Soul Journaling, Day 3 and 4

Day 3 and day 4 of Sarah Whitmire's soul journaling involved creating my "soul armor": what nourishes and protects my creative spirit. It took me a few days to think about what this entailed for me. I even made a list before I got started.

• Sunshine
• Laughter
• Playfulness
• The beach
• Windchimes
• Clouds
• Friendships
• Scented candles
• Purple
• Yoga and meditation
• Walking, runnning, biking (being in motion)

And this is what manifested on the page.

My favorite part of this page is the little boy in the middle. He reminds me of my childhood, when I wasn't afraid to dress up in a wacky costume and enter a world of make believe. He's serious in the most playful way possible, courageous in a right-up-until-dinner time type of way.

He's my inner creative child, the one I've been shielding from the world for a good five years.

I'll continue to protect him; however, it's time he made a more regular appearance and became a bit more reliable, like his daily afternoon cartoons.

Juxtapose that childlike state with the more adult-like images on my page, and I've got the ultimate soul armor. I'm ready to run the creative gauntlet! Adieu, my good friends!

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Soul Journaling, Day 2

I wasn't anticipating being able to work on Sarah Whitmire's next prompt until the weekend, but I couldn't resist another late night.

Tonight was all about "claiming your journal". Pretty sure there's no questions as to whose journal this is!

I didn't notice it at the time, but I love how the white gesso didn't quite hide the phrase "Today I feel creative" and I can still see the words "creative muse" peeking through some of the color. Misspelling my name with scrabble tiles (bottom) and the word "dictionary" (middle) still being visible was an interesting coincidence as well.

Totally digging this soul journaling  process.

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Journaling from the Soul

"To be nobody but yourself

in a world which is doing its best,

night and day to make you everybody else -

means to fight the hardest battle

which any human being could fight;

and keep fighting."

~ E. E. Cummings

I'm venturing into the world of art journaling.

My friends Cindy and Jane are no strangers to the concept and participated in Sarah Whitmire's 22 Days of Soul Journaling back in 2008. I've been browsing her site for a few days now, and after gathering the necessary supplies from Michael's (with a 40% off coupon of course), I'm ready to begin.


My first art journal.  

I, too, am starting with the 22 days of art journaling prompts. When it comes to writing, I have little trouble getting off the blank page... but art? No idea. I couldn't even color between the lines in elementary school -- but hey, maybe that makes me perfectly suited for mixed media art! So, I'm really excited that this lovely woman has provided perfect starter ideas for beginning art journalists.


Who says purple "disappearing" gluesticks are just for kids?

Meditation music floating through the room and a "beach breeze" candle illuminating my desk, I completed the day 1 prompt tonight. The instructions involved gluing random dictionary pages to the first three pages of my journal, and then writing over them with the prompt "today I feel", circling words for added emphasis. I decided to rip up an extra copy of a short story I had published in 2005 and use that instead of dictionary pages. I also added a little color around the edges of the glued pages; I'm not a big fan of white.


Completed pages of "Today I Feel"

What's great about these exercises is that they're totally at my own pace. And given my four to five days a week of volleyball, bi-weekly meditation classes, weekly Zumba class, the occasional at-home yoga session, a newly acquired freelance gig (emphasis on the "free"), and my full time job ... art journaling without a deadline is a welcomed experience.

After last week's Sacred Sounds meditation class, I've been overwhelmed with creative energy; I can't wait to see where this new journey takes me!

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http://shellysasse.blogspot.com/

Just Begin It

As I close my evening eyes,
I sometimes sense my angels sleeping
in the peaceful corner of my room.
The last of light slips down my window
as it surrenders to the night.
And my angels wander in playful preparation,
whispering words of wisdom like the best of Paul himself.

Now I can just be.
I will begin again.
I am free.

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