journaling – Angela Crawford, Ph.D

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I first read the book Writing Down Your Soul (by Janet Conner) in 2019, early on my vegan journey. It was recommended by a spiritual coach I was working with at the time. It immediately hit home for me. I’ve written and journaled since a young age – it’s always been a big part of how I process things and express myself. At the time, I was going through life transitions and exploring how to express my vegan values in ways that fit with my personality, gifts, passions, and skills. I was struggling to work through a space of uncertainty and transition and not-knowing. I was at a loss for words, and my usual way of journaling just wasn’t helping.

When my coach told me about “Deep Soul Writing” – where you write your journal entries as letters directed to your Higher Power, God, Higher Self, or Inner Wisdom (whatever terms align for you), this really resonated. My spiritual path has always been a central and grounding force in my life and Deep Soul Writing was a tangible way to connect with my higher power. It helped me to focus, give language to my questions, and listen to my inner guidance. It also gave me the courage to trust and follow my heart guidance (even when it seemed impractical or irrational).

Over the years, I’ve continued this writing practice – sometimes consistently, sometimes sporadically. I’ve been in a space of transition for quite a while now – and Deep Soul Writing is a lifeline. It brings more focus and clarity. Sometimes immediately, sometimes unfolding more gradually.

I recently purchased the newest edition of Writing Down Your Soul (2021). I decided to commit to 30 days of daily writing (which the author recommends, especially when you are starting out). Right now, I’m on Day 20.

What are the benefits I’ve experienced?

1) It helps me to view journaling as a conversation rather than writing into the void. This reconnects me with the support within me and around me.

2) It helps me ask powerful questions that lead me to inner answers that are what I need to know right now. Sometimes these answers come as an inner knowing, as something I sense, or as serendipitous experiences that unfold.

3) Sometimes Deep Soul Writing simply helps me be more accepting of things exactly as they are and to bring more gratitude.

4) It helps me to recognize how each event on my path has played a crucial role in guiding and leading me (even though often difficult at the time). I can see bigger patterns, larger trends, and how experiences interconnect.

5) Deep Soul Writing has helped me process my feelings so that I can let them move through me and guide me – and not stay buried or stuck. This has been particularly helpful as I’ve worked through social and emotional challenges of being vegan in a not-yet-vegan world.

6) It’s helped me find my voice and my purpose. It’s given me the courage to live and speak in ways that are truer to myself. (For more insights on journaling techniques to empower your plant-powered journey, you may want to check out my blog article about this.)

One thing that was super-cool about the newer edition of Writing Down Your Soul was seeing a blurb written by my colleague and mentor, Victoria Moran, on the cover. She says: “Just reading her [Conner’s] words will make you want to write.”

When you read the book, not only does it share Janet Conner’s riveting story of healing and transformation through Deep Soul Writing – but it provides tips, prompts, and powerful questions to deepen your own writing and discovery. As you read, you will find insights and ideas that help you give language to your own inner experience and journey.

If you’ve been seeking guidance, working through life transitions, and needing to hear your inner wisdom, I highly recommend this book and this approach.

Angela Crawford, Ph.D. is a psychologist, transformational coach, vegan educator, and Food for Life instructor. She is author of The Vegan Transformation: A Journey to Heal Yourself and the World (Lantern, 2025). The Vegan Transformation is a winner of the Outstanding Creator Awards and Vegan Choice Award, and is available at major booksellers. Each chapter of The Vegan Transformation offers reflections, action steps, and journaling exercises to help you live in greater alignment with your core values – and to catalyze mind-body-spirit healing in your own life (and beyond).

Download Dr. Crawford’s FREE Plant-Powered Journal: Writing Tools to Unleash Your Healthiest, Most Authentic Self

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One of the most transformative experiences of my life was becoming vegan. I started on this path after seeing a program about injured workers in a meat processing plant. This raised my awareness of the devastating impacts of factory farming – on animals, humans, and the planet – and led me to read every book I could about veg living. Over time, I discovered the health, ethical, and environmental benefits of leaving animals off my plate and choosing plants instead. I expanded my food palette with delectable plant-based meals. On my vegan journey, I found a sense of peace in aligning with my deepest values, along with improved health, fulfillment, purpose, and mind-body-spirit well-being.

At the same time, this journey was not without its challenges. Early on my vegan path, I struggled emotionally with all that I was learning about the violence and suffering inherent in industrialized animal agriculture. I was in shock about what I discovered – and disillusioned that others around me couldn’t see what was now so obvious to me. I also felt out of place in social situations where animal foods dominated the menu. At moments, I found myself tempted to slip back into what was familiar and socially accepted, just because it seemed easier – even though I was totally committed to veganism.

Turning to my journal was a healing salve and guiding light that saw me through these initial struggles. I wrote about my feelings, challenges, discoveries, and insights, and explored new ways to handle social situations, while honoring my vegan values. Writing in my journal not only kept me sane, it also reminded me of my WHY for change when my commitment faltered. It showed me which approaches and patterns were working or not working for me, and it guided me to new, creative solutions.

I’ve found journaling to be incredibly helpful throughout my life – through all kinds of changes, transitions, losses, and accomplishments. It is such a powerful way to connect with yourself, live more authentically, gain clarity, accomplish goals, heal from emotional trauma, and overcome challenges. Not only have I found journaling personally beneficial, I’ve frequently recommended it to students and clients. I also incorporated journaling prompts in my forthcoming book about the transformative power of a vegan lifestyle.

Because journaling is so accessible, and yet so transforming and healing, I wanted to share some writing tools to support YOU on your plant-powered journey. These can be helpful wherever you are on this path – whether in the process of transitioning to a plant-strong lifestyle or already vegan and wanting tools to thrive in mind, body, and spirit. I’ll also share a link to my FREE Plant-Powered Journaling Guide that you can download.

What is journaling?

Journaling is a process of writing out our feelings, thoughts, experiences, concerns, questions, and insights. Regular journaling has been shown by research to improve emotional and physical health. There are many different approaches to journaling, which I will discuss further below. But first, let’s review some of the benefits demonstrated through research studies.

Benefits of journaling:

Decreased anxiety, depression, and stress
Improved emotional well-being
Decreased ruminative thoughts
Decreased PTSD symptoms
Improved physical health
Decreased doctor visits
Decreased blood pressure
Improved immune functioning
Decreased work absenteeism
Improved coping with stress

How does journaling help?

While the research is not 100% clear on this, some possible mechanisms include:

Release of emotions
Facilitates mental and emotional processing, helping to make sense of significant events
Reorganizes inner narratives to create more adaptive beliefs
Gives space from negative thoughts
Helps gain clarity about next steps to take
Self-awareness and self-discovery

What are some of the different types of journaling?

Tracking Progress. If you are seeking to change eating patterns, nutritional intake, physical activity, or health, it can be invaluable to track relevant behaviors and outcomes for a period of time – for 1 week, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, or longer. This gives incredible insight into your current eating and lifestyle patterns, and how changes in diet, exercise, or other lifestyle practices impact your physical and emotional well-being. You may discover that certain foods or activities negatively impact your symptoms, or you may uncover sabotaging patterns you had not previously recognized. You’ll also see which lifestyle changes create positive change. Health and fitness apps such as Fitbit, Apple Health, and Google Fit can be helpful tracking resources, or you can simply keep a written log.

Expressive Writing – There has been considerable research showing that expressive writing can improve physical and emotional health. This type of journaling typically involves writing for 15 to 20 minutes about an emotionally significant, stressful, or traumatic experience for a few days in a row. While writing, express your feelings and thoughts; how this experience affects your relationships and other aspects of your life; insights and learning; and what you would like to see happen. Notice how you feel afterward. You may feel temporary distress as you express your feelings. However, most people report relief and clarity after writing, particularly over time. To learn more about expressive writing, check out the book Opening Up by Writing it Down by James W. Pennebaker, Ph.D. and Joshua M. Smyth, Ph.D.

Morning Pages – This is an approach developed by Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity. Cameron recommends writing three pages each morning, preferably stream-of-consciousness, hand-written, and not to be edited or critiqued. Being consistent with Morning Pages opens up creativity, increases connection with the Self, and improves emotional well-being. Several of my friends and colleagues swear by this process for gaining greater insight, creativity, and self-awareness.

Deep Soul Writing – Created by Janet Conner, author of Writing Down Your Soul: How to Activate and Listen to the Extraordinary Voice Within. Deep Soul Writing was recommended to me by a coach when I was going through a major life transition, and has become my go-to journaling approach ever since. In this approach, you write journal entries to your Higher Power or your Higher Self – expressing your thoughts and feelings, asking questions about issues that trouble you, seeking guidance, and writing down the insights and responses you receive. An important aspect is intentionality – setting the intention to connect with the Divine, your Soul, or Higher Wisdom through your writing. This form of journaling can be a guiding light through turbulent times.

Guided Journaling – This involves responding to prompts asking about your feelings, thoughts, perspectives, concerns, and desires. You can find guided journals on a variety of topics. Below, I share my FREE journaling guide with reflection prompts to support your plant-powered journey.

How does journaling help with thriving on the plant-based journey?

Journaling can be a life-changing tool that helps to identify and release feelings, reach greater self-awareness, get through tough times, and gain new insights. Here are some of the ways it can help on the path to a plant-powered lifestyle:

Track and celebrate progress toward your goals
Recognize obstacles, and explore how to get back on track if you have a setback
Express and process the range of feelings that come up along your vegan journey
Write about emotional and social challenges, how you handled them, and what you might do differently in the future
Write about your discoveries and all the positives that come with your new lifestyle
Document your change journey – this helps to connect with your resilience and commitment
Seek guidance from your Inner Wisdom for challenges or questions you are wrestling with
Get more in touch with your truest, most authentic Self

Are you ready to try the power of journaling to support your veg journey? If so, I invite you to check out my FREE Plant-Powered Journaling Guide. It offers information about the benefits of journaling, types of journaling you can try, and reflective writing prompts to get you started.

May your plant-powered journey bring you authentic fulfillment. And may you be fueled by the power of journaling to unleash your healthiest and most authentic Self.

Click here for FREE Plant-Powered Journaling Guide

Angela Crawford, Ph.D. is a psychologist, author, and vegan educator. She is passionate about the benefits of plant-powered living for physical and emotional well-being, compassion for all sentient beings, and caring for the planet. She recently researched and wrote a book on the transformative impact of a vegan lifestyle for mind, body, and spirit due to be published in 2025.

Tag: journaling

The Power of “Deep Soul Writing”