Part two in a two-part series. Frank's first "Power of Journaling" article appeared in the October-December 2003 edition.
Rereading Your Journal
After you write in your journal, set it aside. In a few days or weeks, go back and read what you have written.
You will be surprised by some of the things you wrote. Ask yourself the following questions when rereading your journal entries.
The depth of each question will become clearer each time you return to your journal.
" Have I said what I really think and feel or what I've been taught to think and feel? " Have I told not only what happened, but also how I feel about what happened and what it means to me? " Am I keeping a distance from myself by focusing on the external world in my writing? " Have I been overly sentimental about my past and buried my memories under nostalgia? " At the other extreme, have I minimized my emotions or buried them in the past without resolving them? " When the truth is unpleasant, do I use defense mechanisms to hide the truth from myself? " How consistent have I been in my thoughts, feelings, and behavior? " Have I been as concrete as possible and used specific examples to illustrate my abstract statements? " Have I shared my strengths, weaknesses, and my humanness with myself, accepting and affirming myself with positive statements?
The purpose of questioning what you write in your journal is to find self-understanding. Today, many of us, at times, experience a feeling of displacement. We often don't know why we said something or why we did something. Often we can't remember what happened the day before yesterday.
Each of us is searching for a new vision of life so that we can make a contribution to the future and to society as a whole. The journal is a self-recording instrument. In journal writing you will find the opportunity to live life in retrospection and this will bring out the full flavor of life's meaning.
The Journal Process
A journal or diary is an excellent tool for developing awareness and powers of self-reflection. Each time you make an entry into your journal, you open another door into yourself. It is not surprising that throughout history artists, scientists, philosophers, and explorers have used journals or diaries to record their feelings, thoughts, observations, and discoveries.
Journal keeping is one of the best ways to gain insight into yourself. At the same time it is a wonderful tool for developing creative abilities and communication skills. The privacy and personal nature of the journal make it a perfect vehicle for spontaneous expression. Journal keeping that is done for yourself alone provides one ingredient so essential to true exploration: freedom from externally imposed standards and judgments. The journal is a safe place to be yourself: to feel, to think, to observe, to dream. As long as it is kept confidential, except for selective sharing, then the threat of external criticism is removed. The only critic you are left with is yourself (and often we discover that we are our own worst critics).
Sharing Your Journal
If you want to share your work with someone, find a loved one, a trustworthy friend, or a counselor who understands you. Avoid those who are judgmental and critical of you.