Undine Rising From The Waters, 1880’s, By Chauncey Ives (1810-1894)

Cy Twombly. Untitled No. 4 of the series: Carnations, 1989

a.w.a.k.e. Fall 2018.

Masterpost of my favorite journal prompts...

I’ve been getting some asks about my journaling habits, so I wanted to make a list addressing one question regarding my favorite prompts. These always make me feel better! 

List 3 positive habits you have and explain why they benefit you. 

If you had 2 other lives to live, what would you do with them? 

Discuss 3 people who encouraged you and has continually supported you. What qualities do they have that you admire? 

List 5 tasks that take up most (or a lot of) your week. 

What do you need to protect? 

Have you avoided anything this week? 

Create a list of books you plan to read. 

What do you want to learn to do? 

Create a list of movies you plan to watch. 

What are you currently looking forward to? 

What is your favorite holiday? 

When do you feel the most comfortable and at ease? 

What is discouraging you right now, and what can you do to move past it? 

List 5 short-term goals and explain steps you can take to achieve them. 

What is your biggest strength? 

What are you totally honest about? 

Who knows the most about you? 

Why are you proud of yourself? 

What would you do with a million dollars? 

What is and isn’t working in your life? 

What lessons are you currently learning? 

Create a gratitude list. List as many things as you can. 

What do you stand for? 

What moves you? 

What qualities do you enjoy about yourself, and how can you continue to develop them? 

Explain the best compliment you’ve ever received. 

Who are you right now? 

How have you changed in the past 5 years? 

List positive quotes that you enjoy or find motivating. 

Create a self-care playlist of positive songs. 

Discuss your favorite movies, books, hobbies, music, foods, drinks, etc. 

List things that make you happy. 

What are your wildest dreams? 

Write a bio for your future self - who you want to become - but write it in the present tense. 

Describe your ideal day. 

What is the best advice you’ve ever received? 

When do you feel vibrant, electric, and alive? 

How can you be a source of love and magic to the world? 

How can you incorporate more fun and play into your life? 

What experiences trigger fear for you? 

Discuss 3 times you were proud of yourself. 

How does stress emerge in your life, and how can you manage it? 

How do you compare yourself to others? 

What can you do to make yourself feel calmer and more peaceful? 

What are you here to do (what is your purpose)? 

What do you no longer need? 

What do you know for sure? 

If you could start your life over, what would you change? 

Write a letter to your teenage self. 

What have you learned today? 

What would you do if you had no fears? 

Write a letter to a fictional character. 

Write about something that didn’t happen. 

What do you wonder about? 

List your favorite sounds. 

What are you worried about, and what can you do about it? 

What do you have difficulty accepting? 

Write about an act of kindness you performed or witnessed today. 

Discuss your favorite memory. 

How can you practice self-care? 

Is there a difference between happiness and fulfillment? 

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 

List some of your insecurities about your physical body, and then, for each body part, write down something positive about it. 

Create a word map with the word “Identity” in the center. 

Focus on a regret that haunts you. 

What does family mean to you? 

What did you believe about love as a teenager, and how have your beliefs changed? 

Describe a moment that changed the course of your life forever. 

Write a letter to your future self. 

Are you introverted or extroverted? 

What does beautiful thinking mean to you? 

What are your favorite words? 

What is your aesthetic, or personal style, and who or what has influenced it? 

What is your favorite way to spend the day? 

Comme des Garçons SS/2020.

Moon Hare Teapot.  A kyūsu (small teapot) made of Arita-yaki (Arita-ware) and hand-painted with the tsuki-no-usagi (moon hare) pattern.  Text and image via Blue Ruin 1 on Flickr

There’s something about the way spiders move that many of us find inherently creepy. And that something, it turns out, is fluid dynamical. Unlike humans and other vertebrates, spiders don’t move using two sets of opposing muscles. The natural state of their multi-jointed legs causes them to flex inward. This is why dead spiders have their legs all curled up.

To walk, spiders use hydraulic pressure. They pump a fluid called hemolymph into their legs to force them to straighten. If you look closely, you’ll notice that spiders’ legs always connect to the front section of their body. This is called the cephalothorax, and it acts like a sort of bellows that controls the pressure and flow of hemolymph. It moves the hemolymph around the spider’s body in a fraction of a second, allowing spiders to be quite fast, but something about the movement still feels off for those of us used to vertebrate motion. Happy Halloween, everyone!  (Image credit: R. Miller, source; see also; submitted by jpshoer)

The Ninth Wave (details), 1850 oil on canvas Ivan Aivazovsky

Burned Out by Urs Fischer (Website)