Write to Connect

What wisdom does your future self have to share with you?Parenting is full of phases. With hindsight, we can appreciate what we have passed through and that there was indeed an end or a shift at some point. But when you are in the middle of a challenging period with your child, it can be hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, or to not fear that you have created a monster! (Hasn't that thought ever passed through your mind, too?)In this episode, give yourself the gift of hindsight and of a wisdom beyond your years by writing a letter to your present day self from your future, more experienced, self. I will guide you through an entrance meditation and then you will be invited to write for 10 minutes.This is the last in a four part series of podcast episodes in which you are invited to use journaling as a radical act of self care to reflect on your experience, joys and challenges of being a mum.I hope that this episode has supported you on your journey of creativity and connection.Thanks to lesfm for providing the theme music, 'In the Forest'.If you have feedback or requests for future podcast episodes, please get in touch.For details of workshops, courses and 1:1 mentoring or to join the Write to Connect community, visit JourneySong.inkFollow JourneySong on Twitter or Facebook

How do you, as a mother, keep your own cup filled up?In today's episode, I talk about the challenges of meeting your own multi-faceted needs amidst the demands on your time and energy as a parent. I invite you to participate in a two-part journaling exercise where you are able to explore the ways in which you can nourish and replenish your whole self. We use the formats of the list and mindmapping or clustering to generate creative ideas and solutions.This is the third in a four part series of podcast episodes in which you are invited to use journaling as a radical act of self care to reflect on your experience, joys and challenges of being a mum.I hope that this episode has supported you on your journey of creativity and connection.Thanks to lesfm for providing the theme music, 'In the Forest'.If you have feedback or requests for future podcast episodes, please get in touch.For details of workshops, courses and 1:1 mentoring or to join the Write to Connect community, visit JourneySong.inkFollow JourneySong on Twitter or Facebook

You are a mother, true. And you play or have played so many other roles in your life too.In today's episode, I invite you to delve into the magnificent multiplicity of who you are beyond and including your role as a mother. I offer two writing prompts, each with its own short entrance meditation. The first is to enable you to acknowledge the various roles that you play in your life and the second is to write a written portrait or 'character sketch' about one of these personas that you embody.This is the second in a four part series of podcast episodes in which you are invited to use journaling as a radical act of self care to reflect on your experience, joys and challenges of being a mum.References:Therapeutic Journal Writing by Kate ThompsonJournal to the Self - a 12 hour journaling course in which you can learn 18 different writing techniques for depth and diversity in your personal writing practice. New courses start regularly. Follow the link for current course dates.I hope that this episode has supported you on your journey of creativity and connection.Thanks to lesfm for providing the theme music, 'In the Forest'.If you have feedback or requests for future podcast episodes, please get in touch.For details of workshops, courses and 1:1 mentoring or to join the Write to Connect community, visit JourneySong.inkFollow JourneySong on Twitter or Facebook

What does Mothering mean to you? In this short and sweet episode, I talk about the immense rite of passage that it is to become a mother and offer a simple writing prompt, 'Mothering is...' , with a suggested writing time of 5 mins, to give you an opportunity to explore what being a parent means to you.This is the first in a four part series of podcast episodes in which you are invited to use journaling as a radical act of self care to reflect on your experience, joys and challenges of being a mum.I mention the term matrescence and the work of Amy Taylor Kabbaz as a means of capturing the enormity and impact on one's physical, mental and emotional being, as a result of giving birth and raising a child. It can be difficult to articulate the life-changing shift that occurs when you have a child and matrescence is the closest word that I have come across that does it justice.I hope that this episode has supported you on your journey of creativity and connection.Thanks to lesfm for providing the theme music, 'In the Forest'.If you have feedback or requests for future podcast episodes, please get in touch.For details of workshops, courses and 1:1 mentoring or to join the Write to Connect community, visit JourneySong.inkFollow JourneySong on Twitter or Facebook

Open to the power of fierce discernment that can express itself through you during the premenstrual phase.This is the fourth of a four part series on how journaling can support you to explore the different qualities and energies that move through you during your menstrual cycle.In this episode, you will be guided on an inner journey in which you can experience the shedding and laying down of boundaries that is possible during the premenstrual phase of your cycle. Afterwards, you will be invited to write in response to the simple prompt, 'When I say No' with a suggested writing time of five minutes.If you are not menstruating, you can participate in the visualisation and writing exercise at a time in your natural cyclical rhythm where you feel yourself descending into a more internal state. If you are tracking with the lunar cycle, this might be during the waning phase of the moon, for example.In the final part of the episode, I share my own writing and reflections in response to the writing prompt and how it relates to my experience of the premenstrual phase.I hope that this episode has supported you on your journey of creativity and connection.Thanks to lesfm for providing the theme music, 'In the Forest'.If you have feedback or requests for future podcast episodes, please get in touch.For details of workshops, courses and 1:1 mentoring or to join the Write to Connect community, visit JourneySong.inkFollow JourneySong on Twitter or Facebook

Explore the delicious expression of your fullness that is available to you during the time of ovulation.This is the third of a four part series on how journaling can support you to explore the different qualities and energies that move through you during your menstrual cycle.In this episode, you will be guided on an inner journey in which you can experience the magnetic, life-affirming energy that can accompany the ovulatory phase of the menstrual cycle. Afterwards, you will be invited to write in response to the prompt: 'When I say Yes to myself' with a suggested writing time of five minutes.If you are not menstruating, you can participate in the visualisation and writing exercise at a time in your natural cyclical rhythm where you feel alive with expressive energy . If you are tracking with the lunar cycle, this might be  during the full moon, for example.In the final part of the episode, I share my own writing and reflections in response to the writing prompt and how it relates to my experience of this phase.I hope that this episode has supported you on your journey of creativity and connection.Thanks to lesfm for providing the theme music, 'In the Forest'.If you have feedback or requests for future podcast episodes, please get in touch.For details of workshops, courses and 1:1 mentoring or to join the Write to Connect community, visit JourneySong.inkFollow JourneySong on Twitter or Facebook

Awaken the playfulness and possibilities that are available to you during the pre-ovulatory phase of your cycle.This is the second of a four part series on how journaling can support you to explore the different qualities and energies that move through you during your menstrual cycle.In this episode, you will be guided on an inner journey in which you can experience the rising, awakening energy that can accompany the pre-ovulatory or follicular phase of the menstrual cycle. Afterwards, you will be invited to write letter to yourself from your inner magical child with a suggested writing time of seven minutes.If you are not menstruating, you can participate in the visualisation and writing exercise at a time in your natural cyclical rhythm where you experience this rising energy after a period of restorative rest. If you are tracking with the lunar cycle, this might be  during the waxing phase of the moon, for example.In the final part of the episode, I share my own writing and reflections in response to the writing prompt and how it relates to my experience of this phase.Thanks to Red School for leading me into deeper relationship with my cyclical nature by sharing the map of the 'inner seasons'.I hope that this episode has supported you on your journey of creativity and connection.Thanks to lesfm for providing the theme music, 'In the Forest'.If you have feedback or requests for future podcast episodes, please get in touch.For details of workshops, courses and 1:1 mentoring or to join the Write to Connect community, visit JourneySong.inkFollow JourneySong on Twitter or Facebook

Dive into the depths of your being that can open up during menstruation.This is the first of a four part series on how journaling can support you to explore the different qualities and energies that move through you during your menstrual cycle.In this episode, you will be guided on an inner journey in which you can experience the deep rest and grounding in yourself that is possible at the time of the menstrual bleed. Afterwards, you will be invited to write in response to the simple prompt, 'Who am I?' with a suggested writing time of five minutes.If you are not menstruating, you can participate in the visualisation and writing exercise at a time in your natural cyclical rhythm where you drop into the practice of restorative rest. If you are tracking with the lunar cycle, this might be  during the dark phase of the moon, for example.In the final part of the episode, I share my own writing and reflections in response to the writing prompt and how it relates to my experience of the menstrual phase.Thanks to Red School for leading me into deeper relationship with my cyclical nature. I hope that this episode has supported you on your journey of creativity and connection.Thanks to lesfm for providing the theme music, 'In the Forest'.If you have feedback or requests for future podcast episodes, please get in touch.For details of workshops, courses and 1:1 mentoring or to join the Write to Connect community, visit JourneySong.inkFollow JourneySong on Twitter or Facebook

How can journaling support you to care for yourself and cultivate resilience?In today's episode, I speak with one of the leading voices in the field of Journaling for Wellbeing and director of the International Association for Journal Writing (IAJW), Lynda Monk, about her years of work supporting others to use personal writing as a tool for wellness.Our conversation covers many topics, including:- Personal writing as a valuable self-care practice - Journaling as a tool to prevent burnout and cultivate resilience - The space for releasing and filling-up that the journal can provide- How to create a safe space when facilitating journaling- Lynda's mentors and inspirations - Lynda's recent books and her work with the IAJW- How Lynda uses her journal day-to-dayTowards the end of the conversation, Lynda invites me and you, the listener, to participate in a 5 minute writing prompt, 'Right now, in my life when I take pauses, I notice...' followed by our reflections on this exercise.Links:International Association for Journal WritingLynda's co-written book, Writing Alone TogetherLynda's co-edited book, Transformational Journaling for Coaches, Therapists and ClientsRegistration is now open for the next round of my 6 week Journal to the Self course, which starts on Sunday 19th March. Read more and book your place hereI hope that this episode has supported you on your journey of creativity and connection.Thanks to lesfm for providing the theme music, 'In the Forest'.If you have feedback or requests for future podcast episodes, please get in touch.For details of workshops, courses and 1:1 mentoring or to join the Write to Connect community, visit JourneySong.inkFollow JourneySong on Twitter or Facebook

How would your life be different if you were free from the negative influence of your Inner Critic?This is the question I invite you to explore through your journal in today's episode, as we continue on the theme of the Inner Critic and how to work with it constructively so that you can live a full, vibrant expression of yourself.As well as inviting you to respond to this prompt, I also share my writing and the revelation it brought me as to how liberating it would be to live uninhibited my the Critic's negative internal voice.If you'd like to take this process further and learn more journaling techniques to support you in developing a constructive relationship with your Inner Critic, come along to my workshop, Face & Embrace: A Journal Date with your Inner Critic, which takes place next on the 19th Feb 2023 and continues to run at regular intervals.See https://JourneySong.ink/inner-critic for more details, tesimonials and to book your place.I hope that this episode has supported you on your journey of creativity and connection.Thanks to lesfm for providing the theme music, 'In the Forest'.If you have feedback or requests for future podcast episodes, please get in touch.For details of workshops, courses and 1:1 mentoring or to join the Write to Connect community, visit JourneySong.inkFollow JourneySong on Twitter or Facebook

Have you ever been the victim of your own harshest criticism? If you are prone to being prey to your Inner Critic - the negative voice in your head that tells you that you are not good enough - journaling can be a powerful tool for releasing yourself from a painful spiral of self-sabotage.In this episode, I share two journaling practicies that help you to lay a foundation for working with the Inner Critic by invoking and embodying your grounded adult self as a solid place from which to engage with the Critic.We use the techniques of the Character Sketch and Unsent Letter, with a total writing time of around 20 mins.You can read more about my personal reckoning with the Inner Critic in this blog post.If you are menstruating or tracking your cyclical rhythm with the moon, you may find it helpful to listen the the founders of Red School, Alexandra and Sjanie, talking about the Critic in this podcast episode.Read more info and book your place on my Inner Critic journaling workshop here. I hope that this episode has supported you on your journey of creativity and connection.Thanks to lesfm for providing the theme music, 'In the Forest'.If you have feedback or requests for future podcast episodes, please get in touch.For details of workshops, courses and 1:1 mentoring or to join the Write to Connect community, visit JourneySong.inkFollow JourneySong on Twitter or Facebook

Join me as I explore the life-affirming beauty of the creative process and learn about Wild Art Journaling with artist, creative facilitator and productivity expert, Moyra Scott.In Moyra's eyes, creativity is a way to bring ourselves back home, to our true nature.   Creative self expression is a human need.  Without it our life becomes more tiring, less vibrant and gets filled up with striving, shoulds, and have tos.  In this episode you will not only hear our conversation around these topics, you also have the opportunity to participate in Moyra's 4 stage Wild Art Journaling process as she guides me through: stream of consciousness writing, a  grounding meditation, a short prompted writing and then the creation of an abstract art piece using the page of written words.A unique and liberating experience. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!Moyra runs a weekly online Wild Art Journaling workshop, you can sign up via her website.Links:https://moyrascott.comhttps://www.instagram.com/moyrascott/References:Point Zero: Creativity without Limits by Michelle Cassou To join my 28 day Journaling Quest, starting 1st Feb, 2023, visit: https://JourneySong.ink/questI hope that this episode has supported you on your journey of creativity and connection.Thanks to lesfm for providing the theme music, 'In the Forest'.If you have feedback or requests for future podcast episodes, please get in touch.For details of workshops, courses and 1:1 mentoring or to join the Write to Connect community, visit JourneySong.inkFollow JourneySong on Twitter or Facebook

How can journaling support you to navigate your shadows?In this episode, soul-based coach, Lisa Jara and I have an intimate conversation about her personal transformation and how journaling and other allies supported her through her own 'dark night of the soul' and continue to support her to both process difficult emotions and to call dreams into being.Lisa shares how she navigated the mental health challenges she faced and how this led her to become a coach, supporting others to honour their cyclical wisdom in all areas of life including those that are considered dark and taboo.Towards the end of the episode, you can journal alongside Lisa as I offer two prompts based around the themes of self-perception and forgiveness. The two exercises invite a writing time of around 8 minutes in total.You can find out more about Lisa's work or contact her work via her website, Lisa-Jara.com or on Instagram and Facebook @lisa.jara.coaching.Lisa also hosts her own podcast, Spirals of Life, which you can find on Apple Podcasts and Spotify and shares intimate video conversations on her YouTube channel.I hope that this episode has supported you on your journey of creativity and connection.Thanks to lesfm for providing the theme music, 'In the Forest'.If you have feedback or requests for future podcast episodes, please get in touch.For details of workshops, courses and 1:1 mentoring or to join the Write to Connect community, visit JourneySong.inkFollow JourneySong on Twitter or Facebook

What events, people, places, transitions and transformations have shaped this last year for you?In this episode, you can take part in the two guided writing exercises that I shared in the most recent Write to Connect journaling circle, which give you an opportunity to reflect and ruminate on the last 12 months and everything you have learned, gained and let go of., as well as what you will leave behind and take forward with you into the coming cycle.If you'd like to take part in my monthly free online journaling circle, you can sign up at https://journeysong.ink/communityTo register for the 6 week Journal to the Self course that starts on 10th January, head over to https://journeysong.ink/journal-to-the-self.I hope that this episode has supported you on your journey of creativity and connection.Thanks to lesfm for providing the theme music, 'In the Forest'.If you have feedback or requests for future podcast episodes, please get in touch.For details of workshops, courses and 1:1 mentoring or to join the Write to Connect community, visit JourneySong.inkFollow JourneySong on Twitter or Facebook

How can journaling support you as a parent of a daughter approaching adolescence?In today's episode, I have a conversation with Liz Vivian, founder of Raising Flora, about her work coaching mothers to support their daughters in cultivating a healthy, positive relationship with their menstrual cycle.We explore what this might look like and how journaling can enable parents to reflect on their role and their own experiences of the cycle so they can model living in a way that honours our cyclical nature.Liz also shares how journaling has become a practice in her own life, after years of not considering herself a writer and how she documented a significant adventure that she undertook in this year, in which she has reached the age of 50.You can find out more about Liz and her work at raisingflora.comAnd, if you want to get into journaling but are not quite sure how or where to start, or if you want to bring some diversity to your writing practice, check out the 6 week Journal to the Self course. Enrolments are open now for the January-February 2023 course.I hope that this episode has supported you on your journey of creativity and connection.Thanks to lesfm for providing the theme music, 'In the Forest'.If you have feedback or requests for future podcast episodes, please get in touch.For details of workshops, courses and 1:1 mentoring or to join the Write to Connect community, visit JourneySong.inkFollow JourneySong on Twitter or Facebook

Write to Connect is a unique participatory podcast where you can experience for yourself the transformative power of journaling. Find out more by listening to this short trailer episode.I hope that this episode has supported you on your journey of creativity and connection.Thanks to lesfm for providing the theme music, 'In the Forest'.If you have feedback or requests for future podcast episodes, please get in touch.For details of workshops, courses and 1:1 mentoring or to join the Write to Connect community, visit JourneySong.inkFollow JourneySong on Twitter or Facebook