“Gratitude connects us to the Daily Light. The more we can connect to our daily light, the happier we become and the more present we become in our lives dash now. Gratitude is the key.”
Author, Joanna Hunter divides the journal into five sections, using a full color, double page spread for each one, which speaks to that section’s theme that follows:
- Gratitude for the past
- Gratitude for the lesson’s life has taught
- Gratitude for the now
- Gratitude for what we are calling in
- Gratitude reframes
On these pages, she shares quotes from thought leaders and affirmations as well as a brief discussion of how to best utilize the journal for this part of the journey. The verbiage is printed on the beautiful, encoded artwork that also features a person, bird, or an animal, such as a monk, an owl, or tiger. These elements are added to the vibrant artwork, in a type of layering or collage process that allows the light codes to shine through and the rest of the symbols to play a secondary role. Some of the words on key pages inside, as well as the cover title and subtitle, is designed and printed to look like gold, but it’s not metallic. Rather, the designer used a dual-color process to mimic the shadow and light aspects of gold ink.
While the book is 200 pages, there are 156 pages of lined space for recording your daily gratitude, thoughts, impressions or epiphanies. She also mixes into each section six single pages of a stunning, light-encoded portal, on which you may focus to start your journaling. Within the sections, Hunter includes journal prompts at the top of each right-hand page. She sprinkles thoughtful quotes throughout the lined pages of the journal. For each section, there are about 30 pages available for journaling, making this a perfect tool for a five-month gratitude journey.
At the back of the journal, Hunter shares a section called “How to use affirmations.” Here she discusses something she calls “The game of liar ping pong.” This is where you say an affirmation like “I am healthy.” Then your brain says, “Oh no you’re not!” And reminds you of the nachos you just ate! Next, she provides a reframe for this ongoing “ping pong game” with yourself. She also shares her favorite ways to use affirmations and how to best word affirmations for greater success.
My favorite section of this journal is the last one, which is called “Gratitude Reframe.” Within this section, Hunter and Skyler challenge you to use reframes to speak your truth and reframe your past lessons for more success in all areas of your life:
“Reframes plus gratitude are a powerful combination that will help you shift your energy and align it with your deepest desires and of course more Daily Light.”
This journal is a nice size (6” X 9”) and is printed on good quality paper stock that prevents bleed-through with daily use. The edges of the paper are accented with gold foil. As shared earlier, all the artwork is printed in four-color, and the lined pages and journal prompts and quotes are printed in a light gray. I really like this feature, because the writing on these pages doesn’t detract from the book’s primary function as a journal. The prompts at the top of the pages are printed in a cursive font, which invites you into the journaling process. There is also a silky gold ribbon to use as a placeholder. I love it when the author includes a ribbon!