This 90s self help book is not what you think
The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron.
Over the past month, I have been undergoing a “creative recovery” according to Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way. The cover, which is a specific shade of burgundy that hasn’t been used since 1998, says the book is “a course in discovering and recovering your Creative Self.”
When a hippie friend of mine pressed it into my hands and told me it had changed her life, I was curious but mostly sceptical.
First published in 1990, the book became an international bestseller with many swearing by it. Now, it's enjoying somewhat of a revival with people documenting their experience of reading it on social media.
From the very first couple of pages, Julia is talking about God. Listen, I’m as happy to talk about God as the next person but I’m wary when She is invoked as a reason for self-improvement. Luckily, Julia assures you the term doesn’t matter, you can think of it as ‘Universe’ or ‘Good Orderly Direction’ (get it?) One of the first indications that this is a very strange book indeed is that you must sign a contract before beginning it. In it you have to commit to several jobs over the following 12 weeks.
First, there is the morning pages. Three pages of stream of consciousness every single day. You are not allowed to skip a day and you are not allowed to read back over what you wrote. But other than that, the field is yours. One day you might find yourself rehashing an argument you had a year ago, another day might be an exuberant description of your recent trip to the beach. It doesn’t matter if the writing is good or bad, pretty or profound - they just have to get done.
The second task is the Artist’s Date. This one is a little trickier for me. Once a week you have do something exciting or interesting all by yourself. It can be as simple as going to the cinema or as fancy as a day trip to a new town but it has to be something purely indulgent and fun. I took myself to a gig one Friday evening, I also read my book in the park with a beer another day. This week, I’m going to take myself for breakfast (a meal I would never normally justify paying someone else to make me).
Finally, you have to do that week’s tasks. A lot of them are journal prompts, but some of them involve cleaning out your wardrobe or going for a walk or buying yourself a treat.
I’m on week 4 and I was gobsmacked by this week’s job: no reading or television (or podcasts or social media). So I have had to spend the past week trying to find fun things to keep me occupied. I have made a collage, re-melted old candles to make a new one, crocheted numerous granny squares and done many laps of the People’s Park.
I’ve also spent a lot of time just lying on my couch, looking out the window listening to Lana Del Rey.
I thought this week was going to be a living nightmare but it felt more like a holiday. I genuinely cannot describe how relaxing life is when you’re not constantly shoving stimulation in your face. Normally, I read my book first in the morning for half an hour, listen to a news podcast as I get ready for work, spend the day reading the news, listen to another podcast while I make dinner, watch reels for half an hour and then watch two hours of television. It’s only now that I’ve taken it all away that I’ve realised that even though I live alone, I hadn’t spent time with myself in maybe months.
Now, I’m not hardcore enough to completely renounce all forms of entertainment (I do love to be entertained after all) and once this week is over, I am very excited to jump right back into Lena Dunham’s ‘Girls’. But I’m definitely going to create more time in my life where I’m not being distracted.
If you wish you were more creative or if you feel your life is lacking the energy and fun it maybe used to have, I definitely recommend this book. As Julia herself in week two writes, “You will learn that it is actually easier to write than not write, paint than not paint, and so forth. You will learn to enjoy the process of being a creative channel and to surrender your need to control the result. You will discover the joy of practicing your creativity. The process, not the product, will become your focus.”
