My journey through morning pages
A year ago, I was reintroduced to the book The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. For those who don’t know anything about The Artist’s Way. A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity, it’s a book for creative recovery. To tap into our creative intelligence, our inner artist. What was interesting, is this book like many of them I found myself rereading or picking up out of nowhere, beginning in December 2022 was like going back in time. When I looked at the book, I knew I had read it before, but couldn’t recall when. What made matters more interesting is I couldn’t find a copy of the book here at my home somewhere on the 11 overflowing bookcases I have. I even turned to my husband and said, I’ve seen this book in this house I know I have! And he concurred. We both looked through the bookcases and could not find it. (On a side note, this has happened again this year actually with another book. Steve Jobs biography. I’m beginning to think the Universe is messing with me.) Because I couldn’t find the physical copy I opted to listen to the audiobook, with the hope that at some point the physical book would show up eventually. To date, it has not.
There are a lot of exercises and writing prompts to help tap into this inner artist, creative energy. But, of all of the things that Julia Cameron writes about the one thing that stuck out was Morning Pages. As Julia Cameron states, “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.” I was intrigued! Once upon a time, I journaled every single day. And I do remember a time back in the mid to late 90s writing 3 pages a day! This must have been when I first encountered The Artist’s Way! This added up because it was published originally in 1992. What happened? Why did I stop? My journal was read, that’s what happened, and the person was upset by what I wrote. My privacy, my personal thoughts, and right or wrong were read and I felt violated. It was then I stopped writing…everything. No journals, no poetry, no short stories, nothing. This is something I have done since I was very young too. Though I will say I did pick up and buy journals and often used them as notebooks for my yoga studies…a tip of the hat to the fact that I did once write…frequently and a lot!
Because these resonated so much with me I decided to start writing Morning Pages and I did my first 3 pages on my birthday, January 5th! At first, it was difficult to figure out how I was going to do this every morning and still do all of the rest of the things I do every morning. And there were a couple of mornings I found myself starting them before I left the house and finishing them later in the morning. And there were days that I wasn’t sure what to write and days I almost abandoned the idea. But there was a voice in my head that kept saying…practice. Just like when you returned to yoga years ago, it wasn’t always easy, but you have to be persistent if you are going to do this, to make it a habit. (And the other factor was I was afraid that they would be read again, and I’ve made it known they are sacred and not to be touched or read EVER.) There’s a reason this whole process has crossed your path again…figure out why. And so, I did. I kept right on doing it too. However, some days it made me run later than I should have. My yoga students will now know why there are days I am so very late arriving at the yoga studio in the morning, because no matter what I sit and write these 3 pages…every single morning! And to be honest, I am grateful no one, including me, ever reads them. Because I know there are days the pages are filled with rants, raves, and some not-very-nice things. But as my mother always told me…you have to get it out of your system, throw the tantrum, and then regroup and move forward. Or her infamous line “You done? Let me know when you are so we can figure out what to do next”. True story. It clears the head of the nonsense our overthinking, our monkey minds (as we label it in yoga) hold on to. And most of it doesn’t even matter to be honest as I have discovered. I’ve had to explain to my husband and others what it is that I have been doing and have gone so far as to read the part about them out of The Artists Way to them. I’ve had to train my dogs so that when mommy is writing, leave me alone. It's 3 lousy pages…and it's MY time!
Now for those who think 3 pages sounds like it will take forever to do, it doesn’t. You need to have about 30 minutes set aside, some days it takes a little less to get it done, those are the days I’m fired up about something. Good or bad and I am writing at a feverish pace. I do mime while having my morning coffee. Trust me, we all waste more than 30 minutes every day scrolling on our phones or watching mindless programming on the TV first thing in the morning while we try to wake up. That was my first lesson…the phone, the emails, etc.…they have to wait until I get these done, as much as possible that is. I do own a yoga studio and school, and sometimes I do get, albeit brief interruptions for matters that need my attention…the life of a business owner. The thing you need is commitment and the intention that you are going to make yourself do this every morning…7 days a week…every week. As I said, those first few weeks and the first couple of months were rough. Today? A little over a year and over 1000 morning pages later? Yeah, not so much. It’s just a thing that I do, end of story. But what do I write about? Well, that depends on what’s going on, to be honest. The good, the bad, and the ugly things. One thing I started doing after rediscovering the methods found in The Secret books this past year is morning gratitudes…I write 10 a morning…and I often write them in detail. Why am I grateful for my coffee this morning…because it tastes so good and is warming on this bitter cold wintry day! You can chuckle because we coffee drinkers know that is what often goes through our heads when we take that first sip in the morning in the winter. Go ahead admit it! Because you know I’m right! The long and the short of it is we HAVE time to do these pages, we just need to stop wasting time doing other mindless things to make them happen. If I can do it, a busy business owner, you can.
So, after more than 1095 pages why am I taking time to write about it here? Because I am hoping to inspire someone else to give them a try! And see if they can make a difference for them as well. Where am I going next? Well, that’s an interesting tale as well.
Another of the exercises in The Artist’s Way is artist playdates. These are no less than an hour a week set aside to do something creative…something that feeds your inner child or fuels the inner creative intelligence we all have. I wasn’t able to make those happen in 2023. And I have so far been able to make them happen in 2024 on my one day off a week…Sundays. There are no real rules for these, and I can see them being used in the summer to work in my gardens…especially since we have the start of a vegetable garden for this year outside. For those who know anything about gardening, we designated the area and are wintering the soil to amend it for the spring. Anyway, think of artist playdates as a time to do just that play, write, read, paint, sew…whatever speaks to you. As adults, we often hear, when did you last play? We forget we need to play as much as the children do…it can’t all be work. I’ll be honest, I don’t think I would be doing so well this year with these if it wasn’t for the morning pages every day. It laid the groundwork for the next steps. I have also added this year…evening pages or as Julia Cameron puts it in her latest book published this month…writing for guidance. I write about the day, and I often ask for guidance on what to do next for things and situations that have arisen throughout the day. Do I write three pages? Not every night, it all depends on circumstances and honestly how tired I am. But even when I’m tired, I write a little.
So, the moral of this story is…if you are looking for an outlet this year. A way to rein in your mind and release the creative intelligence inside you…I highly recommend giving Morning Pages a try! It worked for me; it may work for you! Want to start but don’t know how? Or after you start you find yourself getting discouraged in sticking with it? Let me know! I’ll gladly talk to you about it and be supportive. I’ve been there and I pulled myself along to keep going and doing them.
Thanks for reading…