Scroll down for a transcription of this episode.
Indigenous artist Dr. Lyla June Johnston leads a 5-minute freewriting exercise about our personal journeys. Autobiographical writing has been shown to help do better in relationships and feel more satisfied in life.
How to Do This Practice:
- Ground yourself: Sit in a comfortable position and take a few slow breaths. Notice the inhale and exhale without trying to change anything. Let your attention settle into your body and the present moment.
- Set a simple intention: Bring to mind the idea of observing your story with curiosity rather than judgment. You’re not trying to write something “good,” just something honest.
- Write the sentence: “I come from a place where…” and pause briefly before continuing. Let the words that follow come from memory, feeling, or imagery—whatever shows up first.
- Free-write without stopping: Keep your pen moving for several minutes (around 3–5 minutes, or longer if you like). Don’t edit, filter, or worry about grammar or meaning. If you get stuck, repeat the prompt and continue.
- Notice what emerged: When time is up, read what you wrote slowly. Notice any themes, emotions, memories, or insights that stand out—without trying to fix or interpret them immediately.
- Reflect and return: Take a moment to acknowledge your experience of the exercise. You might ask: What surprised me? What feels important? Revisit this practice every few weeks or months to notice how your sense of origin and story evolves
Today’s Happiness Break Guide:
DR. LYLA JUNE JOHNSTON is an Indigenous artist and scholar from the Diné Nation.
Learn about Dr. Lyla June Johnston's work: https://www.lylajune.com/
More Happiness Breaks like this one:
A Compassionate Letter to Yourself: https://tinyurl.com/3j6vtwh3
Finding Yourself in Silence: https://tinyurl.com/3w76t94a
An Affirmation Practice for the New Year: https://tinyurl.com/4f9epzbw
Related Science of Happiness episodes:
How To Tap Your Way to Calm and Clarity: https://tinyurl.com/vtfrt8b7
The Science of Letting Go: https://tinyurl.com/34u2fu48
How Art Heals Us: https://tinyurl.com/88y5r4vr
We’d love to hear about your experience with this practice! Share your thoughts at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.
Find us on Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap
Help us share Happiness Break! Leave a 5-star review and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap
Transcription:
DACHER KELTNER: Welcome to Happiness Break, where we take a few moments out of the day to try a practice that's been shown to support our wellbeing and our ability to show up for our communities. I’m Dacher Keltner.
Our guide today is Lyla June Johnston, indigenous art, indigenous artist, scholar, and community organizer, and she's leading us through a writing contemplation on our place of origin, whatever that means to you.
Autobiographical writing like the practice. Lyla June is about to lead us through, has so many benefits. Even if we're writing about stresses, difficulties, or tribulations, researchers have shown that doing so can help us feel more satisfied with our lives, function better in our relationships, and it even is associated with better health in the weeks after we write.
But before we get started, let's together take a moment to get grounded. Find a comfortable seat, and take a few deep breaths. You may want to breathe in, and expand the lungs, and then follow that exhalation. Let's breathe in. And breathing out. Another breath. On this final breath just notice what the breathing has done.
Allow your mind to settle. Observing the breath without judging, just noticing what sensations it might bring, or sense of self it might bring to you. And I encourage you to bring that same observant, non-judgmental frame of mind to today's practice. It's not about writing well, it's just about expressing your story.
So grab a pen and a piece of paper and press pause if you need a moment.
And when you're ready, here's Lyla June.
DR. LYLA JUNE JOHNSTON: Greetings, my people and my relatives. My name is Lyla June. And I am from the Naaneesht'ezhi Taach'iinii clan of the Diné Nation. We are also incorrectly known as Navajo. We are Indigenous to what is now called New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona. But we call it Diné Bikeyah Diné Tah, the People's Land. And I'm so happy today to facilitate a little writing exercise that I hope will help you heal, help you feel, help you introspect, and ultimately help you grow. This writing exercise is all about thinking about where you've come from, who you are, and all that you've been through to get where you're sitting or standing today.
You can see maybe things you could have done better. Or maybe you could see how beautiful it was that you overcame that. It may give you a chance to celebrate. It may give you a chance to truly grieve. It may give you a chance to introspect. It may give you a chance to see how far you've come. And so this is what I hope we can accomplish with our little writing exercise.
We are going to simply write on the prompt. I come from a place where ..
Now this exercise is a free write format, and a free write is where you start writing. You do not judge, you do not filter, and you do not pick up the pen. The ink ideally will be flowing the entire time.
You're gonna write down, “I come from a place where,” and then see where that takes you. And no one's going to be reading this, but you, unless you want to share. So don't feel like it has to be perfect or proper. Don't feel like it has to be something that's polished. Just let it flow. Whatever wants to come out.
So please begin with writing, “I come from a place where…”
You're doing great. Remember, don't filter it. Just let it flow.
You have three minutes remaining.
Keep going.
You have two minutes remaining.
You're doing great.
You have one minute left.
Please wrap up your final thought, and if you need more time, feel free to press pause.
Congratulations on finishing your free writes. I invite you to read it to yourself. And to perhaps do this exercise every few weeks or months to check in about where you feel you have been and where you would like to go in the future.
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