The Artist's Way - A 12 Week Journey
I am looking forward to moving through this book by Julia Cameron. It won't be my first time. Each time I have gone through it it has had an enormously positive impact on my life.
That is no exaggeration. I have also had the honor to witness others move through the book and it seems everyone who commits to the process also gains enormous benefit.
This book is a beautiful gift from Julia Cameron. A guide. A roadmap. It is not necessary to do this book with a group, but it is helpful. So I put it out there.
I wanted to do it again and I thought others might also be interested. September is such a good time to start new routines and all.
I am blown away by the response. People are ready to do inner work! I am grateful so many of you have showed up and said YES! I can see this is going to be an incredible group of people.
It is my honor to bring us together and help to facilitate the journey. May it bring much clarity, understanding, compassion and Joy to your life.
For those of you joining the group, or those of you who are interested, here is a basic breakdown of what the journey through the Artist's Way looks like. At least this is it from my perspective:
1- You must commit to writing morning pages each day. This means you wake up 20 or so minutes earlier than normal, grab a beverage of your choice and get pen to paper. The idea is to write stream of consciousness for 3 pages. No stopping. This is not writing to sound good. The writing is not a literary practice. Just simply letting words pour out onto the page. Writing down whatever comes to mind even if it makes no sense.
I will admit it took me about 6-8 weeks the first time I did the Artist's Way to understand this practice. For a long time I was filtering my thoughts out before they hit the page. Overtime, I learned to be really honest about what was going through my mind and let it all out onto the page. This is where the magic is.
2- Each week you are expected to take yourself on an Artist's Date. What is that? Basically, you commit to spend 2-3 hours with yourself. You choose an activity that will bring you Joy. This is not a time to run errands, but rather to connect to something you like doing. Alone.
3- Each week you are responsible to read one chapter from the book and try to do as many as the tasks she lays out at the end of the chapter. These tasks might be something like taking yourself for a walk, or writing a list of people that inspire you. None of them take much time.
The journey does require of you to invest a bit of time to the process. It is not easy to complete everything Julia Cameron sets out for us to do, but with commitment and support it is doable and perhaps one of the best investments of your time and energy that you could make. The pay off is definitely worth the time invested!
This group that is forming is going to start Week One on the 18th of September. Before then, it is important to have a copy of the book and read the pre-work/introduction (up to Week One). We will meet each week on Sunday evenings to have a check in with the group. It isn't obligatory to make each meeting, but the Zoom meetings will give us a chance to connect and reflect.
Registrants will also get access to an online portal in Kajabi where I have created a course that will also provide support and a chance to connect with each other.
Kajabi is an online platform that can hold conversations and resources. It will take a try or two to get signed in, but once you are in, it is very user friendly. You may need to contact me to reset your password the first time you try to log on. Email me to do that: [email protected]
So why is it important to move through the book with others? For me, moving through the book with others provided me accountability. It helped me stay focused and strong when it got tough, or heavy. It felt good to know others where doing the same deep inquiries and seeing their commitment helped me stay committed.
As I mentioned, the work isn't easy and I am not sure we can do it alone.
One of my favorite quotes of all time from Ram Dass is:
"We're all just walking each other home."
If you feel the call to join us on this journey sign up soon. I will drop a link below where you can register. If you have questions send me an email. I love helping to support people on their journey to health and wellness.
This book is definitely a valuable tool. You can find it in many a used book store because it has been in circulation for decades and people love to share it! Best of luck to those of you who are already signed up.
https://jil.mykajabi.com/offers/PbvEaKi2
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