Dialogic Journaling

Accessing a galaxy of new perspectives

From the soon-to-be-released “Perspectives: The Alchemy of Journaling” (2022 Nuance Works) — visit NuancePublications.com.

There are as many reasons people journal as there are people practicing it. Journaling increases focus, energy, and performance; it shifts anxiety, depression, and burnout into well-being; and it accelerates healing and learning. It builds empathy that enriches the spectrum of our relationships.

If meditation, yoga, or therapy are not for you, journaling can be. It doesn’t require concentration, physical skill, or a therapist. If you are into any of these, journaling will deepen the experience.

Journaling creates fresh perspectives when we’re stuck, challenged, or overwhelmed. It is also useful when we just want to create more caring space and time for ourselves. It is self-kindness.

Fresh perspectives are connecting existing dots to see new patterns and possibilities. Creating them is linguistic; words reveal new views. Our perspectives are significant because they shape everything we think, feel, and do.

Dialogic journaling is inner dialogue. It is being in dialogue with ourselves. The recipe is simple. We ask ourselves a question as simple as How’s it going? and write whatever comes up. From…