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

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

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

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 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” 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 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 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

The Power of Journaling – Article 6 (part 1) in a Series By Erica Miner NABBW’s Journaling Expert Greetings, Boomers! Today let’s talk about equipment. No, I’m not getting up close and personal here. I mean journaling equipment, of course. Believe it or not, the tools you choose to use to journal with will have a major influence on whether or not you actually try your hand at journaling and how successful and consistent you will be. If you’re skeptical, just keep reading and work with me. Journaling can be anything from pleasant to downright cathartic, but overall it’s a gratifying... Read More

The Power of Journaling: Article 5 of a Series By Erica Miner NABBW’s Journaling Expert Greetings, Boomers! Happy New Year! And what better way to start a year than with journaling? (I could use the word “resolution” here, but you didn’t hear it from me.) It’s always a good time to start something new, but the coming of a brand-new year leaves us virtually no excuses not to start journaling. Let’s start with a brief recap of why journaling is so beneficial. Journaling embraces everything from life tool to lifesaver. It can help you capture treasured memories; chronicle the pain... Read More