Like many others, I have an affinity for notebooks, journals, planners — any empty lined-and-bound book, I'm in. If you've ever bought a fresh notebook while others sat at home, waiting for your notes or doodles or sketches, don't worry. I'm the same way.
It's this longtime love of notebooks that stopped my finger from scrolling through Facebook when I reached an ad for the Pilgrim Soul notebook. In block letters, the brand and notebook itself politely asked me to "Please use this journal when you are high."
Pilgrim Soul's Creativity Thinking Journal is meant to pique one's imagination while stoned. I always strive to flex my creativity in my work and personal life — and seeing as it's close to 420, I wanted to try the journal for myself.
I was instantly intrigued by this idea. Ever since weed became legal in New York (and only then, of course) I've been taking the opportunity to do so. The stereotype of the "lazy stoner" is thankfully depleting as discussions of the benefits of cannabis use — such as creativity — come to the forefront. While there's much more research to be done, evidence does suggest that cannabis may help some people be more creative.
How it compares to other journals
The journal retails for $29.95, pricier than other creativity journals sold on Amazon as well as the standard Moleskine notebook. The hardcover is durable and the pages are thick and good quality. Inside holds 50 creativity exercises, ranging from writing a letter to coloring to imagining up definitions for made-up words.
Pilgrim Soul seems to be the only one doing a specific stoned creativity journal. The only "weed journal" I could find — besides basic tracking journals — was a blank notebook with a pretty cover telling the customer to write down their high thoughts...which you can use any notebook to do. While there are other "sober" creativity journals out there, this does seem to be the only one targeting cannabis users.
On its website, Pilgrim Soul says, "These exercise techniques are borrowed from proven brainstorming, ideation, and innovation techniques across art, design, business, and science." They don't cite their sources, however, which is the biggest flaw I've found in this product.
What to expect inside the Pilgrim Soul journal
The first few pages of the journal go over science behind cannabis and ingenuity — which, as mentioned earlier, needs more research. Another page gives a long list of renowned creatives and intellectuals over history that apparently used cannabis — like George Washington and Oscar Wilde — but there are no sources listed there, either. I expected all the studies and historical records to be fully laid out in a glossary of some kind, but there is none.
Most exercises take up two pages (some more), one to do the actual exercise and the other for directions and an explanation of how and why it will boost your imagination. I appreciate the journal detailing the science behind some of these exercises, but just like the website, they don't cite their sources. Some of the explanations are accompanied with universities or professors who conducted studies, which I appreciate, but I'd have to do my own googling to find out any details.
I'm a journalist so maybe sources are more important to me than they are for others. Something else that may only important to me was this typo I spotted in the journal itself:
Overall, the lack of citations and the typo (which is the only one I noted) didn't stop my enjoyment of the Creativity Thinking Journal, but it made me reflect on the cost more. For a journal at a higher price point than others in the market, I didn't expect these small, but noticeable, snags.
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Overall, I enjoyed using the journal. In my experience, writing when I'm blazed out of my mind only leads to a headache. Instead, I used this when I've had a few puffs, when I'm high but at a level of a light buzz. In that state, using the journal was a lot of fun. I don't usually doodle or color in my day to day, and there are many opportunities to do both with this journal. Other times, I used my brain more actively and wrote six-word stories or Hollywood movie pitches.
I jumped around from exercise to exercise, interchanging between drawing and writing. If you're curious about what exactly these entail — and why Pilgrim Soul put them in the book — before you buy, the site has blog posts on creative exercises, such as imagining your 80-year-old self writing a letter to your current self.
Will this journal — or any — make you "more creative"? Will weed in general? I can't answer either of these questions, but both using cannabis and journaling are fun to do separately or together for me (only if it's legal in your state).
If you're tired of vegging out in front of a nature documentary while stoned and want something else to occupy your time, the Pilgrim Soul journal is a great tool for that. Sometimes you're just itching to do something while high, but you may not know what that looks like. This journal provides brainstorming prompts that I would never think of that are silly or mind-bendy to think about while high.
I also think users can get many uses out of the journal. During each session, I would try or complete several prompts; sometimes I'd do half of a prompt and leave it for another time. I foresee me using this journal over time, and even returning to exercises to boost my creativity. This easily justifies the $30 price tag for me.
It would be a great gift for the pot smoker in your life (even if that's you), for birthdays or holidays like 420. Pilgrim Soul has three products: the journal, scratch notes, and pencils. All would make thoughtful presents for cannabis enthusiasts who have plenty of grinders, lighters, and other paraphernalia.
Also, let's be real: You don't have to use this journal when you're high. I cracked it open when I was — gasp! — sober, and while the prompts didn't make me giggle as much or have such offbeat answers, it was still fun. Out of all the notebooks and journals and planners in my collection, Pilgrim Soul's is arguably the most unique.
