Yesterday the partial solar eclipse brought together hundreds of Boulder folk as they gathered to observe the event.  Looking at the images and stories of happy observeres soaking up the late fall sunshine, it’s clear to see what a fascination we have with the skies.  And it’s no accident – us  humans have been observing the skies for a very, very long time, it’s in our nature.

Did you know though, that eclipses have long been understood to be a time of deeper connection to our spiritual nature?  The days around solar eclipses and new moons are a perfect time to work with new intentions and commitments to ourselves. Whatever spiritual practice we have has an extra-powerful potential in these times.

Journaling is a simple and useful way to focus and harness our own capacity for making change in our lives.

If we are the heros and heroines of our own stories,

why not make them stories we love?

A journal is a place where we write our story.  We talk to ourselves in our journals. We take time to pay attention to our needs and desires, to discover what is going on for us.  We can gain some clarity.

I let go of all of my journals a couple of moves ago.  It was not something I could ever have imagined doing before the very moment I did it. I had been moving my many journals around with me for years.  I had some sense that they were precious to keep, these words and emotions and ideas that I have been recording for so long. Precious so that I could look back on them, so that I could glean all the amazing ‘a-ha’ moments, and so that when I die, just like in the movies, my family will weep and smile as they read my memoirs.

Yet, I had this tendency to journal most prolifically when I felt bad, when things weren’t going the way I thought I’d like, when I had things I wanted to ‘get off my chest’.  Writing things down helped me to soothe the torrents of emotion, in the same way that making a to-do list stops all the to-dos flying around chaotically in my mind and body. What I noticed though, was that I was just writing a lot of the same stuff every day, over and over.  And it happened to be stuff about life not being how I wanted it to be.    And I realized that I was concretizing all these stories by writing them down each day.  There’s no need to ignore or deny what comes up that doesn’t feel good, yet there is also no need to dwell on it, to carve the story more deeply.

Before I let go of my journals, I allowed myself to go through them all and tear out any pages that were inspiring or poignant, poetic or spiritual.  Really, I ended up with very few pages that I wanted to keep.  The rest of my journals were full of stories and worries about times in my life that had passed.  It was the greatest relief ever to let them go.

Something changed in my journaling.  These days I write in my journal when I want  to explore, when I want to be expressive and creative, when I am inspired.  And I have started to journal about the life I want to live, and the gratitude I have for what I have in my life.  I journal stories that are full of possibility, excitement and moving on.

It is very powerful practice to journal with positivity and gratitude. When I write this way, I am writing affirmations for myself each time I write.  The more I tell myself these positive messages, the more I see their truth emerge in my life – the power of positive thought and intention.

It’s a simple practice, fun and illuminating too!

Dedicate a notebook or journal…

Use it to express your gratitude for what you have created in your life already.

Use it to dream, imagine and create a new story that feels even better.

Use it to write about the things you love about yourself, the things you admire in yourself.

Use it to encourage and support yourself on your journey.

Wishing you a very happy week, and joyful journaling!

(This post adapted from Katie’s original blog at lovehealings.net)

Katie Wells