The Bodhi Journal

The Bodhi Journal was established during the very first lockdown. We (Bhakti and Richa) were overwhelmed by the pandemic, there was no denying that it affected our mental wellbeing. So we took up journaling as a way to express ourselves creatively. We started from an Instagram page that was meant to be a blog to share our spreads and gradually began selling journaling supplies like stickers and prints when we realised that there was a dearth of aesthetic stationery, especially Indian-made. The journaling and art community is so supportive. encouraging and accepting. We really wanted to give something back and are very happy to know that this community is only growing larger. It's a journey we are grateful to be a part of. We want to build a larger journaling community base in India through our brand and encourage everyone to make it a daily practise as it helps with mental wellbeing. It is one such activity that involves the use of hands which helps calm down the body and brain. In todays time to beat anxiety and stress we need a hobby which takes our time off the mobile and TV screens. The Bodhi Journal name is inspired by The Bodhi Tree ("tree of awakening"), a large and ancient sacred fig tree located in Bodh Gaya, India. Siddhartha Gautama, the spiritual teacher who became known as the Buddha, is said to have attained enlightenment under it. The word Bodhi (Sanskrit, Pāli), from the verbal root Budd,"to awaken","to understand" reflects perfectly with our main objective of self-exploration and seeking peace in the process of art and journaling. We are spiritually inclined and wanted to add our essence, a bit of who we are to the name. For us, journaling symbolises a meditative state of mind, which is calming and helps us practice mindfulness. It is a therapeutic process that helps us create something from bits and pieces, the whole activity of putting things together and making something entirely new is so exciting.