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Friday - March 29, 2024
 

Needle Work, Quilting and the First Aspect of Joy

June 12th, 2023

By Trina O’Quinn for the NABBW How does needlework and quilting bring me Joy? In several ways: Tactiley — the feel of the cloth and thread in my hand and fingers brings me a sense of calm. Audibly — the sound of the pop of the cloth as the needle pierces the material from the other side. Audibly –the sound of the swish of the thread as it is pulled through to the top side of the piece where the picture is being created. Visually — watching the different stitches build the picture. These small steps are a process of creation that brings me great joy. When I quiet... Read More

In Which Trina Further Discusses Her Year of Joy And What She’s Learned So Far…

March 19th, 2023

By Trina O’Quinn for the NABBW I ended my last blog stating that I was going to use the following prompts to set my year of Joy. I hope that they helped you in January and February as they have me. Prompt #1: “What are you most proud of from 2022? Both my daughter (56 years old) and I were with my mother when she took her last breath here on earth. When I put her in the hospital in late December 2021, I was afraid that she would die alone before my daughter and eldest granddaughter (25) would be able to get to California from Washington State. They made it and were able to spend some... Read More

In the Year 2023, Trina Is Deliberately Choosing Joy vs. Happiness. What’s the Difference, You Ask? Check Out Her Answer Here

January 24th, 2023

By Trina O’Quinn for the NABBW I spoke often about grief and loss in 2022. I also covered journaling and the different types of journaling as the way I chose to listen to my inner self. I used it to figure out what was bothering me and what to do about it. This year I will continue to use my journal for that purpose, while adding gratitude and joy as this year’s focus. Why did I choose gratitude? I chose it because it is my pathway to joy. Joy is going to be my word of the year. For me, the year 2022 was one of deep loss. January 2, 2022, I was with my mother when she passed, and my husband... Read More

In Which Trina Shares the Structured Journaling Exercise She Uses for Coping with a ‘Dyslexic Spin’

January 6th, 2023

By Trina O’Quinn for the NABBW In my last post I explained how an ordinary course of events – like traveling and not immediately being able to find something – can create much anxiety, even a panic attack – actually, a “Dyslexic Spin,” is how I label it.  It is part of my lifelong learning disability, with which I’ve learned to cope over the years. Journal writing is one effective tool in this process of coping. In my earlier discussions of journaling technique, I have been promoting unstructured, or free form, journaling. When using this type of journaling, I... Read More

In Which Trina Discusses the Different Types of Journals and Explains Their Best Use

July 5th, 2022

By Trina O’Quinn for the NABBW In my last blog, written just before my mother’s death on January 2, 2022, I wrote about the difference between using journals and diaries. At the end of the post, I said that my next blog would cover several different types of journals and how you can best use them. I am a bit late, as life got in the way, but here is the promised blog.  I will start with some guidelines for effective journal writing: Forget the “rules.” Penmanship, grammar, and spelling are not important. Write what/however you want. Write with pencil and paper as... Read More

In Which Trina Clarifies the Difference Between Journals vs. Diaries, and Shares Her Personal Journaling Journey

November 26th, 2021

By Trina O’Quinn for the NABBW In reviewing the blogs that I have written over the last year and a half, I have discovered they have some common themes. These themes are: – The Pandemic – Change – Loss – Grief In some of my posts, I have shared the thoughts and feelings I have had while dealing with these issues. But I have not discussed the major tool/process that I have used for the last 29 years, which is journaling. To begin with, I want to be clear that journaling should not be confused with keeping a diary, though they ARE often confused with each... Read More

The Power of Journaling – Article 9 in a Series: Exercise Redux

November 18th, 2011

The Power of Journaling – Article 9 in a Series: Exercise Redux By Erica Miner NABBW’s Journaling Expert Greetings, Boomers! Once again the holiday season is about to descend on us, and what better time to start journaling? As you\’ve read in previous articles in this series, there\’s virtually no better way to relieve stress than by journaling, and we all know that this time of year can cause stress to escalate. Why not choose TODAY as your day to start handling your holiday anxiety in a powerful, creative way? To help you along with this, in today\’s article I... Read More

The Power of Journaling – Article 9 in a Series: Come on, everybody, do your “Exercise”

September 2nd, 2011

The Power of Journaling – Article 9 in a Series: Come on, everybody, do your “Exercise” By Erica Miner NABBW’s Journaling Expert Greetings, Boomers! Now that you\’ve had a sampling of some of my favorite journaling methods, let\’s discuss some exercises to further entice you into your journaling ritual. Don\’t be intimidated by the length of the list. These are intended to be savored, one at a time. Linger over each one for as long as you like. Take your time to fully explore whichever one or ones give you the creative impetus you need. Ready? Let\’s... Read More

The Power of Journaling – Article 8 in a Series: Journaling Equipment (addenda), Creating a Ritual, Methods

July 6th, 2011

The Power of Journaling – Article 8 in a Series: Journaling Equipment (addenda), Creating a Ritual, Methods By Erica Miner NABBW’s Journaling Expert Greetings, Boomers! As promised in last month\’s article, we\’ll discuss creating a journaling ritual. Instead of proposing specific exercises this time around, I will instead delineate some of my favorite journaling methods to familiarize you with your options to jumpstart your journaling journey and will then propose specific exercises over subsequent articles. First, however, I wanted to share with you some of the latest... Read More

The Power of Journaling – Article 6 (Part 2) in a Series: Journaling Equipment

May 10th, 2011

The Power of Journaling – Article 6 (Part 2) in a Series: Journaling Equipment By Erica Miner NABBW’s Journaling Expert Greetings, Boomers! By now I hope you have done a bit of research on last month’s “Equipment” article and with any luck have found a number of possibilities. Allow me to add a few more alternatives. Let’s start by revisiting the sketchbook option. If you are planning to do your journal in a sketchbook, you might want to look for one with a spiral binding; that way you can more easily add pages should you choose to include photos or mementos: With today’s... Read More