I began a creative practice this spring. My inspiration came through leading an abbreviated class series on The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. Remember that book? It was published in 1992, and the concept has not changed. The main premise is to write three pages in longhand first thing every morning.
I am writing daily morning pages, and have been pleasantly surprised by how clarifying it is to write and write and write on a regular basis. And, like Cameron’s subtitle, A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity, I have found it to be a spiritual practice, a ritual to meet myself for quiet, inner conversation.
This is not my first journaling attempt. I’ve purchased blank book journals and journals with lined pages but never kept up with writing. In fact, I shredded or burned those journals in embarrassment. This time I began writing in a wide-lined spiral-bound notepad. Not auspicious. No pressure for grand words or exquisitely phrased sentences. A sneaky start to writing, and it seems to work for me.
In fact, sometimes I start my entry with soul writing. The book, Writing Down Your Soul: How to Activate and Listen to the Extraordinary Voice Within, by Janet Conner somehow found me. And it works. Stream of consciousness writing without lifting pen from paper brings me to…a Zen place…that place where inner wisdom is dispensed from somewhere inside. Soul writing is illegible so I switch back to regular longhand to record insights.
Writing acknowledges and names elusive thoughts. Writing stream of consciousness shows what is really going on in the mind before the brain or inner critics can twist or change meaning.
Ritual is one thing, regimentation is another. I grant myself permission to write later in the day, or not at all if there is a pressing deadline to meet. My aim is to write consistently enough to have a regular creative practice and connect with inner wisdom.
Inner wisdom is within. One way to release it is through handwriting. Need help getting in touch with your inner wisdom through a creative practice? Contact me; I’d be happy to put you in touch with your wise self.
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