The Artist’s Way: A review and week-by-week journal
Introduction
The Artist’s Way is a time-tested book and a process for getting creatively unstuck. It’s premise is that God wants us to be creative, dwells within us, and esseintially, we have to get out of our own way to get in a creative flow state.
Some are turned off by the book’s spirituality. I find it a huge asset.
Because The Artist’s Way is, in essence, a spiritual path, initiated and practiced through creativity, this book uses the word God. This may be volatile for some of you—conjuring old, unworkable, unpleasant, or simply unbelievable ideas about God as you were raised to understand “him.” Please be open-minded.
Instead of focusing on creative acts as an expression of our own egos, the book strives to get us to wrestle creativity away from our own egos and turn it over to a higher power.
If the creative process comes from God, this makes it more freeing. We don’t own it. We’re simply getting out of our own way to let it come forward. When the ego realizes it’s not in charge, it can relax—and quit blocking our creative flow.
The Artist’s Way core principles:
1. Creativity is the natural order of life. Life is energy: pure creative energy.
2. There is an underlying, in-dwelling creative force infusing all of life—including ourselves.
3. When we open ourselves to our creativity, we open ourselves to the creator’s creativity within us and our lives.
4. We are, ourselves, creations. And we, in turn, are meant to continue creativity by being creative ourselves.
5. Creativity is God’s gift to us. Using our creativity is our gift back to God.
6. The refusal to be creative is self-will and is counter to our true nature.
7. When we open ourselves to exploring our creativity, we open ourselves to God: good orderly direction.
8. As we open our creative channel to the creator, many gentle but powerful changes are to be expected.
9. It is safe to open ourselves up to greater and greater creativity.
10. Our creative dreams and yearnings come from a divine source. As we move toward our dreams, we move toward our divinity.
The process
You read a chapter each week for 12 weeks, and focus on the various exercises for examining our own limitations and pushing through them.
The core exercises
The Morning Pages: Three, hand-written pages every morning. No topics, no rules. Just write. These helps clear whatever is keeping us stuck. The act of freely dumping something—anything—onto the pages starts to get us unstuck. Morning pages must be written out longhand—no typing. And I have to say the effect is pretty great. What Cameron writes is true:
“Once we get those muddy, maddening, confusing thoughts [nebulous worries, jitters, and preoccupations] on the page, we face our day with clearer eyes.”
The Artist’s Date: I’m still struggling to figure this one out.
But what exactly is an artist’s date? An artist date is a block of time, perhaps two hours weekly, especially set aside and committed to nurturing your creative consciousness, your inner artist.”
Fortunately, the Internet has lots of examples, such as this list of 101 artist date ideas.
Just do something a little different. Jolt yourself out of your normal routines and thought patterns. It might be a physical activity, a mental activity, or a new creative activity. Or all three. Just mix it up.
Tracking progress
Getting it done: I’m tracking my tasks and progress using the Done app for iPhone. You can read more about how I use the excellent Done app here.
Writing about writing: The rest of post will serve as a journal of my weekly process through the course. With that said, we move onto week one.
Now, we move onto the weekly journal.
The Artist’s Way Journal, week one: Recovering a Sense of Safety
What’s the ultimate goal? I’m not even entirely sure what creativity I’m trying to uncork. I do know I feel stuck—creatively and professionally.
So I don’t know where this journey is going, exactly. But I’m willing to see it through and see what happens.
In this first week, Cameron wants us to create a sense of safety. She compares our creativity to a child that needs a safe space free from the critics that loom both inside and outside of us.
The Morning Pages
“Hey teacher, I brought my pencil …”
I hate writing things out by hand: At least I thought I did. But this process just flows smoothly, in between sips of coffee.
Just let it fly: I write about whatever comes to mind. I dump my anxieties onto the page. I pray. I express gratitude. I plan my day. I write about long-term goals. And I feel better afterward. The Morning Pages really do empty my brain of chatter, clearing space for other things.
The Artist’s Date
Keeping it simple: I’ll sit down this weekend to read a copy of GQ— the “Creativity in the Time of Quarantine” issue, coincidentally—cover-to-cover. I’m not sure where these “dates” will go week-to-week.
Creative affirmations
Cameron is a big proponent of creative affirmations:
All too often, it is audacity and not talent that moves an artist to center stage. As blocked creatives, we tend to regard these bogus spotlight grabbers with animosity. We may be able to defer to true genius, but if it’s merely a genius for self-promotion we’re witnessing, our resentment runs high. This is not just jealousy. It is a stalling technique that reinforces our staying stuck. We make speeches to ourselves and other willing victims: “I could do that better, if only . . .” You could do it better if only you would let yourself do it! Affirmations will help you allow yourself to do it. An affirmation is a positive statement of (positive) belief, and if we can become one-tenth as good at positive self-talk as we are at negative self-talk, we will notice an enormous change.
She offers examples in chapter one:
1. I am a channel for God’s creativity, and my work comes to good.
2. My dreams come from God and God has the power to accomplish them.
3. As I create and listen, I will be led.
4. Creativity is the creator’s will for me.
We’re encouraged to create our own as well, and to write them out longhand at the end of the day’s Morning Pages.
Some affirmations I repeated every day. Others appeared just for a single day, a product of whatever anxiety was pouring onto the pages that morning.
Weekly exercises
Each week Cameron provides a list of exercises. Too many exercises, which she acknowledges. She encourages us to pick both the ones that we are drawn to, and the ones we are repelled by. Skip the ones that don’t elicit a strong reaction.
I have seen the enemy, and he is me: This week I dug up old demons, writing about people and events that stilted my own creativity—a dictatorial teacher, a condescending boss or two, people who have made rough judgements in my past.
But truly I am my own worst creative enemy, and have often tried to shoehorn myself into places and positions where I didn’t really belong, to please others. Looking back, this has always been to my own emotional and professional detriment.
Summing up Week One
Cameron warns us that there will be times we want to quit this course. But not this week. There is something freeing about the Morning Pages, and I hope to have the discipline to keep writing them long after the course is complete.
Week Two: Recovering a Sense of Identity
Excerpts and Key Ideas
The Artist’s Way Basic Principles:
Creativity is the natural order of life. Life is energy: pure creative energy.
There is an underlying, in-dwelling creative force infusing all of life—including ourselves.
When we open ourselves to our creativity, we open ourselves to the creator’s creativity within us and our lives.
We are, ourselves, creations. And we, in turn, are meant to continue creativity by being creative ourselves.
Creativity is God’s gift to us. Using our creativity is our gift back to God.
The refusal to be creative is self-will and is counter to our true nature.
When we open ourselves to exploring our creativity, we open ourselves to God: good orderly direction.
As we open our creative channel to the creator, many gentle but powerful changes are to be expected.
It is safe to open ourselves up to greater and greater creativity.
Our creative dreams and yearnings come from a divine source. As we move toward our dreams, we move toward our divinity.”
The Rules of the Road:
In order to be an artist, I must:
Show up at the page.
Use the page to rest, to dream, to try.
Fill the well by caring for my artist.
Set small and gentle goals and meet them.
Pray for guidance, courage, and humility.
Remember that it is far harder and more painful to be a blocked artist than it is to do the work.
Be alert, always, for the presence of the Great Creator leading and helping my artist.
Choose companions who encourage me to do the work, not just talk about doing the work or why I am not doing the work.
Remember that the Great Creator loves creativity.
Remember that it is my job to do the work, not judge the work.
Place this sign in my workplace: Great Creator, I will take care of the quantity. You take care of the quality.”
Crazymakers: People that sap our creative energy by creating chaos and negativity. I don’t have issues with this right now. That’s the good news. The bad news is I’ve seen the enemy and he is me. Crazymakers destroy schedules, create chaos, and drain physical, mental, and creative energy.
Creativity flourishes when we have a sense of safety and self-acceptance.
Watch out for “friends” experiencing their blocked creativity—they may go on offense against your growth. If you can become unblocked, so can they, and that can be very threatening.
Trust God and move in faith.
The quality of life is in direct proportion, always, to the capacity for delight. The capacity for delight is the gift of paying attention.
[...]
In times of pain, when the future is too terrifying to contemplate and the past too painful to remember, i have learned to pay attention to right now.
To enjoy the process of creativity, you must surrender the need to control the result.
Actions taken
Morning pages: Seven days out of seven. Boom.
Read the basic principles every day.
Wrote out three chosen affirmations as part of my morning pages every day.
The artists date: hanging out at the pool to recharge my batteries.
Personal Insights
Most days, the Morning Pages flow smoothly. But the last day of the week was the first real struglle. Lots of anxiety-dumping onto the page. Prayer and conversations with God. Most days flowed easily.
I remain highly skeptical of affirmations. I don’t feel them moving my beliefs in any new direction. But I’m sticking to the plan.
An unintended insight from the Morning Pages: My handwriting sucks.
The energy bursts out of my hand in ragged fits and starts. Letters go unfinished at the end of words. The result is uneven, inconsistent, and sometimes indecipherable lettering.
I’m working on getting that rhythm, flow, and clarity back in my handwriting. I say “back,” because I used to write well by hand.
Of course, this realization is about far more than sloppy handwriting.
This book is sneaky good.
Week 3: Recovering a sense of power
Excerpts and Key Ideas
Anger
Anger is meant to be acted upon—not acted out.
Anger can be a useful tool, a spotlight that shows us the gap between where we want to be and where we are.
Used properly, anger can burn away our old limiting beliefs, and propel us into a new future God intended.
I would add: anger is explosive and must be handled with care. It can be nitro if used to fuel positive action. Anger can also be self-destructive if used to fuel the wrong actions.
Synchronicity
Synchronicity is prayer answered.
Answered prayers are scary, because they return responsibility back to us: “Oh man, I got what I wanted … now what?”
“God is efficient” says actress Julianna McCarthy
Understand that with plans for our life, the what must come before the how. First choose, then they how usually falls into place with itself.
We like to pretend it is hard to to follow our dreams. The truth is, it is difficult to avoid walking through the many doors that will open.
Growth
Growth is uneven and come in fits and spurts. Effort and commitment to creativity is constant and predictable. But growth is unpredictable.
Commit small acts of kindness to yourself and watch God surprise you.
Shame
Shame is a controlling device. People enact it on those dong something that makes others feel uncomfortable.
Often artists “lose interest” in a project as it nears completion. This is a defense mechanism against judgement and shame.
The antidote for shame is self-love and self-praise. Criticism can be warranted and we should look for constructive help in it. But then give yourself space to recover from criticism, and have confidence you will.
Sometimes we have to swing and miss on our way to home runs.
Actions taken
Morning pages: Seven days out of seven. Boom.
Wrote out chosen affirmations as part of my morning pages every day.
The exercises this week focused examining childhood: the traits we valued, describing a childhood room, the activities and things we loved most.
Personal Insights
Every version of the prior me did the best he could at the time. Time to take the baton from him and level up.
The exercises this week in examining childhood show me I’ve allowed my inner critic to cover up some positive personality traits. I need to excavate and reinstall those again.
Week 4: Recovering a sense of integrity
This week may find you grappling with changing self-definition. The essays, tasks, and exercises are designed to catapult you into productive introspection and integration of new self-awareness.
Excerpts and Key ideas
Reading deprivation
One week, no reading. When this book was writiten, social media was not a thing. Web sites weren’t really a thing. And Twitter, my crutch, certainly wasn’t a thing. Now we’re removing all of that, plus books, newspapers, newsletters, stone tablets, etc.
“Real Feelings vs. Official Feelings”
The morning pages help us sort through what we really think and feel, versus the feelings we put out for public consumption, in our workplaces, with our friends, and on social media.
Official feelings are usually couched in the phrase “I feel okay about _____.” Saying you feel okay about something is a reliable signal that you do not, in fact, feel ok about it—and are making that position official instead of real.
To restart creativity, we have to punch through our denial. The morning pages help us get to what’s real.
Sometimes getting to what’s real is painful and we resist by skipping the morning pages. Push through!
Arriving at clarity creates change—which can also be painful and difficult.
What you have been doing is wiping the mirror. Each day’s morning pages take a swipe at the blur you have kept between you and your real self. As your image becomes clearer, it may surprise you. You may discover very particular likes and dislikes that you hadn’t acknowledged.
Kriya
… thanks to the morning pages we learn what we want and ultimately become willing to make the changes needed to get it. But not without a tantrum. And not without a kriya, a Sanskrit word meaning a spiritual emergency or surrender.
[…]
We all know what a kriya looks like: it is the bad case of the flu right after you’ve broken up with your lover. It’s the rotten head cold and bronchial cough that announces you’ve abused your health to meet an unreachable work deadline.
Creativity is based in clear observation
People frequently believe the creative life is grounded in fantasy. The more difficult truth is that creativity is grounded in reality, in the particular, the focused, the well observed or specifically imagined.
Improved life flow
There will be a sense of the flow of life—that you are brought into new vistas as you surrender surrender to moving with the flow of God. This is clear already. You may well be experiencing a sense of both bafflement and faith. You are no longer stuck, but you cannot tell where you are going.
Actions Taken
Reading depravation
I’m doing it, and it hurts. I prefer sit-ups to reading deprivation, and I hate sit-ups. Twitter is the hardest to swear off. But it’s a busy week with long travel and travel prep, and that filled many of the hours.
Thinking about my ideal environment
This was pretty easy for me. My ideal environment is tropical and secluded. It has great wifi and a gym. Something like this:
Other items
Completed exercises on hobbies that sound fun, things that sound fun I’d never try, and new skills that would be fun to have.
Seven for seven on morning pages again.
I’m failing badly at completing “Artist’s Dates” each week. Maybe they feel too hokey, or I am doing them but not labeling them properly—taking the family out for ice cream could count, for example, but I don’t count them as Artist’s Dates.
I wrote my personal version of the artist’s prayer.