The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

If we’ve had a deep conversation in the past 6 months, then you’ve likely heard me champion this book. It’s had such a profound impact on transforming who I am that I’ve wanted to share it with whoever will listen.

Julia Cameron is a writer, director, and sherpa for stuck artists.

To call The Artist’s Way a “book” would be like calling a “day” just a “24-hour block of time” or a “leader” just “the person at the top of the hierarchy.”

Sure, there’s a cover, chapters, and ink on the page, but the act of reading this book is anything but passive. It’s a conduit to spiritual exploration. It’s an unleashing of the soul over a 12-week journey that I wish I could embark on again after concussion-induced-amnesia or exposure to the Men-in-Black-flashlight, so that I could be surprised about what was going to arrive on the next page and what was going to happen inside of me along the way.

I picked up a copy of The Artist’s Way at the urging of my friend, Dave. I’d opened up to him about how “I feel a creative explosion brewing in the depths of my soul, but, I also feel stuck. I don’t know how to unlock it. I keep making excuses about how it’s not the right time or the conditions aren’t right. And I’m afraid that if I pursue this, then I’ll be seen as selfish.”

Dave gave me 2 pieces of advice:

• Go on a meditation retreat (which I did in Joshua Tree)

• Get The Artist’s Way (which I did the same day)

This interaction with Dave, who I’d previously never met before that fateful day in early May, completely altered my life’s trajectory.

The subtitle of The Artist's Way is “Discovering & Recovering Your Creative Self”.

If you read that and think, “Well, I’m not creative, so this book isn’t for me.” Then, let me assure you, this book is absolutely for you.

Here’s why…

It makes the case that there’s a creative being in all of us. It makes the case that this creative being is our deepest, realest self. (Our True Self, if you will).

We all create in our own way. We’re all gifted the “creative gene” at birth.

However, the world, other people, or the narratives in our head often serve to block this creative instinct. The primary culprit: The Judge (Ms. Cameron calls it “The Censor”). This is the voice that tells us:

• “That’s weird. Don’t do that.”

• “That’s stupid. Don’t say that.”

• “You’ve been terrible at drawing since elementary school.”

• “You’re not creative. Just stick to what you know.”

The underlying sentiment of all of the Judge’s commentary:

• “You’re not good enough… and never will be. So, don’t bother trying.”

• “You’re unlovable… and always will be. So, don’t risk what you have now for a path you think might be invigorating.”

This voice convinces us that to honestly express ourselves would be “too weird, too unsettling, too disruptive” to our lives, our families, and our friends. So, we let the Judge run the show. And, in doing so, we never come into full contact with who we truly are deep-down… in our spirit… in our soul.

The Artist’s Way is like hiring a coach - a loving, gentle, positive coach - to lead us into the depths of our soul and bring us into communion with what’s buried there.

If that sounds scary, then, again, this book is absolutely for you.

The book is structured as a 12-week course with 4 main activities:

• Morning Pages

• Artist’s Date

• Reading

• Guided Questions & Tasks

Morning Pages

3 pages of handwritten, stream-of-consciousness journaling completed first thing in the morning. It’s intended to be a simple practice. You can write about anything. The only expectation: fill up 3 pages every morning.

Nothing that’s written is wrong. 

• Some days I write about the errands I need to run later that day

• Some days I write about friends who I haven’t seen for years

• Some days I admit my hopes, dreams, and fears

The very first day I wrote Morning Pages, I confronted some past mistakes that I’d made. (After all, I’m not perfect. I’m still practicing.) When I dropped in on those pages, I mustered up the courage to admit to myself what I’d done. And I issued the decree that now was the time to own up to the consequences. Given the cascade of events that followed, this book is simultaneously the most expensive paperback I’ve ever purchased and the best $10 I’ve ever spent. But, for the record, I don’t regret the decision to come in contact with the truth that was always hiding inside of me. That depth of honesty liberated me.

Don’t worry - every day doesn’t produce content that’s this profound & life-changing. But, the value of the practice is rooted in the repetition.

• Some days I “rest on the page”

• Some days I brainstorm new ideas for a project I’m working on (or have yet to begin)

• Some days I write about the omelette I’m gonna make for breakfast

The idea for The Love News Network first showed up in my Morning Pages. As did:

• Sharing my morning mantras on a whiteboard

• Going to Europe in August

• Signing up for an acting class and restarting improv

• Revamping this newsletter after a summer away

• Posting daily gratitudes on TikTok

• And many, many more ideas that I haven’t shared with anybody… yet

MPs also guided me through one of the most challenging times of my life, while ensuring that I greeted the situation in a way that was authentic to who I aspired to be.

It’s where I go to unload the thoughts that are swirling around in my head. It’s where I go to think through my most important decisions. Morning Pages is my daily ritual of having an honest conversation with myself. So, even after completing the course, I’ve continued the practice. The clarity it gives me is well worth the time investment. 

Finally, it’s just fun. Where else in life is "No Rules" the directive?

Artist’s Date

A solo exploration. A play date with my inner artist. A once-a-week indulgence in something I genuinely want to do, for its own sake.

It was empowering to be required to carve out this time for myself. As a recovering people-pleaser and self-inflicted busy person, I’d made it a habit to give my time away and crowd out time meant for myself.

This was my weekly reminder to explore the world on my own, doing exactly what I want to do, at my own pace.

If that sounds scary, then this practice is absolutely for you.

Reading

This is the “book” part of the book. Each week begins with a chapter of reading dedicated to creative recovery. To name a few:

• Recovering a Sense of Safety

• Recovering a Sense of Power

• Recovering a Sense of Possibility

• Recovering a Sense of Abundance

• Recovering a Sense of Connection

The reading felt like a selfish indulgence because the prose is flowy and the words touched my soul. I always read with a pen in hand because I found myself underlining every other sentence and writing notes to myself (pun very-much intended). The reading became its own journaling exercise, because her words would often unlock a kernel of truth that I had yet to articulate myself. So, I’d find myself unpacking my own view in the margins.

As you can see, the pages of my copy are tattered & worn because I carried this book with me wherever I went. First purchased in San Francisco, I brought it to Pittsburgh, New York, and Nicaragua (where I gave my original copy away to new friend & aspiring author, Adilia). Then, I bought a 2nd copy & restarted the process at home in El Dorado Hills, where it traveled with me to Oregon, Bainbridge Island, D.C., back to New York, Norway (Oslo & Bergen), Paris, London, back to New York, EDH again, back to San Francisco, and finally to NYC where I finished the journey (physically & artistically).

During a time of vast uncertainty, it was a source of stability, a reliable companion along the way.

I committed to reading 1 page per day, because, as Ms. Cameron explains, “small wins, repeated consistently” is the way to creative recovery.

She’s a gifted writer. Bearing witness to her talent, reading her words is worth the price of admission.

A small sampling…

…and these examples are just from the intro.

Guided Questions & Tasks

This is the sherpa-led part of the journey. At the end of each chapter is a set of reflection questions & active tasks. This isn’t your typical dry or fluffy introspection. The questions are fun & engaging to answer. The tasks are fun & challenging to complete. Questions & tasks like:

• Where does your time go? List your five major activities this week. How much time did you give to each one? Which were what you wanted to do and which were shoulds? How much of your time is spent helping others and ignoring your own desires?

  • An enlightening & heart-wrenching taking-of-inventory practice

• Throw out or give away five ratty pieces of clothing.

  • A Marie Condo-approved task

• Give yourself time out to listen to one side of an album, just for joy.

  • I listened to Bob Marley’s Exodus. In our singles-driven, Spotify era, this was the first time I’d listened to an album all the way through. Completely changed the experience of the music. Relatedly, I highly recommend the One Love movie.

• Quickly list five favorite films. Do you see any common denominators among them?

  • My themes: Christopher Nolan, heroes on a challenging journey, comeback stories

• If you had 5 other lives to lead, what would you do in each of them?

  • A subset of my answer: pastor, actor, travel blogger, high school football coach, bookstore owner, talk show host, camp counselor, grief counselor, triathlete, monk… was that 5?

Reading The Artist’s Way was a journey for me.

The book taught me that:

1. Getting stuck is only natural

2. Staying stuck is NOT inevitable

3. Getting unstuck is a responsibility

We always have the option to jump back in and “just do the work.” I realized that fear is an illusion. This book helped me move through my fear and reignite my creativity.

I know I’ll be returning to the book in the future because I know I’ll likely get blocked again. But, when I do, I’ll just restart the journey from Week 1.

I could keep writing about this book all day, but I don’t want to give too much away. Aside from recommending the book, one of the gifts that Dave gave me was in simply saying, “Trust me. Just pick up a copy and do it.” He didn’t over-explain the impact the book “should have” on me. Because, at the end of the day, The Artist’s Way is an individual adventure.

So, I’ll stop there and share Dave’s recommendation:

If that sounds scary, then, this book is absolutely for you.