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Journaling & the Cultural
Creative Way
Transpersonality Times | by Karen Engelsen
O nourishing river
Mother of all that is written
Inspire fluent, truthful words.
May I discover the sacred river of wisdom within.
-- Invocation of Saraswati, the Hindu Goddess of Inspiration
It's been an interesting time since the election. Many have spoken of feelings of
despair, or helplessness - "I feel isolated and overwhelmed," or "as
if all my work hasn't mattered," or even "I feel defeated." Important
as it is to pay careful attention to the feelings that move through us personally,
it is doubly important during times of transformation to reach out and form bonds
of connection with others of like mind. Writing -- be it e-mail conversations on
listservs, journaling or through print media in any form -- can be a powerful tool
to forge connections and determine new directions for action.
Many Cultural Creatives have used journaling as a means of personal healing. By giving
voice to the Spirit as it moves through us, we have learned to name and claim our
strengths, and identify and articulate the oftentimes subtle things that disturb
us. However useful a tool of individual healing the act of writing is, writing can
be about much more than "Me" in terms of personal stories or memoir. Writing
can be about the "We" of how we are together as a human family. By breaking
down the silences between us, and challenging those feelings of isolation through
poetry, essay, or fiction, we can support and empower each other. Yes, recording
our grievances and articulating our feelings has given us strength. We derive much
individual empowerment through personal modes of creative expression. However, there
is much more yet to be done!
Writing is a means of developing self-trust in our own values, even while immersed
in paradigms not our own. Self-trust is the ability to know the truth about what
you think and feel in your very bones -- and then use this information to guide your
life. That is a difficult proposition when the language that frames our concepts
of self, society and values are framed by people who value authority, hierarchy and
"might-makes-right." A kind of uneasy cognitive dissonance can leave Cultural
Creatives feeling disconnected, as if our mental gyroscopes were set about 15 degrees
off plumb. We develop internal distortions, created by walking paths framed by values
other than our own. This makes us gradually forget who and what we really are, until
the core of our spirits depart and we are left walking blindly through the ritualized
motions of a life.
We must write the narratives that heal us, not just as lone individuals, but as a
community. The media provide us little but stories of the steady roll-back of hard
fought humanitarian turf. Newspapers and TV show our values under assault, and we
begin to feel like lonely, isolated round pegs in a very square world. However we're
not alone, and there are events happening now that reflect our values. The fear and
isolation Cultural Creatives feel is at least partly an artifact of the media guideline:
"If it bleeds, it leads!"
There's a great deal of collective stress we can heal through positive stories and
poems penned by Cultural Creatives. Instead of stories of war, how about writing
stories about the wind farm going up off the coast of Nantucket? Such a story provides
readers good news about government support for business -- and heals assumptions
that our government has no role in preserving the environment. Stories about the
burgeoning alternative economies of Argentina would provide insight into alternative
economics we might implement ourselves. These stories can be shared amongst ourselves
through New Media -- web-based news feeds, self-publishing, the newsletters of progressive
organizations...even developing private e-mail groups with which to send our hope-filled
essays.
Writing is meaning making, as well as an act of self-claiming. The process of articulating
hopes and dreams grants us a sense of interiority, one that can stand against the
barrage of negative news. Instead of being submerged in the flow of one's thoughts,
self-reflection creates a surface on which the thoughts flow, to be seen and captured.
Writing is thus part of a means toward attaining consciousness.
Writing can be an essential collective healing tool in these times of transition
-- we've suffered a loss, and we're living through life-changing events. Take up
your pen, or keyboard, and tell your personal story of change, pain and transformation.
Engage in prophecy -- give voice to images of what it's like to live in a changed
culture, dream sweet dreams of the future; and give gratitude for the profound and
everyday experiences that help you realize how precious life can be.
OUR stories have yet to be written! Along with giving voice to our discontents, naming
the systems that oppress us, and howling loudly in our collective wilderness, we
must treat our dreams with reverence, open to the winds of Spirit and pay deep attention
to the emergent new growth that occurs, even in the midst of war.
Resources for Further Exploration:
The Loft: www.loft.org
SASE: www.saseonline.org/home/
ZuZu's Petals: www.zuzu.com -- 10,000+ organized links to helpful resources for writers
Common Dreams: www.commondreams.org
-- Breaking News
for the Progressive Community
Life's Companion:
Journal Writing as a Spiritual Quest, by Christina Baldwin
Writing Dissent, by Robert Jensen
Don't Think of an Elephant! Know Your Values and Frame the Debate, by George Lakhoff
Bird by Bird, by Anne Dillard
Karen Engelsen is a writer, editor and writing consultant who assists writers
to publish works on spiritual development. She also teaches Spiral Dynamics in Community
Education classes. She can be reached at siribear@earthlink.net
Copyright © 2004 Karen Engelsen |
| Dec 2004 |
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