Inspiring Quotes for Journal Prompts
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- Category: Self-Help
Enliven your journal writing and stimulate your creativity. This can lead you to new awareness and release courage you need for taking your next step in your recovery.
photo: Powerful torrents can lead to deep serenity.
Here are some quotes to guide you.
Choose one quote. Write it out on the top of your new journal page. Then allow your mind to wander with the quote. Write down images that pass through your mind. Describe feelings you have in your body. Write down word snatches or conversations that occur to you.
Then write a letter to yourself sharing your experience and understanding about what is happening to you as you experience the quote.
Don't censor yourself and do allow yourself to be surprised.
"For in their hearts doth Nature stir them so,
Then people long on pilgrimage to go,
And palmers to be seeking foreign strands,
To distant shrines renowned in sundry lands.
-- Geoffrey Chaucer in The Canterbury Tales
"We thirst
at first."
-- Emily Dickinson
"If you stand, stand.
If you sit, sit.
But don't wobble!"
-- Zen Master Ummon
"Be ye lamps unto yourselves."
-- Gautama Buddha
"And it was then that in the depths of sleep
Someone breathed to me: 'You alone can do it,
Come immediately.'"
-- Jules Supervielle in "The Call."
"The truth knocks on the door and you say, "Go away.
I'm looking for the truth,"
and so it goes away.
Puzzling."
-- Robert Pirsig
"Most people have that fantasy
of catching the train that
whistles in the night."
-- Willie Nelson
"Personal answers
to ultimate questions.
That is what we seek."
-- Alexander Eliot
Let us know which quote you chose and what it helped you learn about yourself.
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"The truth knocks on the door and you say, "Go away.
I'm looking for the truth,"
and so it goes away.
Puzzling."
-- Robert Pirsig
The two quotes that stood out for me were:
"If you stand, stand.
If you sit, sit.
But don't wobble!"
- Zen Master Ummon
and
“Be ye lamps unto yourselves” – Gautama Buddha
The first quote felt like a message around the current (divorce) situation with my ex, a reminder that no matter how well we get along, that there is no way back, I need to make sure I stand firm and don't soften over time, because I know without a doubt that getting out of the relationship is the right thing to do, even though I still care about her a lot.
Journalling about it, what I realised was that actually I don't feel a great sense of loss about my ex as she is now and has been for the last 2 years, the feelngs I have are actually about losing my husband, the male person she was before she changed gender; and missing being 'just a "normal" family with a mummy, a daddy and 2 children', I feel sad that my children don't have that anymore.... but realistically that person she was then, when she was male, is long gone!
I knew really when I started ED therapy that it would cost me my marriage, it was the one thing I was so scared of, I remember telling my therapist that I was reluctant to start treatment because of it, because I wasn't willing to end that relationship. Over time though what I realise is that we both had backgrounds that had left us with ways of being that made us unhealthy partners, and we were both codependent on each other. What I never really thought about though was what happens when one of you takes steps to deal with some of those issues, gain some self-esteem, start setting some boundaries, and generally becoming emotionally healthier and stronger....it's sad that my emotional and mental healing has not just opened up a gap and but it's almost like it has exposed a lot of her weaknesses, because she is no longer able to use me to blame things on or bolster her self-esteem, and that seems to have really affected her and hit her hard.
It's hard because I do feel an element of guilt there, but I cannot do the work for her, it's hers to do - you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink...I've done all I can do.
I know it's time to be strong and stand firm on this decision, it's what needs to be done.
The second quote "be ye lamps unto yourselves" is a reminder that I know that deep inside, away from the insecurities that have been fabricated and constructed from my interactions with others, who I am, I know exactly what I need, there is an inner core, an inner self that instinctively knows what I need to do, it's a driving energy, a warm energy, that feels like closing my eyes and basking in sunlight. My inner self knows I am strong, knows I will not be beaten down easily, she is gritty and determined, yet she is soft and vulnerable too, and she senses when it is safe to let those vulnerabilities show, when it’s safe to lay herself bare. When she strips away the requirements of everyday life imposed upon her, and is completely open and bare, her primitive instincts take over, and she becomes grounded and fulfilled, and feels at one, not just with the earth, but with the universe....she knows that she belongs to the earth, yet the earth belongs to the sky and the universe beyond that, of which she is a tiny part.
She knows that if she stays connected to this part of herself, that she will be just fine she'll be able to fulfil her innermost needs, and find contentment, not in a slovenly way, but with a sense of adventure and an open mind that allows her to be constantly evolving and developing herself.
What I also realise is that choosing the 2 quotes that were instantly meaningful to me was probably more affirming than fruitful and that I should repeat this exercise using some of the quotes I feel less drawn to.
They come from a mind, psyche, spirit, or heart that is different from yours. They come from another consciousness. So when one or more touches you it is a statement of human depth that is reaching your awareness. You gain more or new appreciation of your own experience as the person from another sphere articulates what you are going through.
Once that is articulated, especially by a respected voice, you are enriched in some way. You not only feel support. You gather in the nourishment of knowing your experience is understandable. You evolve to a stronger and more aware position in yourself.
Shh, there are no errors in this exercise. Pick what you are drawn to. On a different day you will be drawn to something different from today. Trust your choice. And on a different day, trust your different choice.
"And it was then that in the depths of sleep
Someone breathed to me: 'You alone can do it,
Come immediately.'"
-- Jules Supervielle in "The Call."
there are times I feel strong and on top of things , almost like I don't need the backup support. It's usually times when I'm taking my meds, journaling, staying in my spiritual zone, and not acting on my eating disorder.
Then there are times like now. I hate feeling childish and dependent. I hate that I have relapsed into my eating disorder. But I get scared. I've been physically ill. Im losing my mom to dementia and my place in the family order has bumped up. People depend on me everywhere I turn. I feel I have no soft place to land.
I think this stress is the reason not for my relapse necessarily, but for continuing to act on it. It's all mine. No one can fix me. I can only fix myself.
coming "in the depths of sleep" is powerful. I often have strange dreams - sometimes horrible dreams about my past abuse both from my GF and my mom.. The darkness that surrounds a wake up after a nightmare is permeating. It takes a lot of personal power to get myself together after these times. That's why I think the author picked this time of day and through the method of sleep, quiet, darkness. It's when we listen best. We have to
Im scared to do this alone. I know I can. Ive done it before. But now more than ever I feel the pressure to do so.
I really need support but I'm not asking the right way. I'm acting out and my therapist knows it. It doesn't mean I don't need support though. But perhaps she is trying to wean me for the time she will no longer be there at all.
i need to hit a support group. I need to journal more. I need to let people help me when I need it.
I need to believe I can do this "alone".
Mi hope I grasped the meaning of the quote.
Tracy