MORNING PAGES

“We tend to criticize ourselves mercilessly. We are victims of our own internalized perfectionist, a nasty and eternal critic, the Censor, who resides in our (left) brain and keeps up a constant stream of subversive remarks that are disguised as the truth.

Make this a rule: always remember that your Censor’s negative opinions are not the truth. This takes practice. By spilling out of bed and straight onto the page every morning, you learn to evade the Censor. Because there is no wrong way to write the morning pages, the Censor’s opinion doesn’t count.

Let your Censor rattle on - and it will - just keep your hand moving across the page. Morning pages will eventually get you to the other side: the other side of our fear, our negativity, our mood. Above all, they get us beyond our Censor.”

— Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way

Q + A

Q + A

• My Mind goes blank as soon as I start to write, what do I do?

  This is a very common experience. There’s likely a block or a stagnancy caused by your internal perfectionist. The way through is by gentle, loving seduction and curiosity.

  Julia suggests showing up on the page with questions rather than thoughts. She even asks her inner artist for advice, which she named LJ (for Little Julia). For example, “LJ, what would you have me do today?

  When I have nothing to write about, I like to consider it a moment to pray. I start with a list of things I’m feeling grateful for - this morning it was a beautiful beam of light on the ceiling that caused me to pause in a moment that felt like it was suspended in time. I then like to document what happened the day before, any cool things I want to remember, any lessons learned or any unfinished items. If I’m overwhelmed I write out lengthy to do lists, as fast and as extensive as I can make them. I imagine my ideal day. And then… once all of that is out do I start to ask for guidance. I ask what should I be focusing on right now? What is my priority? Which of my values should lead my work right now? What am I most inspired to share? What contribution can I make with the strengths I have?
  

  Sometimes I speak to my body as ask for it’s wisdom to surface. Body, what do you need from me today? What are you ready to let go of? What new experience do you need? What makes you feel grounded?
  
  There are so many questions you can ask! Using writing prompts is helpful - remember theres no way to do this practice wrong! It’s really about being loving and non judgmental enough to stick with the process and listen to your inner voice for long enough that your intuiton (soul, spirit, tru self) will have a channel to share insights.

  If you’re really lost - pull an oracle card and write about what comes up for you, whether you agree with the card or not and the reasons why. Or draw - doodle, write a song, a poem, write about the details of whatever you see around you. Just don’t let the pen leave the paper until you’ve finished 3 pages (or the end of the 20 minute playlist if you’re joining us on zoom). It’s a practice, it takes time - be patient.

• I'm not a writer, can I use voice notes?

  Writing is a form of thought synthesis - it distills long thoughts into short, manageable sentences because we aren’t able to write as quick as we can think. You can try typing… it will work the same! It helps to bring you to clarity, to the most distilled down essence of your inner voice.
  
  However, this is a tool for self-discovery and in the name of curiosity I would say YES, try voice notes. Things will come out differently when you say them out loud rather than think them to yourself. You don;t need to listen to them again - just like you dont need to re-read your pages.
  
  Try it one morning for 20 minutes - have a full blown conversation with yourself, like you would a friend. Make it about venting, sharing, planning or dreaming. Let us know how it goes in the zoom chat!

• Does it Have to be the Morning?

  No - my rebellious nature tackled this question in the very first round of doing this, 10 years ago! I wanted to do them before bed because the mornings felt anxious at that time.

  
  I’m now back to doing them in the mornings because it clears my distracted brain into a more narrowed focus and allows me to get some quality time in with myself before focusing on other things once the clock strikes 9 (or whenever you start work).
  
  Once again - there’s no wrong way to do these pages. Try it with the support of our group in the mornings and if you hate it - try it at night before bed. At the very least, you’ll learn something new about yourself.