People often say what they “are not” rather than what they “are.” I’m not creative. I’m not artistic. I’m not good at this or that. It’s too easy to fill in this blank. Three simple practices can change your focus to possibility rather than lack. These “doable” practices have worked for four decades for author and teacher Julia Cameron, who just published her 40th book The Listening Path: The Creative Art of Attention.
Writing helps order thoughts, find patterns and gain clarity. Julia Cameron has been a proponent and practitioner of Morning Pages which has resulted in a rich and deep portfolio of work with thousands of students who have followed in her path.
“Writing is a form of active listening. Listening tells me what to write. At its best, writing is like taking dictation. There is an inner voice – that voice speaks to us when we listen. It is clear, calm, and guided. It is surefooted, putting one word after another, unspooling the thread that is our train of thought… When we listen, we are led spiritually. Listening for our emerging truth, we become increasingly true to ourselves. Honesty becomes our currency. We are given a glimpse of our souls,” she states.
The daily practice of Morning Pages is simply writing three pages every morning upon waking before the mind wanders off into busyness of the day. According to Jungians, we have a 45-minute window to get to our “undefended self” before our ego’s defenses kick into frame and limit our day.
The simple rules are that they need to be done upon waking, they are handwritten and no stopping, editing or judgment for three full pages. Releasing and surrendering any and all thoughts about anything, everything and nothing. The act of writing them is the point, requiring us to get out of our own way as the proven process unfolds.
After two to three weeks, Morning Pages take hold, make sense and the benefits become apparent. Over the years, I’ve dabbled in the practice inconsistently. For the past year, the practice has become a daily non-negotiable ritual, paying back big dividends in all areas of my life – work, relationships, creative endeavors, in understanding of self and others.
“Morning pages are like a little whisk broom that you poke into all corners of your consciousness…In the pages there is no room for evasion…Pages nudge us toward action. Something that seem ‘good enough’ no longer seems that way. We admit we may deserve better, and then we admit our own inertia: our regrettable tendency to settle, which we have now outgrown. Pages are a form of meditation,” she says. In addition to Morning Pages, I have been using the Insight Timer meditation app every morning for the past 180 days. Both practices have provided a depth, breadth as well as energy and flow.
“Writing morning pages is like driving with the high beams on: we ‘see’ ahead of ourselves, farther and more clearly than our normal low-beam vision…Although pages can be about anything and everything, gratitude is fertile ground. Counting our blessings on the page makes room for more gratitude… All lives contain grounds for gratitude. Focusing on the positive breeds optimism. Optimism is a primary fruit of the listening path…Morning Pages lay out my day’s trajectory… We spend our time on our own agendas – no longer on the agendas of others. We are often stunned to discover the amount of time and attention we have spent ‘people-pleasing’ others. As we withdraw our energies back into our own core, we are shocked by the power that is suddenly ours to do with as we please. Many of us have spent our lives being batteries for others. Suddenly, with pages in place, our dreams are within our reach. As we take each small step that the pages indicate, our dreams become our reality,” Cameron states.
As a recovering “people pleaser,” I can attest to the power that Morning Pages has infused into my days. It’s measurable and palpable.
“The listening path requires attention. Our dreams are often soft-spoken. As we listen to their whispered voice, our hearing becomes more acute. Our daily pages tutor us in the art of attention. As we listen to each thought as it unspools, we come to trust our own perceptions. Each word marks a point of consciousness. Taken collectively, the words are jotting of our souls. As we attend to their unfurling, we pay attention to the narrative of our lives. Far from colorless, our stories are multicolored, rich in their patterns. As we heed our dreams, more dreams unfold for us. Examining our lives, we find our lives to be worth examining…With our heightened intuition, we often sense the shape of things that are to come…Our gifts are many, and often unsuspected,” she continues.
This week, I am beginning Week 1 of her 6-week program laid out in this book. “It is my conviction that pages function as what I call ‘believing mirrors.’ They reflect back to us belief in our potential. They are optimistic and positive. They believe in our strength, not our weakness. Every artist needs believing mirrors – not only the pages, but people as well.” Who are your believing mirrors? Are you a believing mirror for others?
The second practice that Cameron follows is “The Artist Date” – a once weekly solo expedition for one to two hours to explore and simply experience play. Artist Date ideas to prompt thinking on your own adventure include going to a children’s bookstore, a pet shop, a movie, the zoo. The purpose of the Artist Date is to replenish the well.
“With Morning Pages, you are ‘sending.’ With Artist Dates you have flipped the dial over to “receive.” It is as though you are constructing a spiritual radio kit. You need both tools for it to work properly…Creativity experts teach that breakthroughs are the payoff of a two-part process: concentrate and then release. With Morning Pages, we are concentrating, focusing our attention on the problem at hand. With the Artist Dates, we practice release, and our mind fills with new ideas. It takes ‘letting go’ for the process to work,” she states.
The third tool to pave the “listening path” is walking. Awakening our senses, walking anchors us in the present while working both our body and mind. “Walking, we are attuned to the rhythm of our thoughts. We hear the words and the emotion behind the words. We become intimate. It is difficult to lie, walking. Each footfall engages our attention. Each footfall engages our breath. We find ourselves saying the unsayable. We listen as we talk,” she says.
Morning Pages, Artists Dates and walking work together to help you gain insight and clarity to what is already within you waiting to rise to the surface. A whisper to heed. Dare to say “yes” to your becoming and fruition. The listening path is calling you. Start tomorrow, no looking back.