I am missing the farm in the spring time right now, with all of its new growth and babies. So today this moon wheel calendar is inspired by spring grass and watercolors.
“In springtime, the only pretty ring time, When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding; Sweet lovers love the spring.“
btw… Poem from Above: “It was a lover and his lass” BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE From “As You Like It” and is also in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory with Gene Wilder.
L I N K S M E N T I O N E D
DIY Moon, Tree & Coffee Cup Stamps https://youtu.be/Sm8Se7P9pms Yearly BUJO Set Up https://youtu.be/xozKYwQ0_78 New Moon Monthly Goal Setting Plan With Me https://youtu.be/M0IO_jbGpzw Balsamic Moon End of the Month Goal Review https://youtu.be/lQp7BFdfyYg Latest Goal Setting Video https://youtu.be/M0IO_jbGpzw
Are you struggling right now? I know it’s hard right now given the state of the world here in April of 2020, but you are going to get through this, and I want to help in any way that I can.
I’ve found that journaling really helps me in times of stress and uncertainty.
These reflecting prompts also help my mental health. You can find all of my journal and writing prompts right here!
This journaling practice definitely gives me pause for reflection, which I feel like I don’t have enough time for in my life. Taking pause is something that I have a hard time making and taking the time for. But with this practice its built into my routine at the end of the month with my journal and into my mornings as a part of my journaling morning routine.
Journal Prompt:
What makes you feel enlightened and uplifted? How can you bring more of it into your life?
My Experience
This journaling prompt was really interesting for me. I was shocked when I read it at first and was almost offended that my journal prompted me with it. I know how silly that sounds! But it’s how I felt that morning. I wasn’t sure if it was an appropriate journal prompt because of all of the pain, suffering and uncertainty that the global pandemic has given the world. But then I started to realize that my upbringing on the farm had prepared me for this moment. This journal prompt helped me zero in and focus on the things that make me feel enlightened and uplifted. These things also make me feel prepared and safe.
My Answer to This Spirituality Journaling Prompt…
What makes you feel enlightened and uplifted? How can you bring more of it into your life?
“The world has shutdown due to COVID-19. Right now in this state of the world, what makes me feel enlightened and uplifted is, gratitude for my station in life, resourcefulness & frugal up bringing. These things make me feel prepared. My plants, gardening knowledge and sewing knowledge make me feel enlightened. The good humans of the world and their stories make me feel uplifted and help me to see hope.”
Watch my video below to see how I’m bringing more feelings of being enlightened and uplifted into my daily life. I also go into detail on how I’m feeling about the state of the world right now, what I’m upto and what is helping me cope with isolation.
I’d really love to hear what your answer is (if you can share it) in the comments down below or email me. I really love to hear from you. I love getting emails from you. It’s amazing to be able to interact with you on a much more personal level in actual genuine back and forth conversations. It makes me smile and it just warms my heart whenever I get these messages from you all.
I am very very grateful and thankful to have you as a community and to know that I’m not alone when it comes to mental health struggles or just normal everyday struggles. Sometimes I’m just too hard on myself and I’ve got to remember that I’m human. It really helps to have a community to support me and also have a community that I can support back as well.
There is still time for you to ponder the Spirituality Journaling Prompt this month. This can even be a part of your end of the month journaling review. I like to ask myself the same questions each month plus a Spirituality Question that gets me thinking and gives me a chance to connect to my truest most inner self, my spirit. If you’d like to see what questions I ask myself each month check out my April Plan With Me, which includes all of those questions that I ask myself at the end of the month to see how I’m doing. I like to see what I’ve learned and just to see where I’m at. This monthly life review also helps my mental health.
This journaling practice definitely gives me pause for reflection, which I feel like I don’t have enough time for in my life. Taking pause is something that I have a hard time making and taking the time. But with this practice its built into my routine at the end of the month with my journal.
Monthly Spirituality Journaling Prompt:
What brings you bliss and harmony? How can you bring more of it into your life?
My Experience
This journaling prompt was really interesting for me. It was surprisingly calming. To be honest I was worried that I was going to stress out about all of the things that make me happy that I’m not able to do right now since the world is in lockdown. But it made me zero in and focus on the little things in my daily life that bring me bliss and harmony.
My Answer to This Spirituality Journaling Prompt…
What brings you bliss and harmony? How can you bring more of it into your life?
I experience bliss and harmony in the escape of my dreams at night and when the day is done and I crawl into bed. My bed is a place of refuge at night.
During the day, cooking, my plants, board games, and my pets bring me bliss and harmony.
I will bring more bliss and harmony into my days by checking my plants every morning with my plant moisture meter and by playing one card game by myself each day.
These are the little things that I can do during COVID-19 quarantine and self isolation that are easy, manageable, do-able, and bring me bliss and harmony.
I’d really love to hear what your answer is (if you can share it) in the comments down below or email me. I really love to hear from you. I love getting emails from you. It’s amazing to be able to interact with you on a much more personal level in actual genuine back and forth conversations. It makes me smile and it just warms my heart whenever I get these messages from you all.
I am very very grateful and thankful to have you as a community and to know that I’m not alone when it comes to mental health struggles or just normal everyday struggles. Sometimes I’m just too hard on myself and I’ve got to remember that I’m human. It really helps to have a community to support me and also have a community that I can support back as well.
Today it’s time for my monthly plan with me for my daily planner and spiritual bullet journal. Last year I started making bullet journaling a lot more accessible and easier for me with the use of stamps. You will see a lot of stamps in my videos this year in addition to my D.I.Y. Moon Phase Stamps + Coffee Cup & Tree Stamps. Stamps are going to make things so much easier and so much faster for me and I’m really excited to start using them!
This month’s cover page is inspired by a pin that I found on Pinterest. Make sure you follow me over there, I share a lot of really awesome inspiring content for bullet journals, moon goodness, and magical witchy things. I also share secular spirituality things that are good spiritual tips for anyone of any faith, and for people who are not religious but want to tap into their spiritual side more.
Along with my monthly cover page I’m also doing a cover page for my tarot card that I pulled for this month. I did a year ahead spread back in January. This is the card that I pulled for April, The Nine of Cups from the Wild Unknown Deck. The Nine of Cups represents Bliss & Harmony. At last, the card of wishes come true. When the nine of cups appears, worries and fears will be cast away. A new phase of peace and harmony awaits.
Some links in this article are affiliate links, this means I earn a small commission if you use them! Affiliate Links are one way I am able to provide videos, articles, and resources for free. Other links go straight to the Owls & Indigo Shop where you can support me directly.
my quote for this month is…
April Moonshower Love
The Wild Unknown Tarot Deck and Guidebook (Official Keepsake Box Set), by Kim Krans is a really great introduction into tarot cards that feel more approachable than the classic Rider Waite deck for those who are just starting their tarot journey. I love just looking at the artwork and tucking the cards into my mirror so I can see them every morning.
At the end of the month is where I do all of my journaling and my reflecting. I’ll have my monthly spirituality prompts which I’m going to be sharing with you in just a second down below! I have sections for, what I’ve learned, how I challenge myself, what is a time-saver and what isn’t, and what am I most grateful for.
The questions I ask myself at the end of every month are:
what am I grateful for most?
how did I challenge myself?
what did I learn?
what is working and what isn’t?
And finally, the most important question of the month, the monthly spirituality writing prompt:
This month’s spirituality journaling prompt. (coming soon!)
On the inside of my two cover page flip outs, I’m going to be doing my Daily Tarot Draw again! I’m really excited about this, last year you all really really enjoyed this, so I will be recreating little miniature versions of my tarot cards that I pull every single day this month. See my past Daily Tarot Draws here!
Next is one of my favorite spreads. This is my mental inventory spread. I like to use this to get all of my ideas out of my head. It really helps with my anxiety……. This is like a brain dump page, I like the way that mental inventory sounds much better though. So this is where I’m going to be writing all of the notes that are floating around in my head so I can get them out and not have to worry about them anymore… AND not let them clutter up my mind and my anxiety.
And here we are at my first weekly spread of the year! Instead of a to-do list or a task list, some weeks I like to title this “things I get to do.” This is a rolling weekly spread where I keep all of my tasks.
Check Out my video below to see what’s on my mind, what I’m up to and what I’ve got going on for this month!
This month’s cover page is inspired by a set of stickers that I received in the mail from my Mom (thanks mom!!!! Love you!) and a set of gardening stickers that I found at the Target Dollar spot. You will see A LOT of stickers this month in my bullet journal.
Last year I started making bullet journaling a lot more accessible and easier for me with the use of stamps. You will see a lot of stamps in my videos this year in addition to my D.I.Y. Moon Phase Stamps + Coffee Cup & Tree Stamps. Stamps are going to make things so much easier and so much faster for me and I’m really excited to start using them!
Along with my monthly cover page I’m also doing a cover page for the tarot card that I pulled for this month. I did a year ahead spread which you can see here! This is the card that I pulled for March, The Son of Pentacles from the Wild Unknown Deck. The Son of Pentacles represents dedication, loyalty and quiet.
The good side of this card is loyalty and determination. But sometimes this figure becomes stubborn and persistent to a fault. This combined with his quiet nature, results in being hard to get to know and socially awkward at times. He has a few close friends over many.
The Wild Unknown Tarot Deck and Guidebook (Official Keepsake Box Set), by Kim Krans is a really great introduction into tarot cards that feel more approachable than the classic Rider Waite deck for those who are just starting their tarot journey. I love just looking at the artwork and tucking the cards into my mirror so I can see them every morning.
Some links in this article are affiliate links, this means I earn a small commission if you use them! Affiliate Links are one way I am able to provide videos, articles, and resources for free. Other links go straight to the Owls & Indigo Shop where you can support me directly.
my quote for this month is…
“Plant Dreams” and “Home Is Where My Garden Is”
This monthly cover page is also going to be a flip-out monthly overview. This will enable me to flip out the page while I’m on my weekly spread and still see everything that I have going on for the month. I used my DIY Moon Phase Stamps. I am really really enjoying these stamps. They were so much fun to create from scratch.
This month I wanted to go with a spring garden theme especially since I did something similar for my monthly goal setting moon calendar earlier on the most recent new moon, you can see it here. I didn’t want this one to be bright green. Instead, I went with the muted colors from the sticker pack that had garden veggies contrasting with the black garden stickers I received from my mom. I tied it all together with my dymo label maker, DIY moon stamps, and crayola stamp markers. I have two sets from the 90’s and one from today.
You’ll notice on my monthly important dates a few spots of gold and silver. This is something that is unique to me and helps me scan my page much faster. I have gold dots for Mondays and then two silver dots for the weekends.
On the back side of my monthly tarot card I’m writing my end of the month journaling questions.
At the end of the month is where I do all of my journaling and my reflecting. I’ll have my monthly spirituality prompts which I’m going to be sharing with you in just a second down below! I have sections for, what I’ve learned, how I challenge myself, what is a time-saver and what isn’t, and what am I most grateful for.
The questions I ask myself at the end of every month are:
what am I grateful for most?
how did I challenge myself?
what did I learn?
what is working and what isn’t?
And finally, the most important question of the month, the monthly spirituality writing prompt:
This month’s spirituality journaling prompt. (coming soon!)
On the inside of my two cover page flip outs, I’m going to be doing my Daily Tarot Draw again! I’m really excited about this, last year you all really really enjoyed this, so I will be recreating little miniature versions of my tarot cards that I pull every single day this month. See my past Daily Tarot Draws here!
If you’re new to my content you’ll be wondering what this next spread is…
This is a moon wheel spread. Every single month in addition to a monthly plan with me that you’d find in any bullet journal, I always make sure to have a monthly moon calendar. I recently moved to a traveler’s notebook set up, and migrated these moon calendar wheels into their own section. My moon calendars are always set up in the form of a wheel. See my past moon calendars here.
Next is one of my favorite spreads. This is my mental inventory spread. I like to use this to get all of my ideas out of my head. It really helps with my anxiety……. This is like a brain dump page, I like the way that mental inventory sounds much better though. So this is where I’m going to be writing all of the notes that are floating around in my head so I can get them out and not have to worry about them anymore… AND not let them clutter up my mind and my anxiety.
And here we are at my first weekly spread of the month! Instead of a to-do list or a task list, some weeks I like to title this “things I get to do.” I was noticing that I was feeling overwhelmed by tasks and my work load, so I have brought back the daily spreads in my bullet journal. I am tracking my time and leaving space for my 3 most important tasks for the day. See more about how I prioritize my day here. This spread is a five week spread that utilizes faux dutch doors with my rolling task list on the right.
Check Out my video below to see what’s on my mind, what I’m up to and what I’ve got going on for this month!
This week I want you to focus on connecting to yourself through long form journaling.
Benefits of connecting to yourself through long form journaling:
You’re actively seeking a dialogue with your inner self.
You’re getting that much needed alone time.
You fill your cup first so you can be the best version of yourself to take care of others.
You might notice that these benefits are just like last week! Daily journaling (last week’s spirituality tip) is extremely important too, because it flexes the writing muscle and helps build the habit. Here on Owls&Indigo I talk a lot about journaling, connecting to your inner most true self, and filling your cup first so you can be the best version of yourself to take care of others. These are all activities that promote good strong mental health. Struggling with mental health is something that we all go through to various degrees and in different seasons of our lives. There is no shame in getting help. This is a shared common experience of human existence. It’s something that we all go through.
My Personal Experience:
I really love long form journaling, its a place where I get to let out my frustrations, air my grievances, recuperate, and restore my sanity. Long form journaling is an activity that I can get lost in for hours and spend a whole afternoon or morning on.
Because I can spend so much time on journaling, I tend to save the long form journaling for the times when I really really have something to say. These are usually the times when I am stressed or days that are filled with good memories that I don’t want to forget. There are even times when I’m working on journaling exercises in my journal and I get swept away with writing.
My Current Long Form Journal Set Up:
Therapy & Mental Health Journal
Digital Journal on Evernote
Moon Themed Bullet Journal
The therapy & mental health journal is reserved only for my therapy sessions, doctors visit notes, and mental health journey notes. In the beginning of that journey I was writing in this journal daily to record the symptoms, side effects, and triggers that were unique to me. As I have gotten to a stable place (two years into this journey), I write in this journal every few months or so, and any time I have a therapy session, for notes and reflections. To see more of my mental health journey click here.
The digital journal is where I type furiously and fast! These are normally the moments when I have too much to say and I can’t get it out fast enough. These entries are sometimes stream of consciousness, rants, or recounts of memorable days. I tend to write digitally once a month unless I have lots to say. To see my daily journaling setup click here.
The moon themed bullet journal is where I keep my daily calendar and work schedule. I don’t use this journal often for long form journaling, but when I do, it is normally work related. These entries are infrequent. You can see more on my bullet journal setup and monthly spreads here.
You don’t need a fancy pen or journal, any old pen and spiral notebook will do.
Your thoughts on the page are what is most important.
Don’t feel guilty for getting lost in your writing. Time spent with a journal is time well, spent getting to know the most important person in your life, you.
Fostering self connection through long form journaling can be time consuming and make your hands cramp like hell. This practice of long form writing can also be a bit uncomfortable spiritually and emotionally at times because you are letting your deepest, most hidden thoughts, out onto the page. But you have taken the first step by reading this week’s spirituality tip.
By fostering a self connection through long form journaling I have found that I am more in tune with my truest, most inner self, and that I am better able to control myself by knowing what my inner child needs and craves. This gives me a chance to take care of myself first, long before anything bubbles to the surface and erupts like a volcano.
Create the space for long form journaling once a week and let your inner voice speak to you.
Have you tried connecting to yourself through long form journaling?
I talk about mental health a lot, it’s really important to me. Recently I had a side effect of antidepressants hit me really hard: vivid really really f’d up dreams. This is a known side effect of some antidepressant medications and also happens to be one for the medication I take on a daily basis to maintain my ability to be a functioning productive member of society.
Everyone’s reaction to medications, especially antidepressants is different. This is one of the many side effects that I experience while changing medications that stuck around and worked it’s way into the regular rotation of my life.
Antidepressants can suppress your dreams to the point where you don’t have any dreams at all, or make it so when you do dream they are extremely vivid. The medication doesn’t stop you from REM cycle and dreaming, it keeps you from remembering the dreams because of the effect of the medication on your brain.
This side effect is very common when switching or starting new medication, and becomes less common as your body gets use to the type of medication your doctor has prescribed you.
When I had vivid fucked up dreams like in my #IRL Vlog below, there is no point in doing dream analysis or trying to understand if my subconscious is trying to tell me something or work through something. No point at all.
A Note On Dreams & Dream Analysis When Taking Antidepressants
I use to rely heavily on dream interpretation books when I was a teen to try and understand what was going on with my dreams. Now as an adult, I do not look to those books at all. As an adult who has gone through therapy I have a better understanding of the symbols and meanings behind what my subconscious is trying to tell me. I have a few types of dreams now…
Types of Dreams I have:
1. Pure Entertainment Dreams
“Pure entertainment” dreams that don’t mean anything that are just weird and fun.
2. My Subconscious Is Talking Dreams
“My subconscious talking” dreams where I am trying to work through my day or any troubles that are weighing on me, these can be positive or negative dreams. Usually these are just my subconscious trying to tell me to pay attention to something that I have been neglecting. I have learned a lot about the subconscious and the inner child in therapy, its fascinating.
3. Vivid Fucked Up Dreams
“Vivid fucked up dreams” where I am lashing out with extremely violent rage. These dreams are usually rageful for me, but not always, however, these dreams are always extremely vivid in color, emotion, and physical feeling after I wake up. They make my body physically hurt like I’ve been hit by a truck.
Have you experienced that feeling after waking up before?
I still don’t fully understand why vivid dreams are a side effect of antidepressants. But I have come to accept it as a part of my life. It doesn’t happen very often and when it does, I don’t feel panicked and alarmed anymore like I did in the beginning.
When I first started my therapy journey I was not on any medication. Once I started medication prescribed by my doctor, I started having extremely violent vivid dreams that were disturbing. These dreams shook me to my core and deeply confused me. I had to go to therapy to try and understand what was happening and then was referred to a different therapist that practices EMDR to try and help me.
At this point in my journey the vivid dreams were magnifying my anger and resentment from the past and it terrified me. So if you find yourself having vivid fucked up dreams, talk to someone, find a therapist that can help guide you through what you are experiencing, or at least talk to your doctor.
Now that I have worked through that rage, I can tell the difference between those types of dreams for myself. These days, the vivid fucked up dreams are just a side effect from my daily antidepressants. This happens maybe once a month or less now that I have leveled out after switching my medication and allowed my body to get use to it.
Dream analysis and trying to understand what your subconscious can be fun and telling, but when it comes to being on antidepressants, some vivid fucked up dreams are just vivid fucked up dreams and there is absolutely no point in trying to interpret them. Trust me.
DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor! Please speak to your doctor about any medication side effects you are experiencing. This is my story and what I have gone through. You may or may not have a similar experience to mine
Today I wanted to share with you how I set up this moon themed bullet journal goal-setting spread AND how I set my goals on every new moon for the lunar month. I do goal-setting in alignment with the moon. Every new moon is when I set my goals and intentions for that lunar cycle. These goals always relate back to my overarching goals for the entire year.
If you want to see how I created this layout click here. So grab a cup of tea and your favorite pen, and let’s set our monthly goals together!
Watch my companion youtube video to see how I created these watercolor backgrounds for my journal so you can make them in your own journal too!
First I’m setting up my New Moon Beginnings spread. This is the first fold out of the New Moon goal-setting spread. Here I have room for the New Moon Beginnings prompts. These white cards are going to be spaces where I write my journaling prompts, tarot card prompts, and my mantras that I create for myself this month. I absolutely love these little stamps that I made! I actually have a video on them if you’d like to see how I made these mood phase stamps. I like how imperfect they are, they feel hand-drawn to me, and I absolutely love them.
On every new moon I always pull two or three tarot cards. This time I’m pulling two cards that represent what I should have and what I should do. I’m using the classic Rider-Waite deck for this entire year for these New Moon Beginnings Tarot journaling prompts. I like to write in the classic Rider-Waite definition of the cards and my own interpretation of them below, in addition to my own sketch of the tarot card. These sketches aren’t miniature recreations like my daily tarot draws, to see those head over here.
The Rider Tarot Deck is a classic tarot deck to have in your collection. This deck comes with a mini guide book and will give you all the mystical mamma feels when you use it. Because this deck is so well known, there are a lot of additional companion books and resources.
Some links in this article are affiliate links, this means I earn a small commission if you use them! Affiliate Links are one way I am able to provide videos, articles, and resources for free. Other links go straight to the Owls & Indigo Shop where you can support me directly.
I like to start by shuffling the deck 3 times, or whatever feels good, and then I cut the deck. I also like to write down any notes that jump out at me from the guidebooks as I journal. This month for my journaling prompts I’ll be focusing on:
to have to do
to have
The Eight of Wands, according to the deck, representing swiftness, great hope, speed towards an end which promises assured felicity, on the move, love. My interpretation of the card, onwards and upwards, you are on the move to prosperity, but whose it is?
to do
The Four of Wands, according to the deck, harmony, prosperity, peace. My interpretation of the card, balance, harmony, peace and hopefully prosperity are on the way, if and only if you can keep the balance.
After I pull these first two tarot cards, I move over to the opposite side of this spread to the mantra maker. Out of these themes, I create my mantras for this month with my Mantra Maker.
This month’s lunar theme is:
“relax into your intention and watch its first roots & shoots form.”
The theme this month is relax into your intention and watch its first roots & shoots form. As your goals begin to take hold you begin to feel the first footholds below each step towards your dreams, goals, and intentions. Keep moving forward and upwards out of the soil as your dreams begin to break the surface and grow.
Make sure to keep in mind the theme of the Moon. Then create mantras for yourself that are customized based on the tarot cards that you just drew and any insights that the cards may have given you into the direction you want to head in for your goals for the month. Make sure that they also relate back to the overarching yearly goals. I like to use the mantra maker prompts:
I am… I will… I’ve set these goals to…
Here are my mantras for this first moon:
I am swift and moving forwards.
I am prosperous.
I am full of great hope and faith in myself.
I will remain balanced in times of chaos.
I will move swiftly as I need to and balanced as I need to.
Then I like to wrap up those individual mantras into one big overarching mission statement for my goals and intentions for the month.
My mission statement for this cycle is:
I’ve set these goals to remain balanced in times of chaos, move swiftly when I need to, seek balance as I need to. I am full of great hope and faith in myself. The prosperity is mine. AND, I embody yoga in its various forms.
JENNY PROCZKO, FROM OWLSANDINDIGO NEW MOON MANTRA 2020
After I’ve written out my mantras for the month I put aside those tarot cards. I don’t actually reference them at all anymore. I just use tarot cards as a journaling prompt and as away to get my mind thinking about any insights that could pop up based on what I want to achieve. I don’t use the Tarot as a forecasting or future telling tool. I just use it as a tool to get to know myself better and as a tool to spur me to think about certain things and different archetypes that the cards bring up and how it affects my current life situation.
Next I re-write my mission statement mantra for the month in the upper hand corner of the inside of this spread next to my moon wheel.
I’m going to be writing in a feeling based intention on every moon phase as the lunar month goes on. I will be sharing my feeling based intention in a second… I like to write it in at the end of my goal setting and planning session. So, onward to the goals!
✩☽✦Setting Goals In Alignment With The Moon✦☾✩
Now that I have this layout all set up, I can go ahead and move into the action phase of this goal-setting practice that I do every single month. This next section is my Action Steps and How I’m Going To Do It! 1 2 3!
The one-two-three method as a way of prioritizing my tasks when I feel super overwhelmed, I feel like I just don’t know where to start, or some days for when I just don’t have motivation to do anything. Sometimes I need to just say “okay if you get through this one list of 1-2-3 items then you’re done.” Click here for more information on the 1-2-3 Method for G.S.D.ing & G.Y.S.T.ing. I like to use the method for my mental health as well.
Now that I have all of my intentions and goals written down I’m going to break those 8 things down into 3 actionable steps. For each moon phase I have one intention to either finish or to work on. Check out my intentions for this moon and the 1-2-3 Method Steps that I am going to do to achieve these goals and intention for this moon below in my video:
After I have set all of these goals and broken them down into the actionable steps on how I can achieve them within one month, I go over to my feeling based intention and I write my intention for this lunar phase. I do this on every single moon phase either by the moon or in the morning of each new lunar phase, so you’ll see as the month goes on that this moon wheel will fill up with my own little mantras for every phase. My feeling based intention for today on the new moon is:
“I’ve set these goals to further my spiritual knowledge of yoga and reignite my practice, and feed & feel the shakti within. I feel my goal in my core.“
JENNY PROCZKO, from OWLSANDINDIGO NEW MOON INTENTION
Then at the beginning of each moon phase for this cycle I will come back to this spread and write a new positive feeling based intention. I’ll be posting these little mini moon updates over on Instagram, so be sure to follow me there so you don’t miss them! The only place you can find them is on instagram.
After I’ve recorded my feeling based intention I go over to my little tracker and mark off that I said my mantras and reviewed my goals for the day. There will be days where I don’t come to this spread and I don’t review my intentions for the month. But hopefully by breaking these down, setting all of these milestones for myself and giving myself dates and deadlines, I will come back to this every day. And even if I don’t I will still easily be able to get back on track because of all of the planning and prepping I’ve just done!
As the lunar month goes on….
I always check in with my goals. This is NOT a set it and forget it practice. You can’t hold and to hope and just ask the universe for something and not put in any work. So, to keep myself on track with my goals and to work towards them I check in with these goals twice a month for a more indepth review on my progress to see how its going or if I need to shift and pivot my goals and intentions to achieve them by the end of the moon.
On the Full Moon I do a mid month check in. First I ask myself, what have I succeeded in? and what can I improve?
This journaling and goal setting practice is something that I do the night before every new moon or the morning of every new moon. This practice of short term, achievable goal setting via the lunar cycle, has grown really dear to my heart. It’s something that I can’t imagine not doing.
So what goals have you set for this month? Are they similar to mine or are they totally different? I can’t wait to see your goals are, make sure you leave me a comment down below.
This week I want you to focus on connecting to yourself through daily journaling.
Benefits of connecting to yourself through journaling:
You’re actively seeking a dialogue with your inner self.
You’re getting that much needed alone time.
You fill your cup first so you can be the best version of yourself to take care of others.
You might notice that these benefits are just like last week! Intentional Solitude (last week’s spirituality tip) is extremely important too. Here on Owls&Indigo I talk a lot about journaling, connecting to your inner most true self, and filling your cup first so you can be the best version of yourself to take care of others. These are all activities that promote good strong mental health. Struggling with mental health is something that we all go through to various degrees and in different seasons of our lives. There is no shame in getting help. This is a shared common experience of human existence. It’s something that we all go through.
My Personal Experience:
The first time that I even encountered daily journaling was waaaaaay back as a child. My mom kept a daily record of anything that happened in a datebook. This datebook was normally a small datebook the size of a checkbook, anyone remember those? It was the size of two debit cards. You can find these datebooks anywhere, even at the dollar tree. It’s a really great way to get started with daily journaling. As I have gotten older I have discovered one thing about daily journaling….
Consistency is key. To get the maximum amount of benefit out of your journaling practice you need to visit the page every day. But that doesn’t mean that you need to write a toam every day. I have a variety of different journals for different purposes and have found that the best journal to solidify the daily journaling habit is The Five Year Journal.
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This little journal is the size of your hand and just over an inch thick. Each page has 5 entries on it one for each of the five years that you will be using this journal, for a grand total of 366 pages, with a page for the leap year. I love this journal because there is only space enough for 1-2 lines a day. This has made it SO DAMN EASY for me to achieve consistency with my daily journaling practice and keep it going long term. I just write in a line a day and chronicle how my day went, any special memories, or something health related. I like to fill it out each night as I get into bed or first thing in the morning over coffee.
I am now in my fifth year in my first Five Year Journal and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE being able to look back on my journey on a given day of the year to see my progress. I have also discovered some things that I didn’t realize were still issues years and years later…. like Dan not cleaning the litter box consistently…. I swear… 3 years from the first time I wrote about it and he still hasn’t been able to solidify the habit OR identify a trigger for the habit. I digress….
If I need more than the space allowed on a given day because I have more to say or more to rant about, I start in my five year journal and then make a note on which journal I finished the entry in. I have separate journals for mental health + therapy and what you would call a “diary” type of journal. I like to keep these two separate because of therapy and doctors visits. I don’t want to have to leaf through multiple journals to find health and therapy related things that I need faster access to. So for me, having a “personal diary / journal” and another one for mental health + therapy, works really well. You might not need separate journals. Find a system that works for you.
If I need more space to write a journal entry (which isn’t often anymore unless I’m having a particularly hard day), I choose my personal journal / diary, which is currently digital, or I head over to my therapy journal which houses notes from my therapy sessions, mental health updates, and doctor visit notes and tracking for my mental health as well. I have spoke before about my mental health struggles, you can see my journey here. You are not alone, we are all in this together.
things to remember…
You don’t need a fancy pen or journal, any old pen and spiral notebook will do.
Your thoughts on the page are what is most important.
Consistency is key. Just showing up to write down your mood can start and reinforce a daily journaling habit.
Fostering self connection through daily journaling can be hard and uncomfortable because you are letting your thoughts out onto the page. But you have taken the first step by reading this week’s spirituality tip.
By fostering a self connection through daily journaling I have found, that I am less afraid of my inner thoughts and that I am better able to manage my anxiety. It was really hard to get to know my inner self and let her speak her mind. I have found that if I don’t pacify myself and create the space for that inner exploration through journaling and meditation that I am much calmer because there is nothing bubbling beneath the surface that I am clueless about.
BUT none of this means that I always journal daily. I forget, get lazy, or choose bad habits over good ones. I am constantly trying to get to know my inner self and it’s a struggle. But also a life long journey that have been scarily beautiful. I have already learned so much and have so much more to discover. Create a space for daily journaling even if it’s just one line a day and let your inner voice speak to you.
Have you tried connecting to yourself through daily journaling?
I hope that you focus on connecting to yourself through daily journaling this week. I’d love to learn about your practices in the comments below, or drop me an email [email protected] I’d love to hear from you.
