Writing Down Your Soul: How to Activate and Listen to the Extraordinary Voice Within (Writing to Explore Your Spiritual Soul)

By Janet Conner

Write to Explore Your Deep Spiritual Soul

“…if you think this book is not for you because you are a writer and don’t need another writing book, think again!” —Sherry Richert Belul, author of Say it Now 

#1 Best Seller in New Age & Spirituality, Graphology, Parapsychology, Handwriting Analysis, Creativity, and Journaling

“I am a writer. Today I write.” These are the opening lines in the Writing Blessing that author Janet Conner has spoken daily since 2007.

Journal-writing and divine dialogue. Janet Conner is a writer, poet, and spiritual field guide, but first and always a deep spiritual soul explorer. Since she discovered how to activate a divine Voice by slipping into the theta brain wave state (border between the conscious and the subconscious) while writing, Janet has dedicated herself to exploring and sharing what it means to live at the vibrant intersection of the visible and the invisible.

Your healing inner voice. After hitting rock bottom while escaping domestic abuse, Janet’s inner voice told her to start writing. As she wrote, she gained clarity and strength, and felt an incredible connection to the divine. Today, research scientists are providing peeks into consciousness and how it works. Their findings give clues about what is happening in our bodies, minds, and spirits as we roll pen across paper. Writing Down Your Soul explores this research and instructs how to access the power and beauty of our deepest selves.

Life-changing power of writing. Of all the ways to get in touch with God, why take the time to write? One reason: it works. It works amazingly well. If you want to engage in a vibrant conversation with the wisdom that dwells just below your conscious awareness, write. Write every day, at approximately the same time, with passion, honesty, and the intention of speaking with and listening to the voice within.

You liked Expressive Writing, Opening Up by Writing It Down, or Writing as a Path to Awakening? You’ll love Writing Down Your Soul!

• Language: English
• Publisher: TMA Press
• Release date: Jul 13, 2021
• ISBN: 9781642504767

Janet Conner

Janet Conner is a writer, speaker, teacher, retreat guide, and radio show host with one compelling message: what you seek is inside. She is the author of Writing Down Your Soul and The Lotus and the Lily. She created "The Soul-Directed Life" radio show for Unity Online Radio. She lives and writes in Ozona, Florida, a tiny town on the Gulf of Mexico. Visit her at www.janetconner.com.

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Praise for Writing Down Your Soul

"Janet Conner, prayer artist, scholar, and twenty-first century witch, is a spiritual teacher who knows no bounds. In Writing Down Your Soul, she shows us how to transform ordinary journaling into an ecstatic dialogue with the Divine. I try to follow everything Janet Conner does because she is always on the cutting edge. She has an outsized talent for nourishing today’s profound spiritual hunger with ancient practices, like those found in this special book."

—Rabbi Dr. Tirzah Firestone, author of award-winning books including Wounds into Wisdom: Healing Intergenerational Jewish Trauma, The Receiving, and more

With intuitive genius, Janet Conner has plumbed the depths of her soul to recover lost ways of connecting with the spiritual realms. She is a wise guide, a generous collaborator with others on the path of the divine feminine, and a warm and open-hearted companion as we all try to make sense together of these unraveling times. Janet is reclaiming the lost possibilities of prayer at a moment when we need prayer more than ever. Bless her for the great gifts of her writing and her teaching.

—Perdita Finn, author of The Way of the Rose: The Radical Path of the Divine Feminine Hidden in the Rosary

If there is one rule for authentic and deeply lived writing, it is ‘Write like your life depends on it—because it does!’ Self-expression is soul-expression, and to express our souls is why we are alive. I don’t know a better guide on that path than Janet Conner. She’s written like her life depended on it, because it did, and she invites you to do the same.

—Clark Strand, author of Now Is the Hour of Her Return: Poems in Praise of the Divine Mother Kali

Co-creating and teaching with Janet Conner is always a wonderful and wild adventure as we follow the voices in our dreams, awaken to new soul realizations and synchronicities, and heal our hearts and bodies. Know this! Janet is a patriarchal iconoclast, a crone who speaks into long outdated corridors of belief, bringing us into the present feminine reality of truth and loving wisdom.

—Meghan Don, award-winning author of Feminine Courage

"Janet Conner is a modern-day mystic who leads others on a journey toward wholeness and inner peace. The path is Deep Soul Writing, a transformative practice that provides those who commit to it a direct experience communicating with the Divine, whoever she may be for you. Each of us is pregnant with potential and full of possibility. In this clear and accessible book, Writing Down Your Soul, Janet guides you step-by-step to ‘hear’ the voice of your inner guide and open your heart to spiritual perception.

—Susan Matyas, founder of

The Ageless WiseWoman program

"Writing Down Your Soul is a brilliant book I return to over and over again to explore my own creative soul medicine. Janet Conner is a modern-day muse, a mystical guide-ess, and inspiring storyteller who empowers us to hear our unique internal voices so we can express, live, and be the highest version of ourselves—the version desperately needed in our chaotic world."

—Emma Kupu Mitchell, depth numerologist, elemental astrologer, and Soul Medicine Artist emmakupumitchell.com

"In many spiritual traditions, it is an ancient belief that words have miraculous powers and are most powerful when they emerge spontaneously and heartfelt from one’s inner being. Janet Conner shows how writing is a powerful catalyst. This is not superstition; it’s affirmed through solid, scientific research. This is one of the most effective methods of psychospiritual growth available. To learn how to set this process in motion in your life Writing Down Your Soul is an invaluable guide."

—Larry Dossey, MD, author of Healing Words and The Power of Premonitions

You’ve just given me the best book to recommend to my writing students. Janet shows you the best road...the one that leads to what your soul already knows.

—Mary Anne Radmacher, author of Live Boldly and Lean Forward into Your Life

We’ve all heard that the wisdom we need is inside us. Janet Conner shows us how to access that wisdom.

—Victoria Moran, author of Creating a Charmed Life

From the start, I was riveted by Janet’s personal story and by her profound connection to ‘the Voice’—what she calls Source, God, Spirit, the Universe. This book is not about writing so much as it is about self-care, self-discovery, and a love affair with the mystery of Life. So, if you think this book is not for you because you are not a writer, think again! And if you think this book is not for you because you are a writer and don’t need another writing book, think again! Janet Conner has written a guidebook for how to access places deep within (and around) us, places that hold the key to who we are, what we want, what will support us, and what helps us love and thrive. She’s covered everything we need in order to embark upon this transformational journey—all we have to do is open a page and begin. You’ll be glad you did. (I know I am!)

—Sherry Richert Belul, author of

Say it Now and founder of Simply Celebrate 

"JOY—this is the acronym I created for the Journey Of Yourself: this is exactly what Writing Down Your Soul has taught me. Implementing this sacred, daily practice has been the most purely magical journey into the mystic and myself thus far in my life. Janet Conner is a living Goddess, truly listening to her own Feminine Divine voice and sharing that voice, and prayer with the world."

—Ingrid McIntire, creator of WEST: Woven Experiences Stronger Together podcast

"When I discovered Writing Down Your Soul in 2012, I had been journaling for sixteen years as a way of navigating my life and connecting to the true Self beyond the ego. Reading Writing Down Your Soul opened me to an even deeper centering practice with my writing. The many exceptional tools in Janet’s transformation guidebook made such a difference that I proposed to our board of directors that we include a note of recommendation for Writing Down Your Soul in the satchels we distribute to cancer patients. Since then, the journals in each satchel (over 1,100 distributed per year) have included a bookmark with a photo of the book cover and a suggestion to explore ‘how to activate and listen to the extraordinary voice within’ on their healing journey. I highly recommend Writing Down Your Soul for novices, as well as experienced writers."

—Kathleen Graham, vice president of production at the Satchels of Caring Foundation www.satchelsofcaring.org

"Before I was introduced to Writing Down Your Soul, I had no idea of the power of divine dialogue. As someone who read the book and took all my angst and confusion to the page, I know that there’s no better way to access my inner wisdom than to ask for guidance and wait for the Divine to respond. Janet’s evocative writing style makes Writing Down Your Soul a real page-turner, a holy thriller! As a Prayer Artist who receives and shapes and channels prayer, Janet’s brand of spiritual wisdom is a rare gift. To date, Writing Down Your Soul remains a firm favorite of mine and will always have pride of place on my bookshelf."

—Uma Girish, spiritual mentor and author of Losing Amma, Finding Home and Lessons from Grace: What a Baby Taught Me about Living and Loving

"In modern times, when we are overwhelmed by the noise of information coming at us from all directions, our most important guide comes from the wisdom we hold within. In Writing Down Your Soul, Janet Conner gives us an accessible way to discover and create a deep relationship with this voice of inner wisdom. By following the suggestions in this book, you will develop a practice that is always available to you and which will open you up to living in alignment with the voice of your soul. Janet teaches directly from her own experiences and teaches us to trust the insights that this writing practice gifts us."

—Catherine Anderson, creative guide and author of Meeting Your Soul on the Labyrinth: SoulCollage® and the Labyrinth as Pathways for Transformation

"Writing Down Your Soul is the essential parenting tool that should be in the pocket of every parent. It allows us all to access our own inner guidance and the voice within to support us through our most difficult moments in parenting and in life. Once learned, it requires only paper and a pen, but it opens up a world of possibilities by getting us into the theta brainwave state where we can get out of our own patterns and heads and into our hearts to find our way back to connection with ourselves and our families."

—Rebecca Thompson-Hitt, founder of Consciously Parenting and author of Consciously Parenting, Creating Connection, and three more in the series

I have been an avid reader of everything Janet Conner writes and she is the real deal. Janet is deeply connected to the divine and to pure source. Her wisdom has helped me evolve as a person and to also have the courage to write down my soul. Janet and her story also inspired me to always stay connected to spirit, even when things are hard. Read this book and you’ll be truly inspired.

—Becca Anderson, author of

Prayers for Hard Times and Prayers for Calm

Open this book if you have been in the shallows longing for the deep. Janet will guide your way to more of your divine self, shining as a light of the world.

—Linda Martella-Whitsett, author of

How to Pray Without Talking to God and Divine Audacity

"When synchronicity leads you to Janet Conner and her delicious deep soul writing process, you must dive in with your whole heart, knowing you are surely and deftly being guided to a power-full remembering of the Wise One you have always been and are always becoming. Writing Down Your Soul will crack you open to a multidimensional world on the page and in your life, a dance of ecstatic union between you and your most sacred Self."

—Keren A. Brown CPCC, Midlife Mystery Coach www.wisewomanmysteries.com

"Do you know that all the answers you are searching for are already inside of you? Writing Down Your Soul is a spiritual guide to developing a daily conversation with Spirit/Source through soul writing. Janet Conner teaches you how to connect with your soul, ask powerful questions and receive even more powerful answers, and develop your intuition, all by utilizing the practice of deep soul writing."

—Mal Duane, author of Broken Open

Praise for Soul Vows

This profound but practice-based book is a joy to recommend! It surely represents a new and needed wave in spiritual teaching, where teachers like Janet Conner are not afraid to speak of divine intimacy—yet in a way that is far beyond mere sentiment—and which invites the reader to actual experience. Water is good, but Janet changes it into intoxicating wine.

—Richard Rohr, OFM, Center for Action

and Contemplation, author of

Falling Upward and Immortal Diamond

Writing

down your

Soul

Also by Janet Conner

My Soul Pages: A Companion to Writing Down Your Soul

The Lotus and the Lily: Access the Wisdom of Buddha and Jesus to Nourish Your Beautiful, Abundant Life

My Life Pages: A Companion to The Lotus and the Lily

Soul Vows: Gathering the Presence of the Divine in You, through You, and as You

Find Your Soul’s Purpose: Discover Who You Are, Remember Why You Are Here, Live a Life You Love

The Soul Discovery Coloring Book: Noodle, Doodle, and Scribble Your Way to an Extraordinary Life (Illustrated by Christine Pensa)

Writing

down your

Soul

How to Activate and Listen to the

Extraordinary Voice Within

Janet Conner

Copyright © 2008, 2021 by Janet Conner.

Published by Conari Press, a division of Mango Media Inc.

Cover & Layout Design: Carmen Fortunato

Cover Illustration: White Curve Line Abstract Background/AdobeStock

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Writing Down Your Soul: How to Activate and Listen to the Extraordinary Voice Within

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication number available upon request.

ISBN: (print) 978-1-64250-475-0, (ebook) 978-1-64250-476-7

BISAC category code SEL045000, SELF-HELP / Journaling

Printed in the United States of America

For you. Welcome to the conversation.

The Spirit’s Hands

They

can be a great help—words.

They can become the spirit’s hands

and lift and

caress

you.

Meister Eckhart

Contents

Foreword by Dawn Montefusco

Introduction

Before We Begin

How I Discovered the Voice—or Rather,

How the Voice Discovered Me

What Is Writing Down Your Soul?

What Do I Need?

Who or What Is Listening?

Why Write?

How Do I Write Down My Soul?

Step One: Show Up

Step Two: Open Up

Step Three: Listen Up

Step Four: Follow Up

Before We Close

Resources

Thirty-Day Writing Log

Permissions

About the Author

Foreword by Dawn Montefusco

When Janet Conner told me Writing Down Your Soul was celebrating her twelfth birthday with a relaunch, I secretly breathed a deep sigh of relief and did an epic happy dance! These are volatile and epic times, and we need books like this and gifted spiritual guides like Janet to help us navigate uncertain waters. We are, all of us, headed into a very different world. How do we honor and listen to our souls’ voices through all the chaos? Picking up this book is a great place to start. The world needs Janet’s work now more than ever. We are living in times that are mystifying with rapid cycles of change, making it hard to feel grounded. Janet understands how easily we can get stuck in our heads and clearly guides us to tap into our hearts and to use writing as a profound connection to the Divine. Her process allows us to experience calm in any storm and to trust our souls’ voices.

In perfect synchronicity, three days before Janet asked me to write this foreword, my boyfriend’s father died, and my boyfriend and I decided to break up. All in the same week. After three years together and a year of therapy and arguments, we realized that although we were great human beings, we were not the best fit romantically. His father was a beautiful and kind man, and his death brought up the remembrance of my own father’s death ten years earlier. Suddenly I was wrecked with grief, depression, and anxiety. At fifty-one, I felt lost, single, and scared.

Although I am a writer and writing coach, I couldn’t find solace in my writing, so I prayed and asked for guidance. When Janet’s invitation arrived three days later, I got chills. I knew the Divine had heard my call for help. I ran faster than lightning to my bookshelf and reread this book—twice. It was like being hit in the head with a golden anvil of love. Writing Down Your Soul reminded me to write in a different way and to ask questions to my soul on paper and trust the process.

There is an ah-ha moment on every page of this book and each one prompted me to tap further into my soul’s voice. Suddenly I didn’t feel alone anymore. I felt held and heard through my deep soul writing. Janet’s profound and sincere system was just what I needed. It was the exact answer to my prayers. I immediately made my vow to show up, open up, listen up, and follow up—the four steps to writing down your soul. Janet’s wisdom reminded me that we all have a direct and immediate access to the Voice. It’s no coincidence that I asked for guidance and the answer was delivered through this book.

Writing Down Your Soul is one of the best guidebooks to navigating life with grace. This book helps us understand that great transformation and a new path of harmony always emerge out of chaos. She reminds us to ask for help, something many people are afraid to do. Writing Down Your Soul is destined to transform hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people’s lives, not only because of the profound messages, but also due to her step-by-step guidance on how to access the voice of our souls and to listen. We are a world intent on speaking more than listening, yet it’s in the listening that we get to hear our own internal guidance system. Just as James Pennebaker is the godfather of expressive journaling and discovered how writing can heal trauma, Janet is the godmother of soul writing, helping us tap into our divine energy and heal our lives. With Writing Down Your Soul, Janet rightfully takes her place among the world-class spiritual teachers.

I believe many people are being called to write now more than ever. Arguably this is the most important time in all of human history to write, even if it’s for your eyes only. Once you learn to practice deep soul writing, you will discover a sense of love, healing, and joy that you didn’t know was possible. We can change the world one word at a time. I urge you to take time each day to practice writing down your soul and see for yourself how miracles show up all around you.

Dawn Montefusco, transformational writing coach, author, poet, and creator of the Write from Your Heart Writing Series

Introduction

This morning, as I began deep soul writing with my beloved feminine divine voice, I found myself revisiting a familiar, if still unanswerable question. I return to this question often, because somewhere embedded in the labyrinth of this question is a sacred and beautiful seed of who I am and who I am becoming. And if I can find that seed, I can pass it on to you, and you can explore who you are and who you are becoming, too.

The question surfaced for the first time twenty-three years ago, when everything I knew and thought I valued was crashing to the ground. Marriage, house, career, hard-earned savings, even friendships, were being swept away by some invisible voracious river of grief and woe.

And yet, when I picked up a pen for the first time on April 23, 1997, I felt something different, something that transcended my tears. I felt a wee touch of comfort. I felt heard. And so, I returned the next day and the next, simply wanting to reexperience that little window of grace.

But then, something strange happened. One day, I slammed an angry question onto the page and out of my hand poured a wise and loving response. I yelped and dropped the pen. Those words most certainly did not come from me—not the angry, bitter, sobbing me. And with those words came the question I’ve been pondering ever since: What is this? What is deep soul writing?

Mind you, I didn’t call it deep soul writing then. It was clear that whatever I was doing wasn’t standard-issue journaling, but what was it? And furthermore, if I felt heard, who was listening? If I felt comforted, who was comforting me? And the really big one, who or what was bursting onto the page with such radical words of wisdom and love?

A decade later, when I sat down to write this book, I returned to that question. I knew I had to offer the reader some kind of explanation of what soul writing is, and how it works,

Reviews for Writing Down Your Soul

[yeldabmoers · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Once in a while when sifting through an apple tree of books, you pine for a ripe one that has all the elements to satisfy, and hope you find it. That is how I felt about Writing Down Your Soul when I was looking for a book on spiritual writing. Janet Conner makes a convincing and inspirational case that writing can be just as powerful and effective as prayer or meditation to connect to a higher consciousness. Through journal writing, she shows us the path to the all-knowing voice within us. Her method is similar to Julia Cameron’s morning pages in The Artist’s Way, but even more defined, deeper and further involved. Conner’s writing style is also engaging, tight and stimulating, a major bonus, and the book is well edited. I’m surprised it’s not a bestseller and wholly recommend it to spiritual writers or anyone seeking guidance.

[smouw_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Inspirational and quick to read, this practical book presents guidelines for those piecing the puzzle of their lives together--and who is not doing that? The soul is longing to be heard, and this book reminds us how to listen.