one page at a time
Julia Cameron is well known for her creativity restoration manual The Artist’s Way. She has been encouraging blocked and working artists for decades, and now she’s collected all her best tools into one place for a quick jump start to a more fulfilling, creative life.
First, and you’ve read any of her work at all you can probably see this one coming, is Morning Pages. Cameron talks about writing 3 pages of longhand anything when you first wake up. Just let your brain drain onto the page. Every single day. Write with pen and paper if you can. Three pages. These are private pages, not for anyone else to read, and not for you to read for many weeks if at all. This practice is grounding and hopeful, a place to vent about what’s bothering you, a place to dream, a way to lay tracks for the work that will be coming through the rest of the day. Cameron swears by Morning Pages and still does them herself, every day, no matter what.
Her second tool for tapping into creativity is an Artist’s Date. This is a scheduled date for you to take your inner child out into the world to have some fun. These are meant to be playful, to replenish your spirit and fill the well so that next time you need an idea or some inspiration, there is somewhere inside of you that is stocked and ready to help. Artist’s Dates are a little self-indulgent, filled with sensory experiences and a chance to reconnect with yourself. They don’t have to be expensive or complicated. They can be as simple as going to a pet store and spending time with the animals or trying a new restaurant, as long as you are present in the moment and feeding your soul.
The third tool is Walking. She encourages artists to go for a 20-minute walk twice a week. These are walks to be taken alone (no dogs, even) and with no music. Again, it’s about being present and “kissing the earth with each footfall.” The walks are about getting some exercise, but they are not about making it into a chore. It should be stress reducing and not about outcomes, just about making a spiritual connection with the world around you and with yourself.
And fourth, there is Guidance. This is about listening to the small voice inside of ourselves, or even the voices of caring friends and family outside of yourself, that offers up the answers to the questions you have. When you ask for guidance, you can listen for the direction that feels best. It’s not the easiest solution, but it’s what you’re told to do, and following it leads to more opportunities and peace in your life. It’s not hard to hear the guidance, but trusting in it does take some practice.
If you are someone who has tried to follow one of Cameron’s Artist’s Way books and was intimidated by the number of exercises, or someone who worked the program for a while and wants to jump back in, The Artist’s Way Toolkit is a perfect way to jump back in and get started finding a more creative life. It’s a scaled-down version of The Artist’s Way, giving the most basic tools you need to get started and with lots of inspirational stories of others who found their lives expanding by following these tools. Each chapter also has a list of questions and answers, like a FAQ section, with the most asked questions about each of those tools.
Cameron then goes on to include other tools that can be used to increase your creativity and encourage you to live a life that is more grounded and in line with who you really want to be. There is a contract to commit to the program and affirmations that can be used daily to reinforce what you’re learning. There are guidelines for starting a Creative Cluster, so you can find others to work the program with, as well as key words and phrases that Cameron uses and a 12-week checklist to help hold yourself accountable for doing the work. There are also lists of potential Artist Dates and quotes about creativity to spark inspiration.
According to Cameron, life is creative energy. It is our responsibility to offer up our creativity to the universe, to the Creator. That doesn’t mean we all have to write a novel or an opera or make a film. It may just mean being a more patient caretaker or a more inspired teacher. It may mean being happier with our choices or ending a suffocating relationship or deciding to take a trip to Europe. However you want to expand your life, The Artist’s Way Toolkit can offer you tools to help you unlock the parts of yourself that may have been holding you back and open up a life filled with love, peace, and new experiences.
I listened to The Artist’s Way Toolkit on audio, narrated by Eliza Foss. I thought Foss did an excellent job with Cameron’s material, and listening to this book helped reinforce these ideas that I’ve been reading about for years. The audio book is not very long, and it’s inspiring and thoughtful. I thought it was a perfect way to reacquaint myself with Cameron’s Artist Way tools and to remind me to open myself up to creativity in my life, to ask for guidance and listen for answers, and to get moving, both my hands across the page and my feet moving through the world.
An early copy of the audio book for The Artist’s Way Toolkit was provided by Macmillan Audio through NetGalley, with many thanks.
