Art and Soul Journaling – Creativity with Intention!

Art and Soul Journaling is a simple art journaling practice that incorporates an intuitive art process with intention, using positive affirmations.

  Hello, Journeyers! Today’s post is all about the how’s and why’s of my “Art and Soul” journaling practice. It’s just my small contribution to a very big concept that I wanted to share with you. I wanted to share it because I believe we all could use more positivity in our lives, especially now!   Art and Soul journaling is an expressive art practice, which focuses on mindfulness, self-awareness, and intuition using a variety of simple mediums. This kind of art journaling can help you express yourself and become more self-aware of our thoughts and emotions. Our thoughts and our words may have more power than we realize. We already know what our negative thoughts do to us so why can’t positive ones undo all that negativity. Well, it turns out that it does. The science is also behind this. So.. let’s dig into this a little more.

What are Positive Affirmations?

Positive affirmations are simply positive statements one repeats over and over to uplift the person speaking them. Positive affirmations have become very popular on all social media platforms. I also love to read, like, and save the ones that resonate with me the most. What’s going on in our brains when we are using positive affirmations,anyway?

Janel Ball, Owner and Therapist for Healing Solutions states in her article,” You Are Responsible for Your Happiness,” 

Here is the link. This could not be further from the truth and there is so much science to back this up.

When used regularly, positive affirmations can improve a person’s mood, self-esteem and overall health. Affirmations promote confidence by focusing on up-lifting and inspiring thoughts instead of negative and self-limiting thoughts. The repeated use of positive statements over time can lead to reduced stress levels, which has been shown to improve physical and mental health. At the neurological level, repetition of positive self-affirming messages can actually change the nerve pathways in a person’s brain, leading to the development of new neural patterns associated with positive thinking. Over time, these patterns can begin to strengthen and override old pathways associated with negative thinking.   For self-confidence: “I believe in myself and I am going to have a great day,” instead of “I don’t care what anybody thinks about me.”

Belief, confidence, repetition, and trust of our positive affirmations, are key for them to work, to overcome our prior negative beliefs. To trust in ourselves!   PositivePsychology.com explains positive affirmations:

You may choose to use positive affirmations to motivate yourself, encourage positive changes in your life, or boost your self-esteem. If you frequently find yourself getting caught up in negative self-talk, positive affirmations can be used to combat these often subconscious patterns and replace them with more adaptive narratives. …But more generally, an adaptive, broad sense of self makes us more resilient to difficulties when they arise. Whether it’s social pressures, health information that makes us feel uncomfortable, or feelings of exclusion, a broader self-concept can be an extremely helpful thing to have.

Again, we could use some self-esteem, self-awareness, and resilience during times like these although it is up to us to practice it.     And also According to Mindvalley,

“…a positive affirmation is part of the language of the brain.” This means that the language of the brain needs to be specific for statements to work. The brain seems to take longer to process negative meanings into positive ones, therefore there are a few rules for this to work. These are the general rules:

1. Use present tense such as “I am,” “I can,” or “I will” in your statements.
2. Use only positive words. The brain takes longer to change any negative words into positive. For example: “I can’t ” or “I don’t…”
3. Strong verbs such as “am, “will,” or “can” are much better than the indecisive ones like “might,” or “could.”

Now that you know a little more about the power of your thoughts and your words, it seems that keeping everything in a strong present tense is easier for our brains.   So… when selecting and stating our positive affirmations it is important to remember and to believe in them, project confidence, and use repetition for them to be effective.

Why Use Positive Affirmations with Art Journaling?

I have only discovered art journaling in the last five or so years, but it has been around for much, much longer. It is a powerful and freeing way to express one’s self, letting go of the burdens of a final artwork that needs to be sold or displayed. Art meant just for you. This is a game-changer! I have also discovered that our thoughts and words have greater power than we realize, and going within ourselves is where we will find that inner hidden power, whether it be for mindfulness or self-exploration. By combining both art and positive affirmations into regular practice can be very effective and fulfilling. I try to do this practice daily when I can.

I call this practice “Art and Soul” journaling. 

This mindful positive practice is fast becoming a very fulfilling part of my day. So much so that I have decided to share them with you in the form of short, thoughtful videos. You can watch them on my Youtube Chanel, here. I upload 2 to 3 “Art and Soul” journaling sessions per week. I practice them daily. Positive affirmations combined with art leaves me with a wonderful feeling of peacefulness and serenity. I encourage you to try this practice for yourself.

How to Use Positive Affirmations in Your Art Journal:

A Peaceful Space: Reserve a regular time and quiet space as you will need to focus and work in your art journal. Any quiet comfortable space with good light will do. This is a space you will dedicate for your own special time. You may choose to keep your art journal supplies in their case for portability depending on your needs.

Gather:

Gather all the materials you will want to use before your sessions and lay them out in front of you, at arm’s length for you to just respond to your affirmation. You might want to keep your art journal supplies in a case for portability depending on your needs. There are many types of journals in many price ranges. You can make your own or refurbish an old text. I choose to use a coil journal because it opens flat but others choose to use a hardcover to make “spreads.” The choice is yours but keeping it simple is a good way to go.

 

Below, is one way in which I set up before an Art and Soul journaling session. Mind you I place everything to the side or above so I can grab things as I respond. I also need it this way for video purposes, for my viewers.     This is why it is important to have everything you will want to use at arm’s length away.

First, begin with a Strong Intention:

After following the three general rules of creating positive affirmations, choose the one that resonates with you for that day. I keep mine in a special notebook or you could use the front or back pages of your art journal. You might want to select a special one for this practice. Begin by taking deep slow breathes while focusing on your positive affirmation. Remember to be thoughtful and have intention while truly believing the affirmation. There is a list of 12 positive affirmations and a FREE art journaling printable at the end of this blog, so please read on.   Remember the three rules?

1. Use present tense such as “I am,” “I can,” or “I will” in your statements.
2. Use only positive words. The brain takes longer to change any negative words into positive. For example: “I can’t ” or “I don’t…”
3. Strong verbs such as “am, “will,” or “can” are much better than the indecisive ones like “might,” or “could.”

 

Write:

I begin by writing my affirmation on any area of the page that speaks to me. Then I write it again and again in different sizes and directions while I am thinking, saying, and believing it.  I also like to choose a variety of waterproof ink pens or pencils during this stage. I continue to explore this layer as there are so many ways to compile the words. Don’t overthink, just follow your intuition. I continue with this first layer of words until I feel a deep inner peace. It is difficult to describe, but you will recognize it as a “letting go” kind of a feeling, a feeling of lightness.

 

Layers and Layers:

After writing my positive affirmation, I use my brayer to veil part or all of the writing. I prefer that some of them remain visible. A brayer is a useful tool to be able to apply thin layers that dry quickly. This is important, to maintain a “flow” during this process. After layers of writing, I begin applying transparent layers of acrylic paint using my brayer. I work using simple grids or sections of color. These can be either vertical or horizontal. It just depends on the feeling.    

Mixed Media Collage:

Mixed media collage is a very freeing and versatile art form with a wide range of materials and tools to choose from. Most of the materials and tools that I use are inexpensive as art materials go, and can be found in local craft or dollar stores and hardware stores. You probably have some exciting items in your recycle bin or around the house! This art form allows you to create a variety of different layers using these art tools for mark-making, stamping, or stencilling. Check out my other blog about mixed media collage.

Collage Papers:

I prefer to use my hand-made papers. I like to mix them with printed or commercial papers that I find. You might have access to magazines that contain excellent black and white text. You can see how I make my own collage papers in the link below. Create Colourful Collage Papers – Fast and Fun! . You can create other collage papers by simply making marks on a variety of different kinds of papers (e.g., newsprint or brown paper bags) with different tools. It does not need to be complicated. Simple crayons, markers, pencil crayons will do. It’s all in the type of marks and patterns you like to create. You can then organize your papers by color or pattern. More about these techniques in upcoming videos! Play your favorite music and have some fun. This is also a great activity to do when you are out of ideas or when you need to stalk your supply.

Just make collage papers and explore with colour!

   

Make your Mark:

I believe that it is important to create marks and patterns that you can call your own. It makes the journaling that much more personal. I continue to find items around the house and in dollar stores that would make interesting marks. Items like lids, Q-tips, skewers, sticks, corks, string, paper towel rolls, tissue paper, foam trays, and bubble wrap. The list goes on and you will probably not think of these items in the same way again after using them for mark- making. Again, play and explore creating different marks and patterns with your new tools. Play!

Finishing Up:

I find the more I create, the more I understand what “finished” means. It is simply this. If you don’t feel the need to add any more layers, marks or paint, then just stop. Remember that you can always add a few details later on and yes, we can also overdo it but this is a learning process, is it not? For this type of process, though, I prefer not to overdo it because I want each session to be pure and to learn to accept that what is there, is enough.

My “Art and Soul” Journaling Samples:

Here are a couple of images of my “Art and Soul’ journaling process. This practice takes less than 30 minutes per session. Remember, positive affirmations and art can work if we believe them, project confidence, and use repetition. Trust in the process.

      Art and Soul journaling can be a relaxing and thoughtful art practice because you are not concerned about the result. Your focus is on the intention and feeling of the message and what that message will create. Being in the moment. Staying present.

We need to value this work for what it is … art for self-love, self-exploration, and self-awareness!

A positive intention for our soul and the soul collective.

Art and Soul Journaling: