Journaling That Taps Into Your Own Wisdom

Life has so many layers. When we feel buried beneath our responsibilities and masks and stories, it can feel impossible to find the truth of ourselves. When we don’t know where to look for a way through, we can find direction by looking within.

It was late afternoon, and the sun had dipped low enough in the sky to create a brilliant rainbow through the misty rain. I’ve seen my share of double rainbows, but this one has about six color sequences, repeating and dancing the rainbow through the sky. I was on my way to a meeting, but had to pull over the car and let myself soak it in. My busy day fell away as I allowed myself to marvel in the luminous colors that within minutes had faded away.

It is increasingly easy to get lost in our own lives. We carry the load of our families: our children, aging parents, ailing friends. The layers add up as day after day we neglect our own truth in order to handle what is in front of us, demanding our attention—brushing away those whispers of our deepest self that are begging to be heard.

I’ve often found a blank page daunting, whether it’s starting an article or preparing to journal to understand some part of my life that is muddled. Elena Brower wants to help us navigate the often tumultuous waters that will bring us home to ourselves. Her book Practice You is an invitation to mine the depths of our own truth. Born from her own decades-long journaling practice, Brower offers page after page of prompts and musings, mixed with pages washed with colors and designs. She writes, “Each exploration offers instructions and inquiries to help you design new attitudes, contemplate fresh perspectives, and stay on track with your intentions.” Her intention is to help us become more attuned to listening to our own inner voice and to “elevate your inner dialogue.”

Brower explores nine parts of our being, beginning with “I am,” where she offers a meditation, followed by questions such as, “What are the words you’d use to describe your current attitude about your life right now?” She offers pages filled with color; with questions and prompts on each page exploring meditation, faith in oneself, and an opportunity to write a letter to a much younger you, offering encouragement.

From “I am” and “I speak” all the way to “I serve” and “I trust,” Brower offers a beautiful map to remembering who we are. With a reminder that the journey back to our own truth is not a linear path, opening this lovely book to any page will inspire a deeper connection to the truth of who we are. Brower encourages becoming “the author of your own prayers” and offers this instruction as a guiding light for your practice: “Put your attention on the baseline softness beneath it all-the sweet, almost childlike longing to be heard, felt, seen, accepted and loved for precisely who and where you are. Let these pages spark a sense of reverence for your own path.”