Even if you are not in the habit of keeping a diary or personal journal, it is an excellent idea to start writing down notes from your meditation experiences, as a tool to help you with your meditation. Because the benefits of meditation practice are often powerful, life changing, and positive, by noting them in writing we can reinforce our commitment to meditation the lifestyle. But these effects of meditation are also sometimes the most subtle and imperceptible ones to identify. It is like trying to pay attention to how your face changes, as you see it every day in the mirror. You may not notice anything different, whereas those friends who have not seen you for a long time will remark how much you have changed and how different you look. Similarly, with meditation, the changes can be hard for the meditation student to notice because they are happening all the time.

But the journal helps us to step back and look across our experience in such a way that we, too, can say “Wow. Look how much I have changed.”

To begin keeping a meditation journal, first pick out a nice notebook and a pen or pencil that suits your style. It is important for us to like the feel of the pen, and the look of the notebook and paper. These kinds of things may seem insignificant and not important, but they are like the subtle qualities in the food we prepare or the clothes we wear – they reflect who we are, and what our tastes are, so if we choose them carefully, we will be more inspired by them and inclined to write down our daily observations and insights.

Keep the journal nearby, and begin by always writing entries before and after meditation. Even if you just write a sentence, it is a good exercise to get you in the habit of putting some of your feelings and thoughts on the page. Later you can set aside time, just as you set aside meditation time, to write about your meditation practice in more detail. Or you may be satisfied to just write longer entries at the end of your meditation sessions.

For example:

Thursday, before meditation:

Before meditation today I have a lot on my mind because my grandmother is sick and my work at the job is increasing. I didn’t even want to meditate today because I don’t have time but I decided to go ahead and do it.

Thursday, after meditation:

I am not going to write much today because I have to go see my grandmother, but I am glad I meditated. Now I feel much better and my anxiety level is more manageable. My mind was filled with lots of useless thoughts that were driving me a little nuts. Now I am focused on my breathing, and I realize that things are not nearly as stressful as I thought they were. I have decided to meditate twice a day until things at work calm down.

After you get into the ongoing practice of making journal writing a part of your meditation lifestyle, you can look back over the months and years and see significant insights and improvements. And because you are writing from the mind, you will notice how your writing is easier to do and is more clear and succinct, because the mind is becoming more clear and calm. Eventually sitting meditations become just one part of your whole life of meditation, as everything – cooking, cleaning, working, writing, recreation, and spending time with friends – becomes a platform for some type of internal meditation practice, based on the in and out breath. .