Speaker A [00:00:00]:
Hello, gorgeous souls, and welcome to this episode where I want to talk with you about Julia Cameron and the artist's way and how this book really changed my life. And I don't think I'm alone in that. I think many people would say this book changed their life. So I really like to pay respect to a lot of the teachers and people and books and ideas that really have transformed me. Because if you take me back to my twenty? S, I was not a happy person. And I was certainly not in my power creatively or in any other way. For that matter of fact, for some reason, in my teenage years, I became very influenced by very nihilistic views on life. And I thought that I wasn't talented enough and that it was so hard anyway and that I could never write anything or do anything of worth or value.
Speaker A [00:00:51]:
I didn't have much self esteem at all. And the truth was, in my heart of hearts, I really wanted to write. That was always something that just called to me and it was a deep desire. And in my early twenty s, I became obsessed with cinema. And I really wanted to write a screenplay, but I just also felt like I was a waste of space and that I couldn't do it. That I wasn't good enough, that I wasn't smart enough, that I wasn't funny enough, that I wasn't witty enough. I couldn't put words together very well, that there was something wrong with me. And so I didn't do it.
Speaker A [00:01:25]:
So for years, I just did not write at all. Now, if you have ever felt the calling to create and not created, if you've ever been blocked as an artist, then you'll know it's not a nice place to be. I think it is inevitable that if you feel the calling to create and you thwart it, you block it. You don't let it out of you. You will tend to engage in other types of behavior that aren't good, that don't serve you. So, for me, I was binge drinking a lot. I was taking recreational drugs. I was caught in these cycles of partying at the weekends and feeling terrible for most of the week, and then doing it again the next weekend and not really nourishing myself or honoring my desires to create.
Speaker A [00:02:14]:
What changed this for me, and I can honestly say this, it's two things. One, I discovered yoga, and that definitely created massive shifts in my ideas of who I could be and what was possible for me. But at the same time, I also read this book by Julia Cameron called the Artist way. And I think many of you will be familiar with this book. It's basically a twelve step program for blocked artists. So if you are somebody who is not creating, but desires to create. Julia Cameron designed this as a twelve step program to recondition ourselves to be fertile artists. And really, she comes from this view that our natural state is to be creative, that creativity is about letting something come through us.
Speaker A [00:03:08]:
And a lot of people I know pick up the book, and they get turned off because she mentions God, and she'll talk about God and the ideas coming from God and through God, and people go, oh, my gosh. Well, I'm an atheist, so I can't do this. But I always say to anyone who is considering looking at this book, set aside that word. If you prefer to call it the universe or source or whatever it is that suits your belief system, call it that, because to throw it away quite simply because you cannot agree with the idea of God is a real shame. There's so much wisdom and so much wealth to be had out of this book. So the first time that I actually went through the artist's way, I was probably 28 or 29 years old. And I say I was desperate. I really wanted to write.
Speaker A [00:03:57]:
I really wanted to be an artist. I wanted to be a creative person, but I really felt so blocked. And so when this book came into my hands, and to be honest, I don't really remember how it came into my hands. I don't really remember who told me about it or any of that stuff. All I know is I purchased a copy of this book, and I started doing it, and I really committed to it. Like, I wasn't taking this halfheartedly. I wasn't just reading it and not doing the things. I was literally doing everything she told me to do.
Speaker A [00:04:32]:
So one of the first things that Julia Cameron suggests for you in this book is that you should commit to morning pages. And she says, basically, write three pages every morning when you first wake up, as soon as possible. After you wake up, just sit down and write three pages. And this became absolutely my religion. I was just like, okay, every day I'm writing my three pages, and she says, it doesn't matter what you write about. It doesn't matter what you say. The important thing is you just write three pages every single morning. And I went, okay, if she tells me to do that, I'm going to do that, and I did it.
Speaker A [00:05:09]:
She also tells you that every single week, you must take yourself on an artist's date. And she talks about the importance of this, that we need to allow space into our lives for just the things that light us up, for the things that make us feel alive. And so she recommends this idea of the artist date. And it's just time that you create for yourself every single week where you do something that just nourishes the artist in you. And it doesn't need to be anything expensive, and it doesn't need to be a big deal. It might be a walk in the forest. It might be a couple of hours in a bookstore. It might be going to an art gallery or going to a concert or going to a movie.
Speaker A [00:05:47]:
It might be taking time to go into an art shop and buying some new supplies. It could be anything. Could be just going a coffee shop with your notebook, with your journal, and taking time for that, but creating that space every single week and making it something that's really honored in your life. So artist date, morning pages, then? Those are the basic practices as I remember. I just like to say, I am talking to you about this, and it's literally 30 years since I did this. 30 years. Can it be 30 years? Get out of here. No, it's not as much as that.
Speaker A [00:06:22]:
I'm going to say it was 25 years since I did it. So 25 years since I did it. The first time, I actually did it twice, I'm going to tell you. So the first time I committed to doing it, and I did all the things I was doing, the artist date, I was doing my morning pages religiously. And I also followed her instructions at the end of each chapter. And as I say, it's a twelve step program and it's designed that you do one step each week for twelve weeks. That's the program, and I started it. She says near the beginning, at the end of each chapter, there are a series of assignments, exercises, journal prompts, things to do.
Speaker A [00:06:58]:
And she says, you don't have to do them all, but do as many as you can and also do the ones that you really want to do, but also do the ones that you really feel a resistance to doing, because that's often where the goal is. And as I say, I was all in because I was desperate. I really wanted to break this block that I had about creating. So I went all in and I started doing the things. Now, these exercises, and this is all just from my memory, and I'm talking about 25 years ago, but it's as fresh now as it was as if it was yesterday. And that really speaks of the impact that this book had on me. So one of the things that I really remember was that early on in the process, she talked about just, what do you love to do? What makes you happy? And here I was around 28 years old, 29 years old, something like that. And I'd never really thought about that.
Speaker A [00:07:50]:
And I didn't really prioritize that in my life. And I can remember sitting, writing my list, like, 25 things that you just like to do. And then she's like, pick one. Do it. Things that you love to do as a child that you haven't done for a long time, do it. And it was this reawakening for me, this coming back to life. And I think so many of us, this is what happens to us. We are all artists when we're children.
Speaker A [00:08:14]:
We're all creative, we're all in joy, we're all in freedom, and we're in this bliss. But very soon, we start to put barriers up against it. We start to feel like, oh, that's frivolous, that's unnecessary, that we don't have time for that. It's not practical. It's too expensive, it's too absurd, it's too ridiculous. It doesn't make sense. And we start to narrow down our lives. I remember very clearly something that she said was, for instance, if you really enjoy raspberries and you tell yourself, don't buy the raspberries because they're $5, and you're worried about spending that extra $5, but it says, really? Like, what about if you just buy them once a month or something and really let yourself enjoy them? Or the bunch of flowers that, sure, you can live without it, but if it really lights up your soul and makes you so happy to have a bunch of flowers on your desk, why not get it and spoil yourself and make yourself feel happy and light yourself up? I really remember that this book just woke something up in me about walking to my own beat, about honoring who I was, honoring what I loved in life, and starting to celebrate those things and starting to immerse myself in those things and allow them into my life.
Speaker A [00:09:30]:
Now, you might be wondering, did reading this book actually help me break through as an artist? So I'm going to be honest. The first time that I read it, I did not actually break through my blocks as a wannabe screenwriter at that point. It didn't happen. What did happen was it reignited me as a living human being. Like, I got my mojo back by doing that program. And as I say, when I did it, I think I was feeling pretty drained. I was feeling like I had messed up my life. I felt like, I had made a lot of bad decisions and that my life was irrevocably.
Speaker A [00:10:12]:
Irrevocably. How do you say that? Ruined that. I just had made poor choices, and here I was at the age of 28 or 29, and I felt like I was on a bad path. And so reading this book actually just woke me up to feeling alive again and feeling like everything was possible and feeling like I could live my dreams. And what it did result in very quickly was I moved from Edinburgh, Scotland, to Barcelona, Spain. So the book didn't help me write my screenplay at that point. The program didn't help me write the screenplay, but it did help me change my life in very profound ways because I recognized, oh, my gosh, what I really love is being in the sun. What I really love is swimming in the sea and being on the beach.
Speaker A [00:11:02]:
What I really love is that mediterranean lifestyle. And it woke me up to that and made me think, what am I doing here living up in Scotland, when that's what I really desire? And that's what really makes me happy and that's what lights me up. And so within months of completing the artist's way, I upped my life and moved to Barcelona, Spain, and just took that leap of faith. One of the things that I got, one of the quotes that I got from that book is the one that I'm sure you've heard, leap and the net will appear. And I typed it up at that point and printed it on a piece of paper and posted it above my desk. And it was definitely the driving force behind my move from Edinburgh, Scotland, to Barcelona, Spain. I was like, I'm just doing this. Some other things that I did were I got my motorcycle license.
Speaker A [00:11:48]:
I remember because of the artist's way, I was like, I'm going to learn how to ride a motorbike. What if I learned to do this? What if I learned to do that and I got my big bike license? I was pretty proud about that. I did all kinds of things as a result of it, but it didn't actually help me to write my screenplay, which is kind of funny. But to be honest, I did start writing my screenplay a couple of years later. And I feel like the foundation for me being able to break through as a creative person, to find my voice as a screenwriter. The foundation of that was the work that I did there, the work where I started to flick that switch from being somebody who felt like I couldn't do the thing to somebody who could and who deserved it and who was worthy of it. And there's no question to me that it just created that shift. Now, I do remember that I did it a second time.
Speaker A [00:12:40]:
Now, I didn't do it the whole way through the second time, but I did go back to it. I circled back to it. And when I went back to it the second time, it really did help me get going as a screenwriter. Being an artist takes an enormous amount of courage. It takes an enormous amount of self belief and self esteem. We have to believe that we are worthy, that what we have to say is worthy. That even if we say it imperfectly, that it has value. And that it's okay for us to be heard.
Speaker A [00:13:16]:
It's okay for us to put words down on a page or put paint on a canvas or whatever it is for you. And I know for myself, that was the most important thing that needed to happen in order for me to write my screenplay. The reason that I was blocked was not because I didn't know how to do it. The reason that I was blocked wasn't because I didn't have time to do it. The reason that I was blocked for so many years was quite simply because I didn't believe that I was worthy of doing it, that I didn't believe that I could do something worthy. I think a lot of artists, we have very high standards. We come to art with this great appreciation of it, and we love great art, and we love certain artists. And we have them up on these pedestals, and we can't help feeling like, if I'm not going to be as good as that, then what's the point? I don't want to be some fifth rate, terrible artist, right? Like, if I can't be really good at it, then what's the point? And actually, those people are really good at it.
Speaker A [00:14:17]:
They've already got it covered. Why should I even bother? But the truth is, obviously, first of all, we're never going to get good at it unless we actually do it. And we won't do it until we just accept that we're worthy no matter what. That it doesn't matter if our work isn't the most amazing stuff to start with or any point. What matters is that we sing the song we're here to sing, that we make the music we're here to make, that we create what we are here to create, that we let that flow through us without our ego getting in our way. And I think these were all things that I started to learn from Julia Cameron and the artist's way. I can't say that I immediately embodied them or immediately got them on the deepest level. It was a long journey.
Speaker A [00:15:05]:
I guess it had taken 28 years for me to get as bunched up as I was when I came to the book. So it's not surprising that it took a few years for me to really unravel what was holding me back. So if you are a creative person and if you feel blocked, if you feel like it's too late or you feel like you're not good enough, or you feel like you're not enough in some way, and those beliefs are holding you back as an artist, I wholeheartedly recommend diving into Julia Cameron's the artist's way. There is so much wisdom in that book. There's so much fun in that book. There's so much life and joy in that book. The book will change your life, I tell you honestly. But in order for it to change your life, you have to actually do it.
Speaker A [00:15:57]:
And I always say this to everybody. Everybody you have given a copy of this book to. I say it's not enough to read it. It's not about reading it. This is a book you have to do. You have to actually do the morning pages. You have to do the artist date. You have to actually do the exercises.
Speaker A [00:16:11]:
And if you do them, if you show up, I guarantee you your life will be blown apart in the most amazing and beautiful ways. I am so grateful to Julia Cameron for sharing this work. Really, I cannot ever express to that beautiful, incredible woman how grateful I am and how much it changed my life. And I'm sure how much it's changed the life of thousands, if not millions of people around the world. We are here to create. We are here to be artists. We are here to channel whatever it is that is coming through us. And it's all our doubt and fear that blocks that up.
Speaker A [00:16:49]:
It's our wounds. It's our disappointments. It's our regrets. It's our guilt. It's our shame. All that stuff that blocks it and stops us from living our full potential, stops us from living our creative dream life. But we can do that work of healing it. And Julia Cameron's artist's way is a great way to start.
Speaker A [00:17:09]:
I hope this has been helpful for you. I would love to hear if you have done the artist's way or read it and how it affected your life. So if you would like to please screenshot this and share it on Instagram and tell us about your experience with the artist's way, I would really love to hear it. As always, you can reach me at either at aim from the heart one or at shoot from the heart one. Thank you so much for being here. I love you so much. Take care and have a great weekend.
