Keeping a Spiritual Journal

In the same way that keeping a Dream Journal can aid us in using our dreams to solve problems in our waking life, keeping a spiritual journal can aid us both in learning to understand and work more closely with our dreams, as well as allowing us to more clearly see the defining issues in our lives. By keeping a spiritual journal, we get to know ourselves better, our strong points as well as our weak points; we can see the touchstones that turn loose our shadow sides, and what enables us to turn from selfishness and towards the universal good.

The following elements are suggestions for keeping a Spiritual Journal.

• A brief summary of the day's important events. Include people you came in contact with, things you did, books you read, classes you attended, movies you saw, etc.
  
  
• Your thoughts and feelings from the day.
  
  
• Your on-going concerns.
  
  
• The main challenge or lesson you are currently working on.
  
  
• How you have handled them to date.
  
  
• Any insights, decisions or plans you have made.
  
  
• What you accomplished today that made you feel good. List all your successes.
  
  
• Five things that happened during the day for which you are grateful, no matter how small they may seem to you.

CLARIFY YOUR GOALS

Use your Spiritual Journal to help you achieve your goals. You may want to include these goals in the back of your journal, annotated as immediate, short-term, and long-term goals. Review your progress from time to time, in light of the following points:

• What are your thoughts, feelings and actions in light of your goals.
  
  
• What can you do differently to come closer to achieving your goals?
  
  
• What changes do you want to make in your life, your actions or thoughts and feelings.