Journaling MINDFULNESS

3 Simple & Effective Ways to Mindfulness Journal

kikki.K founder and Dream Life Founder Kristina Karlsson writing in mindfulness journal

Mindfulness Journaling - 3 Simple & Effective Ways

Given you’re here because you’re interested in mindfulness journaling, let’s start by taking a nice, slow, deep breath in……….  and out……..

Ahhhhhhhhhhh (...deep contented sigh!). That’s better!

Although it feels like mindfulness is a trend that’s come about recently, it actually originated from Buddhist practices over 2500 years ago.

 

So What Exactly is Mindfulness?

Put simply, mindfulness at its essence is having a calm, clear, curious and present-moment awareness of what is happening within us and around us, from moment to moment.

And it’s a beautiful, refreshing, energising and productive state of mind to be in.

Human minds are thought machines. Often busy. Jumping around, stimulated by a complex world. Ruminating on the past or getting lost in unhelpful thinking. Too often worrying about things that never eventuate. Amplifying stress and reducing wellbeing if allowed to.

Practicing mindfulness helps us return to the present moment – bringing a calming sense of clarity and peace. Putting us in a state of mind where we remember what brings us joy and happiness - and allowing us to channel our inner wisdom.

But more than that, practicing mindfulness is an essential life skill that we need to help us navigate modern life.

 

What is Mindfulness Journaling?

Mindfulness journaling is a wonderful practice to help you spend more time in that beautiful state of mindfulness. Creating an island of time for you to strengthen your inner resources to better cope with the inevitable demands of being human by taking time to write with pen or pencil in a journal in ways that foster mindfulness.

And the science is clear – from institutions like the University of Rochester and the University of Alberta that journaling has real benefits for our wellbeing and mental health.

There are many ways to practice mindfulness. Meditation, breathing exercises, mindful eating and spending time in nature. But for me, using a mindfulness journal is a great place to start – and one of the simplest ways.

 

Mindfulness Journaling. So How Do You Do It?

Journaling for mindfulness can be done in a variety of ways and after experimenting for many years there are three approaches that I’ve found to be most useful.

  1. Using an expertly designed guided mindfulness journal
  2. Using a plain journal with mindfulness journal prompts
  3. The Morning Pages approach to mindfulness journaling

  

One: Using a Guided Mindfulness Journal

I’m a big fan of using a guided mindfulness journal and I’ve tried many and created many over the years.

By far the best, is one we recently created in collaboration with the wonderful Dr Elise Bialylew – a doctor trained in psychiatry, turned mindfulness expert and the founder of Mindful in May, the world’s largest online global mindfulness event.

So much more than a journal, our Dream Life Mindfulness Journal is more like a guided one-month mindfulness program in a journal.

Best summed up in a recent product review: “…one of the best things about it was that the link with the information, activities and reflective questions kept challenging me to learn about mindfulness in different ways for an entire month. Loved it.”

The Dream Life Mindfulness Journal guides you on a one-month journey, at your own pace, day-by-day for four weeks thru simple mindfulness practices, improving your well-being, capturing your thoughts & feelings and transforming your life in the process.

Each week covers a specific theme, and you’ll find links inside to unique guided meditations that relate directly to the weekly focus, which we encourage you to practise on the allocated days.

You’ll also find a written version of the guided meditation at the start of each week – offered for those who prefer to read the guidance and then do the practice by themselves in silence.

Then each day comes with its own guided practice – with space for you to journal your daily reflections – and at the end of each week there’s a spread for guided weekly mindfulness journal reflections.

It’s sprinkled with inspiring and meaningful quotes and brimming with simple timeless wisdom so you can just give yourself over to the practice of mindfulness for a month and let this expertly created journal be your guide and companion on a wonderful journey.

It comes in a variety of different cover design options (some of them below) and you can personalise the cover with your name – or the name of a loved one if you’re giving it as a gift - to make it unique and beloved.

To view the Dream Life Mindfulness Journal collection click here...

...and to learn more about how to use this Dream Life Mindfulness Journal read this article from Dr Elyse… 

 

Two: Using a Plain Journal With Mindfulness Journal Prompts

If you’d rather not go on a guided journey, another approach is to use a plain journal and get into the habit of mindfulness journaling using mindfulness journal prompts to guide you – as tightly or loosely as you like.

Consider setting yourself themes to calmly reflect on and write about in some detail, in particular writing in ways that describe your feelings and allow you to get lost in your journaling. For example:

 Mindfulness Journal Prompts

  • Things I’m grateful for…
  • What I love doing…
  • The last time I belly laughed…
  • Something I’m really passionate about and why…
  • A favourite memory of mine is…
  • A win I had this week was…
  • Let me describe a favourite time I spent out in nature…
  • Some things that made me smile recently…
  • The important people in my life - and why - are…
  • Acts of kindness I’ve noticed recently…
  • When I shower I love the feeling of…
  • When I’m out in nature I love…
  • When I eat I love…
  • Some of my strengths are…
  • Something wonderful that happened recently...
  • When I travelled to X I loved…
  • When I think about my childhood some of my favourite memories are…
  • Over the years my favourite gifts have been…
  • If I was an animal, I love to be X and why…
  • The last thing that made me feel really loved was…
  • Describe a sunset I witnessed…
  • Something I’m really looking forward to is…
  • When I look around me right now, I see…
  • Describe the last time I made someone smile…
  • Describe how my favourite foods taste and why I love them...

 

If you're looking for a beautiful plain journal to use as your mindfulness journal, you can browse our collection here... All of them can be personalised with your name on the cover to elevate their value for you and for your process of keeping a mindfulness journal.

 

Three: The Morning Pages approach to Mindfulness Journaling

I’m a big fan of the Morning Pages style of mindfulness journaling - which may be a new approach for you to consider.

Years ago I read a wonderful book, The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. A beautiful book which teaches techniques and exercises to assist people in gaining self-confidence to harness their creative talents.

One of the techniques recommended was ‘stream of consciousness writing’. Just dumping onto paper what-ever is in your head at any given time – and it’s a beautiful way of mindfulness journaling that fosters present-moment awareness of what is happening within us and around us, from moment to moment.

The very definition of mindfulness.

Over time I evolved the practice - called ‘Morning Pages’ – and most mornings for the last decade or so I sit in a quiet place with a blank journal and pen, a cup of tea, a favourite candle lit nearby, and I just write…

It's become a valuable ritual for me that takes me into a mindful state of mind. So how do I do it?

How to Use the Morning Pages Approach to Mindfulness Journaling

I keep a specific plain journal for the practice, and I write whatever comes to mind. Literally just writing in the way that I think. Dumping thoughts on paper as they come... helping me think about nothing more the the present moment as I clear my head and my heart...

For example, if I think "I have no idea what to write about", then I write exactly those words. Then the words from my next thoughts... and so on.

I don’t edit at all. I don’t overthink. I don’t try to make sense straight away. I don't worry about spelling or grammar... or being neat. I don't pause to think it all thru.

I just keep my hand moving and write - as if no-one will ever read what I've written. Happy. Confused. Angry. Sad. Excited. What-ever comes comes out… the more intense the emotion the better.

I don't worry about being logical or 'right' and I'm not worried if I go 'off topic'.

It's so liberating and therapeutic!

Journaling Morning Pages style allows you to achieve a lovely state of mindfulness as you express yourself freely without being judged - and provides you with a record of your experience and feelings that will help you make sense of them and your progress over time if you choose to look back.

I always aim to fill three pages with this long-hand, stream of consciousness writing - and in my experience it's best to do it first thing in the morning.

Why? Because I find that my Morning Pages journaling provokes, clarifies, comforts, cajoles and helps me prioritise the day at hand. Freeing me up to be creative and productive - as well as being a wonderful way of mindfulness journaling.

I recommend doing it as soon as you wake up, ideally before you do much else.

To learn more about how I use morning pages journaling read here… and listen to my two podcasts episodes #133 - The Magic of Morning Pages Journaling here and #135 - Going Deeper to Help You With Your Morning Pages Ritual here.

If you'd like to download free some prompts to help you with morning pages click here...

And if you'd like to browse our beautiful Dream Life Morning Pages Journals click here... 

The Last Word on Mindfulness Journaling

Remember, it’s one thing to be inspired by an article like this one but what really matters is what you put into action.

So take a moment now to decide what action you’re going to take – and be sure to come back and leave a comment to let us know how it turned out for you and what you learned.

Love,

Dream Life Founder

 

Resources to Help You Mindfulness Journal:

 four styles of dream life mindful journals

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