Lots happening in the LifeJournal world!  In this newsletter, the first article describes Anne Paris’ Standing at the Water’s Edge, a book about the psychology of creativity.  I found the book fascinating and relevant to journal writing and wanted to share some thoughts with you.

The second article is about the LifeJournal webinars that we have begun. We have conducted six webinars in the last few months, and I am so pleased about the positive feedback. People are finding these webinar very helpful and enjoying the contact with other members of the LifeJournal community!

A couple more items of note: (1) I’ve started a blog—see blog.lifejournal.com.  Every 4-5 days there’s a new post about some slice of journal writing that catches my attention that hopefully will stimulate your thinking. I invite you to leave comments. You can subscribe via RSS feed or by email from the blog and then you’ll receive the new blog entries directly to your RSS reader or email inbox.

(2) For those days that you want to handwrite your journal entries rather than use a keyboard, we had created our LifeJournal on Paper. This had been a notebook that we mailed you, but now we have created a PDF file that you can download and print. The file contains the 150 pages that has a template that dovetails with the LifeJournal program. There’s space for the entry title, date, and Daily Pulse values along with a prompts or a quotes on each page. You can print it on letter size paper and then insert it into your own binder. Please go to www.lifejournal.com/LJOP_download for more information.

As we approach the holidays, consider giving gifts of LifeJournal software and other journal-related items: the LifeJournal on Paper download, a webinar, a set of e-prompts.  These are not only meaningful and out-of-the-ordinary gifts, but affordable, too.

Happy Thanksgiving!
Sincerely,
Ruth Folit
rrfolit@lifejournal.com

Standing at the Water's Edge by Anne Paris, PhD

Knowing that there's a strong connection between journal writing and creativity, I read the book with a journal-centric eye--looking for intersections between the two subjects. Comments about journal writing are mine and don't reflect Dr. Paris' observations. I'll try to be clear about what her comments are and where I'm building on her ideas.

A main thesis of Dr. Paris' book is that one's ability to immerse oneself into creativity is about one's psychological issues and capabilities. Paris uses the words "immersive" or "immersion" as a key component of creativity. The phrase describes the willingness to give oneself up fully to the creative experience.

READ MORE>>www.lifejournal.com/standing_at_waters_edge 

LifeJournal Webinar Feedback

"It was really helpful to be able to see Ruth demonstrate on the screen and to watch the functions happen in real time.  And to be able to HEAR the explanations, made it very easy to follow along.  It seems a technology that almost provides the same benefits as actually being in a classroom with an instructor and other students.  It is a "live" presentation.  To be able to hear the other students from around the country, without having to travel was just very impressive." --Raymond Soto

"Sheila, thank you very much for your feedback tonight--it was so valuable to me to see how you approached my journal entry, and I instantly saw the differences your changes made.  This is a great way to learn--at home and in my PJs!"  --Linda Fletcher

Learn more about upcoming webinars

So as our full journal service company continues to evolve, we're excited to announce that we're moving into wider outreach for training and education about journal writing. We've started offering webinars about journal writing.

"Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties."--Erich Fromm

"Odd how the creative power at once brings the whole universe to order."-Virginia Woolf

"The capacity for delight is the gift for paying attention."-Julia Cameron