Journaling's Journey - History of the Journal

“The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another; and his humblest hour is when he compares the volume as it is with what he vowed to make it.” ―J.M. Barrie (Author of Peter Pan)

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When my husband’s aunt Beryl died several years ago she left him a blanket box full of photo albums, letters, journals and diaries she had kept from the years of her service as a missionary. Jim was her God-child, but had never really had the opportunity to spend any time with her.   I had only met her briefly on a couple of occasions – so knew very little about her.  After some years of contemplating what to do with all this material, besides allowing it to take up space in my sun-room or become dust to silverfish, I decided I would read through her treasure box.  And it was a treasure – a store of information that led me to uncover a life lived to the full – with love, adventure, joy, sadness, regret – the complete human condition.  I was amazed to learn that this gentle, English woman of faith had been a brave adventuress, living in remote parts of both Africa and India at a time when most women were expected to marry and have children.  Her writing captivated me, as it painted such a clear picture of her life and allowed me to glimpse a Beryl I had never imagined existed – A young and vibrant woman with an uncanny sense of humour and the ability to adapt quickly to changing circumstances. A woman of many facets.

Within her documents I was surprised to find that Beryl had always intended to write her life story during her retirement years. She had even drafted an outline for each chapter, starting with her childhood and finishing with her last furlong as a missionary teacher in India.  After discussions with Jim, and her remaining siblings, I decided to write her biography from her personal journals, interviews with family and friends and my good mate Google to fill the background information of significant events etc.  It culminated in “Journey of Faith” – the Beryl House Story. I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to have a glimpse of a life well lived.

Personal documents have been written since the beginning of written language. In fact, recorded history is in many ways a journal – someone’s impressions, thoughts, ideas and feelings about events.  Both historical and literary books are often reconstructed accounts from documents such as ship logs, diaries, letters and journals. As was the case with my booklet - “Journey of Faith”.

So how did Journaling come about? Here's the story so far...

The Journals Journey

•  As far back as 56 C.E., in China, journals were written and then archived as historical documents.
• In the West, during the Renaissance when the image of the self-became important, Augustine of Hippo (a Fourth Century bishop and theologian) is credited with having invented the literary genre of autobiography. He wrote the classic work, Confessions, which documents his own religious conversion and growth in Christian spirituality.
• In tenth-century Japan Heian court ladies kept the pillow book (so named because it was placed in the bed chamber or perhaps in drawers of wooden pillows). These records incorporated factual accounts, dreams, fantasies, and poetry.
• Japanese also kept travel diaries which were mainly comprised of poetry.
  
• In contrast, the western travel diary (which came much later) was primarily a narrative stressing what the traveller has done and seen.  Examples include the ship log books of James Cook and William Bligh, whose reports were later published, and gave an concise account of their adventure (chain of command, navigational insights and other facts).
• Samuel Pepys’ diary, written between 1660 – 1669, was possibly the first known diary. He not only recorded current events, but described the people he met and his impressions of them, the local gossip and the other minute details of his daily life.  Entries were characterized by immediacy and self-reflection.
  
• During the French Revolution (19^th Century) diaries were referred to as “journals in time.”  The Journal focused more on "self", with an inward focus on confession and passion. The “journal in time” provided the author an outlet to explore/question traditional values, existing literary forms, government, and even the relationship between the sexes.
• Over the past 100 years, as writing has become a more universal skill, journal writing had taken hold as a common practice among both professional and non-professional writers. 
• During the 1960s and early 1970s, journaling came into its own as a tool to be used more widely.  In the fields of psychology and psychotherapy, journal based writing was (and still is) used as a part of therapeutic treatment, encouraging people to look inside themselves, to analyze and document behaviours and feelings, and to explore dreams while the Women’s Movement encouraged personal writing as a way for women to achieve power and voice.
•  In 1980’s, personal journal writing had been linked to creativity, expansion of consciousness, and the deepening of spiritual awareness and growth.

  

  My Art Journal

• Diaries, in today's world, are also used in both formal and informal learning situations and include dream logs, autobiographies, spiritual journals, theory logs, and interactive reading diaries.
•  In the  21st Century  journals are used to record our creative processes (art journals), vacations, our goals, genealogy and much more.

Like the journals of history and The Beryl House Story, we should think of our journals as a way for future generations to see what we were struggling with at the time and to know that their dilemmas are not too far removed from ours.  So put pen to paper, and document your own “inner and outer” world (for your own personal learning and growth) and as an everlasting memorial for future generations to mull over and possible glean an understanding of what life was like then, and just maybe, use to make significant changes to their own life.

Do you have a dairy that belonged to a relative or significant other that documents significant historical events or personal revelations?  What impact/influence has reading these accounts had on you? I’d love to hear from you and your story.

Journaling - A Healthy Habit

Does mention of the word “journaling” conjurers up images of old aunts, arty types and those awkward adolescent years? Or do you immediately think of work related activities such as diary entries and field notes – a necessary evil associated with keeping the boss happy? If you work in the human service sector or are a teacher or a nurse you will know what I mean.   

For me journaling is second nature.  Over the past 30 years I have kept the following journal:

• Work journal when employed in the human services sector
• Daily diary
• Various Travel journals
• Weight loss and food diary journal
• Pregnancy journal
• Family history report
• And many more

 But for most people in today’s busy world, they only record what you must.  In an effort to change this habit/mindset I’d like to share some recent research on the health benefits of documenting our thoughts and feelings.   It has made me glad I take time out each day to journal – I may be able to skip the gym a couple of times a week and journal instead (hahaha).  

Physical and Emotional Health

James W. Pennebaker, a lead researcher on expressive writing at the University of Texas at Austin, has found that when we translate an experience or secret into language by writing it down, we essentially make the experience graspable. "Emotional upheavals touch every part of our lives," Pennebaker has been quoted as saying. "You don't just lose a job, you don't just get divorced. These things affect all aspects of who we are — our financial situation, our relationships with others, our views of ourselves. ... Writing helps us focus and organize the experience."  Writing about these traumatic events/situations can uplift both your mind and body and alleviate the negative effects of stress on the body.

According to Pennebaker, it’s also been proven to strengthen the immune system’s cells. Not only does writing make you less likely to get sick, it also increases chances of fighting specific diseases like asthma, AIDS and cancer. 

It can even make physical wounds heal faster. A study from 2013 found that 76% of adults who spent 20 minutes writing about their thoughts and feelings for three consecutive days two weeks before a medically necessary biopsy were fully healed 11 days later. Meanwhile, 58% of the control group had not recovered. 

The study concluded that even one hour of writing about distressing events helped participants make sense of the events and reduce distress. Since starting this blog post I’ve become aware there's a Center for Journal Therapy dedicated to the mental health benefits of regular journaling, both in therapeutic and personal settings

Another 2005 study found that the kind of "expressive writing" often connected with journaling is especially therapeutic. The study found that participants who wrote about traumatic, stressful or emotional events were significantly less likely to get sick, and were ultimately less seriously affected by trauma, than their non-journaling counterparts. It doesn't take a big time commitment to reap the benefits of journaling. Expressive writing for 15 to 20 minutes a day three to five times over the course of a four-month period was enough to lower blood pressure and have better liver functionality. 

Studies have also shown that the emotional release from journaling lowers anxiety, stress, and induces better sleep.

If that hasn’t convinced you then you can find additional longer term benefits of expressive writing at http://www.amazon.com/Journals-Andre-Gide-Vintage-Book/dp/B000PGBVZC/?tag=braipick-20

Improves Language Skills – and improves the IQ
 A report by the University of Victoria noted that “Writing as part of language learning has a positive correlation with intelligence.” The report goes on to say, “One of the best single measures of overall intelligence as measured by intelligence tests is vocabulary.” Journal writing provides a safe place to experiment with new words and thus build our language skills.  In addition according to a Stanford report, “Writing has critical connections to speaking”.  That’s probably why teachers (part of curriculum)  now encourage students as young as 8 years old to journal.

According to neurologist and teacher, Judy  Willis, regular writing can help you learn to process and communicate complex ideas effectively. The practice of writing can enhance the brain's intake, processing, retaining, and retrieving of information. Through writing, students can increase their comfort with and success in understanding complex material, unfamiliar concepts, and subject-specific vocabulary. When writing is embedded throughout the curriculum, it promotes the brain's attentive focus to classwork and homework, boosts long-term memory, illuminates patterns, gives the brain time for reflection, and when well-guided, is a source of conceptual development and stimulus of the brain's highest cognition.

Harness Your Creativity – not just for arty types

Journaling is a great tool for unlocking creativity amongst anyone and everyone. In fact, this study published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine used writing as a treatment for HIV patients found that writing resulted in “improvements of CD4+ lymphocyte counts.” That’s the fancy way of saying: the act of writing actually impacted the cells inside the patient’s body and improved their immune system. In other words, the process of journaling doesn’t just make you feel better, it also creates real, physical changes inside your body.

In our always–on, always–connected world of television, social media, and on–demand everything, it can be stupidly easy to spend your entire day consuming information and simply responding to all of the inputs that bombard your life.

Practical Benefits – Yes men can do it too

•  Keeping a journal can serve to document your achievements (and mistakes)
• Provides and account of your day (yes I did get that done)
•  Keeps track of your goals and your progress towards achieving them
• Allows you to pick out patterns of behaviour/thoughts
•  Builds confidence as you look back over what you have achieved
•  Strengthens self-discipline committing to writing in your journal daily
• Writing about problems provides an opportunity to explore unexpected solutions and see   alternative viewpoints.
• Get to know yourself better and provide future generations with an insight into you personally.

 Press the PAUSE button and “take a break” from all the incoming signals of the modern world. Open a blank document and start typing. Put pen to paper and write without thinking — “stream of consciousness” writing. Express yourself in some way. Your health and happiness will improve and we’ll all be better off for it.

Thank You for taking the time to read my post.  I hope it has inspired you to commit some of your thoughts to paper.  If you are already a journal junky or been converted then I’d love to hear your thoughts on the benefits of writing your thoughts and feelings.