshop facilitator, thought provoker, and survivor. She?s the author of eight books and over one thousand articles and poems. She lives in Southern California. Learn more at www.DianaRaab.com
The final volume in a trilogy of works that examine the impact of writing and reading about traumatic subjects. Jeffrey Berman describes ways in which teachers can encourage college students to write safely on a wide range of subjects deemed too personal or dangerous for the classroom.
Writing to Awaken is an inspirational investigation of the self through expressive writing, guiding you along the path of awakening through radical truth-telling and self-inquiry. With targeted and revelatory questions, you’ll be prompted to explore your own personal narrative—to write honestly about your deepest wounds, greatest challenges, hidden gifts, yearnings, and opportunities for growth—in order to discover a deeply authentic understanding of yourself and move toward a more liberated, truthful life. We each have our own story, a personal myth constructed from the content life presents us: we connect dots to shape the narrative, devise plotlines from circumstance, change characters, fashion conflicts, and adjust structure, settings, and themes as our lives unfold. But so often, over time, we come to believe that we are our story, identifying so strongly with the tales we’ve told ourselves and others that we cling to them for our very existence—even when they don’t quite fit. The realization that there’s a discrepancy between the narrative you’ve crafted and your authentic self can be disconcerting at first, but the exploration of that gap is a doorway to personal freedom, and this book will lead you through it. The writing exercises in this guide, one for nearly every week of the year, ask you to tell the whole truth about your experience. In doing so, you’ll come to realize that once you engage in this radical truth-telling, expressing yourself with complete honesty, your story changes; and when your story changes, your life is transformed. Rather than sticking with your illusive and tricky “Story of Me,” you’ll be prompted to go even deeper, piercing your personal myth and illuminating aspects of psyche and spirit that give way to profound moments of understanding and personal healing. This is not a how-to book for writers; it’s an invitation on a journey of self-discovery—a guide to facing yourself without flinching, accepting yourself as you are, surrendering to what is, and daring to question and transform what isn’t true. With Writing to Awaken, you’ll learn how to break free from the trance of mistaken identity and discover your essential, authentic self.
Kurt Wolff has written principally in two veins (in English) for the last fifty years, 1) on sociology, epistemology (sociology of knowledge) and the philosophy of sociology; and 2) on the relevance of his formulation of "surrender and catch" to human experience, particularly in its cogni tive forms. He published Trying Sociology in 1974, which contains his writings on sociology, and Surrender and Catch: Experience and Inquiry Today in 1976, which contains his writings on surrender-and-catch. In more recent years, he has published two books, 0 Loma! Constituting a Self (1977-1984) in 1989 and Survival and Sociology: Vindicating the Human Subject (1991). Both of the more recent books add a third vein which is autobiographical and which moves back and forth between the previously established approaches in the earlier works. Transformation in the Writing is the most ambitious to date, because, as Wolff points out in the beginning, it contains writings that "fall quite obviously into three classes: autobiographical; sociology of knowledge, sociology, poetry, phenomenology, hermeneutics, critical theory; and our time and its sociological analysis. " The task of this book is to illuminate the connections among these three classes. Wolff has engaged in autobiographical writing his entire life, though this approach to writing has only in recent years grown closer to his intel lectual preoccupations with sociology and philosophy.
This book takes readers through a series of guided writing exercises that help them explore their feelings about difficult experiences. Each chapter begins with an introduction that explains how to proceed with journal exercises and what they are structured to help accomplish. The exercises leave readers with a strong sense of their value in the world.
The Transformation Journal is a life changing resource that will help you grow in your relationship with God through Scripture reading, journaling, and prayer. This daily journal introduces you to key people and stories from each book of the Bible, helping you personally encounter the truth and insight of God's timeless word. By the end of one year, you will have traced God's loving hand throughout the Bible's pages, and you will deeply understand the unconditional love brought to us through God's son, Jesus Christ. You will find in Transformation Journal : A description of each book of the Bible, including background and overview information to help you understand its "big picture" A "Focus Point" plus Scripture readings for each day Space for personal study of each day's Scripture Journal/reflection questions to help you further unpack the meaning of the Scripture you've read and the implications for your faith Transformations-an original, reflective essay on the week's Scripture Full-color interior for inviting participation of the senses in communion with God Every year, the passionate followers of Jesus who call themselves the Ginghamsburg church family invest time with God through use of the Transformation Journal . God has used this devotional tool to unite and inspire believers of all ages to ever greater mission as the hands and feet of Jesus in the world. Additional free resources for utilizing the Transformation Journal with all ages are available at www.mytj.org. All proceeds from the publication of the Transformation Journal will go towards Ginghamsburg's Sudan project, a multi-year commitment to assist those forced into war-torn refugee camps in Darfur. Ginghamsburg's efforts have provided agricultural, child protection, educational and clean water assistance. Learn more about how you and your church can help the plight of our Sudanese brothers and sisters at www.thesudanproject.org. Sue Nilson Kibbey is the executive pastor at Ginghamsburg Church, where she coordinates senior management staff activities. An ordained elder in The United Methodist Church, she is the author of Ultimately Responsible: When You're in Charge of Igniting a Ministry and Starting a Single Adult Ministry . She was recently named by The Church Report magazine as one of the top 10 church administrators in America. Carolyn Slaughter is passionate about teaching and mentoring Jesus-followers. She and her husband, Michael Slaughter, have served Ginghamsburg Church for over 28 years. Her primary ministry responsibilities at Ginghamsburg include teaching and curriculum development. Carolyn Slaughter is passionate about teaching and mentoring Jesus-followers. She is the author of A Follower's Life: 12 Group Studies On What It Means To Follow Jesus .
In Transformational Journaling for Coaches, Therapists, and Clients: A Complete Guide to the Benefits of Personal Writing, more than 50 coaches, therapists, and journaling experts from around the world share their best practices and explain in detail how they use journaling to improve their work with clients. This edited collection brings together the leading voices of the journaling world into one ground-breaking volume, providing practical techniques and tools to use with clients. Applicable and accessible, over 50 journaling luminaries share their experiences and insights across eight sections, including the logic of journaling, techniques and applications, using journaling with clients, journaling in groups, journaling for mental health and wellness, growth and healing, spirituality, creativity, and more. Through theoretical and practical applications, it illustrates the transformational process of journaling in helping clients grow, heal, and achieve their goals. This book is essential reading for coaches, therapists, and other mental health professionals, as well as those interested in using personal writing for growth and self-awareness.
