Struggling with a cluttered mind? Here’s a tool to help.

I was surprised when I discovered the tool I am about to share with you.

Surprised by its simplicity, and yet its significant and transformative part it has played in my own self-healing journey, my clients and others I know.

And the even better thing? It doesn’t cost a thing, anyone can do it, and no prior experience is needed.

It is the simple, yet incredibly effective tool of writing. But this is not writing like you may know it.

 This is pen to paper, unvetted, complete stream of consciousness, brain dumps.

The only requirement is you write 3 pages of long-hand writing and do it everyday. The page is simply there to catch whatever is running through your mind and body in the moment.

From a psychological perspective, journalling in this way is very healthy. A journal becomes a safe container to express and hold within its pages emotions, feelings, thoughts, beliefs and stories which are running in our minds or trapped in our bodies.

Writing our thoughts as they come, grounds them from the space in your head, into reality. In letting our thoughts rest on the page, we take the fuel of our minds and allow it to breathe on the page.

This process of writing is very grounding to our entire mind-body system.

In showing up at the page, we create space. Space to let the air reach some of our worries and wounds. Space to be with ourselves and whatever we’re experiencing for those 3 pages. And to allow space to be created between our stories and who we truly really are (hint – we’re not actually the horrible things we say to ourselves).

How does journaling foster mind clarity over clutter?

Once the grievances, the worries, the moans, the emotional pains and frustrations, “I woke up feeling tired and with a headache” and “I couldn’t sleep last night” are taken out of the head, it creates space for something other than our ego minds to occupy it.

An unblocking occurs, and with it the presence of an inner wise self has space to start to rise between the words.

In time, if you journal everyday, you’ll notice patterns of moans which you want to stop repeating. And you have space to allow possible solutions to bubble up next to them.

Before you know it in amongst the grumbles; insights, dreams, visions, gratitude, affirmations and creative action start to trickle in.

“Words are a form of action, capable of influencing change” Ingris Bengis.

 You leave your journal feeling like you’ve just been listened to, without judgement. You’ll find answers to questions you’ve been pondering. Solutions start to appear in the face of previous problems. In other words, your inner guidance gets a sacred look in.

And yes, you will experience resistance to writing these pages everyday. Yes, you will whine and moan through your pages. I often start by two lines of “I don’t want to write today”….

But persevere. And you’ll be rewarded by the presence of another voice. A voice that is wiser, clearer and kinder than the one that often dominates our busy, cluttered minds.

 Journalling in this way becomes a self-responsible way to contain, self-soothe, and process the often bumpy rides we have through life.

So next time you wake up and feel a dull ache in your stomach or feel annoyed at your partner, don’t bypass the feelings or the thoughts. Get them out of your head, and onto the page.

You may just find that the mind clutter gives way to clarity, and it carries you into your day knowing you’ve done something positive for your mental, emotional and spiritual health.

Give it a go, you’ll be surprised at how revealing, helpful and transformative this simple practice is.

 

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