Invernal sounds for quiet heroes.

1. Dance All Night -Scythian
2. St James Infirmary - Bill Coleman
3. Maracatu - Egberto Gismonti
4. Lily's Lullaby - Harry Potter Soundtrack
5. Black is the Colour - Gaelic Storm
6. Poulenc's Concerto for Two Pianos & Orchestra in D Minor - Genova & Dimitrov
7. The Fool that I am - Etta James
8. Night Season - David Nevue
9. Love and the Hunter - The Chamber Orchestra of London
10. The Man Who Would Speak True -Blitzen Trapper

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There's a type of journal for every mood in the emotional spectrum. Sometimes you feel like writing, other times you're just in need of quick and chaotic brainstorming. Sometimes composing lists calms you down, and the same activity can also stimulate you to take action. You shape journals and they shape you in return. It's the most healing relationship I've had with an inanimate object, and then people ask "Why are you always scribbling shit in those things", my question is Why aren't you! How can you live! (throws arms in the air dramatically).

I've been asked on numerous occasions what types of journals I keep, so here comes my answer. The truth is I've had so many types I can't remember them all, but I've managed to recollect twenty so far. I've made it into a two-part post after realising that the list was getting too long and dense. Enjoy! :)

1. Personal Diary. This is the most popular use of a journal. It contains personal thoughts, opinions, feelings, as well as the recounting of events. Typically, when we re-read our personal book, we can see the growth that's occured within and outside of us during a specific period of time.

2. Vision book. I developed this concept after having completed a bunch of art books and came to the realisation that the contents swayed in two directions: what I was interested in at the time (inner and outer realities) & what I desired for the future. I decided to split the content, and now I use the vision book as the link between my present and my near future; it's the land of possibility. In other words, it contains what I intend to manifest, and it's where I channel a great majority of my prayers. This type of journal speaks both from and to my conscious mind as well as to my subconscious. It looks like a bunch of miniature moodboards, and you can see examples here and here.

3. Art/Visual book. They can take the form of scrapbooks, smash books, collage books, portfolio of mini paintings... It can look like anything. This is the journal where the idea of a vision book originated. My art journals are more symbolic than factual, and if someone were to look at them, they would get a glimpse of what a portion of my mind might look like mood-wise, but very few images in it are literal. Of course, you can do whatever the hell you want. The possibilities of imagery are endless. This type of book may include memorabilia, unsent letters, sketches, newspaper clippings, little scribblings about your current life, and so on.

4. Quotes & Dialogue. You can keep a notebook for quotes by famous or successful people, and/or one for conversations that take place around you. I've been carrying a pocket notepad with me since the age of fourteen, and maniacally scribble down every crazy thing that my family, friends, co-workers and neighbors say. It's a lot of fun to re-read it later. Plus, some of the dialogue I've written in fictional stories come from demented phrases I had the fortune to overhear.

5. Commonplace book for scattered knowledge.  This is a type of notebook I keep on my desk next to the computer, which is the tool I use most often to do research. Every bit of random knowledge goes, and there's no order. In this journal you can write down facts you come across in newspapers or the internet, and also you can keep it close when you're reading an educational book whose pages you don't intend to underline or cover in post-it notes. I have found these journals very fun to write and also great entertainment + informational tools, since sometimes when I go to bed I don't feel like reading fiction, so I'll grab one of my commonplace books and read from them.

6. Commonplace book for random thoughts & collecting ideas. This journal will save those thought forms that pop up in your head and that tend to disappear in a milisecond if you don't record them immediately. I carry this journal with me everywhere, from the grocery store to trips to the mountains and even when browsing the internet at home, because you never know when something you experience will make a 1-sentence opinion pop up in your brain. The idea is to jot it down as fast as possible for further development when you get to a quiet space. It's also very helpful to empty your mind of intrusive thoughts when you're doing something that requires your complete attention. Ever find yourself reading a novel and the thought "I have to buy the birthday gift for X" keeps coming up and it just won't leave you alone?! Write it down and it will disappear, so you can continue with your reading. These random thoughts might be about spirituality (which you might then transfer to your spiritual journal or to the personal diary), or ideas about activites you want to put in your bucket list, or an errand you forgot to complete, etc. The brain can be your worst enemy when you're trying to focus on something important, or your best friend when it comes up with a great idea for your next story in the middle of a roadtrip. Carrying three dozen notebooks with you around is inconvenient, so this is the one place where literally everything goes -a brainstorming method- and from which you bring the ideas to the rest of journals to deal with them properly. 

7. Companion Journal for Specific Subject. When you become passionate about a subject and spend hours doing research, a commonplace book is an insufficient tool. You need a big space for condensing everything you're learning. Right now I keep separate journals for MBTI, ennegram T4, Thelema, ayurveda, herbology and my personal book of recipes. The reason why I have so many is because I'm fond of transcribing, so printing straight from the internet when it comes to subjects I'm deeply invested in isn't for me. I keep my personal voice out of these books, and if an opinion pops up while I'm reading/researching I will grab either my personal diary or my spiritual book and vent there.

8. Spiritual Journal / Grimoire. In the recent past, I've talked about the idea of having a personal mythology, knowing what your spiritual beliefs are (and if you don't know, you write "I don't know" and go explore, sometimes only to come full circle to "I still don't know", that's perfectly okay). There's a few ways to go about spiritual journals: pure research, or just personal beliefs documenting trials/errors/experiments, or a mix of both. I've read of people who also include prayers in their spiritual journals, but I prefer to do that in my diary as well as in my vision book. In a spiritual book is where you talk to yourself about your beliefs concerning metaphysics, God/Goddess/Spirit/Buddha/Kittens/Whatever, how you think the universe works, what's the frikkin' point of all this called life, the afterlife, energies, physiology affecting our thoughts and viceversa, and any mysterious phenomenon you're curious about. 

9. Creativity & Inspiration Book. In this journal you can collect prompts, inspirational quotes, other authors' tips for creativity, make a lit of the reasons why you do the creative work that you do, advice on writing from random people... and it's brilliant for getting inspired during the hibernation time. What many people don't realise is that our brain can't be producing content all the time, and it needs to go through periods of rest. I find that these are times to consume, not produce. You can flip through this journal and feel your brain get excited with what you're seeing, and you will find yourself ready to be active again when the time is right. One of my favourite things to do in my creativity journal is to draw & color in the faces of people I consider to be eccentric, childlike and hilarious, since those are the human traits I value the most. When I look at these portraits I'm overwhelmed by a sense of fun and aliveness. 

10. Financial Book. I'm not a good money maker. I have terrible blocks and anxiety issues surrounding this subject. The good news is that I began to get better after starting a financial vision book that I decorated with a ton of stars and moons and silly cute shapes whose sight make the experience less dreadful. I got inspired to start this by an online friend, and then went deeper into it using Leonie Dawson's worksheets from her Magic Money Making Kit, which is so stimulating both visually and emotionally that it actually makes you excited about the prospect of thinking about money. There's no place for negativity in this book! Every word and doodle in it must be uplifting, like a playground for finances. The number one thing to put in it is good intentions & pure positive focus. It mainly consists of breaking down the money areas I need to get covered on a monthly basis and how to get there in a way that feels energizing.

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★ Went shopping at flea markets with dad on freezing Sunday mornings ★ Honeybush & vanilla tea ★ Revised my 2013 Workbook and made the last few goals happen! ★ Bon Iver ★ Ron's adorable new sweater ★ Fresh herbs from the forest ★ Forts ★ Blogged consistently due to an overactive mind ★ Went to a medieval fair in Vic with family, including Ron! He was so cute freezing to death all day! (see street musicians here) ★ Made lots of vegan tortilla de patatas ★ Road to Avonlea marathons ★ Finished a journal and began a new one precisely on the New Moon ★ Was of service to a few people -my favourite thing to do! ★ I love losing track of time in the forest and returning home five hours later feeling rejuvenated ★ Revamped my yule "tree" -which I made right after Samhain- with new freshly picked branches, pine, rosemary, ivy and whatever I could find on the ground in the woods ★ Intensity & Productivity! ★ Buzzing streets during the holidays ★ Finished Lemony Snicket's ASOUE, finally! It's taken me years! I hated the last book and feel so betrayed by the author ★ 6'30 am. Always my favourite time of day ★ One evening watched Little Women in the dark, lying on the carpet with cushions under my belly, drinking hot chocolate ★ Woke up at 5 am on several days (no alarm clock, never alarm clocks), that's how energetic & excited about life I usually am ★ My crush talked to me out of the blue and I was shocked; you know I exist?! ★ Jocelyn and Lisa ★ "I'm not working class, I'm crawling class" me being real ★ Those moments when you think of aspects of your life you're ashamed of and you end up crying at very inappropriate times. Those aspects of yourself that make you feel nobody's ever going to take you seriously -or even like you- if they knew about it ★ In yule time's true spirit, I socialized until I was blue in the face, but I didn't feel overwhelmed, I'm becoming a pro at managing my energy ★ El Club de la Comedia reruns ; Leo Harlem is my favourite comedian ★ My sister's hyperbolic sense of humor that matches mine ★ Put up the Christmas tree in the livingroom with Marina while listening to Jingle Spells cds ★ Good Will Hunting ★ Dad, Marina and I made pestiños one cozy evening ★ Bought the 2014 Amazing Workbook and I've been obsessing over it, as it happens every year ★ Marina slept in my bed on Christmas' Eve, it was so cute & exciting & fun ★ Lots of chamomille everyday ★ Went to the cinema to watch Ismael (I didn't like it) ★ Isabel spent Christmas' Eve with us and it was actually a more entertaining night than I expected ★ Jordi, Paco, mother Roser and daughter Roser came over for coffee and it was a very stimulating and funny afternoon ★ Received  tons of support everywhere ★ New Year's Eve at my aunt + uncle + cousin's house. Stimulating conversation & good food, my favourite kind of party. I couldn't finish the 12 grapes (neither did my sister and cousin) because when we were chewing on the fourth, my dad exclaimed something hilarious and we began to laugh so hard that we all choked and tears started pouring down our faces xD