Mental images such as metaphors and similes influence our way of thinking about ourselves, others and life. One metaphor that gives you a good perspective about life is that it’s a journey on the path of transformation. Each person has his or her unique and individual spiritual path because each person has certain lessons to learn in this life. When you think about life as a spiritual journey, pilgrimage or quest, a journal or diary becomes a travelogue of your personal adventures on the path.

Keeping a diary or journaling is one of the most important tools of Ecstatic Living because it forces you to collect your thoughts, impressions, dreams, experiences, and feelings; organize them; clarify them and express them in a way that often results in profound insights that can change your way of thinking and acting. It contains descriptions of events as well as reflections about the events. Journal writing is the easiest type of writing because it doesn’t involve anyone but yourself; You’re the only reader. So you don’t have to worry about grammar, punctuation, logic and content. You can write whatever is on your mind and heart without any hesitancy because you won’t be offending anyone or embarrassing yourself. You can really let the creative juices flow.

Now, there’s a part of the ego that likes to criticize and discourage and suppresses other parts of the ego. This is the inner critic. Some of you may be hearing the inner critic now. It might be saying, "You can’t write anything of value?" If your inner critic is keeping you from writing just take a moment to dialogue with it, but don’t try arguing with it. Try to arrive at some agreement with it. You can tell your inner critic that you will allow it to critique your writing later, but not while you’re writing.

So a journal is a private writing that helps you sort out thoughts and feelings and learn from experiences. It usually isn’t read by anyone else, but some people share it with someone they trust and have, or would like to have, an intimate relationship with. Some professional writers use a journal as a sort of writing equivalent of a sketch pad to develop writing projects. But the highest purpose we can have for journaling is to work on the self as we progress along our individual spiritual paths.

A spiritual path is full of questions about the purpose of life and the nature of the universe around you. In a journal, you seek the answers to these important questions from your higher Self. In the Annapurna Upanishad it is written: "Who am I? How did this world come about? What is its nature? How did birth and death come to be? Inquire thus within yourself. The benefit will be great."

The journal becomes your map of self discovery as you travel your spiritual path. In the hectic pace of modern life, it gives you an opportunity to stop and reflect on the meaning of events and circumstances in your life. It engages you in a conversation with yourself about important issues in your life. Together, these strengthen your identity and your ability to process life experiences in a positive manner.

What are the tools for keeping a journal? The answer to this question depends entirely on your personal preferences and may change over time. People use any combination of the following journaling tools: paper and pen/pencil, watercolors, lined notebooks, sketch pads, computer, tape recorder and loose scraps of paper. The important thing is what you write about, not how you write it or what you write it with.

The rules of keeping a journal can be distilled down to three simple principles:

1. Date each entry. At the time you write, it doesn't matter if you add the date, but when you look back over your journal, it helps to keep things in perspective.

2. Write when and how you want. Change writing tools to give journaling variety and interest. Also, if you force yourself to write, the writing will become dry. It’s better to quit writing before you feel finished than force yourself to write when you don't want to.

3. Always tell the truth. Why bother to write if you aren't going to be honest with yourself?

The following tips can help you gain a momentum on keeping a journal: You can write at a specific time every day, preferably when you know you won’t be disturbed. Or you can write a specific amount every day. I once wrote two pages a day for 61 days. I was able to do it by writing on loose leafs of paper that I folded and carried with me in my pocket. So I was able to write in spare moments while eating, waiting or using the bathroom.

You can address journal entries to your higher Self or, in special cases, another person. Journaling can be done intensely over a short period, as in my case, or it can be done a little every day. A good practice is to bring your journal with you to your meditation sessions and record any significant insights that spring from the deeper levels of the mind into which you dive during these sessions.

Your journal is susceptible to being read by someone else, especially if you keep it out in the open. Writing "PRIVATE" or "CONFIDENTIAL" on the cover won’t deter some people. If you’re not fortunate enough to have people in your life who respect your privacy, here are some ideas about what you might do: Keep your journal under lock and key or keep your journal with you at all times. Or give everyone a journal. If your family is curious about your journal, let them have an experience of keeping their own journal. Make it a family project to keep personal journals for a month. This can help to raise everyone's awareness of the importance of privacy.

Dreams can be important for self-analysis and personal growth. My intense two-month journaling project was triggered by a lucid dream. In some cultures, it’s common for people to share dreams. In our society we tend to have the attitude that dreams don’t have much meaning. But dreams can provide amazing insights not only into our psychology and personal problems but insights into science, art and sports as well.

The chemist Kekule reported that his Nobel-prize winning realization of the structure of the benzene molecule as hexagonal rather than straight came after dreaming of a snake grasping its tail in its mouth. Also, the chemist Mendeleev described dreaming the periodic table of the elements in its completed form. Inventions like the sewing machine needle and the anti-aircraft gun have reportedly been conceived in dreams. Music pieces which were heard by their composers in dreams include Tartini's "Devil's Trill" and Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. In modern times, Jack Nicklaus credited a crucial improvement in his golf game to dreaming of a new way to grasp his club. One technique for problem solving called incubation involves dream journaling. Another term for incubation is "sleeping on it.

Dreams can be signposts that indicate the end and beginning of phases in your life. Sometimes they contain premonitions about future events. I once had a lucid dream about joining hands with people in a huge circle in a grassy meadow. Nine years later, the actual experience happened exactly as I saw it in my dream. When dreams come true, that event is important and you should pay close attention. It took me another 14 years to realize the full significance of the experience. A woman who took the Ecstatic Living Course told me that she dreamt about standing on the porch of a log cabin and looking at beautiful scenery. Three years later, shortly after she moved to Montana, she was staying at a Forest Service cabin and walked out on the porch at sunrise. It was her dream come true. She said it was confirmation that she should stay in Montana.

Dreaming is an internal dialog where each of the unconscious parts of the ego gets a chance to be heard. During the day, the inner critic, which monitors our conscious behavior, suppresses these other parts of ourselves. At night, while the critic is asleep, these other parts can express themselves in dreams. If we keep ignoring what they’re telling us in our dreams, they may eventually project themselves onto another person. Sometimes a man’s anima or feminine side projecting itself onto a woman whom he falls in love with. Dreams are one way to connect all of the fragmented parts of our ego into wholeness and build personal integrity. This was how Jung worked with his unconscious and that of his patients.

After writing a dream in your journal, leave space under it for writing insights into its interpretation later. You can discover the meaning of a dream by analyzing its symbols. Also, ask your higher Self to show you the meaning of the dream. Usually, characters in a dream represent our different unconscious selves, especially suppressed ones that are trying to communicate. You know better than anyone else what parts of yourself are represented by dream characters, but it would be good to read about dream interpretation. Any good book on dream interpretation can help decipher its symbolism

You can read the works of Carl Jung and Jungian analysts and read myths of peoples from around the world. This will help you to see the connection between the symbols and images of dreams and those of myths and fairy tales. Also, attend dream workshops. There are Adult Education courses on dream interpretation from time to time. These courses will help you understand what general guidelines are used for interpreting dreams, and you will meet other people who value deams and with whom you can discuss dreams.

I encourage you to begin paying attention to the messages in your dreams and to record them in your journal. Apply your intuition to learn more about yourself as you journey along your path.