Hi, my name is Andy and welcome to Radio Headspace.

So it's Thursday morning and I don't know if you're someone who journals at all.

We get quite a few people writing in asking about journaling and why don't we do it on

the Headspace app? You know, is there a place for it and how is it connected to meditation

and everything else? I don't really have any strong feelings about it myself. It seems

to work very well for some people. It seems to really enjoy it and get a lot out of it.

And other people, just less interest. But it did remind me of a particular time in the

monastery where I got some really good advice on something very similar actually and I think

it might apply. I'd gone from one monastery where we all used to sit together in a big

open room. Obviously there was no privacy. There were none of your personal effects around you.

You just in this room the whole day. And when I went to a Tibetan monastery, I found myself

that I had my own room. You'd go in there and you do your sessions. Obviously there's a few books

in the room and there's a pen and paper and that kind of thing. As I sat meditating,

every now and again I thought we're coming to my mind and I'm not talking about any great insight

or wisdom. But at the time, you know, it kind of felt meaningful and I almost didn't want

to lose that thought. So I got into the habit. I remember bringing a piece of paper and a pen

and putting it down next to my cushion and if something happened like that and it really felt

meaningful and like it might have some kind of lasting impact on my life, I'd jot it down.

And an interesting thing happens when you write something down. It starts to become a bit more

solid. It becomes a bit more tangible and you move away from that meditative quality of

allowing things to come and go, just witnessing them. All of a sudden you're cherry picking and

kind of say that one's really important. Oh, that's good. That one, yeah, I'll write that one down.

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