In Life's Companion, Christina Baldwin points out that writing is a means of expanding our inner horizons, of relating more meaningfully to the world we live in and to other travelers on the spiritual path. Baldwin, a leader of the renaissance of personal writing, has taught personally more than 30,000 people the joys of journaling. The book illuminates its text with enlightening quotations, exercises, questions, and techniques to nurture the writer and seeker within. Centered in a broad spiritual philosophy, Life's Companion shows readers how to transform writing into a tool for self-growth, heightened awareness, and personal fulfillment. The stunning cover and beautiful interior art was designed by renowned spiritual artist Susan Seddon Boulet. Minnesota psychotherapist Baldwin's intent can be grasped from the title of her previous book, One to One: Self-Understanding Through Journal Writing ( LJ 9/1/77); she argues that such understanding leads to empowerment and action. At first this work seems programmatic, combining New Age lingo with vaguely pluralistic beliefs. But, like a spiritual quest, it gradually deepens in tone. Baldwin's thought-provoking and serious topic suggestions assist readers in looking within to discover who they are, and the interspersed writing examples and quotations are also (for the most part) first-rate. Life's Companion encourages reflection, silence, forgiveness, trust, and acceptance--the essential qualities of a spiritual life. - Carol J. Lichtenberg, Washington State Univ. Lib., Pullman Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. In Life's Companion, Christina Baldwin points out that writing is a means of expanding our inner horizons, of relating more meaningfully to the world we live in and to other travelers on the spiritual path. Baldwin, a leader of the renaissance of personal writing, has taught personally more than 30,000 people the joys of journaling. The book illuminates its text with enlightening quotations, exercises, questions, and techniques to nurture the writer and seeker within. Centered in a broad spiritual philosophy, Life's Companion shows readers how to transform writing into a tool for self-growth, heightened awareness, and personal fulfillment. The stunning cover and beautiful interior art was designed by renowned spiritual artist Susan Seddon Boulet. Christina Baldwin is the author of Calling the Circle , Seven Whispers , and most recently Storycatcher , which won a 2006 Books for a Better Life Award. She teaches and lectures extensively through her educational company, PeerSpirit. She lives outside Seattle, Washington, on Whidbey Island. Chapter One Journeys and Journals I have always known that at last I would take this road, but yesterday I did not know that it would be today.—Narihara There comes a journey . . . And there also comes the urge to write it down, to bear witness to our experience, to share our questions and the insights that come from questioning. The spiritual journey is the one trip we are all taking together. You may be in a bookstore, a grocery store, at a restaurant, or home in bed. Whatever you think you're doing, whatever else you identify as happening, you are also somewhere in the middle of your spiritual journey. The spiritual journey is the part of life that is the path within the path. Spirituality is the sacred center out of which all life comes, including Mondays and Tuesdays and rainy Saturday afternoons in all their mundane and glorious detail. The spiritual journey is what the soul is up to while we attend to daily living. The spiritual journey is the soul's life commingling with ordinary life. The fabric tears: the soul sees Monday, Monday sees the soul. The purpose of this book is to facilitate the commingling between spiritual and ordinary life, to allow us to see both aspects more clearly and to live both aspects more fully. And the easiest, most efficient, and most delightful way I know to watch these levels of life commingle is to write down the details and stories of our lives as we go. This is journal writing as a spiritual practice. Choosing a Journal Journal writing is a practice that requires tools and leaves evidence. If you are writing by hand, you will go through a process of finding just the right paper, the size and shape and weight of book that you want to carry along with you. You will choose favorite pens. Formats will evolve over time. If you are typing, you are most likely working on an electronic keyboard, with your words appearing before you on a computer screen. You may be using journaling software or a word-processing program. You may store files inside your computer, or venture online and into the world of blogging and other interactive programs in which the journal creates a dialogue between unseen companions. If you are new to journal writing or looking to renew your relationship to a habit that has grown stale, I invite you to experiment, to notice wh