No matter what the state of journal--they all hold a fairly similar purpose: a place to process, record, question, listen, and heal. I have seen similar changes in others who journal year after year and honestly, I think it is one of the most valuable tools we can use to heal ourselves. You will learn something new every time. All it takes is patience and a promise to honor what your mind, body and spirit speak.
In part one of this series, I touch on one of my personal experiences with a food based journal in order to witness how what I ate made me feel. I touch on this in particular because I think that foods have so many more side effects than most of us could try to imagine. The same food that is a fuel for your friend, may be a foe to your body. Some negative symptoms that foods can conjure are: moodiness, poor digestion, depression, ruddy looking skin, dark circles under the eyes, body odor, anger, irritability, muscle tension, stress, lack of coordination, fogginess of mind, chronic feelings of lethargy, insomnia, skin disorders, shortness of breath; the list goes on and on!
I hope to help introduce--or re-introduce-- you to the use of a journal as way to better cultivate body-awareness for sure situations as these. Hopefully, some of these stories and experiences may help those of you who could benefit from removing certain foods from your daily consumption.
It's great way to connect to the elements around you and your internal wisdom. If you would like more detailed guidance on recording a food journal, stay posted; I plan to type up more on how to start a food journal (the compassionate way) in the future.
This is part 1 of a 3 part series on how to use a journal as a tool to listen to your body. Part 2 shares an exercise to create a "Journal to Cultivate Awareness" and ideas on how to find the perfect journal format for you.
Part 1. Listening to The Voice of Your Own Body and Food Journaling
Part 2. Choosing Your Medium...Cultivating A Journal As Unique As You Are
Part 3. Deepening Body Awareness: "Sensing the Seasons" Journal Exercise
Listening To The Voice Of Your Own Body...
...Through Journaling
The most important thing we can do to truly heal our body, mind and spirit, is take the time to listen. Our bodies are incredibly intelligent; they talk to us all the time and have a lot of wisdom. They offer us a plethora of signals that, if we listen, share many of the secrets we may ever need to know about health.
"Healthy" isn't about the latest health fad, not about what works for your friends, and most definitely not about ignoring what your body tells you when someone else feels differently. The saying "You know your body better than anyone else" is not a farce. It is a great truth. It requires time, patience, self reflection, and reflection of your many different environments.
Honoring Your Diversity and Knowing It is Beautiful.
Honoring your diversity is the root of living holistically. There are so many different kinds of people and body types out there, how could there possibly be one right way?!Best Tip Ever:
If you want to be a healthy human being, take the time to observe the many facets of your true self and how you react or respond to the different environments as a whole.