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Overview
A guide for teens and young adults on the power of creative journaling and its role in enhancing self-discovery and self-awareness
• Provides encouragement for creative writing, self-expression, and self-dialogue
• Includes journaling exercises to inspire creativity and cultivate self-esteem
• By the author of Teen Psychic and The Thundering Years, winner of the 2002 Independent Publisher Book Award for multicultural juvenile nonfiction
Most teens and young adults search for ways to express their individuality and to discover who they are, without being judged. In Spiritual Journaling Julie Tallard Johnson shows that journaling is an informative and supportive outlet for the joys, frustrations, and questions that arise for those making the transition toward their own independent ideas and lives—and a powerful tool for awakening creative potential.
Johnson encourages young people to discover their own unique voices by offering guidance on writing and other forms of self-expression and self-dialogue and on learning how to listen to inner wisdom. As readers move through the book and write in their own personal journals, they gain insight about themselves—knowledge reflected in their own words and the writing of other young people included in the book. The journaling tools provided include meditations, consulting oracles, writing poetry, visualizations, writing rituals, and problem solving around spiritual questions.
Editorials
April 2006 -
"Throughout the book are stories, discussions, and exercises, all aimed at showing us how, through the tool of journaling, we can gain a clear view of our past so that we see where we came from, how we got where we are today, and how we can stay on our individual paths for the future. This book is meant to tear away the illusion of what we are hungry for, and allow us to discover what the real thing is, and how we can get it for ourselves."Diane Donovan
“. . . written with the young adult in mind . . . . Its inventive, different journaling techniques use meditations, oracle consultation, visualization rituals and more to aid the writing process, providing a satisfying mix of new age technique and writing advice.”Vision Magazine
"This is a powerful tool for awakening the imaginative voice in any young adult and helping them realize their very own creative potential, truly a priceless gift."Galina Pembroke
“What a wonderful book to help a teen or young adult gain insight into their identity and life's purpose! Lots of writing exercises, but this book is constructed to make these a joy instead of a homework-type chore. . . . Spiritual Journaling: Writing Your Way to Independence is a great book for a young person interested in self-exploration or going through a transition.”April 2006 Angelfire.com
"Throughout the book are stories, discussions, and exercises, all aimed at showing us how, through the tool of journaling, we can gain a clear view of our past so that we see where we came from, how we got where we are today, and how we can stay on our individual paths for the future. This book is meant to tear away the illusion of what we are hungry for, and allow us to discover what the real thing is, and how we can get it for ourselves."From the Publisher
"This is a powerful tool for awakening the imaginative voice in any young adult and helping them realize their very own creative potential, truly a priceless gift."
Children's Literature -
Teens are encouraged to keep a journal as a means of gaining self-understanding, and also, for later use as a book. The author offers guidance through the use of many spiritual traditions such as Buddhist, Native American, I Ching, and Christian among others. Meditation, dreams, nature, tarot cards, and other aids are suggested for getting in touch with oneself. Part of one chapter defines forgiveness as: ".giving up any negative emotions that you are holding on to (and that are therefore harming you). Freeing yourself of any hold or power that the offender may have over you in the form of your continued anger, resentment, or desire for revenge." The definition continues with talking to a trusted person and setting boundaries, followed by a meditation for forgiving others and forgiving yourself. Each page has a pithy quotation in a gray border. The text is broken up with writing from teens, special suggestions for practicing the material presented, and short poems. The book ends with ideas about death and the afterlife. The author shares her own struggle to find meaning during her teenage years. This book offers many avenues of self-discovery which may prove helpful to teens seeking to find their own way.VOYA
This title's multicultural approach and multitude of suggested writing exercises and prompts designed to help its readers find their truest selves on the page will appeal to sensitive, thoughtful teens searching for something bigger than themselves. Each chapter is married to-but not dominated by-a theme, such as love, poetry, travel, or hard times, and includes a variety of writing exercises-some involved, some brief-to keep the reader interested and on track. Every page includes a sidebar featuring an inspirational or thought-provoking quote from poets, novelists, and essayists both classical and modern, some well known and others very obscure. The most teen-friendly feature of this book and the one that sets it apart from similar titles such as Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way (Tarcher, 2002) is the author's commitment to using excerpts from teen and young adult journals to illustrate the themes in each chapter. Johnson's style and philosophy is decidedly New Age-y and clearly influenced by Native American spirituality, so the text as a whole might not be welcome in sectarian religious schools, but the individual writing exercises are all sound and could easily find a home in creative and expository writing classes in any school. It is an offbeat but worthy choice. VOYA CODES: 4Q 3P M J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Will appeal with pushing; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2006, Bindu Books, 272p.; Further Reading., Trade pb. Ages 11 to 18.—Sophie Brookover