HOW TO USE JOURNAL PROMPTS
Our journey towards happiness, healing and wholeness often begins with an inner pull, a call to discover who we really are beneath the masks we wear, a sacred question that awakens us to a softer, more peaceful way of being in the world.
As we ask these questions, as we give ourselves space to wonder, as we listen inwardly for what our hearts have to say, we find truth. And with that truth, comes healing.
Maybe we find answers. Maybe we don’t. Maybe we don’t seek answers at all. Maybe we simply learn to love questions and one day, as the poet Rilke says, "live along some distant day into the answer".
We don’t always know what inspires us to begin this inner journey. Often, we just feel called to go. We might feel empty, or ‘hollowed out’ as one of my clients put it — a kind of homesickness for ourselves. Or we might find ourselves with a successful career, a beautiful family, our dream house— everything we thought would make us happy--and still feel as though something is missing. Or we might find ourselves in the midst of a global pandemic — realising that the goals we have been chasing were never really ours and the life we have been living is far smaller than the rich and beautiful life we are being called to live.
Usually it’s a combination of things that compels us to dive beneath the surface of our lives so we can reconnect with who we are and what is sacred. But, at some point, an inner adventure beckons. And it happens to every single one of us.
Below you'll find 50 questions and I recommend using one a day. Each question is a tool for what psychology calls introspection, religion refers to as contemplation, philosophy terms self-reflection or self-inquiry, and ancient yogis called Dhyana (an ‘inner diving’).
You can use the questions however you like but most people find journaling the simplest and most helpful. Reflective journaling has been found to reduce feelings of depression, distress and anxiety, as well as facilitating professional and personal growth.
If you don’t already have a journaling practice, you will need to give yourself permission to take time out from the practical and materialistic society in which we live to explore the deeper, more emotional, spiritual and mystical parts of yourself. About twenty minutes a day is ideal but it can be as short as five minutes if that’s all you have. You can do it when you get up in the morning, in bed at night, or even when you’re on the loo!
Use each question as your journal prompt for the day, listen inwardly, and allow whatever your heart has to say to flow through you and out onto the page. You might find that you want to come back to the question and journal more about it the next day, or even weeks or months down the line as the voice of your true self gets louder, so leave space on the page for future reflection.
As we ask these questions, as we give ourselves space to wonder, as we listen inwardly for what our hearts have to say, we find truth. And with that truth, comes healing.
Maybe we find answers. Maybe we don’t. Maybe we don’t seek answers at all. Maybe we simply learn to love questions and one day, as the poet Rilke says, "live along some distant day into the answer".
We don’t always know what inspires us to begin this inner journey. Often, we just feel called to go. We might feel empty, or ‘hollowed out’ as one of my clients put it — a kind of homesickness for ourselves. Or we might find ourselves with a successful career, a beautiful family, our dream house— everything we thought would make us happy--and still feel as though something is missing. Or we might find ourselves in the midst of a global pandemic — realising that the goals we have been chasing were never really ours and the life we have been living is far smaller than the rich and beautiful life we are being called to live.
Usually it’s a combination of things that compels us to dive beneath the surface of our lives so we can reconnect with who we are and what is sacred. But, at some point, an inner adventure beckons. And it happens to every single one of us.
Below you'll find 50 questions and I recommend using one a day. Each question is a tool for what psychology calls introspection, religion refers to as contemplation, philosophy terms self-reflection or self-inquiry, and ancient yogis called Dhyana (an ‘inner diving’).
You can use the questions however you like but most people find journaling the simplest and most helpful. Reflective journaling has been found to reduce feelings of depression, distress and anxiety, as well as facilitating professional and personal growth.
If you don’t already have a journaling practice, you will need to give yourself permission to take time out from the practical and materialistic society in which we live to explore the deeper, more emotional, spiritual and mystical parts of yourself. About twenty minutes a day is ideal but it can be as short as five minutes if that’s all you have. You can do it when you get up in the morning, in bed at night, or even when you’re on the loo!
Use each question as your journal prompt for the day, listen inwardly, and allow whatever your heart has to say to flow through you and out onto the page. You might find that you want to come back to the question and journal more about it the next day, or even weeks or months down the line as the voice of your true self gets louder, so leave space on the page for future reflection.
REST
- What is my relationship with rest?
- Where did I learn that I should always be making progress?
- Why am I trying to keep up with the pace of machines?
- Why the rush?
- Who taught me struggle had to be part of my life?
- Why do I keep myself busy all the time?
- How can I bring more stillness into my life?
- What am I trying to avoid by staying busy all the time?
- What am I trying to prove my being busy all the time?
- Where do I sacrifice my happiness for efficiency and productivity?
SELF-WORTH
- What does self-worth mean to me?
- What parts of myself have I hidden in order to fit in?
- What kind of person have I been taught I should be?
- How have I watered myself down?
- Why am I afraid to be my true self?
- What is something no one could ever take away from me?
- Who am I not?
- Who am I?
- What do I measure my worth by?
- Who can I be my true self with?
BODY
- What have I been taught to believe about how my body should look?
- How am neglecting or abusing my body?
- Do I treat my body as an enemy or as a friend?
- If I could write a love letter to my body, what would it say?
- If my body could write a letter to me, what would it say?
- Where do I hold pain in my body?
- How do I treat my body like a machine?
- How does my relationship with my body keep me trapped?
- How can I practise with peace with my body?
- What am I doing when I feel most connected to the power within my body?
HEALING
- What does healing mean to me?
- What am I afraid of feeling?
- How am I trying to numb my pain?
- How do I express my pain?
- Who knows all of my sadness?
- How can I use my pain as energy for transformation?
- Where did I learn that I should always hold myself together?
- What losses have I been carrying that still need grieving?
- How can I create space in my life to feel my emotions instead of suppressing them?
- What is one small action I can take today that will support my healing?
SURRENDER
- Where am I still at war with myself?
- What weapons of self-destruction do I use?
- What guilt and shame am I holding onto?
- What do I need to let go of in order to create space for the life I want?
- How do I feel about the unknown?
- What are my beliefs around letting go?
- Why do I feel the need to be in control all the time?
- What am I afraid will happen if I let go of control?
- Where am I holding back my love?
- Am I willing to trust life?