The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity

Rediscovering the Inner Child and Artist

Lately I’ve been feeling blocked. It’s not that I don’t have ideas about what to explore or play with but rather that I’m overwhelmed with choice because of an insatiable curiosity; and also cursed with a vicious inner critic.

I don’t think I’ve ever met an artist, writer or musician who despite their genuine talent is plagued from time to time with doubt and insecurity. It doesn’t help that we are constantly bombarded with information and news of everyone else’s activities and achievements, only to be left wondering if we can truly achieve our dreams or stay relevant as the world continues to speed up. This is probably why during a meditation session The Artist’s Way, a book that has long been forgotten on my bookshelf came to mind as I asked myself, what is my authentic artistic voice?

As a child I rarely remember being asked what I thought about things. The old adage ‘children are seen and not heard’ was planted in my subconscious. According to Julia Cameron, the author of The Artist’s Way, the inner artist is a child and wants to play. Well of course she does! I realized that I had become a lot more serious since having children. Every action was now attached to the responsibility of being a mother and wife and the expectations that come with these titles. Should, had become a word that tasted sour on my tongue every time it was uttered. Nowadays I find myself reminiscing about how much I used to love fashion, playing dress up, creating characters with my appearance. Leggings and t-shirts have become the daily uniform my younger self had sworn off. Truth is, leggings and t-shirts are comfortable and convenient when you’re doing school runs and chasing after a toddler, but The Artist’s Way was confirmation that I knew I had to do more for my inner child to feel free to take risks again.

Every blade of grass has its Angel that bends over it and whispers, “Grow, grow.”

The Talmud

The Artist’s Way is a 12 week course that seeks to unblock spiritual locks holding your artistic inner child hostage. The aim is to open ourselves up to the universal creative energy (God) so that we can create with more flow and freedom. As children we have less responsibilities than adults and so less apparent consequences for our actions. I believe this is one reason we become stiffened as adults, fearful about exploring new territory and trying unusual things. The risks are too high and yet, the potential for greater rewards are also increased. It is so easy for us to forget that life itself is unpredictable. That our plans may be thwarted. That any moment could be our last. The Artist’s Way encourages us to open up to the possibilities of our creative selves, to become closer to God, the ultimate creator who made us in its image, and in doing so fully accept ourselves as creative beings. Cameron lists 10 basic principles that are to be the foundation on your creative journey throughout the course. Here are a couple that really stood out to me:

Our creative dreams and yearnings come from a divine source. As we move toward our dreams, we move toward our divinity.

When we open ourselves to exploring our creativity, we open ourselves to God: good orderly direction

Besides the basic principles, there are basic tools that you are required to use throughout the course – Morning Pages and The Artist Date. Morning pages are 3 pages of stream of consciousness handwriting you do first thing every morning to release any mental or spiritual clutter. She doesn’t specify the size of the pages so I’ve decided an A5 notebook is good enough. Artist dates are activities you must do alone once a week (that is, don’t bring someone along for support or entertainment) in order to fill up your well of creative juices. It doesn’t have to be anything particularly artistic either. Just something that you enjoy or find interesting. When I first attempted completing The Artist’s Way I was gung-ho about the Artist Dates but in the long run found these harder to commit to than the Morning Pages. Maybe it was because it seemed to require so much effort to arrange, but staying home and watching a foreign film could be considered a date providing you do it alone and without any predetermined outcome. Each week of the course has a theme followed by exercises to uncover and affirm your creative self.

This course promises to open you up to your Higher Self, to become more aware of the synchronicities in life that support your creative endeavors, to become more connected to the divine. I’m keeping an open mind. As I follow this path to higher creativity I will share my insights and discoveries over the 12 weeks. I hope that you will find inspiration to embark on your own journey too.

The position of the artist is humble. He is essentially a channel.

Piet Mondrian

Images courtesy of Stephen Leonardi, Unsplash; Cherone Bellinfantie