Have you heard about the practice, the tool, called morning pages? It comes from the book The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. I've heard it mentioned many times over the years and then a good friend suggested the book. I picked it up and began reading and then set it aside with the excuse to myself that I didn't have time to explore this new practice. Well, it's come up yet again and I've decided that it's time to dive in and explore the practice.
So what are morning pages? Morning pages are three pages of longhand writing, strictly stream-of-conscious. Cameron says that there's no wrong way to do morning pages. She writes in the book, "Nothing is too petty, too silly, too stupid, or too weird to be included ... If you can’t think of anything to write, then write, ‘I can’t think of anything to write…’ Do this until you have filled three pages. Do anything until you have filled three pages.”
Cameron suggests that you can write ... this is what I like, this is what I don't like, this is what I want more of, this is what I want less of. She says that, "It's as if you are sending a little telegram to the universe and you're saying here is my precise position and here's how I authentically actually feel. It's a form of prayer and meditation."
Cameron makes the case that morning pages will make your life better ... you will find solutions to big life problems, your relationships will improve, you’ll be more courageous, your senses will be awakened, you’ll take action and take risks, you’ll advocate for yourself, you’ll live more authentically, and the universe will start answering your questions and responding to your needs.
Here are some quotes from Cameron on describing some of the benefits of the morning pages tool:
• “When people ask, ‘Why do we write morning pages?’ I joke, ‘To get to the other side.’ They think I am kidding, but I’m not. Morning pages do get us to the other side: the other side of our fear, our negativity, of our moods.”
• “It is impossible to write morning pages for any extended period of time without coming into contact with an unexpected inner power. Although I used them for many years before I realized this, the pages are a pathway to a strong and clear sense of self.”
• “Pages clarify our yearnings. They keep an eye on our goals. … If we are drifting, the pages will point that out. They will point the way True North. Each morning, as we face the page, we meet ourselves. They will dare you to become larger and they are stubborn."
• Morning pages are about tuning out our inner critic. “We learn to hear our censor’s comments and say, simply, ‘Thank you for sharing,’ while we go right on writing. We are training our censor to stand aside and let us create.”
• “The morning pages teach logic brain to stand aside and let artist brain play.”
• “Morning pages may hold insights and intuitions that startle you. Typically, they puncture denial."
There is something therapeutic that happens when we get things out of our head and down on paper. It helps us to explore and to stop ruminating. I'm going to start incorporating this practice into my day and I invite you to give it consideration too.
So what are morning pages? Morning pages are three pages of longhand writing, strictly stream-of-conscious. Cameron says that there's no wrong way to do morning pages. She writes in the book, "Nothing is too petty, too silly, too stupid, or too weird to be included ... If you can’t think of anything to write, then write, ‘I can’t think of anything to write…’ Do this until you have filled three pages. Do anything until you have filled three pages.”
Cameron suggests that you can write ... this is what I like, this is what I don't like, this is what I want more of, this is what I want less of. She says that, "It's as if you are sending a little telegram to the universe and you're saying here is my precise position and here's how I authentically actually feel. It's a form of prayer and meditation."
Cameron makes the case that morning pages will make your life better ... you will find solutions to big life problems, your relationships will improve, you’ll be more courageous, your senses will be awakened, you’ll take action and take risks, you’ll advocate for yourself, you’ll live more authentically, and the universe will start answering your questions and responding to your needs.
Here are some quotes from Cameron on describing some of the benefits of the morning pages tool:
• “When people ask, ‘Why do we write morning pages?’ I joke, ‘To get to the other side.’ They think I am kidding, but I’m not. Morning pages do get us to the other side: the other side of our fear, our negativity, of our moods.”
• “It is impossible to write morning pages for any extended period of time without coming into contact with an unexpected inner power. Although I used them for many years before I realized this, the pages are a pathway to a strong and clear sense of self.”
• “Pages clarify our yearnings. They keep an eye on our goals. … If we are drifting, the pages will point that out. They will point the way True North. Each morning, as we face the page, we meet ourselves. They will dare you to become larger and they are stubborn."
• Morning pages are about tuning out our inner critic. “We learn to hear our censor’s comments and say, simply, ‘Thank you for sharing,’ while we go right on writing. We are training our censor to stand aside and let us create.”
• “The morning pages teach logic brain to stand aside and let artist brain play.”
• “Morning pages may hold insights and intuitions that startle you. Typically, they puncture denial."
There is something therapeutic that happens when we get things out of our head and down on paper. It helps us to explore and to stop ruminating. I'm going to start incorporating this practice into my day and I invite you to give it consideration too.
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