Unleashing Clarity: The Power of Free Flow Journaling

The other night, after a grueling day at work, I found myself feeling utterly drained. The exhaustion had hit me hard, leaving me feeling almost zombie-like, numb to the vibrancy of life or playfulness of my kiddo. This numbness persisted even as I spent time with my dog, cat and family, a realization that struck me as particularly alarming.

It's one thing to feel tired, but another to feel disconnected from the moments that should matter the most.

Recognizing my need for a breather, my wife Celeste suggested I spend some time in our infrared sauna, a suggestion that felt like a beacon of relief. The idea was to carve out some space for myself, to step back and recharge in solitude. As the sauna warmed up, I found myself drawn to an old habit I'd neglected for too long: free flow journaling.

Journaling used to be a crucial part of my daily routine, a form of meditation that allowed me to spill out my thoughts and emotions unfiltered. But over time, my journal entries had morphed into repositories of ideas, plans, and strategies, leaving little room for the kind of mental and emotional "vomiting" that I knew to be therapeutic.

Seated on the couch, I let my pen race across the pages, pouring out the tangled thoughts without censorship. It was a raw, unstructured process, allowing everything that weighed on me to surface without judgment. As I wrote, I found myself engaging in a silent dialogue, questioning and probing the narratives that unfolded, challenging their validity.

This act of writing, of questioning, acted as a purge, clearing the mental fog that had clouded my being. Within minutes, I felt a significant shift—a lightness and clarity that replaced the heaviness of before.

This experience reinforced a valuable lesson: sometimes, the clarity we seek doesn't require external intervention or guidance.

Often, the answers are skimming the surface, waiting for us to acknowledge and address them.

This led me to an impromptu exercise, one I'd like to share with you.

I invite you to join me in a brief session of free flow writing.

Grab a pen and paper, and let's dedicate a five minutes to writing whatever comes to mind. There's no right or wrong here, only the freedom to explore what lies within. Whether it's a stream of consciousness, a barrage of questions, or a list of things weighing on you, let it all out.

I encourage you to take this time for yourself. Let your thoughts flow freely onto the page, and see what revelations await. This simple practice might just offer the clarity or release you've been searching for, much like it did for me on that transformative night.

I hope this has been helpful and a good reminder that sometimes we just need to vomit our thoughts and emotions on to a page for nobody in the world to read except you and Life/God/The Universe!

In fact, to ensure nobody saw what I wrote, I burned it all -- and that felt great too!