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Why Journal as a Spiritual Practice?

Why would anyone keep a journal?

I use mine to whine, to rail, to complain… to call in change.
I use mine to chronicle, sort through, dig deep… to call in change.
I use mine to talk directly with Source, or to balance my inner selves… and call in change.
I use mine to workshop my relationships, grow my business, grow myself… and call in change.

Journaling is a text of the self. And the way I do it, it’s a text of the higher self. It’s about letting my lower self, my monkey mind, my cortisol laden brain clear out so my higher self and my purpose can get through.

Plain paper, an inspiring writing implement, the page, and you. What a beautiful way to start each day.

Start each day with Journaling as a Spiritual Practice

Here is what I know is true:

I cannot lie on the page
I cannot commit to straight lines or neatness
I cannot always use words
I sometimes skip journaling as an avoidance tactic (see #1)
I sometimes journal when I have nothing to say just to clear the way
My journal is my refuge and solace

It’s the place where I write letters to my Mama, who isn’t here any longer. I write to my guardian angels and my divine feminine leaders. I write to my child and to my inner child. Blessings, prayers, poems, blurts, plans, welcome all.

I also write things I don’t intend others to see. My mother kept a journal where she “dumped” big blobs of worry. In everyday life, she was an optimistic person. I believe in my heart that she was able to see the bright side of things because she got them out of her psyche and onto the page.

I journal to cope. For decades, I’ve struggled with stress and seasonal blues. Journaling is my pathway through the dark months and back to light.

Due to the recent political climate, I have returned to my journal as a way to find a stillpoint in the chaos, a touchstone, a way to hear myself think and feel without the cacophany of monkey minds we encounter online and in life these days.

Taking this right action led to almost instantaneous infusions of energy and clarity. As my favorite poem by Max Ehrmann says, “Go out amidst the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.”

This kind of silence isn’t the one of “keeping quiet.” It’s the place where we find our voices and meet our truth. It’s a place that’s above or beyond the commonplace in resonance. It’s the sacred space where journaling takes place.

My favorite way to journal is to prepare the space. I clear the table, lay out my tools as though I’m creating a formal place setting for a special dinner with a lover. I light a favorite candle: orange or nutmeg with coffee beans or spice. Ground and center. I open my eyes and begin to write. Stream of consciousness, the words spill over the page in blobs and blurts. I write without lines and without limits. Whatever comes, comes.

maple-leaf-638022_1920

I write in different ways at different times of day. At night, I may write about why I cannot sleep, why the owl hoots at the dog who barks back, or I may make a list of gratitudes. Gratitude journaling at night is a beautiful way to close a day.

So you’ll find different types of journals scattered all over my house dedicated to different types of journaling. For most meanderings, I recommend an 8 1/2 by 11 sketchbook journal with no lines. Should you need boundaries, you’ll be the person defining those. If you choose an artist’s pad with spiral binding, decorate the front cover with fabric or special paper and trim to make the journal special to you.

My “Journaling as a Spiritual Practice” class – whether offered online or in person – always receives a heart-felt response. This year, I’m going to create an introductory class for women to show them how to work with a range of journaling techniques to elevate their habit to a spiritual practice. We’ll discover tactics and tools gleaned from more than two decades of writing my way back to center.  If you love to journal, love to write, stay tuned.

So be it.

Sherri L. McLendon, MA, is founder of Professional Moneta, http://www.professionalmoneta.com.

(C) 2017, 2023 BY SHERRI L. MCLENDON, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRINT WITH PERMISSION.
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The Only Thing that Matters

Meaningful content comes from the heart.

“What is in your heart is the only thing that really matters.”

Almost 20 years ago, on a drowsy afternoon of content deadlines, I dreamed about Mary, the mother. This advice woke from my nap. The content of her message is what I remember.

Content, heart, Magdalene
Image by Karen Nadine from Pixabay.

Whether in business or life, I am blessed as well as cursed with the gift of self-reflection. I analyze feelings, emotions, choices. I tend to analyze each decision, chewing it to tiny bits before moving forward. This makes me an ace of a problem-solver, for my powers of perseverence in this regard are almost unparalleled. But, such a gift is also a hindrance, for the process takes place in my head, not in my heart.

And what is in your heart is the only thing that really matters.

In the past, I have written about the “Feminine Creative Potential and the Magdalene Heart.” I’ve worked deeply with the notion of cycles of reciprocity and why we give value freely in order to receive money and clients. On the Professional Moneta blog, I’ll continue to explore questions like these. For me, there’s personal growth in the inherently personal, more mindful qualities that come with the pursuit of meaningful work as part of a spiritual practice. But you’ll also notice I’m publishing elsewhere: on Facebook, Linked In, and in other forums that more explicitly focused on how to use content to get more clients – and keep the ones you’ve got.

As a culture, we are currently defined by what we lack. My heart tells me there’s a better way. There’s nothing noble or beautiful about lack. Lack makes brilliant people play small, become fearful of loss rather than gain. A focus on lack undoubtedly creates more of the same. It’s a simple rule, but true.

Also simple but true: content creates sustainability in business.

In the past year, the United States has experienced a mass migration to a digital work force, an accelleration that roughly equals a decade of previous years. The world has changed, and we have to change with it. We have to change FOR it.

Content at the right time, in the right place, in front of the right person, is uniquely positioned to change the world.

In the days ahead, you’ll see new developments at Professional Moneta across our business and platforms. The ideas for “what next” are finding their way off the storyboard and into action lists. As in the beginning, you’ll see me testing new content practices and improved delivery platforms on my own business and sharing the results. You’ll see an unwavering focus on how to use content to generate and nurture leads that result in sales. And you’ll see a new focus on better serving specialty niches within the health and wellness field.

What won’t change is our commitment to positive change agency that helps our clients better serve others. We’re keeping our eco-friendly, woman-led, human-first approach to marketing and content. You’ll see us further refining the inbound hybrid business model fully integrates quality content and digital solutions and tools.

The best content created comes from the heart and it matters to the reader. It’s relevant, engaging, and valuable. It creates relationships.

Know that you are in our hearts, and that as always, you matter.

Abundantly,

Sherri

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Elevate Journaling to a Transformative Art

Are you looking for the next right step to deepen your personal practice? What if you already have everything you need (but can’t quite get it out!)? For the first time in 6 years, I’m bringing together a group of visionaries and showing them how to activate their inner wisdom. How? As revealed through a deeply transformative journaling practice.

Learn how to anchor in the essential components of a transformative journaling practice that – at any given moment – will shift your perspective, raise your personal vibration, and deepen your access to the inner wisdom that you already carry.

Imagine… that you are enough. That you know enough.

When you journal as a creation practice, you have the ability to

  • Access the wisdom within you and create in alignment with your values and vision
  • See hidden opportunities and receive the Blessings that are meant for you
  • Activate your intentions, take focused action, and manifest your desires
  • Release fears, doubts, old patterns, and any distractions from your true purpose
  • Craft original, magical writings that focus and inspire your spiritual workings
  • Step forward with grace, ease, clarity and self-assurance in business and life 

This small group is for those who are actively looking for the next right step to deepen or transform your personal practice as a magical crafter, creative writer or conscious seeker. 

I know from experience, it can be hard to find your way through the chaos… 

(Those of us who are presence-based feminine spiritual leaders are often serving wave after wave of collective grief, climate or health crisis, political nightmares, and money stressors… )

You need a consistent, proven way to quiet the noise and part the mist. 

I’m going to teach you how to anchor in the essential components of a transformative journaling practice that – at any given moment – will shift your perspective, raise your personal vibration, and deepen your access to the inner wisdom that you already carry.

You’ll show up fully present on the page. Awakened to your potential and your creation ability. 

At will.

Once your practice is activated, you will have reliable, direct access to the resource-full insights you need to awaken new opportunities and succeed beyond your wildest dreams.

Would you like to join us?

EMAIL ME, and I’ll send over all the details. 

Abundantly,

Sherri

P.S. The training takes place on Thursday, Sept. 14, at the new moon. 

You’ll get a download recording, too, yours to keep forever. 

If the divine timing works on your calendar, EMAIL ME AND I WILL SHARE MORE.