It’s all about journaling these days. And usually our minds land on writing words on paper to process whatever is going on in our lives. As a writer, I certainly appreciate writing in a journal to do just this. However, for those of you who could care less about writing and words never have that much of an impact, a visual journal can be a creative and fun way to track where your mind is on any given day.
It’s also super easy, especially if you don’t think too much as you go through the exercise.
First, while perusing any visual material, i.e. magazines, newspapers, paper advertisements, have a pair of scissors on hand and clip out whatever is calling out to you. As mentioned, do not over-think this part. Simply cut out what interests you.
Second, have a large blank journal available for when the spirit moves you to engage with your visual journal, as well as a pair of scissors and some glue sticks.
When the mood strikes, pull out your journal, scissors, glue sticks and clippings and journal away using the visual medium only. From words that you have cut out to images, start to work with what you are drawn to and paste the clippings into your journal. There is no right or wrong way to do any of this.
After you have done a few pages, stop, and look over what you have created. If you haven’t given it too much thought, it may be very interesting to see what has visually arisen on the page that is all about you even though it had not yet been uncovered. This is why journaling visually without too much thinking is one of the best ways to intuitively reflect on parts of yourself that are yearning to be heard.
After you have done this over the course of several months, it is always fun to look at all of the pages and see what has been evolving over time for you. Even if you write in journals, visual journaling is a whole different endeavor which taps different parts of your brain and mind to learn more about what is going on in your internal world.
It may not only provide you with a creativity burst, but also help you attuned to your self and the place you are in today.