Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Based on the reviews I saw here on Amazon.com I was considering purchasing this book. I've bought many books online without seeing them first, but something made me stop short of ordering this one. I went to a bookstore to check it out first and flipped through the pages.

"Intensive" is a good description. It is also way too cerebral for me. If there are valuable journal exercises in this book they are hard to find, because they are not bulleted at the end of the chapters or highlighted by bold text. I wanted to get a feel for the type of exercises, but couldn't find any because they are hidden within the text, without any font changes, bold type etc. to guide you to them.

It is 442 pages of the author droning on and on and I couldn't even find any examples of sample journal entries by the author or any other journaler.

This book was not for me. And I think you should see it before you decide whether or not it is for you.

Almost all current authors on journaling owe a great debt to this work by Ira Progoff, the grandfather of modern journal writing. This book is not an easy read but worth the time to get yourself oriented to the author's views about jounaling and psychology. AAJW was meant for those who could not attend a workshop where this method is taught in several two and three day sessions. It is also used, perhaps more so, as a reference guide to those who have attended such workshops and need a reference tool for review. This journal method is unlike anything else on the market and to be fully appreciated one might first read some of Progoff's other works that shed light on his Jungian influenced theory of psychology and personal growth. Progoff's Intensive Journal Method was so successful that it overshadowed his great psychological insights. His other books may be out of print but are available at used book stores and the Progoff Center in NYC

As a person I developed greatly through this process. At a Journal Workshop, chapter by chapter, takes you through a series of introspective exercises that benefit writers & non-writers alike.

As a novice writer this book really helped me get inside my characters. It's much more useful than any creative writing class or writer's workshop that I have ever attended.

From a practical point of view the book is time consuming & figuratively "weighty." It is not easy to cross reference between chapters. However, if you interpret the exercises liberally & skip anything that does not inspire you, these points are easy to overlook.

This book is a replacement for an actual workshop & it is not an easy project. Tackle it when you can devote lots of personal time to it. For anyone at a crossroads in life, or anyone who wants to write - I thoroughly recommend it!

Good luck on your journey...

By all means, try to attend a journal writing workshop sponsored by Dialogue House, and read this book as well. It will extend the workshop's effect in your life and deepen your appreciation of Progoff's work in the areas of spirituality, recovery and social transfornation. This edition of Progoff's classic integrates prior work covered in his other books on Holistic Depth Psychology, Life Study, Process and Creatvity, Synchronicity, and Jung. Perhaps the greatest value here is in having Progoff's work in those areas brought together under the four dimensions of the Journal Process itself: Life/Time Dimension, Dialogue Dimension, Depth Dimension, and Meaning Dimension. Those who go along with Progoff in this work, whether through his books or at a workshop, will find a way to access personal depths of creativity, healing and recovery on an ongoing basis over a lifetime.

No the book isn't an easy read. I wish it were, because if you are truly interested in using a journal as a tool of self development then you absolutely must become familiar with what Progoff teaches. The results that come from dialoguing with a concept, a person or a thing are fairly amazing and the true genius of his work is the recommendation of continuously reflecting on the reflection. I would strongly suggest that anyone interested in the book take the class as well. It's well worth the investment in time and money.

This book provides information about the Progoff Intensive Journal (IJ) method, a series of interrelated exercises that generate rich information about one's life, which were developed over 20 years of researching creativity and depth psychology. Exercises include work with dialogues, dreams, twilight images, and steppingstones. Adapted from the IJ workshops offered by Dialogue House, this book is an excellent resource for those new to the method as well as those who have take the workshop. Personally, I've found the book most useful as a reference tool to supplement the workshop experience.

As a preliminary statement, even though this reviewer worked for Dr. Progoff during the 1950s and 60s in NYC as an archivist, he will not recuse himself from reviewing Dr. Progoff's work which opened a whole new vista in his life. His perception is how Ira used the material from his lectures on the Intensive Journal Workshop and therapy sessions to formulate his theories about dreams, diaries and journals and the creative process. This is the culmination of his work.

Poets, musicians, mediums, and persons from all walks of life would come to him seeking healing, psychological, and spiritual support. He broke new ground with his creative intellect. He changed lives. This book, At a Journal Workshop, condenses everything he taught, and, it must be admitted, is not light reading unless you are familiar with his other work or similar topics. The book is most valuable when used as an adjunct to attending a class, and obviates the necessity of your keeping handwritten notes.

If your intellect is sharp and pervasive, you will have no problems absorbing his exercises. In a way, it's like learning to use a computer, the books are great, but there is nothing like hands on experience. You learn by doing, and when you are ready for the next step, refer to the book to extend your journal or your dream. It offers various ways to do this.

Several books on simple methods for keeping a journal are available, but none have the meat of this one. This reviewer has conducted journal and dream-work classes, and this is his principal source. Many others have followed in Dr. Progoff?s steps and a debt is owed to them all. Five stars.