The Power of Journaling - Guest Blogger Diana Raab, MFA, RN

I'm pleased to introduce guest blogger Diana M. Raab, MFA, RN who is also a contributing writer in Press Pause Moments: Essays about Life Transitions by Women Writers. Diana's essay in PPM is titled "A New Woman: Life After Breast Cancer." In it she shares her thoughts about rediscovering herself after mastectomy and reconstruction, and how journal writing helped as part of the process. She writes:

"I've read that some women are so jarred by their physical changes after breast cancer that many consider having an affair to reconfirm their femininity. I can easily understand this urge. Since this wasn't an option for me, I had an affair with my journal which provides an enormous amount of solace...My journal is the perfect lover because it doesn't talk back, gives me pleasure and I can leave silently when I have had enough."

Diana turned the negative experience of having breast cancer into a positive one. She fulfilled her dream to return to graduate school for her master's in writing. She also wrote her second memoir, Healing With Words: A Writer's Cancer Journey released in 2010.

Diana offers her thoughts and advice about keeping a journal to help in the healing process.

The Power of Journaling by Diana M. Raab, MFA, RN

The journal is a powerful tool not only for writing, but for life. It’s a place to intimately express feelings and emotions, explore secrets and transcribe musings. The journal makes no judgments; it is free of editors, critics and teachers. It is the music and voice of our true emotion.

Journaling has helped me navigate through both joyous and difficult times. My mother gave me my first journal at the age of ten when I found my grandmother dead in her room beside me. Suicide. It was the 1960s and my mother, an English major, thought it would be the best way to help me cope. Ever since then I have used my journal as my best friend and confidant.

It was a Khalil Gibran journal with quotations on the top of each page. When I was lonely, I’d cuddle up beneath the hanging clothes in my walk-in closet, pull the string attached to the single bulb above, and write into the wee hours of the morning.

Ever since that day, my journal has served as a storehouse of my own relentless musings, thoughts and feelings.  I write down phrases, words and describing compelling during the course of the day. Sometimes these thoughts end up as seeds for greater works down the road. On other days I might choose to sit in public places, such as bars or coffeehouses, to record conversations, and detect natural communication patterns.

Sometimes my entries remain inside the safe container of the journal and other times, I edit and transform my entries into poems, essays or books. For example, my first book was written while on bed rest with my first daughter and it evolved into a self-help book for other women also encountering difficult pregnancies. I have filled volumes of journals, which are all now stored in my closet, perhaps for future generations to peruse. My most recent self-help memoir, Healing With Words: A Writer’s Cancer Journey began on the pages of my journal. The book evolved into a self-help memoir with pages for other people and their families afflicted with cancer to share their own journey. I believe in turning a negative into a positive and encourage my readers to do the same.

For those interested in learning about writing to heal, here are some tips:

• Find a quiet uninterrupted time and place to write
• Choose an inspiring notebook and pen
• Create a centering ritual (light a candle, meditate, play music, stretch)
•  Breath deeply
•  Put aside your inner critic
•  Date your entry
•  Begin by writing your feelings and sensations
•  Write nonstop for 15-20 minutes
•  Save what you have written
•  Write regularly

For more information about Diana, check out her website, http://www.dianaraab.com. Diana is also a blogger for Huffington Post. Read her latest at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/diana-m-raab/writers-and-their-dark-pl_b_994138.html.

Comments

[Victor R. Volkman]

Great guest posting... thank you Diana and all the crew at Press Pause Moments

[Anne]

Victor - Thank you for reading! I am so honored to be in the company of such wonderful women writers who are so willing to share their stories here.

[Congoocky]

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