Journaling Meditation

To listen to the guided version of this meditation, please click here.

Journaling is the way I often practice meditation. There’s a real magic in taking the thoughts in your mind and transforming them onto the page. 

Today, I’ll be offering you three journal prompts about self-care and self-trust. 

You’re welcome to listen and respond as you like. I would like to gently suggest that you simply listen to this recording first. Without the pressure to write down the questions or responses yet. Just allow yourself to experience each question unfold. Then you may choose to listen a second time,  writing down all three questions before stepping away from your phone to journal. 

Before we dive in, I’d like to lead you through a relaxing body scan. Whether you’re seated on the floor, lying down, or in a chair - take a few moments to get comfortable. Settle in. 

Start to bring awareness to your breath. Inhale through your nose. Exhale out your mouth. Inhale through your nose. Exhale out your mouth. Inhale, expanding your belly as if there was a balloon inside. Exhale, open mouth, easy long sigh out. 

A few more like this - inhale 3, 2, 1. Exhale 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Breathing into the nose - noticing the air at your nostrils. Breathing out of your mouth - observing the air flowing over the lips. 

Beautiful. Now, bring your focus to your belly. Can you soften here? Allowing each inhale and exhale to create a massaging wave from the inside out. 

Guide your focus to your heart space. Can you envision a bright, glowing green light here? Surround your heart with free flowing, loving energy. 

Next, take your awareness to your hips. Notice what they may be touching in space. The floor? A chair? Your bed? Allow the gentle pull of gravity to fully relax your hips into the earth beneath you. 

Legs soften. Feet relax. 

Travel up your spine to the shoulders and neck. Find some gentle rolls of the head side to side if you need. 

How’s your breath? Is it shallow and in the chest? Invite a few deeper breaths into your belly.     

Soften your face. Open and close the mouth. Squish the eyes closed and open. 

Take a deep breath. In. And out. Today, I’d like you to explore your relationship with self-care and self-trust. Do you know what things fill you back up? Do you listen to and honor your body’s needs?

I invite you now to stay curious about the following three questions. 

1 what is my body trying to communicate to me right now? 

2 how can I best support myself today? 

3 where can I grant myself a little more self-compassion? 

Allow the answers to flow freely. No one will read your responses. There’s no need to edit yourself. 

Take a deep breath. 

Be open. 

You can trust yourself. 

Remember, you can return to this recording at any time. Thank you for joining me today in this practice of journaling meditation. 

May you discover all the answers you’re searching for on the page.


Photograph by Hannah Sharriee

Is Future-Self Journaling More Harmful than Helpful?

Can focusing daily on habits you want to change about yourself cause more harm than do good?

If you’re like me, you jumped on the future-self journaling bandwagon within the last two years. The style of journaling was popularized by “Instagram-psychologist” the.holistic.psychologist (THP), Dr. Nicole LePera. The format invites room for growth + change by allowing you to visualize + write about a future version of yourself: a better, brighter, less anxious version of you. For thirty days, you take a habit you’d like to become more aware of + alter. You create affirmations around the behavior, envision future scenarios where you can respond differently, + contemplate how this future-you will feel.

The benefits of journaling are numerous; it can help reduce symptoms of depression, enhance your self-awareness, offload stress, increase your gratitude, + much more. I’m a big proponent of journaling, but if you turned to writing as a means to alleviate your anxiety, I’m not sure the use of daily future-self journaling is helpful. Hear me out!

After several months of following THP’s format, something felt off to me. I started to feel like this daily focusing on patterns I wanted to fix wasn’t leaving me much room for self-compassion or self-love. Rather than learning to accept myself as is – while still creating awareness around behaviors I wanted to shift – I became hyper-focused on what needed to be fixed next. As someone with anxiety, it was easy to get sucked into the dark hole of worrying + over-thinking + over-analyzing. I also wasn’t learning real-world techniques to be aware enough in each moment of anxiety to calm myself back down. Not to mention, so much forward-thinking left me feeling like my anxiety had actually worsened. After months of using the future-self journal, I began to feel like I was failing at “healing” because I wasn’t making progress quickly enough.

THP also created this journaling tool as a means for people to heal themselves (#selfhealers). I’m a huge advocate for taking your health into your own hands, but I think we still need the support of others – professionals, friends, a true community – not just a hashtag to follow. A Vice article from August 2020 called into question the harm THP may be potentially causing. She encourages “doing the work” all on your own + has previously shown disapproval for talk therapy.

So what to do? Well, the choice is still yours. Maybe the future-self journal works wonders for you. But if you’re like me + it leaves you with lower self-esteem + more anxiety than you began, it may be time to try something new. I also cannot advocate enough for seeking personal, professional mental health. (And of course, the cost + barriers to that for most is a conversation for another day.) 

If you look back through my work, you can find the “selfhealers” hashtag. I drank the Kool-Aid + I placed THP on a pedestal. I considered editing my past work to reflect the change of heart I’ve had. But my hope is that other people will learn from the mistake I made. Question who you follow + trust. Do their methods REALLY work for you? It’s ok to change your mind.    

The future-self journal gifted me with the practice of daily journaling. And I cannot recommend journaling enough! I still find value in this style of journaling – some of the time. It’s powerful to write a letter to yourself 5-years from now + envision all the wonderful changes you created.

Now, however, I’m more focused on being fully present in the here + now. I want to foster self-love + celebrate who I am along this healing journey TODAY. If that feels more your speed, please check out the Me Here Now Journal that I created. I hope this mindful + present journaling technique helps you learn to become better in touch your body + listen to your needs as well as love yourself along the way.

Why I Journal

I journal to release the constant, running thoughts in my brain onto the paper. ⁣⁣

I journal to rewrite my own story. ⁣⁣

I journal to catch myself speaking unkindly to me. ⁣⁣

I journal to create, to heal, to grow. ⁣⁣

I journal to slow the fuck down. ⁣⁣

I journal for me - to mother myself + unlearn my past conditioning. ⁣⁣

I journal for my marriage - because it’s cheaper than therapy 🤪.⁣⁣

I journal as future me - she is bold, peaceful, kind, giving, creative, proud, and a badass boss bitch. ⁣⁣

These pages are a place for me to be unapologetically me. ⁣⁣

Want to journal but you aren’t sure how to start? Check out my journal, Me Here Now, here.

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Need some more inspiration for your journaling journey? Here are some of my favorites:

+ @the.holistic.psychologist - Dr. Nicole is the creator of the [FREE!] Future-Self Journal which allows for space to observe and change behaviors, thought patterns, and reactions so you become more aligned with your… you got it, future self!⁣⁣

⁣⁣+ @inspiredtowrite - Every time Amie posts, I am reminded that I am worthy of making art, deserving of rest, and that mothering myself on the pages is the key to healing. Her Compendium [$19.99] is a great tool if you aren’t sure what to write about in your journal. She offers 31 prompts to get you started!⁣⁣

+ @fiveminutejournal - This is how my journaling journey began! With the 5-minute gratitude journal [$24.95]. Each morning, you briefly share 3 things you’re grateful for, what would make today great, and your daily affirmation(s); each evening - 3 things that were amazing in the day and ways in which today could have been better. This is great for starting out because you’re given a simple guide to follow and it takes just 5 minutes each day!