Do you journal the way you wish you did?

I didn’t.

My excuses were that I’d had a traumatic experience with a diary as a kid, and like so many other people, I didn’t think I’d have time.

I have journaled in the past, a little. While studying spiritual direction, we were advised to journal as a spiritual practice, and so I did, although it happened as little as possible without me feeling too guilty about it, and my journaling trailed off within about six months of graduating from the program.

Then, this fall, I took a journaling class with my friend Deborah Ross, and things started to change. I’ve known for several years that Deborah is a certified journal therapist who has taught journaling techniques and has even written a book on ways to journal, but it never occurred to me to become one of her students.

Once I joined the class, it took just a few weeks for my world to open up.  I had previously thought that journaling was basically writing about what happened in my life and how I felt about it, or writing in response to a prompt like one would in an English composition class. Now, I know that there are specific journaling techniques that make the process easier, deeper, and even a bit transformative.

The class inspired me so much that I persuaded Deborah to teach a group that I would help gather together. She has linked her curriculum for this class to her book, Your Brain on Ink and to neuroscience, which of course brings it back to brain training and self-improvement—two things key to my work and my passions.

I would love for you to join me—yes, I’ll be a student along with you—as Deborah Ross guides us to learn more about how journaling can change our brains and improve our lives.

The class is online, and although I have been “Zoomed out” for a long time—utterly fed up with online social life, work, etc.—I looked forward to being online with Deborah and my classmates during the class I took earlier this fall.

I think you’ll enjoy it too.

Besides the fact that Deborah keeps it interesting, there are other bonuses to the online format. You can participate from anywhere in the country (or world, though my friends in Europe will likely find the time of day unsuitable). The course is also less expensive because we’re not having to pay for an office or classroom venue. And, you get to be comfy rather than sit at a desk or conference table.

The one down side is that this class is live, and there will be no recordings for replay. This is because although no one will be asked to share anything private about their writing exercises, some do choose to share.

Want to know more? Ready to register? All the specific details of the course can be found here. Or, you can also email me for more details at Tamera at BrainShapeLLC.com.

Can’t participate but are interested in Deborah’s book? You can find it here.