Week 3
CHECKING IN: JOURNALING EXERCISES OR PROMPTS
So, how is everything going with your journaling as you mine for the precious jewels of your life--your memories?
Have you started to see how special your memories are--and how they have brought you to where you are today and made you who you are today? Also, have you seen how they shape where you are headed as well?
How is your journaling coming along?
How many new memories have you added already to your Future Journaling List--on top of the 125 original memories we've done in this class?
By the way, if you want to chat about any of this in the Google+ community, even better.
HOMEWORK FOR WEEK 3
Write about 7 memories this week at least.
WHAT SHOULD YOU DO WITH WRITING EACH MEMORY?
I have been quite vague up to here and haven't given you much instruction on how to write down your memories. There has been a reason. I've wanted you to try things your way and experiment to see what works and what doesn't work.
Well, here is some new information for you to apply to your journaling of your memories:
SOC Journaling (See Stream of Consciousness):
Journaling Exercise or Prompt
INTRO
If you were to ask me what type of journaling I do most, I would say I do the SOC the most. It's Stream of Conscious Journaling. I think 90 % or more of my journaling is this.
SOC Journaling is writing whatever comes to mind, without censoring or correcting it. It's putting whatever I think onto the page. Sometimes, I use a journaling prompt and/or journaling exercise, but how I respond, is through the SOC.
I try to do a DOC for at least 10 minutes at a time.
I do a separate SOC for every memorable thing I list in my journal each day. Sometimes I do this at the end of the day, sometimes at the end of the week and/or month, whenever I want to journal more about something, and sometimes when I get stuck and don't know what else to journal about. I do a SOC at the end of every JRT (Journaling Review Template) as well.
HOW TO DO A SOC JOURNALING EXERCISE OR PROMPT:
1. Write as fast as you can, however long you can, and don't stop until either the timer goes off, you get interrupted, or you have nothing more to say.
2. When finished, underline or star 3 of the most important points you wrote.
3. Write those 3 points you marked in #2 at the very end of your SOC. This is your reference point of stuff you want to write more about later.
4. Take one of the points listed in 2 and 3 and write more about it at this time--through doing a 5-10 minute SOC (or longer) at this time.
Stream of Consciousness Journaling
DEFINING THE SOC (STREAM OF CONSCIOUS WRITING)
A Stream of Consciousness (SOC) is a journal entry in which you write anything that comes to your mind, no matter how silly, outlandish, irrelevant, foolish, or futile, it may seem. There’s a reason for this; we’ll hit that in a bit. But write it all down even if it doesn’t seem relevant or appear at that moment to make sense.
Just make sure to write fast, don’t stop or even hesitate. Capture on the page anything that comes to mind, whether it’s just single-word thoughts, notions, or complete sentences.
The reason you do this is because you may not know what to write just yet, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t an infant thought there just waiting to be more fully developed in time.
Initially, your first thoughts may seem vague or unimportant. Not so! These are the ‘bare-bones’ thoughts which lead to a more contemplative expression at some point in the future. These thoughts are all gems which must be shaped and cut…fashioned by past events which you revisit—things you have not thought about (but probably should have) for years. The combination of things seemingly blurted on the page, along with the contemplations these entries generate, will expose them in their full brilliance at a later point. But that cannot happen unless you first capture them on the page. This brings us full circle.
For example: in the event you don’t have a fully developed thought, write in your journal, “I don’t know what to write, so I think…” Often by doing just that, you’ll get ideas of deeper things to write about. There will be days when that’s all you write for this exercise, but that’s okay. There will be other days when you do the SOC for an hour straight because you have so much to say. Capture it!
Make sure you don’t edit anything. Don’t worry about scribbles on the page or typing errors as you do the SOC. Just let them go until you’re finished with the SOC. Then, you can go back and fix stuff. Just as importantly, don’t delete anything. Ever. If you ever feel the need to make a neater presentation, that’s great. Just do not discard your rough draft(s).
It is crucial to remember humble beginnings. It is essential to remember origins. Your original thoughts on the page or in blank e-documents, scribbles, errors, and all, are worth keeping for just these reasons. To discard them is to discard your thoughts. Please don’t do that! Your thoughts are emblematic of your life—don’t throw them away!
Keep all of your original work not only to be reminded of things of the past, but also to give yourself the opportunity to track your own progress through a particular series of thoughts or time in your life.
It’s important to remember that a SOC is meant to extend the life of undeveloped thoughts and ideas. Editing is not the goal here—that comes at some point later. It can happen immediately, but sometimes editing your work is what happens days, months, or even years later.
This practice of keeping all your work will help you see your progression later to help you learn and comprehend how you grow. It’s also a great tool for review and personal analysis later. So, hang on to your drafts! It can be a wonderful thing to understand and therefore appreciate where you are by realizing where you’ve been. It can even help you to navigate to where you’re going.
THE “HOW TO” OF THE SOC
~ For 5 to 15 minutes (but of course you can go longer than that, if you wish) first thing in the morning, do an SOC entry. We’ll call this one your “Daily A.M. SOC.”
~ When you’re finished copy and paste what you want to write more about later into a new document/journal and title it what I’ll refer to as the “Future SOC List.”
~ Then, do a SOC any time during your day you get upset, need to vent, or need to work through a problem. Also, whenever you’re really inspired by something or are very pleased with something. Don’t forget to copy and paste what you want to write more about later and put it on your Future SOC List.
~ Finally, do the same thing at the end of your journaling day. We’ll call this one your “Daily P.M. SOC.”
As we discussed earlier, the SOC is a wonderful idea generator. I find it’s the single-most important tool in my journaling toolbox. I can write entire books from one sentence of my SOC. The key is even though it might not inspire you at the time, it’s important to review your SOCs because years later they can inspire you to write about something new and different.
STRONGEST MEMORIES LISTS
PLEASE NOTE: If at any time you feel too upset to carry on with this journaling exercise, try to add more of a description of your positive memories. If that does not help you feel better, take an hour break. Then, try again. If you still are upset, take the rest of the day off of remembering stuff from the past. You might want to list recent memories instead for a while. List as many as you can. If none of this helps, you might consider talking to someone and see if that helps. Or, vent it out in your journal. My point is, if it is too difficult, do not push yourself too hard. Some discomfort is healthy, but not to the point of depression or fury.
~*~ What in your life do you not want to think about? List it.
~*~ What in your life do you not want to talk about? List it.
~*~ What in your life makes you feel uncomfortable--past, present, and past? List it.
~*~ What in your life do you want to avoid? List it.
~*~ Make a list of the top 10 strongest and most powerful memories in your life for the positive.
~*~ Make a list of the top 10 strongest and most powerful memories in your life for the negative.
~*~ Now go back and write a sentence or two summary of each of the 20 memories you just listed.
~*~ Wait a couple of hours and do your next ten strongest of each. Repeat all of the steps above with other memories you have not listed yet.
~*~ If you feel like it, repeat this until you have every strong memory you can think of written down.
Summarize Your Life Journaling
If you were to summarize your life in 1-sentence, what would it be?
If you were to summarize your life in 2-sentences, what would they be?
If you were to summarize your life in 1-paragraph, what would it be?
If you were to summarize your life in 2-paragraphs, what would they be?
If you were to summarize your life in 1-page, what would it be?
If you were to summarize your life in 2-pages, what would they be?
Memory Snapshot Journaling
This is by far the most beneficial exercise you can for your memories.
* Part 1
1 List in your journal at least 5 memories of the past year you have or haven't mentioned previously. Give each of the 5 memories a memory title, date (or at least approximate season or month as well as year), how old you were, a paragraph description, and how it's shaped your life.
2 Choose 3 of the memories and write a page about each. List the 6 senses of: discernment/intuition, smell, sound, taste, touch, and sight. Also, answer who, what, where, when, why, how, and what-if questions to that memory. (You may also choose to do a SOC about them as well.)
3 Choose 2 of the memories which stand out to you the most and take 3-7 snapshots/photos of the memory with your imaginary camera. If the memory is crystal clear and you remember lots of detail, make it 7 snapshots. If it's foggy, make it 3. If it's in-between, you decide how many snapshots. Then, describe each in your journal. This will add about a paragraph per snapshot per memory.
4 Take 1 snapshot from each memory and write it from the perspective of a stranger who's looking into the moment. Remember, the stranger doesn't know any of the people or events in the snapshot until the stranger sees this snapshot for the first time. Be descriptive.
* Memory Snapshot Journaling: Part 2
OVERVIEW AND PLAN
Our memories have shaped or lives and who we are. Therefore, it is important for us to remember the good memories and the bad ones--not just the good and not just the bad. We even started to list some memories. Today, we are going to list even more memories and then we are going to start to actually doing the Memory Snapshot Journaling. After all, it has just been a list of possible memories so far.
Shall we dive right in and start to explore this?
WEEKLY LISTS
If at all possible, every week, do this exercise in preparation for Memory Snapshot Journaling.
~*~ List three new memories from the past you have not listed before.
~*~ List three memories you have made this week.
That is it. Imagine the goldmine you will have at the end of the year. Then, imagine this after five years, ten years, etc. How incredible would that be?
MEMORY SNAPSHOT JOURNALING
~*~ Pick a memory from the past you want to journal about more fully. Go through your journal at your memory lists if one does not come to mind.
~*~ Picture in your mind the memory. Play it from start to finish.
~*~ What three images jump out to you about the memory? List them.
~*~ With each of those snapshots, write what happened before, during, and after.
~*~ What did you see?
~*~ What did you hear?
~*~ What did you think?
~*~ How did you feel?
~*~ What did you smell?
~*~ What did you do?
~*~ Who was there?
~*~ What strikes you most about the memory?
~*~ How has this memory shaped who you are?
Then, do the same, but with a memory from the last week.
Ideally, you will do this exercise once a week.
Mining Your Memories with Lists: A Journaling Exercise or Prompt
LIST TO DETAILS
The best journaling helps you to put your life on the page and leave your legacy. It also helps you to dig deeper and live a fuller, deeper, and more intentional life. This is where you start to live on purpose.
However, how do you do that? What does that look like and why would you want to do that?
It's important to mine your memories. That way, you learn what is really important to you and what is less important. Every memory you have is important, it's a matter of what you find most important today and how it has shaped you to be who you are and what you have done. Get them all down on the page in lists.
Then, you take items of each list and write more about each. You get to what is most important and what stands out most in your life--today. And you focus on that. You try to get every memory and every detail out of that (Whatever "that" is.)
For instance, take a simple coffee mug in my cabinet. It's one of two favorites. This seems simple enough and not very important. It's just a mug, after all. However, if I look further into it, the mugs are important to me.
There is a reason why they are my favorites. So, I need to explore this. How do I do that?
First, I do a SOC.
Both read, HISTORIC JAMESTOWN.
MINING YOUR MEMORIES JOURNALING EXERCISE
Start with writing lists of your memories. Do all sorts of journaling prompts to make as many lists as possible (List suggestions: people, places, things/objects, memories, favorites, least favorites, 10 objects of each room of your house, songs, books, TV shows, games, specific years in your life, decades of your life, etc.).
Get it all down in the list--your memories and anything else that comes to mind. Do a SOC (Stream of Consciousness) writing to get them all down. Write down everything that comes to mind in a list.
Then, take three of those items and write more details about each. Do a SOC on each of the three items.
Do a word association, mind map, SOC, or anything else that comes to mind about each of the three items.
Take those three items and write a longer journal entry on each.
Write about the six senses of: smell, sight, smell, touch, taste, and perception/intuition on each of the three items.
Ask who, what, where, when, why, and how questions about each of the three items.
Then, a week from the time you finish this, do it again for this list. Choose three items to write more about.
Then, take two weeks off and do it again.
Then, take a month off and do it again.
Then, do it in three months.
Then, do it in 6 months.
Then, do it in one year.
Then, do it in 1.5 years.
Then, do it in two years.
Then, do it in 5 years.
Then, do it in 10 years.
Then do it in 20 years.
Then, do it in 25 years.
Memory Mining List 2: A journaling Exercise or Prompt
Take inventory of your stories. All of them. Make lists of each memory that comes to mind. Do this every day--including new memories and observations you made that day.
As memories come to you, make sure to get them down on the page.
Then, in time, write a paragraph of each and every memory you have.
As you find the time, journal 2 paragraphs of each memory, and then 3 paragraphs of each memory. Finally, of the most important memories, write 1-page or more of each memory.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
