The Artist’s Way – unlock your creativity

I recommend The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron to my reiki students as she has helped millions to unlock their creativity, usually in surprising and unexpected ways. It’s laid out as a 12 week course with each chapter ending in a number of exercises. These exercises are not necessarily about ‘writing’ or any particular art form. They are designed to help you lead a richer, more interesting life. They also help you overcome the negativity that may be stopping you from trying new things.

The most important ‘tools’ are ‘The Morning Pages’ and ‘the Artist Date’. I like both these concepts. Each morning you splurge onto the page, 3 full pages of all the rants, rubbish and repetition in your life and then stop. Don’t re-read or worry if someone will find the pages. Keep them in a safe place and get on with your day. After a few weeks, your world feels lighter and you let go of some of the unwanted baggage, leaving you clearer to be more creative.

The Artist Date is all about having fun! On your own, you plan a special treat for yourself, experimenting with something new. It could be a visit to the zoo, a museum, a gallery. It could be a riding lesson or a one-off dance class. It could just be allowing yourself to browse in a bookshop or art shop. This stuff sounds simple, but when did you last push yourself to go and try something new, something you’ve always wanted to have a go at? ON YOUR OWN!?

I’ve done the Artist’s Way three times. The first time it led me to learn Reiki. This is because of the spiritual aspect to the book. Everyone of us has the potential to be creative: whether it’s through the outfits we wear, how we experiment with making food,  or with our poems, songs or paintings. The second time I read the book, I started painting, years after being told by my art teacher I wasn’t good enough. I did a few different  art courses at Phoenix, the City College and at Sussex Uni.  I now use my artwork to decorate my walls at home, on my website and in all my manuals.

The third time I read the Artist’s Way, I started learning the sitar, with a local teacher and later took a course in London with a world-class sitar player, Purbayan Chatterjee. It gave me a wonderful sense of achievement to take part in the final concert and did wonders for my confidence. Learning an instrument helps you to understand music better, to hear more clearly and also helps you to think with more clarity.

Julia Cameron has taught the Artist Way for 25 years but this weekend was the first time she has ever run a workshop in the UK. It was incredible for a group of creative people to do the intense exercises together and then to share the results. Strangers giving each other positive feedback and encouragement is incredibly powerful. The most personal details of what was holding them back - their worries, their fears and their resentments - were challenged and transformed into positive plans and inspiring ideas.

I have already begun to feel the effects of the workshop, just a few days after the event, I am experimenting with new art forms and moving into a new phase of learning. Throughout the weekend, Julia was asked by the audience: … is this right? should I..? could I..? am I allowed..?? And her answer was always: “I teach Adults.”

Sometimes we should just DO instead of worrying if it’s RIGHT. What’s wrong with giving yourself permission to make a mess or to be a bit wrong and to make up your own rules? Maybe, just maybe, a little gem comes out of all the mess and makes you smile.