Speaking Your Truth: An Excerpt from Writing for Bliss by Diana Raab, PhD

In today's world, the speaking or writing the truth has become more of an important quality than ever before...

In Diana Raab's book, Writing for Bliss, her Seven-Step Plan for Telling your Story and Transforming your life, she includes Speaking Your Truth as one step!

With the publisher's permission, I am sharing some excerpts of what Dr. Raab writes... I believe she has much for us to consider as claims of fake news, lies, and blaming is oftentimes used more in communicating, than what is actually true...

Speaking your truth is not only healthy but also psychologically quite liberating. Releasing your stress by writing your thoughts is one way of speaking your truth. By speaking the truth, you are not writing to be right, you are writing to be "real." You are also thinking about what is important to you, what your values are, what inspires and drives you, and what gives your life purpose. Your truth is your truth and no one else's. In general, it is easier to be truthful than to avoid the subjects that might be more painful for you to write about. In the end, the rewards for speaking and writing the truth will be great...

Writing with your emotional truth is about writing from your heart, rather than entirely from your mind. The emotional truth of a story is the truth of how you feel about the story. Each person has their own emotional truth. Your emotional truth might be different altogether from that of another person, even if that person lived through the same kind of experience you did...When you write your story...make sure to write what you want to write, rather than what you think others want to hear...

The truth is that when you find your authentic voice in writing you will know it, and you will also be on your way to finding your bliss. You will know it because the writing just feels right, and your words flow rather easily. You can always tell when someone is writing in their authentic voice because what they are saying rings true... Writing your emotional truth means being honest about your feelings. It is about allowing your inner voice to take charge. In other words, you are writing from your heart, not your head...

"We learned about honesty and integrity -- that the truth matters ... that you don't take shortcuts or play by your own set of rules ... and success doesn't count unless you earn it fair and square." 
- Michelle Obama, former First Lady

Diana Raab, PhD is a memoirist, poet, blogger, thought -provoker, speaker & survivor. She often speaks on writing for bliss and transformation. 

Diana has been writing from an early age. As a child of two working parents, she spent a lot of time crafting letters and keeping a daily journal. She's believer in the healing and transformative nature of writing and journaling and facilitates workshops in this area.

She’s the award-winning author of eight books, and the author of over 500 articles and poems. Her latest poetry collection is called, LUST.

Raab is the author of two memoirs, Regina's Closet: Finding My Grandmother's Secret Journal and Healing With Words. She has four poetry collections-- the most recent, called, "Lust."

Diana is on the board of a number of organizations, including Poets & Writers. She's a trustee at Antioch University Santa Barbara, and The University of California Santa Barbara.

A Thanksgiving Greeting From Diana Raab, Author of Writing for Bliss!

NOVEMBER 2017 HAPPY THANKSGIVING! "Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for." ~Zig Ziglar

Dear Friends,  As many of my readers know, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Not only do we have a lot to be grateful for, but I love it because for the most part it doesn't have materialistic connections. What can be so bad about a holiday that focuses on good food and being surrounded by loved ones? One way to document or acknowledge our gratitude is by engaging in gratitude journaling. Begin by writing a gratitude list, and then pick one or two topics to describe in more detail. Those who regularly keep gratitude journals choose to write either early in the morning or before retiring for the day. A dear writing colleague of mine kept her gratitude journal on her bedside table, and each night she made a list of five things she was grateful for. This exercise can inspire us to look for positive events during the day. It also helps  take the focus off the negative. After a while, this attitude can spill  over into everything else you do. I am very grateful for your readership and giving me your time. Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving! EXCERPT FROM WRITING FOR BLISS: Gratitude is about feeling love and appreciation for the self and others. As poet Pablo Neruda says, "You can pick all the flowers, but you can't stop the spring." Many of us take our lives for granted and do not express gratitude often enough. In addition to keeping a gratitude journal, it is important to permeate each day with gratitude and marvel at the life we are living. This is one of the many reasons that Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. More often than not, I think gratitude should be a built-in part of our everyday life and journey. Expressing it is like keeping a tuning fork alive and vibrating the joy throughout the universe....  Gratitude encompasses love and appreciation. It is important that we all feel and express and cultivate gratitude in our lives. Gratitude is a key component for living a spiritual life. We never know what circumstances will confront us, but we do know that every day we are presented with the miracles of life. There are many reasons why it is important for you to feel gratitude and express it when you are able. Expressing gratitude is important for your happiness. A sense of appreciation makes other people like you because you will appear to be less self-centered.

Creatively yours, Diana dianaraab.com

Gratitude prompts from WRITING FOR BLISS  List 10 things you're grateful for.  Choose one thing on your list, and write for ten minutes about that topic.  Write about how you express gratitude to others. Write a thank-you letter to someone who changed your life.

Extraordinary Approach to Writing Guide by Diana Raab, PhD

Writing for Bliss is a Seven-Step Plan for Telling Your Story and Transforming Your Life... One of the results of reading this book may be that readers will decide to write their memoirs...

That may be what you buy the book for, and I believe, if you do write that memoir, you will succeed using this book...

First, I was surprised at the content. Yes, this is a book about writing, but it is so much more! I've read a number of books that technically helps you through the mechanics of writing... Raab, though, uses her professional credentials and research in the fields of therapy, psychology and more to merge with her own writing development and reading to create a truly extraordinary nonfiction book about writing...about bliss... Emphasis on Bliss!

With that I point out that, although I write continuously as a book reviewer, I don't consider myself a writer, one who wants to write a book, although after reading this book, I just might! I point that out because there is so much more in this book that I will recommend it to anybody who wants to know more about...yourself...

If you follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. Wherever you are--if you are following your bliss, you are enjoying that refreshment, that life within you, all the time.

--Joseph Campbell

Most writers will confess that they write because they have to write, not necessarily because they want to write. They write out of necessity because either it makes them feel better or they want to share their story with the world. I fall into both these categories: writing makes me feel good; when I don't write, I feel as if something's missing from my life, plus I also yearn to share my stories with others in the hope that they will resonate in a way that brings healing and a deeper way of knowing and understanding...

Basically, my research examined how life-changing experiences have inspired some well-published authors to write the narratives of their lives... The actual decision to write a memoir depends on both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. The intrinsic factors on both related to the individual's emotions, and the extrinsic factors may pertain to what occurs in his or her world. Writing about certain experiences helps provide an understanding of one's unique self, as well as of one's relationship with others and the world at large... --Diana Raab in the Preface

Beginning with her introduction of Maslow into her conversation, I began to see how Raab would begin...to help individuals know more about their inner needs and goals...their secrets, their inner thoughts...and, yes, that outer individual we all present to others.

Keeping a journal was the beginning of Raab's writing. Her first journal was given to her by her mother on the event of one of her most traumatic early experiences. As well as throughout the remainder of her life. Many of her journals were the beginning of books she has published, merging writing into a number of different issues that could or would face many of us.

Writing for Bliss. I had never used the word before reading this book. As I thought about it, I can name only one time when I would consider I was in a state of Bliss... Perfect Happiness... Great Joy... Raab suggests that readers go through her book the first time without taking the time to go through the numerous writing exercises that is inserted frequently. That's what I did, but I also read the exercises of what readers who use the book as a study guide would be involved with. 

Diana Raab's first journal included the writings of Kahlil Gibran; I bought mine in 1978 and did start to use it as a journal, but I've spent more time reading his wonderful words while I began working and following Maslow's guidance in loving work that energized me and which I enjoyed. Raab speaks of many authors, including Rumi, Jung and many others, quoting their words as it relates to you, to her life, and to life itself... 

If I were to say, that Raab uses her writing as a tool, in order for each of us who is interested and willing, to help us in getting to know ourselves, it is the best way I can think of to share the magic she presents as she guides us to write that which is inside each of us, that which needs to be acknowledged by ourselves, first...and, perhaps, then, to be shared with others. She is striving to do just what her title says, transform your life. Doing this by guiding readers through our life's joys and bad times, remembering our own stories, recognizing them as our truth. If we decide to share those truths, she then proceeds to help you do that as the book comes to a close...

This book may have a profound impact on your life, what writing you may do. In my own life, for instance, I had two books in my mind to write but the material was so traumatic that I could not deal with it without flashback and nightmares... Raab noted that this often happened and she'd known writers who had not been able to write their book for years...and that was alright! Suggesting that writing about it in a journal could help bring the reader to the point of acceptance of what had happened, even if a book was never written...

Raab presents an excellent study guide for early writers as well as the experienced. but it is in the area of self-help that I found my interest, more to garner and experience. Writing may be the tool she uses for those who don't have that desire to write books. Her guidance in journal writing is superb and her expertise in therapy and self-help is extraordinarily well written. I strongly suggest that, in considering this book, you check out the extensive table of contents. Briefly, here are the seven steps to be used: One, Preparing to Write; Two, Cultivating Self-Awareness; Three, Speaking Your Truth; Four, Examining your Life; Five, Finding Your Form; Six, Unleashing with Poetry; and Seven, Sharing Your Writing. There was much in her book I had discovered in my own reading, but her merge of sharing that through our own writing was entirely new for me.

The appendix includes an extensive Writing Prompt List in addition to what you'll find in the book. A Reference list of her research, a further reading of books on writing list, as well as recommended Memoirs to be read for those wishing to write their own. The all-important index for non-fiction books is also provided. 

The writing is exceptional as she merges her research into the specific topic she is covering. The attention to detail and the inclusion of additional references is the best I've seen in recent nonfiction books - an impressive display of her caring contributions. For me This book will stay as an active book...now taking the time to reread and consider the suggested activities... but also considering what she has to teach me about my own transformation based upon her much broader knowledge and expertise she shares to readers! This book is added to my personal favorites for 2017...

Highly recommended both as a writing study book as well as a self-help book on getting to know more about ourselves and possibly transforming your life...no matter what age and whether you are a writer or not.


GABixlerReviews

Writer Alert, Out Now: Writing for Bliss by Diana Raab

Reflective writing and personal narrative can truly have healing and transformative powers. In her inspirational new book, Writing for Bliss: A Seven-Step Plan for Telling Your Story and Transforming Your Life (Loving Healing Press), Diana Raab, PhD offers practical steps for discovering and writing the story that is inside you and yearning to be told. A valuable how-to guide for anyone interested in growth and personal transformation, Writing for Bliss explores the process of writing a compelling narrative about life-changing experiences. Suitable for emerging writers, seasoned writers, students, and academics, this book leads spiritual seekers down the path of self-discovery through writing prompts, tools for journaling, and embodied and reflective writing techniques, offering ways to find the best vehicle for profound self-expression.
Writing your story is a way to reclaim your voice, reveal a family secret, or simply share your story with others. Journaling is a cathartic and safe way to work through your feelings and direct your rage to the page. With the help of this indispensable guide to therapeutic writing, you’ll understand yourself better, learn to honor the good times, be able to deal with various challenges in your life, such as depression, anxiety, illness, loss of a loved one, job loss, early life trauma, addiction, and life transitions. Offering step-by-step hands-on exercises for journaling your thoughts, emotions, and memories, along with techniques to jump-start your writing, Writing for Bliss will help you use self-expression to transform your life in a meaningful way. Writing for Bliss is available through local and online bookstores including Amazon, Powell’s Books, and Blackwell (UK).


Questions & Answers 

by DIANA RAAB, PhD 

When and how did you begin writing? 

My passion for writing began at the age of ten when my mother gave me a Kahlil Gibran journal after my grandmother/caretaker committed suicide in my childhood home. Journaling was instrumental in helping me heal from my loss. Since then, my journal has been my confidant and best friend. I’ve used it to navigate difficult times, and it’s also a place to store memories and creative ideas that later result in poems, essays, and books. 

What inspired you to write this book? 

Writing for Bliss is a culmination of my life’s work. Ever since my mother gave me my first journal, I have used writing for healing—also the subject of my doctoral work—which focused on the transformative powers of writing a memoir. After getting my PhD, I continued my path of teaching writing-for transformation workshops. Many participants told me that I inspired them to write, and asked if I would write a book they could use as a reference after the workshop ended. 

How has your life story shaped your writing of nonfiction and poetry? 

I have encountered many losses in my life, and since it has been said that survivors are very often seekers, my experiences compelled me to record my feelings and impressions. For me, writing is my spiritual practice. It’s my “go to” place during both good and bad times. My journal is my friend and confidant, helping me release whatever is bottled up inside of me. It is liberating for me, because by releasing my secrets and sentiments, I become free and have more control over my life. 

What are some unexpected benefits of writing about one’s life? 

In addition to being a container for one’s thoughts and a way to release tension, writing about feelings and experiences is an excellent way to find out what you don’t know. In my research of writers who have written memoirs, many confessed that they began writing their memoirs for one reason, and during the writing process realized they were writing for a completely different reason. For example, one author wrote in order to figure out why his brother committed suicide, but by the time he’d made it to the end of his book, he realized that writing about his brother was a way to keep him alive. 

Why is writing healing and transformative? 

Writing is healing and transformative because it’s a way to nurture yourself. Free-writing, in particular, which is writing without lifting your pen off the page, can be liberating and healing because you go wherever your mind takes you. If you share your writing, others can be transformed by your words, especially if your story resonates with them or they have navigated similar journeys. Ultimately, healing, transformation, and empowerment are all parts of the same path—leading to self-awareness, self-discovery, growth and, eventually, bliss. 

www.dianaraab.com

MY MISSION:

“Through my writing, mentoring and workshops, I guide others to discover and tell their own unique stories and abiding truths. The craft and practice of writing can be transformative and empowering—a cornerstone for emotional and psychological well-being, and a way to tap into one’s true inner voice and passions.”

Diana Raab