Sunday Journal Prompt

“Repeated thoughts and actions can rewire your brain, and the more you do something, the stronger those new neural networks become.”

– Dr. Timothy McCall

Dr. Timothy McCall describes neuroplasticity as the phenomenon in which our brains are “constantly remodeling” themselves. When we change our thoughts and actions, we can effectively rewire our brains. And the more we practice something, the stronger our neural networks become.

Healthy grooves of thought and action can help lift us out of ruts, shares Dr. McCall, author of Yoga as Medicine. Plus, people who commit to one positive change may open the floodgates to more. Specifically, he describes how people who dedicate themselves to yoga start making healthier eating choices, reduce caffeine or alcohol intake, quit jobs with unreasonable demands or spend more time in nature. What happens, he says, is that people “increasingly want to do what makes them feel better.”
 

What healthy behavior have you practiced in the past? How can you rededicate yourself to it?

 

 

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

“No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.”

– Robert Frost

 

 

English professor and author Peter Elbow says if it weren’t for “surprises,” no one would be motivated to write. I am a different person after most journaling sessions, as I’ve discovered something new about myself or about what I think. 

Journal writing allows me to view a situation or a decision from a new perspective. In fact, I’m routinely surprised by what arises in my subconscious through writing about something to which I’ve devoted a lot of thought. The surprises are what keep me coming back.

What thoughts do you have about a situation or decision that’s been on your mind? Through writing, allow yourself to surprise yourself.

 

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

“Once we make our decision, all things will come to us. Auspicious signs are not a superstition, but a confirmation. They are a response.” 

 - Deng Ming-Dao 

Uncertainty and a sense of being out of balance can accompany us when we have a decision to make. Writer, artist, philosopher and martial artist Deng Ming-Dao asserts that we will get what we need once we decide which way to go—and that the universe will send us signs confirming our choice.

My students have told me that journaling helped them make decisions such as which major to choose, which post-college job to accept, and whether or not to continue a relationship. Although they’d been batting around the choices in their minds for weeks and, in the case of the major, for six months, they said that writing about the decision shed new light and clarity.

What decision do you need to make? Reflect on it through writing to boost clarity.

 

 

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

“Your practices are not done to bring you happiness or peace, but to prevent the peace that is your true nature from being disturbed.” 

- Sri Swami Satchidananda

 
At the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence, the featured work of art is Michelangelo’s masterpiece David. Yet I found myself more captivated by the Prisoners, seemingly unfinished works that line the path to David. I’d read that the artist had described his process as using a chisel to chip away chunks of marble that were confining—imprisoning—already-existing sculptures, that his job was to set them free. 

Many of us dart from thing to thing in search of joy or peace without realizing that what we seek is already within us. Rather than viewing our pursuits as ways to fill a hole or make us whole, perhaps we can instead view them as chisels to uncover who we have been all along—as ways to set ourselves free from external weight and (re)discover our true joyful, peaceful nature.

How can you make the most of the “chisels” in your life to help you hone in on the joy and peace that is your true nature?

 

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

“Learning to mindfully watch our thoughts instead of actively participating in them can effectively stop them from draining our energy.”

 

– Gil Fronsdal, Insight Meditation Center

 

“You are the sky,” my yoga teacher Michele recently told our class in preparation for a meditation. When we think of ourselves as the vast sky, we can better see that the dark clouds that arise in our minds are (or can be) temporary. Imagining ourselves at a distance from the turmoil—all the “what ifs,” judgments, worries and fears—enables us to be aware of the passing weather without immersing ourselves in it.

Rather than getting sucked into tornados of evaluations and reactions, which can trigger anxiety and fatigue, we can practice mindfulness to promote distance and help us maintain our energy levels. 

 

 

How can you practice mindfulness to boost your energy?