Add a quote or poem fragment to your journal
- Visual Journal page by Lisa Sonora Beam: I Want To Unfold
“I want to unfold. Let nothing in me hold itself closed. For where I am closed, I am false.
I want to be clear in your sight.” ~Rainer Maria Rilke
Whether found in a novel, book of poems, a film or a lecture, when we come across a quote that gives us pause, it’s a good idea to document it in some way.
Sometimes we are aware why a particular phrase has resonance for us. Sometimes we are captivated and don’t know exactly why. Sometimes we are at once attracted to an idea and a little frightened of it. That’s OK. It’s our imagination at work.
I often refer to visual journaling as “dreaming on paper”.
When we take the time to record ideas in our own hand, in our own private books, an alchemical process begins to happen. When we add color or imagery to the words and ideas, the creative cauldron is stirred even more. Most of it happening at a subconscious level. Which is nice, because so much of creativity is about exploring the unknown.
In a visual journal, we are accessing our imagination, our intuition, the parts of ourselves that know if different ways than our conscious, logical, rational mind knows.
Try this:
- Got a favorite poem or quote that is speaking to you now?
- If not, you can go a Google search and type in key words, such as inspiration or creativity or courage, plus the word poems or quotes. See what you find.
- Write the quote down in your own handwriting, either directly in your journal, or on some decorative paper to glue or tape in to your journal.
- Add imagery. This example in this article shows collaged images with my own drawing and painting. But you absolutely don’t have to know how to draw or paint to do this.
- Keep it simple and use whatever supplies you have on hand. Remember, it’s not art. It’s dreaming on paper.
If you do this and feel like sharing your work, go ahead and make a comment with a link to your blog post or flickr album or wherever you post your image.
Or if you just want to share a good quote in the comments, that would be great, too.
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Howdy! I’m Lisa Sonora Beam, author of The Creative Entrepreneur. I teach people how to get unstuck and use their creativity to make a living doing what they love. 
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“Dreaming on Paper” I love that. LOVE it. Takes the pressure off.
Existence itself-and the expressions channelled through life.
Beautiful blog.
Ayy.. love the idea, should do it, too, sometimes ^o^