A helpful practice that will guide you towards peace and enlightenment is to keep a mindfulness journal. Use your journal in the days ahead to ask yourself the following prompts. The journal will become a valuable record for your spiritual growth. Remember, we are responsible for the peace in our lives. It’s up to us to keep our mind, body and energies balanced. This will not only benefit you, but those around you too. The effect of one harmonious soul is irresistible.
If you prefer mindfulness journals that come with pre-made prompts, I’ve made some recommendations toward the bottom of this post!
General Mindfulness Prompts
- What am I most grateful for?
- What negative thought patterns do I wish to transform?
- How well do I accept myself?
- Is there an area in my life that dares me to develop more of myself? If so, what are the first steps I need to take to get there? Make a list and commit to these steps.
- Is there an area in my life where I have been trying, instead of doing?
- What makes me unique from other people that I know? What is my special contribution to this life?
- Is there a crisis in my life that is actually an opportunity to follow through on an unrealized dream?
- When was the last time that I felt at peace with myself and the world around me? What made me feel that way?
- What are my deepest fears? Am I confronting them or running away from them?
- Do I communicate honestly with myself and others?
- Do I mean what I say?
- Is my intention to share and not expand my ego?
- Do I really and truly listen to others? Or am I thinking of other things during the conversation?
- Can I be present with someone without constantly talking over them?
- How do I spend my time? With whatever you write down, ask yourself:
- Is it necessary?
- Is it healthy?
- Is it productive?
- Does it bring greater peace to my life or the planet?
Specific Mindfulness Journal Prompts
My Job
For some people, their careers are the center of their lives. Unfortunately, society often encourages this. When we introduce ourselves, we usually define who we are as what we do: “My name is Lauren. I’m a computer programmer.” When we retire, we may not know what to do with ourselves because we will lose our “identity.” Those who are laid off or fired from their position for one reason or another may become seriously depressed or suicidal because what they have identified with is now gone. It is not the Buddhist way to have such a strong attachment to something that is ultimately temporary.
If you’ve been over-identifying with your job, start to answer the following prompts and remind yourself that you are NOT your job. That is only *one* part of your complex and beautiful life.
- When I introduce myself, am I proud to say what I do or am I embarrassed to admit it?
- Do I find it hard to relax on vacations?
- When I perform well on the job, do I feel ecstatic?
- When I perform poorly on the job, do I feel like a complete failure?
- Is my work my number one priority?
- Do I let stress and anxiety take control of my thoughts & actions?
- Do I bring work back home with me?
- What are my strengths? Am I putting those strengths to good use?
- Am I happy at my job?
- Am I in a toxic work environment, or am I treated fairly and with respect?
My Family
Our families are sources of love and support, but over-identifying can be unhealthy. The unfortunate reality is this: People change, children grow up and move away, marriages don’t always work out, and death is always lingering.
Remind yourself that you have a family, but you are *not* your family. Use the following prompts to help you sort through your thoughts and emotions.
- When I make plans, do I think of my family first?
- Do I feel my own needs are selfish?
- Do I do things because my family thinks I should? Or because I want to?
- Do I lack time for my own interests?
- Do I worry a lot about family members?
My Partner
- When I make plans, do I think of my partner first?
- Am I afraid to be honest with him/her/them?
- Do I do things I don’t like in order to please my partner?
- Do I react to my partner’s moods with emotional ups and downs?
- Am I neglecting my friends and personal interests because of my partner?
- Am I easily jealous? Do I worry about my partner or fear of losing him/her/them? If so, why?
- Do I treat my partner with respect? Do I receive the same respect in return?
- Is there a spiritual or deep emotional connection that you share with your partner? If not, what is your relationship built on?
My Body
- Am I uncomfortable in crowds? Do I feel like everyone is looking at me and judging me?
- Am I dissatisfied with my body, and if so, why?
- Do I feel like I have to look a certain way to be accepted in society?
- Am I afraid of growing older?
- Do I spend lots of time compulsively dieting, exercising or grooming myself?
- When I look in the mirror, what do I say or think to myself? Are those thoughts positive or negative?
4 Mindfulness Journal Recommendations
Burn After Writing
Feeling uncomfortable with the thought of writing down your true feelings knowing someone could find your journal someday? No worries! You can snatch this “Burn After Writing” mindfulness journal. It comes with prompts to encourage self reflection and honesty. You can burn it after with some matches (but it doesn’t come with this journal!).
A Year of Zen: A 52-Week Guided Mindfulness Journal
Embark on a wondrous journey through the self with this 52-week guided journal from Zen priest and teacher Bonnie Myotai Treace, sensei. Her wise, thought-provoking prompts will lead beginners and experienced practitioners alike through the seasons, filling the blank spaces with peaceful self-exploration and reflection every day.
Gratitude: A Day and Night Reflection Journal
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This mindfulness journal will help you center your day around positive feelings and gratitude. It’s the perfect place to record and celebrate anything that you are grateful for and to preserve important memories. This 90-day journal gives you a path to creating a habit of daily gratitude
The 6-Minute Diary | A Simple and Effective Gratitude Mindfulness Journal and Undated Daily Planner (Sky Blue)
It includes weekly questions as well a monthly check in where you rate yourself on a scale in many areas such as health, fun, mindfulness, finances, etc. There is also a habit tracker each month with spaces for three habits of your choice to track. The questions are 3 minutes in the morning and another 3 minutes in the evening. The morning ones are: what am I grateful for, how I’m going to make today great, and a make your own positive affirmation. The evening ones are: ways I can improve, great things that happened today, and my good deed today.
