I don’t have enough fingers and toes to recount the times throughout adolescence my mom prodded me: “Why don’t you try journaling? Someday you’ll want to remember everything you did when you were younger.”

I’d retort, “Why would I do that? Shouldn’t I spend more time living my experiences and less time writing them down?”

Sometimes, to appease momma, I’d get a fresh book and write for a few days before tiring of it.

“It’s just not for me.”

And it wasn’t. Until I realized I was going about it all wrong.

Journaling, see, is not a tired tool to chronicle your daily goings-on (though, if this serves a purpose for you, go for it!).

Journaling bestows upon you the power to amplify and accelerate your expansive journey inward, in at least three distinct yet mutually supportive ways, the first of which we will explore together today.

One of the chief patterns within Western society is an abject fear of failing to mesh within a community, of being cast out and feeling not just alone but unseen and deeply lonely.

To be accepted, we must disavow the “lower” bits of our emotional spectrum.

Anxiety? Not allowed to talk about it. Anger? Mention it, and you’re labeled aggressive.

In our society, largely speaking, we are required to promptly rebound from trying experiences with a silver-lining comment and a smile.

The result?

Chronically trapped emotion. Patterns of trigger-and-response we can’t seem to escape. A life diminished by our need to control stimuli so that we avoid this potential suffering.

And then?

Physical ailments burst onto the scene, reflecting the energetic imbalances that arise from stuffing this emotion rather than allowing it to move through you.

Digestive dysregulation. Liver congestion. Adrenal burnout and a cascaded strain on neurotransmitter function and thyroid health, all serving to reinforce the habituated stress response that has become more difficult to conceal.

Ooooof.

Of course, we can decide to live outside of these “societal norms” and openly express ourselves. Often, this feels so much easier said than done, and we decide it’s easier just to fit the mold.

What if, instead, you could create a private space to allow yourself to be seen (even if “only” by you), to offer a path for emotional processing and release, and to begin to come back to harmony?

You have this power.

Grab some paper (loose or in a book) and a writing instrument (blue ink works best), take three deep breaths, embody your intention of allowing, and write whatever wants to come out.

Judgment - and force - free. Simply write. Simply flow. Write until you feel you’re finished.

Don’t worry: It gets easier to begin as you earnestly release the habit of self-judgment.

I invite you to pour yourself into your journal daily for three weeks, then take some time to zoom out and take inventory of the astounding changes that have made manifest in your life.