When you read a letter from someone, we are immediately transferred into their world, experience, and physical reality. You can capture the same feeling by writing letters to yourself or about other people in your journal. Letter writing is the easiest form to use in journaling. On occasion, you might have already dabbled in writing letters in your journal.
There are three major benefits to journaling with letters. First, the experience helps organize the event more clearly in our mind. Second, letter writing makes it easier to see cause and affect sequences of our actions. And third, because of its intimacy, it loosens up our writing style.
Whether you have or haven't experienced letter writing previously, here are a few ways you can expand the experience.
Step 1: Compile a list of people who you want to write a letter to. You can do this as a journal entry and mark the page with a post-it note.
Step 2: Select a letter style, purpose, before you begin writing. Since there are various types of letter writing styles, let me present four types that I have found most helpful and have received the most positive feedback in my workshops.
Style 1: Milestone letters. Writing about milestones is about picking an event that changed your life. Whether the milestone was minor one or one that turned you around 360 degrees does not matter. Even the smallest ones have truth to be released. The milestone will have either altered your way of thinking, change your relationship with yourself or others, or even shaken your physical or spiritual beingness.
By writing about a milestone, you weed through and determine what is important in your life. Additionally, the exercise helps you understand what formed the person you are today and explains what shifted that path.
Style 2: Release letters. Release letters allow you to vent and express your deepest emotions. This style frees buried energy, in turn, allowing you to think and feel through things, rather than keeping it corked. Please note that your experience may not always lead to a resolution, however, it does lead to change. You can't help but clean house of those leftovers.
Here are a few examples on how you can use release letters.
Example: Have you ever finished a conversation with someone that ruffled your feathers or left you still hearing their words like sounds of chalk going backwards across a blackboard? The conversation tumbles repeatedly in your mind for hours, even days. This is a perfect time to write a release letter. Set a timer for 10 minutes and let it rip across the page.
What you do with the release letter afterwards isn't important. If you feel comfortable leaving it in your journal, do so. If you prefer to use separate paper and burn it, do so. If you prefer to tear it out of your journal later, do so.
Example: You can use this same exercise to curb over spending. This process came to me years ago when I was an accountant giving advice on how to curb over spending.
Have you ever been in the position of feeling you just "gotta buy" something. Let's say you are watching television and you see something you "gotta have." Or maybe a friend recommends a book and you still have 10 others to read but the recommendation is haunting you. How about seeing something, someone else has that you just "gotta have." The urge, just doesn't want to relinquish its grip even with conscious "fighting it" thoughts. By writing a release letter, you can release this urge at least the majority of the time.
You can also use release letters to move you past the urge to eat something that isn't on your food plan.
After several release letters you can even see what need is expressing itself and triggering these reactions. Once you identify the trigger, the process need usually subsides. There is no guarantee that this will work all the time, however, you will probably find it provides the release the majority of the time.
Style 3: Wisdom letters. A wisdom letter is writing to your wisdom self. A wisdom letter works well after a release letter because it enables the process of moving on. The experience allows the wisdom transition into learning and usually into a more positive light.
Adding dialogue, either in part or as the whole letter, is an excellent way to enhance the experience. Initials will help you transition between wisdom self to other self.
Style 4: Thank you letters. Since my parents passed, I'm always coming across things I want to thank them for. Even the small things seemed important to share. Now, in hindsight and wisdom, I can see how even the small things rippled through my life. These letters are also a special way for keeping their memory alive.
We both know that an attitude of gratitude is a peaceful place to be and thank you letters is one avenue you can use to be on that path. Our gratitude feelings fuel our spiritual connections with the universe and with all living things. Peacefulness is also very attractive to others and what we want to manifest in life.
You can also use one of these letter styles to let go of the "wish I had said that instead" thoughts and feelings or to share unfulfilled wishes and dreams that no longer fit but can't seem to move on.
Letter writing is an excellent way to find closure or complete unfinished business in order to heal or learn. Whether you have or haven't already been using letter writing in your journal, dedicate a whole week or two to the exercise. You might think that when you finish one letter, there isn't another reason to write another. Be patient, another will probably appear because you have uncovered what was on top. When you get tired of the exercise, stop, and switch to another technique.
(C) Copyright 2005, Catherine Franz.
Catherine Franz is a life and business coach living in Northern Virginia. She has presented journaling workshops over 20 years. Catherine has authored two great books on tips and techniques of journaling. Copies available at: http://www.abundancecenter.com/store/main.htm
cheap limo service Lombard .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareWired Online has recently announced its plans to drop capitalization... Read More
You sink back into your favourite chair with a new... Read More
Every morning I excitedly get out of bed. Just a... Read More
Writing papers and book reports has long been the bane... Read More
In the current job market, many editorial freelancers have turned... Read More
Whether you are writing a magazine article, composing a press... Read More
1. Become an EavesdropperListen carefully to the way people REALLY... Read More
1. Before you write anything down define not what you... Read More
Weather posting a page to your Website, writing a letter... Read More
Word processors are so widely used now that I tend... Read More
Many of us have always wanted to write. We have... Read More
How to avoid mistakes that undermine your credibilityYou're probably already... Read More
As an aspiring or an established entrepreneur, you are an... Read More
Ah, writing. For those of us who love to play... Read More
WRITING THE PERSONAL STATEMENT TO GET INTO UK UNIVERSITYHOW DO... Read More
|| Graphology & Graphotherapy ||Everybody wants to know more about... Read More
As a student of Spanish, my goal was to think... Read More
Have you been guilty of procrastinating on your book project,... Read More
Do you have a problem creating a focus in your... Read More
I do on occasion run out of ideas for my... Read More
You know, I really hate it when someone catches me... Read More
It was reported that the great American author Sinclair Lewis... Read More
Day after day, writers tend to sit for hours writing... Read More
Are you ready to abandon your short stories? Before you... Read More
Rudolf Flesch, a specialist in writing skills, ran classes... Read More
limo O'Hare Glen Ellyn ..Summer's here and the time is write for dancing in... Read More
Our Freelance Writing Needs DefinedWe must make freelance niche types... Read More
There's nothing that kills a scene like hackneyed dialogue. Just... Read More
Persisting With Bulldog Determination [Book excerpt from Successercising} by Rick... Read More
11 Secrets from an Experienced InterviewerOne of the unwritten rules... Read More
Nothing is more daunting for any writer than having to... Read More
The purpose of this article is to consider Print-On-Demand publishing... Read More
How do you choose a name? Do you put down... Read More
It is satisfying to be a part of such a... Read More
Although he has his own website, John Grisham probably does... Read More
Want to write an article or book, but are stuck... Read More
Many of us have always wanted to write. We have... Read More
These are some of the snapshots I carry with me:... Read More
When most people consider writing a book, they don't think... Read More
Or do you?Writers write. You shouldn't wait around for inspiration... Read More
Just about everyone is familiar with this beginning: "In the... Read More
In the words of Aristotle, "happiness is self contentedness helping... Read More
Op-ed articles, also known as opinion/editorial articles, are a great... Read More
SO YOU WANT TO BE A WRITER?Many people have entertained... Read More
Sure you can write, but can you write crisp, compelling... Read More
What is a freelance grant writer? These individuals have a... Read More
When you sit down to write a steamy romance, a... Read More
Sit back, and imagine what it feels like to be... Read More
There is an image most people carry of the artist... Read More
Winning writing contests can provide several advantages to writers. For... Read More
Writing |