At a Journal Workshop: Writing to Access the Power of the Unconscious and Evoke Creative Ability [Paperback]

Ira Progoff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1992

This revised and expanded edition of the classic At a Journal Workshop, a self-published bestseller, offers the reader access to the most widely praised method of diary writing. This rich, insightful work is a treasure for all those involved in self-inquiry, artistic creation and spiritual renewal.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Progoff, a psychotherapist and pioneer in the therapeutic use of journal writing, has conducted workshops on the Intensive Journal Process since 1966. His program offers more than a chronological diary; the Intensive Journal Process is a complex and systematic method for gaining self-insight by recording thoughts, dreams, and significant events, which are then used as focal points for meditation and written reflection in separate sections. This book, a condensed version of two previous works, At a Journal Workshop ( LJ 11/1/75) and The Practice of Process Meditation ( LJ 12/1/80), follows the sequence of an introductory workshop, with the reader as an active participant. The casual reader looking for a summary or overview of the process will find this approach disappointing, while those familiar with the previous works will find little new other than a rearrangement of text. Nonetheless, this is a fascinating guidebook for those seriously committed to exploring journal writing as a means of self-discovery. Recommended for academic and large public libraries that don't own copies of the earlier works.
- Lucille Boone, San Jose P.L., Cal.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Ira Progoff's purpose in creating the Intensive Journal workshops on which this book is based was to give others a language and a process for reflecting on and deepening the meaning of their lives. We have many tools handed to us in At a Journal Workshop-each with a specific shape and function, and each with a full set of instructions on its use. This is a strange, wonderful and complex approach for journey/journal-ing, using methods the author has taught and evolved over the last 40 years. Through multifaceted and interactive reflections on the events that make up our waking and dreaming lives, and on paths not taken, we are led to our deeper beings. Here is an ultimate workbook for teachers and students of the inner journey. -- From The WomanSource Catalog & Review: Tools for Connecting the Community for Women; review by Linda Hewitt

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Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Tarcher; Revised edition (May 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874776384
• ISBN-13: 978-0874776386
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #395,824 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The absolute number one book about journal keeping, August 27, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Redondo Beach, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: At a Journal Workshop: Writing to Access the Power of the Unconscious and Evoke Creative Ability (Paperback)

I have personally studied the works of countless writers of journal keeping techniques and Ira Progoff's National Intensive Journal method is #1 in my book. I am a former consultant for Dialogue House, and though I currently teach and use a synthesis of many teachers techniques (including many of my own), Progoff's method is the heart and soul of journal keeping. Soundly based in Jungian theory and the theories of other depth psychologists, as well as the world's great spiritual traditions, this work is the basis for all modern journal keeping. This text isn't the easiest to read, however (very scholarly) so I recommend actually experiencing the method in a workshop setting in addition to using the book as your journal keeping bible. Progoff is the father of contemporary journal keeping, in my estimation, and using his work as foundation, serious journal keepers will find their experience richer.

53 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BEST JOURNALING BOOK!, February 2, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: At a Journal Workshop: Writing to Access the Power of the Unconscious and Evoke Creative Ability (Paperback)

This book is amazing! It is difficult to read but I found a way around that problem by taking clear, simple notes while reading the book slowly, with a dictionary by my side. I dropped out of school in the 8th grade, but this book offered such rich rewards that I had to find a way to understand it. It took me almost a year to get through the whole book, to completely understand it, and to compile a set of practical, simple notes. It was WELL worth it! This book is one of the best books I ever found in my life, by far, and I can't praise it enough! This book will add such a richness and texture to your life, such meaning, and insight, so much creativity, so much more self-acceptance . . . really, I can't praise it enough.

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Many gems, but not well-organized., September 12, 2006

By 

Patrick D. Goonan "see profile for URL" (Livermore, CA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: At a Journal Workshop: Writing to Access the Power of the Unconscious and Evoke Creative Ability (Paperback)

I am a fan of Progoff's Intensive Journal and have been doing the journal method for over 20 years. This book is a valuable tool for learning this technique, but it is not well-organized.

The first third of the book does a good job of explaining the method, but the rest of the book has a very meandering style. This is in keeping with the spirit of the journal, but without having done a workshop it will be difficult for people to learn what they need to know on their own with only this book as a guide.

However, AT A JOURNAL WORKSHOP is invaluable commentary for those who have done the various Progoff's workshops. It is also valuable to those who haven't, but it isn't written is such a way that you can learn what you need to know without plodding through the whole book carefully.

It would be great if someone could edit this text and organize it more efficiently. The metaphors and examples are excellent, but it definitely needs some updating and serious editing.

I encourage anyone who has not tried this method to give it a shot. It has been invaluable to me over the years and it's great to hear Dr. Progoff's own words on how to do it.

Although Progoff was a wonderful depth psychologist, he wasn't as good a writer in the conventional sense of the word. However, you need this book to truly capture the full spirit of the Intensive Journal Method. It will be a lot of work to go through it and make sense of it all in the way it's presented. However, it contains pearls of wisdom and excellent tips on how to make the most of the technique.