Writing Morning Pages has been the single habit that has treaded through so many of the most dynamic years of my life.
For many many years without much interruption I used the practice of free-writing three pages in a journal as a start to my days. They are called Morning Pages.
It’s an exercise from The Artist’s Way book by Julia Cameron.
Sometimes I did it when I didn’t feel like it and many mornings I found it the one thing I craved the most.
Julia Cameron describes the pages as a lifelong habit for many, a sense of pace-setting and renewal, opening up your mind and heart as you scrawl onto a page quickly whatever comes to mind without giving it much thought.
My pages would look like scribbles at times and like a manuscript at others. It seemed like they mirrored the moment and what was being sorted out in my mind.
Then, I became more full of creative projects, more full of things to do, and more abundance of outlets for self-expression make the pages less frequent until they sort of faded out for the last year or two.
I haven’t ever been without these pages for this long since I started writing them, and it’s a curious thing to see how they’re calling me back.
When I started writing Morning Pages over 17 years ago I had the intention of creating more purpose, artistry and flow in my life, and they were a tool to help steer me there step-by-step.
Their gradual fade out over the last few years didn’t concern me at all. A decade an a half is a long time for any practice, you know? And, while I’m not concerned that I missed out on a lot by not doing them, I’m very curious why they’re now beckoning me.
I do really crave the creative introspection. These pages helped me to look inside without getting lost in my thoughts, pouring insights onto paper that would have otherwise not seen the light of day had I tried to think hard about them.
The flow of writing in this personal way is something I miss for my dharma– or intended vocation. I don’t know if I ever even write these words on this blog but I intended to be a writer. A novelist. My childhood heroes were Toni Morrison and Joyce Carol Oates. I still do have that intention, though it’s been put on a very high shelf while my writing has taken many forms from the blog to articles to Instagram that I love dearly.
Something tells me these pages have messages for me. After two tumultuous years globally, there’s so much I haven’t looked at in terms of my own imagination.
Downloads from the Universe and insight that’s borne of instinct and spontaneous action come to me as I write these pages.
Writing these pages has brought a lot of synchronicity to my life. Things flow more freely throughout the day after writing these pages, I’m more open to fresh ideas and my mind feels more agile and clear.
These pages also create a rhythm in life, a fifteen minute pause for self-care that’s uniquely my own and unlike anything else I’ve ever tried.
So, I’m headed back to writing Morning Pages.
I’m ready to sit down many mornings with nothing at all to say as I write these pages, many days where the page looks like a blur of incomprehensible fast-paced cursive “chicken scratch” and those choice days where I write amazing things that are perfectly legible. (*Ive gained equally from all three kinds of Morning Pages in the past!)
And, if you want to join me, you can start the day free-writing just three full pages in a notebook of any kind. I strongly recommend you read The Artist’s Way to take this practice to the next level, but the elemental simplicity of handwriting three pages every morning is a place just about anyone can start.
In the sprit of following bliss and the pull of things that feel magnetic, I am answering this simple call to Morning Pages again. I can’t wait to see what get’s uncovered, and I’d love to hear what you find on the pages in you decide to do it, too!
xoxo
Dana
P.S.: This season, there’s an eight-week online Feng Shui Camp coming soon to organize and energize your home and life to create breakthroughs: The Breakthrough Camp!
It’s Feng Shui to align your energy (your chakras) and your home so that you can manifest more of what you want on a higher level with greater ease!
If you’re ready for breakthroughs, they’re ready for you!
xoxo!!!
0 Comments