📄Reflection Journal and Emotional Challenges Cheat Sheet
🧠 Tibetan Buddhist Reflections for the Mind & Heart
A Reflection Journal & Cheat Sheet for Emotional Challenges
✍️ Reflection Journal Template
Today I’m feeling:
☐ Grief / Sadness
☐ Burnout / Exhaustion
☐ Conflict / Misunderstanding
☐ Creative Block / Fear
☐ Lack of Purpose
☐ Other: ___________________
What’s going on?
A brief description of your situation or thoughts.
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Which Buddhist practice will I try?
(Choose one or two that match your need.)
Challenge
Practices to Try
Grief / Sadness
🕊 Tonglen, 🌬 Mindfulness, 🔥 Emptiness
Burnout
🧘 Calm Abiding, 🌈 Tara Visualization, ☠️ Impermanence Reflection
Conflict
🧭 Lo Jong, 📿 Karma Reflection, 🕊 Compassion Motivation
Creative Block
🔥 Emptiness, 🧭 Obstacles as Path, 🌈 Manjushri
No Purpose
🧡 Compassion Motivation, 👥 Interdependence Contemplation
Practice notes (after you try it):
What did you notice, feel, or learn?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
🗂️ Cheat Sheet: Practice Quick Reference
🌬 Mindfulness (དྲན་པ་)
Just notice what’s happening now — breath, sound, sensation, thought.
Return gently when distracted.
🔬 Analytical Meditation
Ask yourself: “Is this permanent? Is this ‘me’? What causes this feeling?”
Reflect on impermanence or cause & effect.
🧭 Lo Jong (Mind Training)
Use slogans like “Transform suffering into the path” or “Drive all blame into one*.”
Reframe difficulty as training.
🕊 Tonglen (Giving & Taking)
Inhale pain (yours + others), exhale peace or light.
Reduces fear and isolation, increases courage.
🔥 Emptiness
Nothing exists independently — not even “me” as a fixed person.
Say: “This pain is real but not solid.”
🌈 Visualization
Imagine Tara or Avalokiteshvara above you, sending light and blessings.
Feel protected, loved, strengthened.
📿 Karma Reflection
Ask: “What kind of seeds am I planting with my thoughts and actions?”
Encourages care, intentionality, and hope.
* It's important to note that "driving all blame into one(self)" is not about beating oneself up or feeling guilty. It's about recognizing how one's own behavior and mindset might be contributing to negative experiences and finding healthier ways to engage with the world.