Journeying with ‘The Artist’s Way’
I’ve tried it all. Meditation, exercise, tongue-scraping, microdosing, incantations, supplements, and generally anything else I’ve been able to think of in order to squeeze out a little extra performance and improve my wellbeing. These have had… err… varying impacts (mostly positive), but one has stood head and shoulders above the rest.
Journaling. Every day.
Referred to as the ‘morning pages’, this has been my cornerstone for all other self-care habits. When I write in the morning, I’m more likely to meditate, exercise, and generally be a bit nicer to people without being clouded by my own insecurities. I’m less likely to drift into inertia or fall into a Youtube hole. Basically, it often means the difference between whether I have a good or a bad day.
The Morning Pages have gotten me through some of my hardest moments and given me the courage to act in times of uncertainty, and, over time, this has begun to add up.
I first started journaling while reading Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way in 2013. I’ve been writing ever since, and have read through the book again several times. After a few false starts and half-hearted attempts, in 2019 I finally managed to complete the full programme the way it was originally intended. All I can say is WOW.
I feel more aligned with my goals, better able to look after myself, more in touch with flow, more comfortable with money, better able to avoid toxic relationships… the list goes on.
Each week I would set aside a good hour or two to work through the issues the book brought up. For me this would usually involve a honed-in writing session to reflect on certain issues or do some word association. There was also some collage, drawing, and out-and-about activities, like collecting stones. In addition to this I’d do a weekly ‘artist’s date’, and my Morning Pages each day.
I had a few stumbling blocks along the way, and found it super helpful to be in therapy at the time, as doing the process properly involved a lot of self-reflection.
During my process, I began to experience synchronicities by the bucketload. As I began to trust my intuition and let my sense of play unfold, it felt like the universe was laughing with me and throwing out little goodies along the way. I’d spontaneously walk a different route home one day and find a tenner on the street. I’d slow down to appreciate some cool-looking tree, and bump into a friend. The friend would casually say exactly the words I needed to hear to solve a problem I’d been chewing on. You get the gist I hope. It got to the point where coincidences like this would happen so often that when they did, I’d be like ‘sure, I’m not even surprised anymore.’
I do want to mention that the Artist’s Way is peppered with a concept of ‘God’. I know this word can be challenging for a lot of us, and for some people it may be instantly offputting. I wish to assure you that The Artist’s Way does not require you to believe in God. It is not a religious text and personally I prefer to substitute that word for something like ‘flow’, ‘the universe’, or ‘higher self’.
I recommend the Artist’s Way to anyone looking to feel more creative. It has certainly helped me on this journey.
Chris Webster
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Art4Minds is holding a 12-week collective care and personal development group based on The Artists Way from January 2021.
Click here for more info.
