Tap your internal wisdom for life-long change

Some books entertain us, some educate us. Some become life-long resources. The Artist's Way is a resource I've sworn by for longer than I can remember. Is it just for artists? Not at all. I've never considered myself an artist. I do believe we're all creative in our own ways, every one of us, but that's not the same thing.  

Frankly, I didn't read the entire book for years after I first bought it. Instead, I jumped right in to its primary tenet: morning pages. 

In The Artist's Way, morning pages are the first exercise and are the basis for the book. Through morning pages, we honor and give voice to our internal wisdom—that creative and higher self we often call our intuition. 

Morning pages aren't for the faint of heart. They take time, but they don't take thought. At least not to write them. What they do provide is self-reflection, and quite possibly, deep inner work and answers to perplexing questions. 

Find your answers

When you're spinning on an issue or churning over a problem, morning pages help. When you seem to be perpetually stuck and can't move forward, morning pages provide insights. 

The trick to morning pages is to do them. every. morning. Yes, every. morning. 

Why? You can hear directly from author Julia Cameron about what's in it for you in this video. 

So how do you do them? Write three pages, long-hand. That's it. Don't stop. No computer, no tablet, no laptop. With a pen, on 8.5 x 11 inch paper. Stream of consciousness, no thinking necessary. Can't think of anything to write? Write that. Hand cramps? Write that. 

And yes, you can make your coffee first. Then get comfortable. And start writing. 

If you're really struggling with a particular issue, you can write a question at the top of the page and then see what comes up.

No talent or journaling background required

You don't have to be a writer. In fact, creative prose would hinder the process. And it doesn't matter if you've never kept a journal, or tried journaling and found it didn't work for you. This is not that. Journaling is more thoughtful reflection; morning pages tap into your deep inner consciousness. So keep your hand moving until the three-pages are full (except to sip your coffee, but ideally, hold your cup with your other hand). 

When insights show up, I have a couple of tricks so I don't lose them. Keep the first page of your notepad blank. Then when you're writing, underline whatever thought you want to keep, or put an asterisk in the margin. When you've completed the three pages, go to that first empty page, write the date (always put the date on the top of each entry), and either copy the thought or note the date and review it later. 

Keep or discard? 

Do you have to keep these? Definitely not. I'd have file cabinet after file cabinet if I did. I typically don't even read them, except as noted above when I have an insight I want to keep. I sometimes tear off those first pages if they still have meaning for me. But after a period of time, I'll do a little ceremony and shred or burn them. 

Have I done them consistently all these years? No. But when I need to resolve something, or want new insights or creative ideas, I buy a package of notepads, find my favorite pens, and start writing. Every morning, for weeks or months on end. 

An invitation

I invite you to try it and see what happens. I'm just getting started again after a long break. I'm excited to see what shows up. 

If you're already a fan of morning pages, let me know in the comments how you've benefited, or if you try it for the first time, let me know what you think after a few weeks. 

If you like this post, or this blog resonates with you in any way, please feel free to share it, comment below, or send me a message. I'm also available for one-on-one coaching—you can find me here.