Tag Archives: Julia Cameron

Inspirational Thought Wednesday!

CrownGood evening!

“A day at a time, a walk at a time, even a simple step at a time, my sad and tangled life began to sort itself. I say sort itself because all I did was “walk through it.” I have been walking ever since.”

~Julia Cameron

This quote has really resonated with me this week. You see, I have always been a bit of a walker – that is until the last 6 months. I am not sure why, but I just kind of stopped. No real reason…just stopped. now don’t get me wrong, I still walk a lot, to get to meetings, go to lunch, to find my car, but it is not the same as walking on purpose – with a purpose. For me that means to walk with no other intention but to get out into the fresh air, while enjoying nature and raising your heartbeat so you can listen to your inner voice. That is what I had given up! It was one way that I listened to my soul, and what it was trying to tell me.

Well, this past week, I have taken up walking again. On purpose. With no other intention but just to get my booty out of the house and spend some time with my inner thoughts while out in nature! Simple. Simple, yet oh so gratifying!! 😉

The benefits I have discovered for walking:

  1. Walking clears my head, especially if I am suffering from artist’s block! New ideas seem to just find me while I am walking.
  2. Walking alleviates anger and frustration! Things that are stressing me out just doesn’t seem as important after a long walk.
  3. Walking gives me the chance to change my perspective! I have a tendency to get channeled the finite details of things, and sometimes I really need to step back and see the big picture – walking does that for me!
  4. Walking really energizes me! If I take a 30 minute walk, I find I have way more energy then when I first started out!
  5. Walking helps me get a good nights sleep! If I take a long walk, like 45 minutes or more, I sleep like a log!! That is a GREAT feeling especially to someone like me, who has a tendency to be an insomniac!
  6. Walking really makes your legs look good, and if you take large enough strides, your booty gets a nice toning too! ALWAYS DESIRABLE!!! 😉
  7. Walking is a peacekeeper! If my sweetie and I are arguing or disagreeing about something, we can just take a walk together, and the energy we expend walking helps deflate the sales of whatever it is we are arguing about. Again – maybe this one fits under the changing of perspective benefit!
  8. Walking is a problem solver! When I am struggling with a decision, especially when I have more than one option at my disposal, walking helps me get focused and come up with my solution AKA make that decision!

I am sure that I have many many more positives to say about walking, but this is what I am able to come up with at the moment!!

My Take Action Challenge for you this week:

Get outside, into nature and start walking!! 10 to 15 minutes if that is all you can muster, but I highly recommend 30 minutes or more every day, ON PURPOSE!! Take note of how this one simple step changes things in your life this week! You just might be pleasantly surprised, and might even want to make this one of your life habits!!!

Here is to a FABULOUSLY ARTSY evening! 😉

Signature Line

If you want to have a different life, you have to live differently!!

Related articles

Inspirational Thought of the Week!

The Right to Write“We should write because it is human nature to write. Writing claims our world. It makes it directly and specifically our own. We should write because humans are spiritual beings and writing is a powerful form of prayer and meditation, connecting us both to our own insights and to a higher and deeper level of inner guidance.

We should write because writing brings clarity and passion to the act of living. Writing is sensual, experiential, grounding. We should write because writing is good for the soul. We should write because writing yields us a body of work, a felt path through the world we live in.

We should write, above all, because we are writers, whether we call ourselves that or not.”

~Julia Cameron

The Right to Write: An Invitation and Initiation into the Writing Life

Here is to a FABULOUS evening!! ;-)

Signature Line

If you want to have a different life, you have to live differently!!

The Practice of Morning Pages!

WritingGood evening!

In the American culture there is this subconscious message that you can not be happy if you are not constantly becoming more, doing more, giving more, socializing unceasingly, or accomplishing more. Unfortunately, this message is true even if it means the detriment of your health, level of happiness, quality of family-life, or self-sanity. We have gotten the message loud and clear that busyness equals success, noise and constant chatter the expectation, and that go-go-go is the absolute norm.

Being an American for the whole of my life, and having had bought into this notion as truth, I was surprised to discover that even though this belief might be the American mantra, it did not have to be my mantra any longer. In that moment, I made the realization that I was afraid to be alone, especially alone in silence. I was afraid to hear what my soul might have to say to me, and what of God?  I had always had a relationship with God, and at one time I had prided myself on being able to hear His voice; that still small voice at the very deepest of myself. I was afraid of hearing that too. Would He be disappointed in me? Had I let Him down? Had I let myself down? I wasn’t sure – I was too busy being busy to take the time to find out, but I knew it was time.

Time to slow down.

Time to turn off all distractions.

Time to make boundaries.

Time to be alone.

Time to get quiet.

Time to focus.

Time to breathe.

Time to listen.

As soon as I turned it all of, I realized being quiet, alone, and still was very difficult for me. There was a lot of me that I had been neglecting for a long time, and I knew that it was now or never to get to the heart of the matter. As soon as the initial jittery-ness and awkwardness of hanging out with my inner self fell away, I realized there was a lot of ME that I had been missing. What I was feeling, what I longed for, what I was craving, what I was afraid of, what brought me happiness, all of that started rushing to me loud and clear.

In all honesty that was rather overwhelming at first, but always having been an avid reader, I had stumbled across a tool that turned out to be invaluable for my healing, and something that I have practiced faithfully to this day. That tool was Julia Cameron’s The Artist Way Morning Pages. I know I was not the first to discover this truly life changing practice, but I have found that God does not give you the needed resources until you are ready to receive them, and I was ready. Boy was I ready.

The-Artists-WayWhat Morning Pages are, is a practice of writing 3 pages of long-hand uninterrupted thoughts, in the still quiet moments of morning. Just you, your soul, and God. You don’t focus on content, spelling, grammar, or structure. The goal is to write, non-stop, and just let everything in you spill out onto the pages.

Julia Cameron puts it best:

“Morning Pages are three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning. *There is no wrong way to do Morning Pages*– they are not high art. They are not even “writing.” They are about anything and everything that crosses your mind– and they are for your eyes only. Morning Pages provoke, clarify, comfort, cajole, prioritize and synchronize the day at hand. Do not over-think Morning Pages: just put three pages of anything on the page…and then do three more pages tomorrow.”

I get up at 5:30 every morning to make sure I have enough un-rushed, quiet moments in the morning to do these pages. Some days it is easier than others, and then there are days when my mind is a blank, and all I can write is “I am so tired, I can’t believe it is so early. I am just so tired.” but that doesn’t matter, it is just constant writing. These pages become sacred, and I have told my husband that no one is to read these pages. Ever. They are mine, and mine alone. Sacred.

When I need inspiration or help with a particular question, I find myself going back to my old pages (I am on my third Morning Pages journal), and I just read. Sometimes I read about a list of mundane to-do’s for the day, or there is a telling of a dream that I had had that night prior, that I have completely forgotten about by now, but then there are juicy tidbits that I sometimes wonder if I had actually written them. These are miraculous answers to questions that I had been struggling with, words of wisdom that seem to pop out at the most opportune times, or encouragement from a voice deep within that seem to come back to me at just the perfect moments.

These pages have become a sacred connection and window to what is going on inside of myself,both consciously and unconsciously. I find that I am more centered. Calmer. Able to look at my world with new eyes, and a new perception. It has helped focused me on what is truly important and who I really and most authentically am: A creative introvert, who truly loves people, and thrives best when I am either alone or with a small group of intimate friends!

I would challenge you to give this practice a try. Get up in the early hours of morning, with a pen, and a few pieces of paper, and just find a quiet corner to write 3 pages, long-hand, letting everything and anything spill out of you. Do this for about a week before you go back and re-read some of your thoughts.

I would LOVE it if you would take a moment to answer 3 questions regarding Morning Pages in the comment section of this post:

  1. What are your thoughts about Morning Pages?
  2. Is this a practice that you have taken up, or are planning on taking up?
  3. If you have taken up this practice, what has surprised you about your Morning Pages?

I can’t wait to hear your thoughts!

Here is to a FABULOUS evening!! ;-)

Signature Line

If you want to have a different life, you have to live differently!!

A Different Saturday!

Good evening!

I have had a different kind of Saturday, a day focused mainly on art, and creativity. I am watching a documentary on, artist, Alice Neel. She was a very intriguing woman. It sounds like she led a life that was surrounded in a kind of sadness. Her paintings are quite amazing, however. She was a portrait artist, painting portraits of people. Her pictures seem almost alive, with breathing, moving subjects. There is something very energetic about them. What an amazing talent Alice had. I am shocked that she never sold many of her paintings, if she sold any. Amazing woman.

I finished reading The Artist’s Way today. I am pretty proud of myself that stuck that out! I have also finished filling up my Morning Page’s journal! That, to me, is freakin’ amazing!!! I have learned so much about myself since I started this journey, more than 13 weeks ago. I learned that I am braver than I thought I was capable of being, and that I have given myself permission to step off of the sidelines of life and get into the flow of action! That has been very exciting, and if I were to walk away from this program with only that lesson learned, then that was ABSOLUTELY WORTH IT!! 😉

Tomorrow I start the next book, Walking in this World: The Practical Art of Creativity. This book is also by Julia Cameron. I will continue to do my morning pages, and my weekly artist dates, but just from initial glance, this book will also make daily walks part of the creative process. I am excited to see what the next 12 weeks bring.

Anyway, I realize that this is a short post, but it is late, and I am really into this documentary, so I am bidding you adieu until tomorrow!

Have a FABULOUS evening! 😉

 

Walking in this World: The Practical Art of Creativity

Creative Affirmations!

Good evening!

I know I have already posted my blog tonight, but I am going through my Artist’s Way Chapter for the week, and I realized there are a couple of thoughts that I may want to call upon later during this week, and maybe longer. So, I had thought, seeing that this is my online journal, I would share them here so I may refer back to them!

Taken from Julia Cameron’s book, The Artist Way, pgs 37-37

Creative Affirmations:

  1. I am a channel of God’s creativity, and my work comes to good.
  2. My dreams come from God and God has the power to accomplish them.
  3. As I create and listen, I will be lead.
  4. Creativity is the creator’s will for me.
  5. My creativity heals myself and others.
  6. I am allowed to nurture my artist.
  7. Through the use of a few simple tools, my creativity will flourish.
  8. Through the use of my creativity, I serve God.
  9. My creativity always leads me to truth and love.
  10. My creativity leads me to forgiveness and self-forgiveness.
  11. There is a divine plan of goodness for me.
  12. There is a divine plan of goodness for my work.
  13. As I listen to the creator within, I am led.
  14. As I listen to my creativity I am lead to my creator.
  15. I am willing to create.
  16. I am willing to learn to let myself create.
  17. I am willing to let God create through me.
  18. I am willing to be of service through my creativity.
  19. I am willing to experience my creative energy.
  20. I am willing to use my creative talents.

Have a FABULOUS evening!

A Productive Morning!

Good morning!

Whew! This morning has been VERY productive!!! Last evening, I had purchase a book called “The Artist’s Way Morning Pages Journal” by Julia Cameron. Well, you can go read for yourself what that is, but basically it a guided journal that instructs you to tap into your inner-self by writing 3 pages of your thoughts first thing every morning!! For someone like me who seems to constantly be writing, that was a lot harder than I could have imagined!!! You are not supposed to “cheat” and type out the words, you are supposed to be engaging your whole self while you are being tactile with paper, pen, and writing your thoughts out long hand. Well, about a page and half into my writing this morning I was dealing with some serious writer’s cramp!!! All of my years of computer programming is catching up with me because my carpel tunnel is apparently just out of control! However, what came out on paper, kind of surprised me, and I can see how doing this exercise every morning, for the prescribed 12 weeks, could be VERY eye opening to what is going on inside of you. So, when I finished my third page, I had this strange sense of calmness, relief, and accomplishment. When I was finished I reread everything I had just spent the last hour writing, and I am not sure I would call it writing, but it is definitely a true representation of how my brain thinks, and my mind wanders from one topic of conversation to another. I think this Julia Cameron knows what she is doing, and I can’t wait to see what I discover about myself in the coming weeks!! I will keep you posted!!! 😉

Next on my self-appointed to-do list this morning was to get my taxes filed, both federal and state. Check and Check!! This was a lot more time consuming and more expensive than I was expecting, but it is done, and they are submitted, AND I am getting a nice return – WHOO! HOO! But, not that it is done, I am feeling very much at peace. I think balance might be something that may just be achievable!!

Next on my list is take Jason over to his truck, which is at his sister’s place, so he can go get some work done, and then I am going to take myself for a walk, and maybe watch a movie with the kiddos! We will see, I heard that they hadn’t watched Tangled yet, and now that Uncle Jay-Jay has bought it for me, and I LOVE IT, I thought it might be fun to share it with them!!! TOO FUN!!!

That is it for my plans today, but I know that after Jason is done working, we are talking about going out on a date! That should be fun!!! I may have to call our friends Dawn, and Erin and see if they are up for a get together!!! So, we will see where the rest of today leads us!!

Have a FABULOUS morning!!! 😉