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How can I be the most loving person I am capable of being today? A journal writing session
Published January 13, 2012 | 
Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit. ~Peter Ustinov
Sometimes everyday life challenges us and keeps us from being the most loving people we are capable of being. A goal of mine is to live my life with love being my compass. This is not always easy.
This morning’s journal writing session serves as a reminder and a way of focusing on being that loving person that is inside of us.
In your journals, write: How can I be the most loving person I am capable of being today? Then list as many things as you can think of. I love doing this exercise in the morning when I am first waking up. It sets a positive tone to my day. If at first I was leaning towards getting a grumpy start, this exercise is capable of changing my outlook, mood, and immediately around considerably! Pretty powerful stuff for something so simple.
Ready to give this a try?
As I often do, I will start with a few ideas for my own journal entry and then it will be your turn.
Let’s see..
How can I be the most loving person I am capable of being today?
1. Greet my husband with a smile, hug, and kiss when he wakes up this morning and when I see him when I first get home later this afternoon.
2. Forgive his snoring from last night.
3. Patiently listen to my daughter describe her day when she is home from school.
4. Greet every one of my students with a smile as they enter my classroom this morning.
5. Complain about nothing.
6. Be generous with compliments with everybody I encounter today.
7. Love myself by eating healthy food, drinking plenty of water, and working out.
I will stop here and finish in my private journal.
Have a blessed day full of love.
Debra
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A special time for you this evening: a simple prayer
Published January 11, 2012 | 
Tonight I invite you to take that bath, pour that glass of wine or brew that herbal tea…
Before bed, write a prayer in your journal. It can be very simple. Connecting to God (or whatever your faith may be) is very healthy for us. Getting out of ourselves a bit, focusing on a higher power can provide us with: perspective, the feeling of awe and love, gratitude, support, insight, and most of all: PEACE
My prayer for tonight:
Dear God,
Thank you for this day and now for the fact that this day has come to an end. I so welcome the evening and a little rest.
God, I hope that the good I did outweighed anything else. I appreciate the opportunities I was given to be a loving patient wife, teacher, and mother.
I appreciate all the smiles I received from colleagues and strangers.
I appreciate the beautiful Florida day I enjoyed as I took my young students outdoors today for recess.
I am thankful for the chance to inspire and nurture others. I love to be creative and I can do that during my work day and
writing here for The Warm Milk Journal.
Please help me to have perspective and continue to do good work.
Help me also to stretch and think out of the box regularly.
Amen,
Debra
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Posted in Bedtime/night verses, Prayers, Spirituality | 
bedtime prayer, Divine, evening prayer, god, journal writing | 
Leave a commentWhat I love… a quick journal writing exercise sure to lift your spirits.
Published January 10, 2012 | 
This is a fun and quick little journal writing exercise that is sure to give you a boost and a smile.
Open your journal and write down as quick as you can a list of the things you love.
Remember,
What we focus on grows!
So why not take a few minutes and concentrate on what we love?
Ready?
Here goes:
What I love:
1. My husband
2. My daughter
3. My cats
4. My books
5. My home
6. Florida
7. The beach
8. My job
9. Working so close to home
10. Great music
11. language
12. Cooking
13. Going out for a nice meal
14. My coffee
15. My bed
16. My soft fleecy green bathrobe
17. Going for walks
18. yoga
I could go on and on…. this is just so much fun. It does not take much time and you do feel great when you think of what or who you love and are reminded of all the blessings you do have in your life.
Your turn!
In peace,
Debra
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Posted in Benefits of Journal Writing, Happiness, Journal Prompts, Love | being happy, journal writing, love | Leave a commentToday’s challenge: look at a “problem” with a different perspective
Published January 3, 2012 | 
We are bigger than our problems.
This statement is absolutely true. We are bigger than our problems. The challenge comes when we are mired deep in it (whatever it is that is concerning us) and we can not see the proverbial light on the other side.
If you have a problem, worry, challenging situation, or someone in your life does, try this:
look at it from a different perspective.
Take a step back and remove yourself from it from a moment.
Write it down in your journal. Ask the divine for some guidance and then let it go for a while.
Once you’ve given yourself a break from it, inspiration may suddenly come to you (our minds often work that way).
You can also do something counter intuitive or contrarian just to see what shakes up.
What haven’t you tried? Ask some different questions. Or leave it alone (it may just resolve itself) So much of what we worry about anyway does not ever happen.
We will part company with a couple of ideas:
If you always do what you’ve always done you will always get what you’ve always got.
If you have something in your life you don’t want or you don’t have something that you do want, it is better to do nothing than to keep doing what you’ve been doing.
Have a blessed day,
Debra
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Light and dedication for your life: a journal writing session in honor of the eighth night of Hannukah
Published December 27, 2011 | Blessed is the match consumed in kindling flame
Blessed is the flame that burns in the secret fastness of the heart
~Hannah Senesh
It is the eighth night of Hannukah tonight. “Hannukah” or “Channukah” literally means to dedicate. In terms of this Jewish holiday the word refers to the re dedication of the holy Jerusalem temple at the time of the Maccabean revolt during the second century BCE.
Whether you come from the Jewish tradition or not, we can all benefit from focusing on what we are dedicated to. If we truly focus and dedicate ourselves on what really matters and is important to us, then we will be blessed with much light in our lives.
Two questions for your journal writing to ask this December evening, the eighth night of Hannukah:
1. What brings light into your life?
2. What are you willing or wish to dedicate yourself and your life to?
I can not wait to begin my entries..
What brings light into my life?
Let’s see…
1. My family
2. My marriage
3. My job: working with children and helping to instill the love of reading, writing, and learning…
4. The natural beauty of my home state of Florida, the sunshine state!
5. Friends who hang in there with me..
6. Supportive colleagues
7. My yoga class and gym
8. Beautiful music
9. Meals cooked with love
10. My cat
11. My garden
What do I wish to dedicate (or rededicate) my life to?
1. My marriage
2. My children
3. My students
4. My health
5. My spiritual growth
6. The Warm Milk Journal and supporting people from all around the globe to live a well balanced life by day (free of anxiety) and sleeping restfully at night (free of anxiety)
Your turn, Dear Friends!
Here’s to a light-filled, radiant life filled with dedicated purpose.
Much love to you and as always…
In Peace,
Debra
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A list of new things to try for the New Year! A journal writing session
Published December 18, 2011 | 
We are not meant to be stagnant creatures. Doing and learning new things keeps our brains active and our bodies and spirits more youthful. Trying new things also gives our self esteem a boost and as a result we experience less anxiety and more restful sleep at night.
How’s that for some significant benefits?
As we end this year and move into the new year, let’s do a little brainstorming, shall we? Let’s conjure up some fun new ideas for us to do this coming year.
In your journals today write down a list of things that you would like to try this coming new year. These ideas can be anything! They can be work related, ideas for you and your spouse, or just ideas for yourself.
I am very excited about this journal writing entry and so I am going to get started on my list right away! Let’s see…
New things I want to do and experience in my life in 2012:
1. Read more fiction (I tend to read a lot of non-fiction self help type of books)
2. Start a wine club with my husband and other couples who are interested in getting together, learning about wine, and sharing in good food and conversation.
3. Discover new music
4. Visit a city I’ve never been to before (New York City comes to mind…)
5. Try different yoga and fitness classes that my gym offers.
That’s a good start. Now it’s your turn, dear friend. Have fun!
Debra
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What truly pleases me? A journal writing session
Published November 9, 2011 | 
A morning coffee time journal writing session. Simply answer this question in your writing journals:
What truly pleases me?
Then, proceed to write a list. What we focus on grows. This is a great way to get your day off to a pleasing, positive start!
Let’s see… my entry may look something like this today….
What truly pleases me?
1. When I wake up feeling refreshed from a good night of sleep.
2. That first cup of coffee.
3. Date night with my husband.
4. Great music.
5. Time in the gym or yoga class.
6. A walk outdoors
7. Sitting in my back patio reading or just watching the cardinals and squirrel antics.
8. Cooking
9. Eating a wonderful meal with my family
10. Kind words
Your turn!
In peace,
Debra
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Life is good when…a journal writing prompt for tonight
Published October 26, 2011 | 
Time for a little down time…. In your journals write: “Life is good when”… and write a list of anything that comes to mind.
I will start my entry…
Life is good when…
1. My thirteen year old daughter wants to spend time with me and is willing to be seen with me in public.
2. I feel mutually kind and supportive energy between myself and my ex.
3. There was an “aha”! moment which took place in my classroom.
4. I perfectly hit every green light on a busy street.
5. I feel grouchy and my husband is still kind and loving
6. The air is cool and the air is clear.
7. There are no mosquitoes biting at me at dusk when I want to relax on my back patio (I live in Florida)
8. I sleep through the night without waking up for any reason.
9. The bills are paid and I still have some money left over for a little splurge… (getting my nails done, buying something fun for the house,etc.)
10. I have a tank full of gas and a car that runs perfectly (I love my Honda Accord!)
Your turn, dear friends.
This is a very fun exercise.
In peace,
Debra
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Ten reasons why I continue to do this blog
Published October 24, 2011 | 
I work full time by day (I’m a school teacher as many of you may know), I have a husband, two teenagers, and two cats. I have a home to tend to and yoga classes to attend.
Why do I continue to write posts and promote The Warm Milk Journal?
Let’s see… this will be my journal entry for the evening and so I will give you a list of reasons (list making is great for journal writing and for blog posts as people can easily read highlights with bullets or numbers rather than endless sentences…
In no particular order, I offer you reasons I continue to do this blog:
1. It is fun!
2. I love to write.
3. The teacher in me enjoys teaching, helping, and inspiring others.
4. It’s a great creative and social outlet.
5. I’ve met a lot of interesting people here and on Facebook and Twitter thanks to this blog.
6. It provides me with a great sense of purpose (we all need a mission after all)!
7. Insomnia and anxiety are issues that are near and dear to me. I truly suffered from them for so many years and it affected every aspect of my life. If I can help just one person overcome some of these challenges then this project will have been completely worth it.
8. It makes for great conversation at a dinner party (true)!
9. My cat, Mew, is getting the recognition that he has worked so hard for all his life from his Mew Way posts. lol
10: I love to connect with fellow, like-minded folks such as: people who also know what it is like to not get a good night sleep, have anxiety, are too nice, are people pleasers, perfectionists, cat lovers, like to write, journal writers, spiritual, positive livers, folks from Hawaii, Florida, Oklahoma, Seattle, and all over the world, people who enjoy good food, good coffee, good wines and beer, good teas, chocolate(!!), travelers, yoga enthusiasts, anyone who values good health, friendship, the outdoors….
Yes this last list can go on and on. I have met so many people through this “little” project of mine. Thank you for all of the comments here and on Facebook and Twitter.
I am glad we can be here for each other.
How can I not continue to do this blog?
In peace,
Debra
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Posted in Benefits of Journal Writing, Blogging, Facebook, journal writing, lists, Positive living, The Warm Milk Journal, Twitter | creative outlet, inspiring others, journal writing, meeting others, Reasons for blogging, teaching and helping, The mission of The Warm Milk Journal, Why I blog, writing | 9 CommentsWhat does fortune mean to you? What makes you feel fortunate? A journal writing session
Published September 27, 2011 |
Your fortune is not something to find but to unfold.
~Eric Butterworth
This evening’s journal writing session is about fortune: the idea of finding, having, or discovering our fortune and also what makes us feel fortunate.
I encourage you to sit in a quiet place and meditate for a few minutes before writing. Visualize what “fortune” means to you. What does being fortunate mean to you?
When you are ready to, open your eyes and write down anything that comes to mind. Do not censor yourself. Just write.
Enjoy this exercise. You may find it interesting what comes out…
In peace,
Debra
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