A while back I wrote about writer and director, Julia Cameron, who wrote . This is a great big book full of exercises designed to free your inner artist and unleash your creativity. Before you begin her exercises, she describes two essential tools you must adapt into your life. The first is that we take a weekly Artist Date in order to awaken and nurture our inner artist. The Artist Date is something fun that we do on our own; it can be anything from hitting golf balls at the driving range to window shopping through our favorite antique shops. You can read my article here for more information.
The second essential tool recommended by Julia Cameron is Morning Pages. She describes them as ”three pages of longhand writing, strictly stream-of-consciousness” done first thing in the morning (p25). She also describes the exercise as a brain drain.
I began writing my own morning pages a little over a year ago. I bought a simple composition book for the task. At first it was difficult for me to fill three pages. I followed Cameron’s advice to write stream of consciousness, which sometimes would be just listing exactly what I was doing in the moment (I am sitting here in the guest room, writing these pages, sleepy, and noticing that the dresser needs dusting); eventually I would break through to the bigger stuff that needed purging. I could feel a difference in my life after writing the morning pages for just one week. I had more clarity. I had a deeper sense of stillness. I felt more focused.
I want to share the reasons Julia Cameron provides for writing morning pages. They all are a call to action:
“All that angry, whiny, petty stuff that you write down in the AM stands between you and your creativity…this stuff eddies through your subconscious and muddies our days. Get it on the page” (p26).
“The morning pages are the primary tool of a creative recovery. As blocked artists, we tend to criticize ourselves mercilessly. Even if we look like functioning artists to the world, we feel we never do enough and what we do isn’t right. We are victims of our own internalized perfectionist, a nasty internal and eternal critic, the Censor, who resides in our (left) brain and keeps up a constant stream of subversive remarks that are often disguised as the truth” (p26). “So you drew your first sketch? The Censor says, ‘It’s not Picasso.’” “The point is to stop taking the Censor as the voice of reason and learn to hear it for the blocking device that it is. Morning pages will help you to do this” (p27).
“Morning pages do get us to the other side: the other side of our fear, our negativity, of our moods. Above all, they get us beyond our Censor. Beyond the reach of the Censor’s babble we find our own quiet center, the place where we hear the still, small voice that is at once our creator’s and our own” (p28).
“It may be useful for you to think of the morning pages as meditation…The pages may not seem spiritual or even meditative—more like negative and materialistic, actually—but they are a valid form of meditation that gives us insight and helps us effect change in our lives…We meditate to discover our own identity, our right place in the scheme of the universe. Through meditation, we acquire and eventually acknowledge our connection to an inner power source that has the ability to transform our outer world. In other words, meditation gives us not only the light of insight but also the power for expansive change” (p29-30).
“It is impossible to write morning pages for any extended period of time without coming into contact with an unexpected inner power. Although I used them for many years before I realized this, the pages are a pathway to a strong sense and clear sense of self. They are a trail that we follow into our own interior…Anyone who faithfully writes morning pages will be led to a connection with a source of wisdom within” (p31).
Thank you, Julia Cameron! Thank you for !
When you write your morning pages, all your mental banter is written on the page and stays there. It’s wonderful. You can let out your frustrations, complain, rant…without bringing down anyone else. Conversely, you can spill out your joy and happiness and watch as it all becomes illuminated on the page.
According to Cameron, morning pages are non-negotiable. They must be done everyday, as soon as you roll out of bed. I attempted this but found that I couldn’t manage the task everyday, first thing in the morning, with my schedule. My good friend very sweetly renamed my pages “The Daily Pages” and suggested I write them whenever I can. I try my best to write everyday and if I can do it in the morning, that is my preference. Sometimes I get to it, sometimes I don’t. I just pick up where I left off the next time if I missed a day. This is not another thing I “should” be doing that ends up causing me to feel guilty when I don’t. Actually, writing these pages has become part of the fabric of my life; I look forward to them. They are a meditation for me. They might be for you, too! I encourage you to do the morning pages for a week or two and notice the difference you experience in your own life. Morning pages benefit everyone. We all are artists. We all are crafting our lives.
:: :: :: :: ::
Thank you to my recent email subscribers! Just a reminder: when you sign up initially, a verification email is sent to you. Because this message is automatically generated it will often times end up in your spam or junk mail folder. Please look for it there and verify your subscription to begin receiving Joy Discovered in your inbox. Thanks again!
:: :: :: :: ::
To those of you who have been leaving such thoughtful, remarkable comments, thank you! Turning these posts into conversations makes my heart sing! I have been out of town and finally replied to all outstanding comments last night. Please excuse me for the delay!
A while back I wrote about writer and director, Julia Cameron, who wrote . This is a great big book full of exercises designed to free your inner artist and unleash your creativity. Before you begin her exercises, she describes two essential tools you must adapt into your life. The first is that we take a weekly Artist Date in order to awaken and nurture our inner artist. The Artist Date is something fun that we do on our own; it can be anything from hitting golf balls at the driving range to window shopping through our favorite antique shops. You can read my article here for more information.
The second essential tool recommended by Julia Cameron is Morning Pages. She describes them as ”three pages of longhand writing, strictly stream-of-consciousness” done first thing in the morning (p25). She also describes the exercise as a brain drain.
I began writing my own morning pages a little over a year ago. I bought a simple composition book for the task. At first it was difficult for me to fill three pages. I followed Cameron’s advice to write stream of consciousness, which sometimes would be just listing exactly what I was doing in the moment (I am sitting here in the guest room, writing these pages, sleepy, and noticing that the dresser needs dusting); eventually I would break through to the bigger stuff that needed purging. I could feel a difference in my life after writing the morning pages for just one week. I had more clarity. I had a deeper sense of stillness. I felt more focused.
I want to share the reasons Julia Cameron provides for writing morning pages. They all are a call to action:
“All that angry, whiny, petty stuff that you write down in the AM stands between you and your creativity…this stuff eddies through your subconscious and muddies our days. Get it on the page” (p26).
“The morning pages are the primary tool of a creative recovery. As blocked artists, we tend to criticize ourselves mercilessly. Even if we look like functioning artists to the world, we feel we never do enough and what we do isn’t right. We are victims of our own internalized perfectionist, a nasty internal and eternal critic, the Censor, who resides in our (left) brain and keeps up a constant stream of subversive remarks that are often disguised as the truth” (p26). “So you drew your first sketch? The Censor says, ‘It’s not Picasso.’” “The point is to stop taking the Censor as the voice of reason and learn to hear it for the blocking device that it is. Morning pages will help you to do this” (p27).
“Morning pages do get us to the other side: the other side of our fear, our negativity, of our moods. Above all, they get us beyond our Censor. Beyond the reach of the Censor’s babble we find our own quiet center, the place where we hear the still, small voice that is at once our creator’s and our own” (p28).
“It may be useful for you to think of the morning pages as meditation…The pages may not seem spiritual or even meditative—more like negative and materialistic, actually—but they are a valid form of meditation that gives us insight and helps us effect change in our lives…We meditate to discover our own identity, our right place in the scheme of the universe. Through meditation, we acquire and eventually acknowledge our connection to an inner power source that has the ability to transform our outer world. In other words, meditation gives us not only the light of insight but also the power for expansive change” (p29-30).
“It is impossible to write morning pages for any extended period of time without coming into contact with an unexpected inner power. Although I used them for many years before I realized this, the pages are a pathway to a strong sense and clear sense of self. They are a trail that we follow into our own interior…Anyone who faithfully writes morning pages will be led to a connection with a source of wisdom within” (p31).
Thank you, Julia Cameron! Thank you for !
When you write your morning pages, all your mental banter is written on the page and stays there. It’s wonderful. You can let out your frustrations, complain, rant…without bringing down anyone else. Conversely, you can spill out your joy and happiness and watch as it all becomes illuminated on the page.
According to Cameron, morning pages are non-negotiable. They must be done everyday, as soon as you roll out of bed. I attempted this but found that I couldn’t manage the task everyday, first thing in the morning, with my schedule. My good friend very sweetly renamed my pages “The Daily Pages” and suggested I write them whenever I can. I try my best to write everyday and if I can do it in the morning, that is my preference. Sometimes I get to it, sometimes I don’t. I just pick up where I left off the next time if I missed a day. This is not another thing I “should” be doing that ends up causing me to feel guilty when I don’t. Actually, writing these pages has become part of the fabric of my life; I look forward to them. They are a meditation for me. They might be for you, too! I encourage you to do the morning pages for a week or two and notice the difference you experience in your own life. Morning pages benefit everyone. We all are artists. We all are crafting our lives.
:: :: :: :: ::
Thank you to my recent email subscribers! Just a reminder: when you sign up initially, a verification email is sent to you. Because this message is automatically generated it will often times end up in your spam or junk mail folder. Please look for it there and verify your subscription to begin receiving Joy Discovered in your inbox. Thanks again!
:: :: :: :: ::
To those of you who have been leaving such thoughtful, remarkable comments, thank you! Turning these posts into conversations makes my heart sing! I have been out of town and finally replied to all outstanding comments last night. Please excuse me for the delay!