Writing and Being: Embracing Your Life Through Creative Journaling

Writing is a doorway to our most creative, spiritual self. Writing and Being approaches writing at the source of the process and then, with guided personal writing, leads us outward to meaningful and authentic public writing.

With powerful, practical step-by-step writing exercises and a plethora of examples, Writing and Being demonstrates that journaling is the most profound way that we can discover our authentic selves. But beyond mere diary writing, the new-found clarity through Nelson’s journaling methods help us chart a path for a better future. Nelson begins by providing tips for the logistics of journal keeping, and includes suggestions for getting started. He then explores the entire writing process and explains the distinctions between private writing and public writing. By shedding light on the relationship between meditation and writing, he shows the value of being nonjudgmental and having "soft eyes" and a beginner’s mind.

Nelson also explains the biology behind the powerful experience of journaling by laying out recent discoveries of the human brain, and shows how journaling can heal psychological and spiritual wounds. Lastly, he shows how journaling is not only a voyage of self-discovery, but through expanding the private writing process can become a means of sharing one's life.