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Journaling Prompt – Write Down Your Inside Jokes

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009
In-Joke
[Photo by: Helga Weber]

Wikipedia defines an “In-joke” as a joke whose humor is clear only to those people who are “inside” a social group or occupation; an esoteric joke.

Everyone has a bunch of inside jokes. Ones shared with family. Ones shared with friends. Ones shared with the significant other. Ones shared with colleagues, and so on and so forth. Usually a long list of internal jokes.

There are several “bonuses” in inside jokes, which are usually overlooked:

  1. Inside jokes are usually making you genuinely happy, whenever you hear them.
  2. Inside jokes make you feel connected to a certain group or a single person you share the joke with.
  3. Last, but not least, inside jokes has the ability to bring you back in time and evoke memories of when and how the joke was “born”.

Therefore I suggest in this week’s journaling prompt to start putting those in-jokes in writing.

Write down a list of inside jokes and the group of people or the person you share the jokes with.

I guarantee that every time you will look at the list, you are going to – at the very least – smile, if not laugh uncontrollably, and also bring up scenes of pleasure in your mind.

You will bring up the time the joke was created, perhaps late at night, after a couple drinks and a good movie. You will bring up scenes of you snorting juice when a friend mentioned this joke. It will bring up faces of people you care about. It will bring up times when you were happy and laughing and in a good mood.

The list has a pretty good chance to elevate your mood, each and every time you go over it.

Obviously there is no point in sharing an internal joke of mine… but I do urge you to list yours for keepsake.

Share –

Have you listed some of your inside jokes?
Who do you share most in-jokes with?

I’d love to hear from you, so leave a comment on this post 🙂

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Journaling Prompt – Taking Flight

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009

Taking Flight - Safe Haven There are times in life when we feel the need to take flight. We wish we could grow wings and fly away to our a safe haven.

There are numerous reasons to take flight. A difficult phase in life. An impossible struggle. A hurtful situation – either physically (i.e. facing a bully…) or psychologically. An unsuccessful business move or a general feeling of discomfort with the present situation.

Safe havens can be perceived in two different ways:

  1. An actual place you go to, when you want to get detached. A book. The park. The beach. A mountain trail. Etc.
  2. A fantastic place where you’d rather be, if only you could teleport yourself there…

For this week’s journaling prompt you can take the notion of taking flight either way.

  • Where do you go to when you feel the need to hide?
  • From which situations would you like to take flight?
  • Have you ever wanted to disappear? When? What happened?
  • If you were able to grow wings and fly, where would you go to?

When I feel overwhelmed I either start painting or read a book I feel connected to. I wish I could teleport myself to a place where only pure goodness exists (I’m not sure they’ll let me in…) Being next to my nephew is close enough…

Share –

Where (and when) would you take flight to? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

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Journaling Prompt – Take A Trip Down Memory Lane

Wednesday, March 11th, 2009

Lately we’ve been dealing with memories here on creativity Prompt. Wikipedia defines a Memory as “an organism’s mental ability to store, retain and recall information”.

Last week we captured a memory that has never been. What we basically did was to store information in our minds, regardless of it’s authenticity… It certainly isn’t what people traditionally refer to as a memory, but it falls into the scope of the definition.

This week we are going to deal with another component of the definition, which is the “recalling” part. More specifically, we are about to write down our “first memories of…”

So if you feel like participating in this week’s journaling prompt, answer the following questions with the first memory that comes to your mind –

  1. What is your first memory? Crawling in the house and grabbing my uncle’s white shirt with my dirty fingers… My uncle is a very good person that cannot harm a fly, but his loud voice can sure frighten a crawling child 🙂
  2. What was the first TV program you remember watching? The Littl’ Bits
  3. What is the first song you remember hearing? A lullaby.
  4. What is the first meal you remember having? (I don’t think it’s possible to actually remember having milk or formula…) I remember eating my grandmother’s boiled chicken with sweet cabbage and mash potatoes. I also remember my father’s sour cream with bananas and strawberries.
  5. What is the first book you remember reading? Dana is sleeping. Dana is waking up… (In Hebrew: “Dana Nama. Dana Kama”.)
  6. What is the first painting you remember drawing? A house with a flower and a girl that rise above the house and a huge sun with a happy face.
  7. What is the earliest family vacation you remember? Visiting the alligators’ farm at Hamat Gader.
  8. What is the first toy you remember having? My doll Nikki (it was a male doll and I wouldn’t leave it alone for a second).
  9. Who was the first teacher you remember? (including kindergarten) Clara, the kindergarten teacher’s assistant.
  10. What was the first pet you remember having? A cat. We never had pets long enough to name them… Both my parents love animals, but not at their house.

Share –

share your first memories by leaving a comment on this post. You can answer directly in the comment section or include a link to the specific post on your personal blog.

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Journaling Prompt – Write A Memory That Has Never Been

Wednesday, March 4th, 2009
Memories
[Photo by: Angela Marie]

One semester I took a course on the human mind. The professor was a clinical psychologist and the purpose of this class was to give us a glimpse into the mind of potential witnesses. I’ll let you know it was not my strongest subject… I excelled at taxation and business law. Please do not hold that against me… However, it was one of the more interesting courses I took (Along with modern physics and forensic medicine 101).

One of the more fascinating facts I have learned in that class is that the human memory is quite flimsy. A person can paint a picture of something that has never happened in his head, yet if the picture is detailed and vivid enough, this person will be able to embed it into his memory and won’t be able to tell the difference between this made up memory and an event he actually experienced. Scary, huh?

For this week’s journaling prompt I would like to play and write down a detailed memory which has never been… Play along with me – AT YOUR OWN RISK.

My fictional memory is:

It was 7pm. I had just come back home. All day long my belly had been tossing and turning ever since I had heard about their absence. I was sitting in the porch with my mother and her friend when I heard: “They’re back. They got dehydrated and lost their way – but they are back now”. I was filled with joy and the knot in my belly had finally untied. They were found. They are alive!

Related posts:

  1. The Key To The Kingdom Of My Dreams
  2. Write a Fairy tale

share –

What is your fictional memory? Leave a comment on this post.

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Journaling Prompt – Capture An Unforgettable Moment With Words

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009
A picture I did not take
[Photo by: Kevin N. Murphy]

A while back I have stumbled upon an interesting blog by the photographer Michael David Murphy, called: Unphotographable. In this website Murphy writes about a bunch of unforgettable moments he has not had the chance to snap with his camera. He beautifully explains the idea here.

This idea of capturing snap-shots of life and experiences with words is tremendously appealing to me. As I see it there are two main reasons for capturing moments with words:

  1. Commemoration. The camera is not always there when we need it. There are so many treasured moments we will never-ever want to forget, which are passing by us when we are unprepared or just cameraless. Using words is the best way to insure that all those moments are perpetuated.

  2. Elaboration. A camera is a marvelous tool with which you can hold back time and reminisce. Many times a picture is really better then a thousand words, but sometimes the words can add so much more value. Words can convey feelings, background, secrets or a different outlook, details that cannot always get communicated by the photo itself.

For this week’s journaling prompt try to capture with words an unforgettable moment in time you have not had the chance to snap with your camera.

I recommend to make a habit out of “snap-shooting” moments of your life in writing. Make an “unphotographable” journal and keep it in your pocket or your handbag. Start each entry with the words: “This is a picture I did not take of…”

My take:

This a picture I did not take of my nephew approaching my husband (then fiance) and caressing his chin softly with his whitish little hands, his sheepish eyes are looking down and with a slightly shaken voice he’s asking ‘how are you?’.

Share –

Leave a comment and share a picture you did not take…
You are also very welcome to share your general thoughts about the idea of the “unphotographable”.

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Journaling Prompt – Childhood Dreams

Wednesday, February 18th, 2009

Childhood Dreams The imagination of children is highly developed. It actually seems to degenerate as we grow older… For that reason, childhood dreams tend to be grand and out of this world. We feel that everything is possible if we just want it strongly enough.

childhood dreams can involve figments of our imagination as well as feasible goals and aspirations. So were my childhood dreams. I had so many of them. I can hardly remember most of them, but I do recall a few. Some has actually come true and some not. It is fabulous to go through them and find out which actually came to reality.

For this week’s journaling prompt set aside a few moments and try to remember what were your childhood dreams. Write a list of every dream you manage to call to mind and make a note about the ones that actually came true.

The layout above showcases my childhood dreams. The picture was taken at the kindergarten in the summer of 1984… The journaling reads:I had so many dreams… having a puppy, a pony, finding a fairy, catching the rainbow, getting new stickers, stumbling upon a mountain of ice-cream, getting chocolate milk straight from the tap, getting married, being a nurse, a fashion designer, a lawyer… Some came true. Some not.

You may click on the picture for a closer view.Share –

Share your childhood dreams. Has any of them come true? Leave a comment on this post.

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Journaling Prompt – Write YOURSELF A Love Letter

Wednesday, February 11th, 2009
Valentine Day's Card
[Photo by: Howie Luvzus]

This weekend, many lovers across the globe are going to celebrate Valentine’s Day. You exchange love notes, maybe some chocolate and flowers with your loved ones – be it your significant other or be it a good friend, a child or an appreciated teacher. But what about being your own Valentine? Have you ever considered it?

Truth be told, the people you love do not need a special day to be loved and appreciated. You’ve got anniversaries, meet-ups, joint celebrations and the everyday life to send cards and small tokens of love and appreciation. With you, however, the situation may be different.

Mostly people do not take the time to love themselves and to indulge in a day of self love, why not make Valentine’s day your day?

For this week’s journaling prompt I suggest you make yourself a nice card and in it you are going to write some loving words to yourself.

By scaling down your journaling to a standard 4¼” by 5½” card, it is going to be less intimidating to find the kind and loving words to fill up your card.

Share –

Will you consider being your own valentine?
What kind and loving words can you tell yourself?

Leave a comment and share your thoughts!

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Journaling Prompt – Who Am I? Who Are You?

Wednesday, February 4th, 2009

Who Am I You are a unique person. That much we have establish thus far. But who are you? How do you define yourself? What are your special traits and characteristics that make you so special that there is no one exactly like you? You know they exist. You just need to give it some thought and put it in writing.

I believe that every person has two sets of special traits and characteristics. One that is constant and one is changing all the time. You evolve throughout time and your traits and characteristics evolve with you. You are having new experiences which mold and change you. You pick up new perceptions and new beliefs.

You are changing but also well rooted.

For this week’s journaling prompt I suggest to take a moment and make these two lists. Your constants and your variables. You can also concentrate on just one of your lists.

I wrote about my changing personality and created a layout out of it. You can have a closer look at my journaling here:

Who Am I - Journaling
[For a closer look, click on the photo]

Share –

  • Who are you?
  • Are you going to write about your constants, variables or both?

Share by leaving a comment on this post.

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Journaling Prompt – The Key To The Kingdom Of My Dreams

Wednesday, January 21st, 2009
Dream
[Photo by: Keven Law]

Guided writing is a great way to explore the boundaries of your imagination and the depth of your thoughts. With guided writing you know where are you starting from but have no idea where are you going to end up…

I really love this type of writing exercises and no matter how the end result looks like, I am always happy because of the process.

This week’s journaling prompt is going to be slightly different. This week, I want you to complete the sentence: “The key to the kingdom of my dreams is…”

You can take this sentence anywhere.

Go fiction –

Describe: Where is it? What is it? How does it look like? How can one find it? What does one have to go through while searching for it? Is it easy to find or is it dangerous and weary? go with the flow.

Go non-fiction –

Engage in some healing journaling. Where do you see the key to the kingdom of your dream? Is there a ‘fix-it-all’ solution? Is there one thing in which you trust and to which you aspire? How is it going to help you in fulfilling your dreams?

The key to the kingdom of my dreams is… hidden in a secret crevice inside the wall, just below the window’s pane. You can trace the exact spot by following the first ray of light during the winter’s solstice. After finding the key you must gently lean it against your left ear and listen to it whispering the directions to the lock it opens. Follow your heart and you shall not fail in finding the secluded hiding place from which you can enter the kingdom of my dream.

Share –

(what, where) is the key to the kingdom of your dreams?
How do you feel about guided writing?
Where does your heart and/or mind takes you – fiction or non-fiction?

Leave a comment and share your thoughts!

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Journaling Prompt – The Sound Of Silence

Wednesday, January 14th, 2009
The Sound Of Silence
[Photo by: Amparo Torres]

…
People talking without speaking,
people hearing without listening,
people writing songs that voices never share
and no one dared disturb
the sound of silence.
…
silence like a cancer grows.
…

Taken from “The Sound Of Silence” by: Paul Simon, 1964

Paul Simon has brilliantly described what the sound of silence means to him. I , however, have a different take on it. These words make me think about what happens in my head when the outside world is completely quiet.

Whereas the outside world is still, there is an absolute mayhem inside. When my mind is clear of any external interruption then all my doubts, self criticism and panic creep in with an uproar.

While everything outside is silent – the inside is shouting its lungs out. When I’m weak and vulnerable – I’m crumpling up at the self-bashing turmoil. But when am feeling strong and potent – I’m talking back, which makes the inside of my mind even louder…

For this week’s journaling prompt tune in and write down how does the sound of silence resonate with you?

Share –

What do you hear when there is silence?

What organ reigns supreme when everything around is on mute? Is it your heart or your mind? (or another one altogether, perhaps your ear?)

For the hearing impaired – how do you deal with the silence you are living in? I’m in awe and very anxious to learn about your way of coping with the sound of silence.

Share your treasured thoughts by leaving a comment to this post.

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