Living the Artist's Way

The Artist’s Way – A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron

I have read all of Julia Cameron's wonderful books on creativity as a spiritual experience.

It is certainly my experience and the experience of the creative people I know, that when we are deeply committed to a creative act, whether writing, painting, planting a garden, designing a bracelet, or decorating a cake, it is meditation in action. We find a way to temporarily unplug from the matrix. We escape from the linear into the imagination where all things are possible. When we face an empty page or a blank canvas, we are invited into the unmanifest where all things are suddenly possible.

That is why The Artist’s Way speaks to me so deeply. I bought this book when it was first published in 1992, skimmed it, and put it on a shelf. I picked it up again, after I started doing art work a few years ago, and it knocked my proverbial socks off. Anyone, who is interested in the creative life, needs to read this from cover to cover. It inspires me every time I pick it up and open it up to any page.

Blocked Creatives

Julie Cameron is famous for helping “blocked creatives” (I love this term!) break through what is holding them back from doing their art, and embrace the joyful work of creating. This book takes us through 12 weeks of addressing major components of creativity, providing exercises that lead to insights into our creative processes and helps us remove the barriers to our creativity. Julia Cameron is not afraid to talk about what holds us back. (You can cheat a bit and still get so much wisdom from this book!)

I love that Julia Cameron considers creativity a spiritual birthright that needs to be honored and nurtured. She asks us to discard our many damaging old ideas on creativity. Julia Cameron says,

Stop telling yourself that dreams don’t matter, that they are only dreams and that you should be more sensible.

Stop telling yourself, “It’s too late.

Stop telling yourself, “It’s just my ego” whenever you yearn for a more creative life.

Stop fearing that your family and friends would think you crazy.

Stop telling yourself that creativity is a luxury and that you should be grateful for what you’ve got.

Artist Abuse

Cameron reminds us that our artist is really a child that needs to be protected. You know that horrible feeling that comes when you show a friend a new painting or read them some new poem before you have the confidence to take their honest feedback. She suggests we give ourselves a break, and give ourselves permission to be beginners! After all, aren't we all beginners anyway in this big wide world where there is always someone who knows more or does it better? If we are early in our “recovering shadow artist” phase, as she calls it, we could be setting ourselves up for a fall. Judging our early artistic efforts is what she calls, “artist abuse.”

This book is so beautifully written and so full of ideas, insights, and love of the process of art, it deserves its reputation as a classic in its genre. So,if you are in a creative rut or are thinking of starting some new creative journey of your own, you will be inspired!