Getting into the Morning Pages
I’m currently a few weeks into The Artist’s Way, a book and self-study program developed by artist and writer Julia Cameron in the 1990s.
I was in high school when the book was written and I remember seeing copies in my friends’ hands throughout college. The spiritual aspect of the book didn’t appeal to me at the time, so I passed up the opportunity to give it try.
This year I ended up ordering a copy and jumping right in. The process introduced me to a concept called the morning pages.
They are pretty much what they say — get up in the morning and write three pages of stream of consciousness longhand in a notebook. Then get up the next morning and do it again.
The first morning of writing I thought, okay, I know how to do this.
Then the second morning arrived, I started writing, then paused mid-page. Wait, there much be more guidance, there must be more instruction, so let me find it. I flipped through the book and realised nope, that’s pretty much it —Write. Fill three pages and see what comes up.
Making the unconscious conscious
The morning pages introduced me to a daily habit that allows me to bring my unconscious thoughts into the conscious space, as early in the day as possible.
‘Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.’
― C.G. Jung
I wake up, put my stuff on the page, and then I don’t have to carry it with me throughout the day. It’s been put on the page, expressed, offered up, given away, transformed.
Problem-solving on the page
I’ve also found it’s an open space to work through problems. When I first noticed this happening, I hesitated — ‘I’m solving a problem right now, should I be solving a problem? Is this a problem-solving space?’
Let inspiration find you working
I never know when it’s going to happen, but occasionally I catch some good ideas and inspiration in the flow of words. Sometimes by the end of the third page, there’s even more I want to write. I might keep writing to further develop what’s come up, or make a note to return to an idea or thought later.
Active rest
Writing on the page provides space to rest. It’s the active kind of rest, like a downward dog in my yoga practice. It requires presence and the ability to sit with uncomfortable feelings until they pass.
Keep going
As I write each morning, I give myself permission to take an emotional journey. I let my unconscious loose on the page. I give myself the freedom to feel before the day kicks off.
I’m familiar with lots of people who have done The Artist’s Way at some point in their life, and the morning pages seem to be a sticky habit. I enjoy the process and I plan to keep going way beyond the twelve weeks of the book.
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