About
The Author
My name is Anna Cegielka. I live in Montreal, Canada with my husband and adult son. My daughter lives far away, but is only a click away on my computer, and has been actively involved in shaping this project. I work as a psychotherapist, and over the years I have helped thousands of clients overcome obstacles in their quest for happiness. Read my story.
In this blog, I will explore the many different aspects of the Joy Catcher Journal – scientific, practical and personal. I have been keeping this journal since February 2020 and it has transformed my life in ways both subtle and profound. When I started posting my photos and reflections on Instagram, I was a newbie to social media and never expected to get any attention. As the number of my followers grew, I made the decision to keep going with my account. But aware of the limitations of keeping a public journal, I also created a private account for entries that are for my eyes only.
This Blog
You will find here scientific findings that will show you exactly how this new habit of keeping a Joy Catcher Journal will benefit you. You will learn that it can make you happier, calmer and more resilient in times of stress. Put another way, it may provide an antidote to anxiety, despair, anger and cynicism. This particular gruesome foursome has been infecting our society faster than the corona virus. You may rightfully think that it sounds too good to be true. But you will be given solid scientific evidence that should dispel your doubts.
The reason I will be diving deep into the rabbit hole of science is to give you a big, important WHY to embark on this project. Once you have a good reason to become a Joy Catcher, you will need some guidance on how to do it. No worries, it is quite simple, really. In fact, you may discover that you are already living some of the attitudes and habits that form the core of this practice.
Do This Quick Quiz
· Do you pause when something strikes you as beautiful or touching or funny?
· Do you pull out your camera (or your phone) when you see something that makes you feel amazed, inspired or awestruck?
· Do you keep a journal of your feelings? Any kind of journal?
· Do you keep a gratitude journal?
· Do you practice mindfulness – the art of being awake and present for your life as it unfolds moment by moment?
· Are you on a spiritual path looking for ways to connect with something greater than yourself?
· Is there an Inner Artist within you, looking for creative expression?
If you answered “No” to all or most of the above questions, do not walk away just yet.
The practice of keeping the Joy Catcher Journal will get you on the path to living with more awareness and ease and it will take you no more than 10 minutes a day.
Re-Wiring Our Brains
How can such little habit bring so much good, you may ask? What we pay attention to on a regular basis actually shapes our brains. We learned this from neuroscience and have a name for it – neuroplasticity; the ability of the brain to re-wire itself in response to experiences. Neural pathways in our brains are like paths in the forest: the more traffic moves along the path, the more established it becomes. So travelling down the path of pessimism, makes you an expert at predicting disasters. Exploding in anger whenever things don’t go your way makes you an angry, explosive dude.
Similarly, seeking out and paying attention to moments of contentment makes you more joy-prone. Our days are sprinkled with fleeting moments when we feel happy, at peace, filled with wonder, excited, inspired, grateful, present, loving or just plain good - no matter what our life situation may be.
But unless we intentionally pause to take it in, these moments pass barely noticed.
At the same time, negative emotions and thoughts occupy a good share of our mind space. Blame your brain for this situation. Or thank your brain for being so vigilant about what may harm you and for not distracting you with useless, from the survival point of view, information. Information like the fragrance of that apple tree that blossomed overnight on your street. Our brains were wired primarily for survival. Everything else, is optional. And so, in the interest of survival, our brains became Velcro for negative experiences and Teflon for positive ones.
But now, thanks to neuroscience, we have the inside scoop on how we can re-wire our brains and override this bias towards negativity. Keeping the Joy Catcher Journal is a practice that can do that. It invites you to make an intention to pause and to notice a special moment as you go through your day. You do it again and again. It feels good, as it activates the brain states of calm, joy, aliveness and a connection to something greater. The more you practice it, the more your mind-set shifts in a positive direction.
My Phone As An Ally On The Journey
Isn’t the phone an arch enemy of mindful living?
Yes, if it is a source of constant distraction. But we are going to turn it into a tool for creating a brain-changing habit.
You no longer need a fancy camera to take spectacular photos. The camera on the phone that sits in the back pocket of your jeans is better than the one used by most famous photographers of all times. So, you have all the equipment needed to get started.
When To Start?
How about now?
There is a story about the Dalai Lama being asked to identify the happiest moment of his life. He reflected briefly, then replied with a mischievous smile: “I think it is now”.
The Joy Catcher practice is rooted in the attitude of paying friendly attention to all of your moments. So start anytime, anywhere. Your home is as good a place as your local park, or local shopping mall or a coffee shop or your car.
To illustrate the point – I just took this photo. It is now late afternoon in my bedroom-turned-workplace. I’m working on putting this blog together feeling excitement mixed with some trepidation. When I look at the photo, I realize that my bedroom breaks all the rules about keeping the bedroom a peaceful oasis reserved for sleep and rest. Instead, it is filled with piles of books and all my writing tools. Mercifully, the photo does not catch all the clutter. But it captures the moment and the place where I retreat to do all my day job writing and my fun writing. This is also where I edit and play with the images I captured with my phone earlier in the day. Not a perfect set-up, but that’s exactly how I want it.
Getting Started
Go to this link to get step-by-step instructions: How To Get Started And Keep Going.
When writing these instructions I tried to strike a balance between keeping it simple, but not skimping on important details. I hope I got it right. It is certainly good enough to get you going. Along the way you will start improvising and find a way of keeping your journal that will be uniquely yours.
I invite you to visit my Joy Catcher Journal at my Instagram “out_to_garden”. I hope that it will inspire and encourage you. And when you start your own journal, send me your comments, questions and reflections. If you want to share some of your posts, I will be happy to post them here.
We can be partners on this journey and learn from each other.
