There is a journal writing technique called the List of One Hundred which has several interesting and useful applications.  I am currently listening to a book on CD written by David Cameron Gikandi which is entitled A Happy Pocket Full of Money.  In it he recommends the use of this exercise and suggests it be done in this way. I have added a few additional suggestions of my own. You might try it and see what develops.

In your journal writing time (which hopefully is by now becoming a routine in your life), take a few deep breaths to quiet and relax yourself.  Consider the longer view of your life beyond the present.  Ask yourself what would be a fantastic life? 

1. List what you would like to have, do and be for the next 20 or 30 years.  Allow yourself to dream while you do this.  Avoid the traps of limiting beliefs when you can recognize them.
2. Write the reasons why you would like to have, be or do that.   Tune into what it would feel like to have the experience of what you are writing.  How would you and others benefit?  Feel the emotions of that experience.
3. Get pictures from brochures, magazines, snapshots, the Internet and put them in your journal.  Refer back to these pictures often, preferably two times a day.
4. Read your list every day!  Visualize and meditate for 20 minutes twice a day allowing the images to animate your dreams.
5. Then, here and now, do some small step that will take you closer to one of your goals.  Remember that what we give our attention to becomes bigger.  And the best way to focus attention on something is to take consistent action.
6. Think, speak and act in gratitude.  I have many times made reference to writing a gratitude list every day, and this is a great way to begin.  Also telling your friend or family member about your gratitude will reinforce it.  And especially expressing your thanks to anyone who helps or encourages you, even if it is unintentional on their part, will reinforce it even more.  Notice that in our complaining we are too free to share our doubts and fears to others (talk about viral infections!).  Make a conscious practice of doing the opposite, and you and the entire planet will benefit.
7. Enjoy the fruits of expressing your intentions and gratitude.  Enjoy
   experiencing the results as they occur.  Pay attention to what Carl
   Jung called synchronicities…those seemingly random and incidental
   occurrences that come into play when we commit to our dreams.

Gikandi recommends that you re-read your journal once a month, and that you re-read all your journals once a year.  This will help you see the gains that you are making in your life and show you the things that you might have missed.

In another post, I will tell you another interesting and helpful way to make use of another List of One Hundred.

                                    Ambivalence

                    A  thought that wanders

                    M  meandering through

                    B  both dark and light

                    I  in my veil of reckoning

                    V  varies with the wind

                    A  and often seems both

                    L  lost and found at once

                    E  Even when at times I'm certain

                    N  Never does it seem to stay

                    C  Certainty swims away

                    E  Eventually

Remember that you can take poetic license with the words, and especially in using difficult letters. Try this technique in your journal for some more exploration, discovery and fun.

Recently I was helping a client look at some tools that she could use for supporting the psychological changes she was hoping to make to improve her life.  Most of us at some point in our lives need to change something that isn't working well.

Life coaching and psychotherapy have some things in common, and one of those things is to begin with figuring out where you are and then where you want to be.

Personally and professionally, one of the most used and reliable tools for psychological change is the journal.  You do not have to be a "good writer" to benefit from journal writing.  I have written journals for most of my entire life, and this is one of the recommendations that I usually make to those who seek to change their minds and their lives.

Journal writing is powerful for a number of reasons. 

• A journal provides a way to read our own minds.  It is a great way to "sort out" your thought process when you are stressed or your thoughts are conflicted and jumbled.

• A journal provides a sort of window through which you can look to gain a little distance from your emotions and to get some perspective.

• When we allow ourselves to write freely, we can be surprised to see that our true beliefs, needs and feelings emerge and provide us with clarity.

• A journal can be a staging area for psychological and life change.  We can clarify what is most important to us.  We can use it to brainstorm solutions.  We can use it to rehearse for upcoming events.

• A journal can help us tolerate the paradoxes of our lives.  As humans we are full of contradictions and so is life in general.  We may like to reduce it to terms of black and white, but that rarely captures the essence of our experiences.  We need to learn to accept that our lives are ambiguous and paradoxical.  When we do, we can experience the beauty in us and around us.

• A journal provides us with a road map for life, as we write it.  I often tell clients that the tools that Lewis and Clark took on their great expedition to explore the West, were their journals.  When we embark on a course of life change, we like Lewis and Clark, are exploring unknown territory.  A journal will serve as a means of exploration and a record of the ground that you covered.

• By using your journal, you will learn what works best for you.  By experimenting and observing yourself, you will figure out more easily where you went off course, how to soothe yourself, as well as skills for managing difficult situations.  It can be a great first step for planning and goal setting.

• Your journal can be a "dream receptacle" in that you can record your night dreams as soon as you awaken.  Doing so will encourage you to pay better attention to the offerings of your unconscious mind.  By asking yourself what the dream means, you may find some surprising and helpful clues to what truly matters to you and your life.

We will continue exploring the theme of "Tools for Life Change" in the next number of posts, and in particular some guidance for making good use of your journal to change your life.  Please post any suggestions for journal writing as well as personal experiences that you have had. We'd love to hear from you!