It was probably 25 years ago that I was introduced to Morning Pages. The short story is that 4 of us decided to read the book The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron and share the journey. We had a 'round robin' package that went from MA to FL to TX to WA. It included photos of our work (polymer clay), tales of workshops taken or given and what we had learned from the week's 'assignments' from the book.My favorite take-away was and continues to be Morning Pages. |
I remember being at a retreat is Austin, TX with friends, the four of us sharing a suite. In order not to miss a day I sat in the early morning hours, while the others slept, in the bath tub, pillow propped behind me, settled in for my half hour write.
The basis of morning pages is to HAND write 3 pages, preferably the first thing in the morning; for me that means about first light. There is no wrong way to do morning pages. Well… actually… hand written is preferred.The physical act of writing sweeps away anxiety. It takes longer to write by hand, and this slowness seems to help connect you to your emotional life. When you write Morning Pages on a computer (SOOooo much faster) you become emotionally detached from the act. With a computer you can easily and quickly go back and 'fix' mistakes. Speed in this instance becomes your enemy rather than your friend.
I can't explain it, but the results are amazing. In the years since my initial 11 year stint, I have many times decided a problem needing solving and I hadn't found a solution. I go to the grocery store, buy a college rule notebook and start Morning Pages. I make a pact with myself to write through an entire notebook before I decide if I want to do more. Generally I find peace along the the way.
I bought a notebook the other day and I am on the journey of surprise and truth and peace.
note:
You can google Morning Pages to get the blow by blow (even a YouTube video), but here is the basic recipe. Hand write 3 pages every morning, stream of conscious. Do NOT let your pen stop, keep writing…. keep writing…. keep writing, even if you have a moment of block. Do not check on spelling or make grammatical correction, just write. Stuck? You could write 'keep writing' or 'my windows need washing' or 'I have a lot on my plate today and I think I will start with…' You write until you get to the bottom of the third page. Somehow your unconscious blurts out things you didn't even know you were pondering. Honestly…rather magical and heartening.
Happy writing!