Zaadz: Creative Spirit - The Artist's Way: Follow the Path Together

Re: Week Two - Check In

Fri, 08 Sep 2006 01:38:55 -0000

I am playing catch-up this week! I was out of town for the long Labor Day weekend and then this week has been a zoo with the kids' school starting and my own job (at a college) becoming very busy again after a relatively quiet summer. I managed to post this check-in list and the bare bones for week 3 a week ago, and now I am filling in my own blanks!

Through all of the chaos, I have been faithful to my morning pages and very glad to have them. Unlike trying to convince myself to exercise, I am drawn to the morning pages like I am to that first cup of coffee! They have been the place were I see things put back in to place, into context. It's meditation on paper.

My Artist's Date for week two was short, sweet and quite impromptu. On Monday of week 2 (8/28) I when I left work at 6 p.m. I saw the opportunity for an extremely fun Artist's Date. Rain had been falling off-and-on all day and when I was leaving there was avoiding it. The faucet was “on.” I really enjoyed myself! I took off my glasses and put them in my tote, and then just walked, chin tipped up, eyes half closed. I really loved it. By the time I got to my car I was absolutely completely drenched. I rooted around in the back for something dry, and found a shirt to put on over the wet stuff, and a jacket to dry my hair a bit with. Even though it wasn't a very comfortable ride home (especially since there was barely any visibility and the roads were extremely flooded) I was very relaxed and smiling over my 10 minute walk in the driving rain with cars passing by thinking, "WTF??" Hee hee. I when I got home I peeled everything off and had a nice shower and then went to my neighbor's to work on Eben's quilt. I love to walk, but a walk in the rain beats 'em all.

And that's it for week two for me.

Week Three - Check In

Fri, 08 Sep 2006 01:42:56 -0000

Okay, how did you do in Week Three? Don't forget to take a moment to answer the following questions, either for youself, in your morning pages or (AND/OR!) here in discussion with others supporting your journey.

1) How many days this week did you do your morning pages? Seven out of seven, we always hope. How was the experience for you? What were you surprised at finding yourself writing about?

2) Did you do your artist date this week? Yes, of course, we always hope. And yet, Artist's Dates can be remarkably difficult to allow yourself. What did you do? How did it feel?

3) Were there any other issues this week that you consider significant for your recovery/discovery? Describe them.

That's it! Tomorrow it's on to Week Four.

Re: Week Three - Check In

Fri, 08 Sep 2006 02:20:24 -0000

Off all weeks to be away and swamped, it had to be Week Three. I really enjoyed this week and wanted to write about it so many times, and I did, but I just wasn't at the computer when I needed to be. I will have to use this check-in to sum it all up.

Morning pages on the road are a real treat! 10 hours in the car from Philadelphia to Cincinnati is a journalers dream. For the half that my husband drove, I completed the day's morning pages, and I did every last exercise – they were so fun this week – favorite childhood toy, “if I could lighten up,” favorite musical instrument, they were all so good!

I love how when you start reading and talking about and thinking about synchronicity, suddenly you see it everywhere. And in many layers. I began reading a book called Good In Bed, a first novel which takes place in the Philadelphia singles scene (something I didn't move here in time to enjoy). I'm reading this book and it has everything from chapter three! The main character is dealing with shame and public criticism. She is out with a friend and they order the “greens with warm pear and Gorgonzola” not a week after I have just been given a recipe from Awen (the person who got me started on tAW) for pear and Gorgonzola risotto (a combo I had never heard of before) and really, the hits just keep coming. I love this because it really gives meaning to what I'm doing. Just tonight I was checking a friend's blog on another community, who was commenting on his ability to take criticism, so I had to reply with some words of wisdom from JC, and point out how cool it was to read his blog at the exact same time I'm reviewing Week Three. It reminds me a lot about the messages in the movie The Secret. (When the DVD comes out, I hope to get it and thoroughly brainwash myself!)

My Artist Date this week was watching an amazingly good movie with myself called A Very Long Engagement. I highly recommend it. A beautiful, poetic, self-revealing flick.

You know, before doing the Artist Way, I was living under the myth that I didn't have any time for myself, and now that I am finding more than one opportunity during each week – even the really busy ones – I see that I DO and that feels very , very good. I am a happier person just having that knowledge!

Week Four - Recovering a Sense of Integrity

Fri, 08 Sep 2006 20:02:47 -0000

This is the week, says JC, that we will be catapulted “into productive introspection and integration of new self-awareness.” She says this may come as a shock and as a result there may be resistance to the Morning Pages. The MPs are the place where everything spills out – the good, the bad & the ugly – and usually if it’s a surprise, it sticks there until we do something about it. JC says it is common to begin avoiding the MPs if dealing with what comes up gets too painful.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I have been LOVING the morning pages. There have been a couple of days when I was too disorganized to get them written first thing, so I’ve had to do them at lunch. But now that I’m doing them, I can’t imagine not having them to ground myself each day. I am saying this because I want to have it down in case I fall into this hole of not wanting to write… of avoiding what winds up on paper by not writing.

I’ve already begun feeling some of the things pointed to in this chapter. For example, the urge to weed and purge old, unused things has taken hold. JC says this is the result of shifts in perception that I am having as I discover for my self what I am really all about. Out with the old, in with the new. I don’t have a huge budget for the new, but little by little I can add a few items of clothing, and some books and a few fun toys, but all in all, I think I will toss more than I replace. And last weekend I decided I was finished eating meat.

She also says that for many the changes are less dramatic, so it’s not like “it’s not working” if you’re not throwing everything away and spending time on an emotional roller coaster!

So, in working with the morning pages, certain things come to light that weren’t visible before. I’m discovering things about myself that surprise me, and I am acting on them because JC says to trust myself! (Might as well, huh?) The synchronistic episodes feel like clues that I’m doing what I should be doing. It feels like it’s a puzzle with the pieces gradually falling into place.

I’d love to hear other perspectives on this.

Week Four - Exercise: Buried Dreams

Fri, 08 Sep 2006 20:13:55 -0000

This week we are asked to excavate our past for clues to dreams we have buried. “Be fast and frivolous,” writing answers quickly… first thing that comes to your mind.

1. List five hobbies that sound fun.

2. List five classes that sound fun.

3. List five things you personally would NEVER do that sound fun.

4. List five skills that would be fun to have.

5. List five things you used to enjoy doing.

6. List five silly things you would like to try once.

Go for it!

Week Four -- What? No Reading??

Fri, 08 Sep 2006 20:52:44 -0000

Okay, this other exercise for Week Four is a little over-the-top for me, so I have to adjust it a tiny bit. I am a LIBRARIAN, for gods' sake!

I'll take this exercise in the spirit I believe it was intended. She says that without distractions like newspapers, a train becomes a viewing gallery. I get that. So for this week, I will put down the only work of fiction I have picked up in several months (starting it was something I was doing for my child-artist!), I won't read at lunch and I won't even read before bed this week. Instead I will listen to music (but not read the liner notes!) and meditate.

But at work I must help students with research projects, teach classes and read and respond to my boss' email and the reference chat I get from students, family and friends!

Have a great week of Reading Deprivation!

Week Four - Arist's Prayer

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 03:13:49 -0000

Oh, Mother Goddess
and all of my soul's ancestors

Help me to finally know myself,
To see through my own eyes,
And to close them and trust the motion of the boat.

Bring me to a place where
I can shine and the gift of my uniqueness
can be a joy to me.

Show me when I am on the right path.
Nellie, show me again that hiding is unnecessary.
Sue, remind me that I create my own experience
and that bumps in the road keep me sharp.
Nancy, give me the grace to do it my way.

Mothers and sisters, I feel you with me often
and I am grateful for the gifts of discovery we have -- together-- placed in my path,
and the gifts created by my wake.

Guide me to my place in the world where
I can truly shine and the gift of my uniqueness
can be my joy.

Week Four -- Check-In

Fri, 15 Sep 2006 13:37:14 -0000

I’ve written about the trials and tribulations of my week of Reading Deprivation here on my blog. It turned out to be an experience worth writing about. LOL.

1. How many days this week did you do your morning pages? (Tantrums often show up and skipping the morning pages.) How was the experience for you?

Yes, every day. Despite JC’s cautions about not wanting to face them, I have not had this experience (yet).

2. Did you do your artist date this week? (Does your artist get to do more than rent a movie?) What did you do? How did it feel?

I had two Artist’s Dates this week, one planned and one otherwise! They both happened in roughly the same place, ironically.

The unplanned date came first. Last Friday, I was coming to work in the early afternoon, after a morning meeting off campus. I park off campus next to a city park to get a nice walk in. As soon as the car radio went off I heard a bagpipe playing. I got out of the car and started looking around. It wasn’t coming from any house across the street. I looked out into the park and about 300 yards away I saw a man standing not far from the bank of the creek, playing the bagpipes. I decided I didn’t really need to be at work just yet. I stood leaning against a tree, looking through the leaves of a low branch, listening to his beautiful, flawless playing. After about ten minutes, he began walking toward me while continuing to play; I was positioned very near to the parked cars. As he approached me we introduced ourselves and he explained that his daughter had started kindergarten and while she attended, he came to the park to practice. I said it was lovely to have such a treat in the middle of the day and he beamed with pride at his work and how it might have made someone else happy. We parted company, but I imagine we’ll run into one-another again some lunch hour.

My planned AD was for Tuesday, mostly because of my work schedule and the threat of rain on Thursday, my only other choice of days. I have been trying to have this date for two previous weeks, but my schedule & the weather have not cooperated! I took my camera and went back across the street from work and went for a walk along the Bridle Path and the Wissahickon Creek in Fairmont Park. I got some GREAT shots, which I have uploaded into my photo section. The sunlight was perfect. As I was returning to campus, I saw a colleague trying to decide if he had time to take a quick walk and I told him what a perfect day it was, and what was going to rot if he wasn’t back for another 20 minutes? I convinced him, and off he went. Hehehe! I’m doing the photo-shoot-in-the-park AD again when the leaves change.

3. Did you experience any synchronicity this week? What was it.

Yes. Honestly, I doubted there would be any, because I see most synchronicity as a result of reading and communicating (via email, blogs, etc.) with others. None of that this week! However, I was on the phone with a friend while my son was playing soccer on Saturday and learned that we are planning practically the same summer vacation for next year, and now we’re thinking of going – both families – together. The more we’ve talked about it, the more we’re realizing that this could really work well. (Including the part where I go off on my own for a pagan pilgrimage, leaving my family to fend for itself.)

Secondly, I rented a movie for Tuesday night called Fight Club. After all of the memorials for 11 Sep 01 just the day before, I found it ironic (if not significantly serendipitous) to be watching this movie.

And, early in the week a friend told me (enthusiastically) about his discovery of the Mahler “Das Lied von der Erde” but I completely forgot about it until Wednesday when I was looking at work for a CD to listen to, the Beethoven 3^rd Symphony. I couldn’t find the CD anywhere; it was missing. I tried looking on line. None of the links to listen would work. NONE of them. ARGH! So I went again to try and find the missing CD, and instead I found Das Lied von der Erde. I listened to it all day Thursday (having had my Beethoven fix Wednesday night at home).

4. Were there any other issues this week that you consider significant for your recovery/discovery? Describe them.

Yes, but I’m choosing to let them remain private.

Week Five â€“ Recovering a Sense of Possibility

Sun, 17 Sep 2006 00:26:02 -0000

This week, Julia Cameron says, is the week for seeing the consequences of settling for “looking good” rather than “being authentic.” Also, this may be the week to stop blaming others for a lack of personal growth, and owning up to the fact that growth is possible, even likely.

Does it still feel stupid and unrealistic to scheme for that really big dream? Not wanting to look foolish in front of others is a huge roadblock on the way to realizing your goals.

In this chapter, we are asked to look deeper at the phenomena of synchronicity in daily life. She says many people think of this as the “magic wand” chapter. “I pray and presto!” But actually, it’s more like being in partnership with the universe in making things happen. She says, “In other words, pray to catch the bus, and then run as fast as you can.”

Much of what is said in this chapter goes in concert with what I saw in the Secret and in part of What the Bleep. Remember when someone talked about imagining – during a morning shower – what the day was going to be like? Seeing yourself achieving something, or remembering something, or finding something, and then later in the day it happens, just the way it was imagined. I’ve heard of athletes doing this, too. Visualizing the desired outcome, and then making it happen. During lucid dreaming exercises, the same thing happens. Before sleep, imagine what you would like to have resolved, and in the morning, many ideas flood into your head.

JC suggests a similar exercise for this week’s morning pages. Before bed, write down problems that need solutions. In the morning, write about them and see the answers appear that weren’t there before. JC says, “Ask for answers in the evening; listen for answers in the morning. Be open to all help.”

She also asks quite bluntly: “If this still sounds airy fairy to you, ask yourself bluntly what next step you are evading. What dream you are discounting as impossible given your resources? What payoff are you getting for remaining stuck at this point in your expansion?”

And then there is the Virtue Trap. I’ll try to write more on that later this week!

Week Five â€“ Tasks

Sun, 17 Sep 2006 00:41:39 -0000

Here are the Tasks for this week:

1.The reason I can’t really believe in a supportive God/Universe is…. (List five.)

2. Starting an Image File: If had either faith or money, I would try…. (List five.)For this week, be on the look out for images of these desires. When you spot them, collect them in some way and begin a file of dreams that speak to you. Keep adding to it for the rest of this course.

Also, add images to the file of #'s 3, 4 & 5:

3. Once again, list five imaginary lives. Are you doing more parts of them? (Have they changed?)

4. If I were twenty and had money…. (List five.)

5. If I were 65 and had money…. List five postponed pleasures. (JC says this is very powerful… she now lives in the house she imagined for 10 years.)

6. Ten ways I am mean to myself are …. Just as making the positive explicit helps to all it into our lives, making the negative explicit helps us to exorcise it.

7. Ten items I would like to own that I don’t are …. (Add images to the file)

8. Honestly, my favorite creative block is… TV, overreading, friends, work, rescuing others, overexercise, whatever it is. Whether or not you can draw, please cartoon yourself indulging in it.

For exploration in this week’s morning pages:

9. My payoff for staying blocked is….

10. The person I blame for being blocked is…..

Week Five -- Check-In

Thu, 21 Sep 2006 18:59:15 -0000

Each week wel answer the following questions, either for ourselves, in our morning pages or (AND/or!) here in discussion with others supporting your journey.

1. How many days this week did you do your morning pages? Are you starting to like them -- at all? How was the experience for you? Have you discovered the page-and-a-half truth point yet? Many of us find that pay dirt in our writing occurs after a page and a half of vamping.

2. Did you do your artist date this week? Have you had the experience of hearing answers during this leisure time? What did you do for your date? How did it feel? Have you taken an artist date yet that really felt adventurous?

3. Did you experience any synchronicity this week? What was it? Try inaugurating a conversation on synchronicity with your friends.

4. Were there any other issues this week that you consider significant for your recovery? Describe them.

Re: Week Five -- Check-In

Thu, 21 Sep 2006 19:06:49 -0000

1. I do my morning pages every single day. If I mess up and don't have enough time first thing, I finish them at lunch. One day this week I dropped the ball and stopped after a couple of pages and then forgot to go back & finish!

Yes, my first day for the page-and-a-half truth point was last Wednesday, the day after my AD in the park taking pictures. I cheated and looked back to find the first time it happened. I believe it has happened a total of four times so far. It is very revealing and most of the time a wonderful "ah-ha." But it's not always pleasant.

2. Yes, I had several, in fact! I'm finding it easier to discover opportunities for Artist Dates.

3. Yes, and I have already discussed it with my quilting friends. It's actually now part of our "agenda" when we get together. It's easy to talk about because everyone loves the feeling.

4. Plenty, but I always keep those private. : )

Week Six -- Recovering a Sense of Abundance

Sun, 24 Sep 2006 17:39:42 -0000

This week's theme gets deeper into aspects of God, however you perceive her. ; ) and the way we think about money and supporting ourselves.

We are to rethink our attitude about money and the financial reasons we choose one job (corporate) over another (artistic). JC suggests that a serious block is that the "need" for a high-paying job to pay the bills, feed, and clothe ourselves, is the only way to keep from being destitiute.

[Here, for my own sake, I'm going to switch over from "God" to "the universe," to continue this line of thinking, because it just makes more sense to me!]

The idea that our will for ourselves is different from what the universe can (and is willing) to give us, is what is at issue here. Believing that art, beauty, creativity is frivolous and non-essential is counter to what you see when you look around yourself. If it weren't such a high priority in the universe, then why is all of that beauty and wonder everywhere around us?

You have noticed by now all of the synchronicity in life, right? Last week we asked at night for something we needed tomorrow, and then wrote some answers in the morning pages the next day. On the way to work, we can visualize a parking place right where we want it, and it's there! (Or a parking meter that is already plugged!) The universe is listening and loves to give us what we ask for. We just have to be willing to ask, and then to receive.

So, We are asked to write in our morning pages this week about "the god you do believe in and the god you would like to believe in." She is trying to get us outside of the ideas of god we've brought with us from childhood, for example the stern father figure. She wants us to question why we would think a god would want us to suffer and not do what we love: "A terrible job must be building moral fiber." She says to instead look around! See how creative the world is. "Snowflakes... are the ultimate exercise in sheer creative glee.... This creator looks suspiciously like someone who just might send us support for our creative ventures."

This week we are also to pamper ourselves. Splurge! Not on material goods, necessarily, but on things that bring you joy and that feed your artist self. Don't call this stuff frivolous! It is necessary for us to feel we deserve this. Once we see that we do, our attitude will attract more abundance. If you see yourself as Cinderella, remember that the second half of the story is great! Give yourself the glass slipper.

Note: JC cautions that, "Much of what we do in creative recovery may seem silly. Silly is a defense our Wet Blanket adult uses to squelch our artist child. Beware of silly as a word you toss at yourself. Yes, artists dates are silly -- that's the whole point."

Re: Week Six -- Recovering a Sense of Abundance

Sun, 24 Sep 2006 17:44:29 -0000

The Counting Exercise is part of learning creative luxury.

This week (and continuing for a month, if you like), we are to keep track of all the money we spend... on whatever. It doesn't matter how small it is. Keep a little notebook and track your purchases, cab rides, even loans to others. The point is to see how our spending differs from our values. We blow cash on things that mean little to us, and then deny ourselves things & experiences we would cherish if we had them.

Re: Week Six -- Recovering a Sense of Abundance

Sun, 24 Sep 2006 17:56:36 -0000

Week Six Tasks...

1. Natural Abundance: Find five pretty or interesting rocks. If you keep them on your desk or in your pockets, you will be reminded often of your creative consciousness.

2. Natural Abundance: Pick five flowers or leaves. Take yourself back to the creative play of kindergarten and press them in a book!

3. Clearing: Throw out or give away five ratty pieces of clothing. (I got rid of a LOT during reading deprivation week, but I haven't pulled out the winter stuff yet... maybe this is the week!)

4. Creation: Bake something. Creativity in the kitchen comes in more forms than the actual food prepared. I love to cook when I need ideas. They come naturally while mixing, stirring, and kneading.

5. Communication: Send postcards to five friends. Send to people you would LOVE to hear from.

7. (My book has no #6 this week!) Reread the Basic Principles (see p. 3) once daily. Read an artist's prayer (yours or hers on p. 207-208) once daily.

8. Clearing: Any new changes in your home environment? Make some. (Okay! 'Tis the season for removing outdoor furniture and converting our screen porch back to the covered winter wood-stack. How about you?)

9. Acceptance: Any new flow in your life? Practice saying "yes" to freebies.

10. Prosperity: Any changes in your financial situation or your perspective on it? Any new -- even crazy -- ideas about what you would love doing? Pull images around this and add to your image file.

Re: Week Six -- Recovering a Sense of Abundance

Sun, 24 Sep 2006 18:05:13 -0000

After this week, we're half way!

At the mid-point in tAW, I have so far faithfully kept this outline going for anyone who is following along. Even without someone else here with whom to discuss progress through this course, it has been extremely helpful for me to have this place beckoning me to come and be accountable!

So, thank you again DG, for allowing some space here on your pod for this course! It's really made all the difference for me.

Week 7

Wed, 04 Oct 2006 19:41:31 -0000

I've been out of town and then very busy at work, so I didn't not post my week 6 check-in, or anything about Week 7! I've just done it all on paper. I'll start again with week 8 next week.

Weeks 8 through 12 (LOL!)

Mon, 06 Nov 2006 16:54:56 -0000

Well, many apologies for not continuing. I believe I stopped right at the point where I debated whether or not to continue, and thought I had decided to continue! Oh, well. Life got in the way. I really wanted to continue The Artist's Way and I was coming up so short on time that coming here and posting was putting a kink in the process. The lack of any interaction also pushed me to continue on, on my own, rather than come here and type in everything I had already processed on paper for myself.

That said, let me rave about this program and say that you get out of it what you put into it. When you see a little progress, the rush to continue is very exhilarating and as you continue, more and more revelations about yourself and your work and why you do things the way you do them will be shown to you.

I believe that now the Morning Pages and the Artist Dates will be a part of my life for evermore. I just can't imagine not having them. It is truly a way for my younger self to hear how much I love her!

Week eight was the turning point for me. It is the one in which so many ah-has! came to me. But then weeks nine & ten were like pulling teeth for me. I'm sure the chapters we struggle with are as unique as we are as individuals.

I know, from looking all over the web at various discussion boards focused on The Artist's Way, that many, many people fall off in just the first four or five weeks. I know I owned this book for 10 years before I read more than the introduction. But once it is time for you, you will embrace it and it will really take you places.

Best wishes!
Diane

Re: Weeks 8 through 12 (LOL!)

Tue, 07 Nov 2006 05:03:08 -0000

Hi Diane,

I believe everyone here appreciate all that you have put into this. Just as life have gotten in the way regardless of your initial decision, life would get out of the way in due time... keep things open & who knows, you might just be inspired to post something soon, whenever that may be :-)

Best Wishes,
Alex Chua

Re: Weeks 8 through 12 (LOL!)

Fri, 10 Nov 2006 20:43:08 -0000

Very true! Even though I decided to finish the 12 weeks on my own, away from Zaadz, it doesn't mean I won't be back to post something later. As I said, this isn't really something that ever ends!

In fact, I'll bable some more right now, and you'll have to forgive me that this is a copy/paste from by blog...

You know how most “self-help” books are a good read and oh-so inspirational while you’re reading them, but then when you put the thing down “real life” interferes and in the end the book wasn’t all that effective in changing anything for you? (Can you tell I’m a bit jaded? From parenting books, to “start your own business” books, to “dealing with difficult people books,” I’ve sort of had some experience here!) Most self-help books are like most cook-books. They assume too much and they ask you to find ingredients that don’t exist in any market you frequent. Well I will tell you that Julia Cameron has hit upon something. There is a difference in her method.

The difference is that all throughout the book, you are incorporating the wisdom into your life, and it really is YOUR life. Not some life the author assumes you are having. As the weeks go by, you read something and then think, “Wow, how did she know?” Or something happens to you, and then you go read the next week’s stuff and there she is talking about that very thing happening “soon.” It’s magic. And at the end, if nothing else, at least you take these three things away with you for life: Morning pages (dumping your mind onto the page every morning), the Artist Date (taking yourself – and only yourself – out for an artistic adventure at least once a week), and the daily 20 minute walk.

So, of all the so-called “self-help” books I’ve read over the years while working at bookstores and the library, The Artist’s Way is only the third that I can ever remember recommending to anyone. The first was “Wishcraft: How to get What You Really Want” by Barbara Sher, and the second was Your Baby & Child by Penelope Leach (a parenting manual refreshingly told from the point of view of the baby).

And I’ll tell you, if you’re like me, you may already have a copy of this book on your shelf! Mine sat for TEN YEARS until Awen finally gave me the nudge I needed to dust the thing off and give it a try. I’m really glad I finally did.

Cheers! I hope you get as much out of it as I did.