Mindful Mondays Blog Post Three: The Mindfulness Journal

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Fiona_BCNA
Fiona_BCNA Member Posts: 75 ✭
edited May 2016 in Health and wellbeing

Why keep a mindfulness journal?

Keeping a journal is in itself a mindful activity. Keeping a regular journal will encourage you to stop and reflect on the mindful activities you have completed. These might be:

  • Formal mindfulness meditation exercises;
  • Moments of less formal mindfulness, such as pausing to really taste your meals, noticing birdsong on your way to work, or feeling the water on your skin as you take a shower;
  • Opportunities for you to be more mindful at work, or in your social life. Maybe you made a very conscious effort to avoid unhelpful multi-tasking, or not to be drawn into the distractions around you so you could focus on the task of greatest importance to you. Or maybe you simply listened to a friend with undivided attention; or
  • The effects of being unmindful (on your wellbeing and performance).

Mindfulness is a very personal experience, and you should also reflect on what strategies and exercises worked for you, and which ones were less successful or require more practice. The aim of this is learning, not criticising ourselves for “not getting it right”. Mindfulness is about being curious and accepting, rather than judgmental and your journal should reflect this approach.

Below is a mindfulness journal template created by Monash University. If you would like a copy of the 6 week version please comment below and I can email this to you.

Don’t forget to post your mindfulness stories to be in with a chance to win the May you be Mindful prize pack.

References:

Hassed, C & Chambers, R 2016, Mindfulness for Wellbeing and Peak Performance, Future Learn online course materials, Monash University

 

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