I was first introduced to the writing of Julia Cameron decades ago with her ground-breaking The Artist’s Way. I have read several of her other books through the years, and they always have the same effect on me. They soften me, making me feel vulnerable and strong at the same time. She has a way of wiping away all the things that don’t matter and reminding me of what’s important, what’s possible, what’s meaningful to me. As I read her latest, Seeking Wisdom, I found those old tears welling back up, reminding me of what it is to be human.
In this 6-week program, you’ll find all your old friends. There are admonitions to do your Morning Pages, 3 pages of longhand writing first thing in the morning where you can get out all your worries, your hopes, your dreams, you fears. And there is the Artist Date, a weekly date you go on by yourself to find your joy. There are the walks you take by yourself, to seek out insights by communing with nature. And since the original Artist’s Way, she has added going to the page and asking for guidance and writing down what you hear.
The weeks themselves are a study in prayer. As Cameron shares her own prayers and answers, some of which are yes and some of which are no or not yet, she also shares a peek into her own life, her own struggles, her own fears, her own vulnerabilities. Most of this book was written during a particularly cold and snowy winter at her home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and she talks a lot about what is happening in her backyard. She has a pinyon tree whose branches fill with small birds when the snow starts. It protects them from the weather. And there are ravens and squirrels who gather around the bottom of the tree to feed on the nuts, carefully watched by her dog inside.
Repeatedly, Cameron comes back to this vision of her tree, a strong structure that offers protection and sustenance for those who come to it. It stands there, rooted deeply, stretching towards the sun, towards the stars, offering up what is has to those who need it. It’s like the prayers that Cameron talks about, the ones that keep her rooted and allow her to grow tall, the ones that offer her protection from her worries and food for her hunger.
Seeking Wisdom is a 6-week course in prayer, in learning to pray in the morning and at night, in learning to ask for help and express gratitude. It’s not about religion or churchiness. She just wants you to believe in and pray to a power that is higher than you are, a benevolent creative source that has your back in this world. She speaks to many of her friends throughout these weeks, from a wide variety of backgrounds and religions, and she finds out how they pray and how praying helps them in the big things and the small things.
If you’re wondering how this fits in with the creative recovery that Cameron is known so well for, you will see how her spirituality and her creativity are connected. The more she grounds herself in prayer, the more she goes back to the page to write. She writes this book. She starts a new play. She writes letters to her friends, and she writes about the guidance she finds in her prayers. Her prayers and her creativity are on full display, and her journey leads the way for anyone wanting a refresher on living the artist’s life she talks about in all her books, or for anyone interested in living a prayerful life.
Seeking Wisdom is more than a 6-week course in becoming more creative. It’s a course in becoming more human. It’s very personal, but it’s also universal. Working through these six weeks on prayer, questioning all the beliefs you have about prayer and finding yourself reaching out in prayer in new ways, you will find your spirit opening up in response. At least, I did. And I hope you find the same kind of experience when you encounter Seeking Wisdom.
Egalleys for Seeking Wisdom were provided by St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley, with many thanks.
