Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity has been on my to read list for a while now. I finally picked up a copy a week & a half ago while book browsing with my friend Kim (Sassiland) who was in town & who recommended it as we were trading recommendations on writing books. Rather than read it through from beginning to end in one sitting & make some promise to myself to actually follow through with the 12-week program at a later date, I decided to start then & there. I do think my willingness to do it now of all times has much to do with the last 9 months of my life. The next 12-weeks of this process will take me through the last 3-months of what will forever be known as the hardest year of my life. There’s something about coming to the end of this process & focusing on my own creative process in the months leading up to the one-year anniversary of my mother’s death. I guess it’s a desire to really cement the fact that while this year has been the worst of my life, it has also (oddly) been one of the most interesting (& at at times even good), & much of what has made it interesting/good has been my interest in really figuring out who I am, what I believe, & what makes me happy. And much of that has to do with focusing on the creative process in general, as well as mine in particular.
So, last Sunday I started with Week 1 of The Artist’s Way program and with a new daily practice of Morning Pages. The morning pages are about clearing out your conscious & subconscious mind first thing in the morning to free it for more creative endeavors throughout the rest of your day. I’ve always been a sporadic journal writer, so I was a little wary of my ability to commit to a daily practice of 3 pages, but so far, one week down, I’m doing well. I’ve factored a bit more time into my morning routine (about 20 minutes) to make the pages happen; & I’ve allowed myself to make it “afternoon pages” when I just don’t have time in the morning (that’s only happened once; & I don’t intend on making it a habit). I’ve been surprised at how painlessly the morning pages have been to write. Yes, it is stream-of-conscious, but even stream-of-conscious writing can be daunting if you have to do it daily & for a set length. I’ll have to give the process more time to know what it does for me, but for now, I can see the benefit of just having the opportunity to do a bit of venting first thing in the morning.
In addition, I initiated the Artist’s Date practice. The goal here is to carve out some time for yourself weekly to do something creative. For me, week 1 involved going to a local music festival & listening to some bands. I would have gone even if I hadn’t needed to take myself out on an Artist’s Date, but I like the idea of making such dates a weekly practice. So, I look forward to exploring other options whether they be concerts, museums, an art project, or something else.
The rest of week 1 has focused on recovering a sense of safety. Most of this weeks writing tasks seemed to focus on uncovering those memories of people/experiences that either discouraged/encouraged your creative endeavors. I don’t know if I was being overly positive, but for the most part I feel like I have had more people encouraging me than discouraging me. Cameron writes, “If encouraged at all…children are urged into thinking of the arts as hobbies, creative fluff around the edges of real life.” Yes, there were those people who definitely told me to pursue more practical/financially lucrative paths in life. But honestly, the cheerleaders in my life have been much louder. I know I’m my own worst enemy. So, if anyone has been discouraging me, it’s been me. I’ve definitely made progress on this issue in recent months & years, but it’s still something I struggle with. But I’m conscious of the problem & I’m working on it with this process.
Now onto Week 2.
June 28, 2009 at 5:43 pm
I’m so glad you bought this book (and envious you got to browse in a bookstore with Kim!).
‘The Artist’s Way’ had a profound effect on me … I wrote about it here http://mysydneyparislife.wordpress.com/2009/01/14/control-is-an-illusion-part-1-but-we-still-have-choices/
I do morning pages, except when we travel and it’s not always possible (and I get REALLY out of sorts if too many days go by without the practice). For me it’s become the equivalent of morning meditation, prayer, whatever – via ‘just writing’ those pages.
Sounds like a meaningful way for you to do it, leading up to the one year mark of your mother’s death. I’ve shared my experience re run-up to a date is usually worse than the day for me. I hated the days just after the one year mark because then it was ‘a year ago he wasn’t here …’
Good luck to all of us with our writing!
June 28, 2009 at 9:35 pm
I think I’m starting to see how the morning pages would become like a morning meditation.
You’re probably right about the run-up vs. the actual day. The actual day is only 24-hours. There is a defined beginning and end. The run-up…well, that’s just weeks of highs and lows. So we’ll see how it goes. Right now it is still out of my mind for the most part. It’s still too far away I suppose. I hadn’t thought about the “a year a go….” That’s just a weird thought.
Definitely good luck with your writing as well! Keep at it.
July 4, 2009 at 8:52 am
I have taken up the process of Morning Pages again on July 4th, after NOT having done them consistently for over 10 years! When I did them the first time around, my life had changed for the better. But when I got away from them, that ole’ Censor took over, and nothing I did relly felt right. So I obtained Julia’s book, The Writing Diet, at a secondhand bookstore, and this time I’m determined to do it again plus, liberate some unnecessary ponds from my body.
July 6, 2009 at 11:13 am
So cool! I was reading your post and thinking, oh I’ve got to send this to Carolyn — who, of course, was who recommended The Artist’s Way to me — only to see she’d already been here!
I think it’s really inspiring the way you decided to take this on as a way of wrapping up this ‘year’ – the first year without your mother. I am glad that, in addition to the loss, your year has been blessed by some creative discovery (although I know you would have your mother back in an instant if you had the choice).
All *I* did was borrow the book from the bookstore a few nights before I left for the States and do a quick readthrough; but that convinced me I do want to acquire it and try her program. I’m really curious (and, I admit skeptical) about what these morning pages can accomplish — but I like what she says about you just have to believe — I need a little bit more of that in my life.
I got about a hundred dollars’ worth of writing books from Amazon; read Zinsser’s 30th anniversary edition of Writing Well, which I loved (and realize I have read excerpts of before); am now on Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones but must say so far it’s a bit New Age-ish for me (but funny that Julia Cameron wasn’t!). Anyway, I’m still continuing.
I’m hoping to discipline myself to some morning pages soon! Just after jetlag is over . . .
July 6, 2009 at 11:28 am
Yeah, I’m still not entirely sure what the morning pages are supposed to do or if I’m “doing them right.” But I guess it is a good way to do an emotional purge before you get the day going.
You’ll definitely have to give me reviews of the books you read. I’ve also read parts of Zinsser’s book & but still have yet to get a copy and read it all the way through. It’s on my list!
July 29, 2009 at 6:54 pm
I know this is an old post, but I just started with my morning pages for the first time yesterday. I hope that they do have s some sort of therapeutic effect.
July 29, 2009 at 9:41 pm
Good luck with the morning pages. Six weeks into the process I can honestly say that they are useful.