There are as many approaches to journaling as there are aspects of life to focus on; one of these aspects is spirituality. Journaling about spirituality can help bring clarity to your thoughts as well as help define priorities for the competing demands of the other parts of your life: health, work, family, love relationships, and recreation, to name a few.
What is spirituality? According to the dictionary, “spirit” pertains to the incorporeal — the non-physical — and is often used interchangeably with the word “soul.” In our culture spirituality is often perceived as closely related to religious practice, but for the purposes of this article the definition of spirituality is broader and more abstract.
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When I speak of spirit, I mean that part of me that senses and connects with the unseen, with that which is greater than myself, with the creative energy of the Universe. Jung called this the Collective Unconscious, common to all humans and the source of all archetypes, universal images, and ideas. Some say this unseen universal energy is the essence of divinity. For me, this universal connection is too large and unknowable to be named; yet it’s natural to try to know and to define it, at least what it means to us individually. And it’s also a facet of our beings that can become buried in the day-to-day business of life.
Here are a few writing prompts to help you explore this topic.
- What connotations and images does the word “spirituality” have to you? How were you raised to think and believe, and do you reject or embrace those beliefs? Do you think there is such as thing as a spirit or soul? Write your reasons for your beliefs.
– - Is it important to focus on soul or spirit in our lives? Why and why not (write about both sides of the argument)?
– - Write about a moment in your life in which you felt connected spiritually. Where were you? What happened and what came of that moment?
– - When you feel connected or in tune with your spirit, how do you feel? Are there any particular rituals or behaviors that help you to reach that state?
– - What does it mean to be a “spiritual person”? What behaviors do you associate with being spiritual?
– - What does it mean to grow spiritually and how do you know if you have grown?
– - If you were to focus more on growing spiritually, what changes would you need to make in your life? What would you give up, if anything, and what would you need to do more of?
I hope these prompts have helped you discover more about what spirituality and being spiritual means to you. I welcome your comments about this topic and any of the writing prompts.
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Thank you for posting on spirituality. One of the things I feel is missing from some of the memoir and other personal writing I see is the spiritual side of the author. I do not mean the religious side, which is often confused with spirituality. Now I need to look at my own work to find where I have neglected to use that ingredient.
Patsy, I was writing about exploring spirituality for personal, private reasons and hadn’t considered how these journal explorations would help inform our other writing, especially memoir — which is ironic considering how I’m always talking about using our journals to help with other writing projects 🙂 And, I suppose, that includes fiction. Thanks for this take on the topic!
A thought-provoking piece. Thanks for helping me to refocus on my spirituality, for it certainly is at the core of my writing. The prompts will certainly help as I delve into this subtle yet creative part of me!
You’re welcome, Sara. I do believe our spiritual self is our creative center — yet how often I forget in the crush of daily living to check in with her. Happy writing!
Love #4 in the list. Noting when how you feel when you feel spiritual and what helped bring you to that connection can help in reaching that connection again. Taking a minute to identify can go a long way. Thanks for the great post!
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I am going through a storm right now and I have separated myself from God unlike any other time before. As I journey through this period in my life I am reminded by your prompts of there having been moments in the past where I exhibited virtue, grace, and even humility. I always play the devil’s advocate when speaking of humility because most people assign this quality to themselves or to others not really knowing what humility is. It is knowing and living your truth in congruence, you are no better or no worse than others, yet you know you possess distinct weaknesses and defects and unique gifts and talents, and to know that all these come from God and apart from God a person is nothing. I think to what were the key differences between then and now, and it is not hard to see that in those days I was attending daily mass, receiving the Eucharist daily, made use of the sacrament of confession regularly and I had a spiritual director who guided my conduct and my prayer life was engaged and dynamic. Things were not perfect then either am I implying, but it was different because I was unmoved by the trials of life and grounded in my faith. Then this pandemic hit and by the second month into the third things kind of went south, Although I continued to practice my faith at home through the pandemic after a while it just got boring and lost its appeal that of attending mass virtually. But, life is a roller coaster, there are many ups and downs, and I must remember soon the roller coaster will be going up, ascending.
Thank you for sharing your story, Pablo. It is good and comforting to remember that all things pass in time (something I remind myself daily during these trying times). And personal growth and change is never comfortable, almost always painful in some way. Knowing this doesn’t make challenges feel better when you are going through them, but it can help you endure. I wish you well on your journey, and I hope you are processing some of your thoughts and feelings using journal writing as a tool — it really can help.