Surprise! The Artist’s Way is as life-changing as they say.
Morning pages! Artist's dates! A spiritual reckoning! A creative revolution!
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For years, it hovered on the periphery. I saw it on social media. Read about it in newsletters. Watched friends sign up for dedicated groups. Listened, slightly skeptical, as everyone raved about it. And then, a few weeks ago, I decided resistance is futile. It was time to try it for myself.
I’m now four weeks in, and I’m here to inform you that everyone is right: The Artist’s Way is truly transformative.
For the uninitiated, The Artist’s Way is a 12-week program designed to help you unlock and unblock your inner artist. It feels a bit like a creative boot camp with two main drills: daily Morning Pages (three sheets of unfiltered, anything-goes journaling, written by hand as soon as you wake up) and weekly Artist’s Dates (solo adventures during which you romance the artist within). Author Julia Cameron is the drill sergeant; even if you don’t agree with everything she says, you can’t help but listen.
The most important tool is the book; you read a chapter at the start of each week, which sets the stage for the next seven days—the themes you’ll explore, the challenges you may face, the exercises you can complete to deepen your experience. The subtitle of The Artist’s Way is “a spiritual path to higher creativity,” and while I’m definitely not religious, I believe in holy moments. Since starting this journey, I’ve felt them more and more. Coincidence? Not according to Julia Cameron.
The best part by far has been the profound practice of Morning Pages. At first, I worried I wouldn’t have enough material to fill three pages every day, but I forgot I’m an egomaniac who loves an excuse to yap about herself! (Kidding, kind of.) But Morning Pages are more than a stream-of-consciousness barrage. They’re meant to empty your brain of all the junk constantly swirling around, in order to make room for better thoughts and more interesting ideas—and it’s working. Journaling! Who knew?!
An added bonus: Morning Pages also keep me from looking at email or Instagram or NPR upon waking, forcing me to sit with myself before the rest of the world barges in. This has been a wonderful new routine, especially considering the state of the world. (Also, this discovery occurred the same time I learned about monk mode—another coincidence!)
All this has led me to wonder why I’m doing The Artist’s Way now. What made it leap from the periphery to center stage? What transformed me from slight skeptic into total convert?
I often joke about being an egomaniac. What I really mean is that my ego is precious to me, my sense of self so strong it sometimes gets in the way. Because I’m comfortable with the status quo, I tend to avoid things that might change me—conflict, challenge, risk. Sometimes, growth looks like moving away from who you are, and I don’t want to lose myself.
But growth can also mean becoming a better version of yourself—more thoughtful, more creative, more present. It can mean letting go of the stories that aren’t serving you, and discarding the ideas about success you still cling to. It can mean becoming more you than you ever thought possible.
I’m doing The Artist’s Way now because I’m ready to change, ready to grow. Ready to see what happens when I untether myself from the past and open myself to the future. I don’t know what that future will look like, what shape my creative life will take, or who I’ll end up becoming. All I know for sure is that I can’t wait to meet her. 💛
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👋 About Me: I’m Chrissy Hennessey, an enthusiastic snacker and native New Yorker living in coastal North Carolina, where I stayed after earning my MFA. My writing has appeared in a decent number of journals, I’ve received fellowships to some fancy residencies, and I’ve written three novels, all currently unpublished. This newsletter is a passion project I started in 2019 as a way to connect with readers and writers, share my creative journey, and build a community. Thank you for being here!
This is delightful, Chrissy! I first encountered The Artist's Way about 25 years ago and Morning Pages have stuck with me, or rather, I've kept with it. I've read and worked through several other Cameron books since then, but the original has been the transformative process. I'm so glad you have found "the Way"!
You know... This newsletter was like a Call today. I went to my shelf, picked up The Artist's Way, and started reading. I've had the book for years. I go through short phases of doing morning pages and artists' dates. I've done a lot of the exercises from a different Cameron book. But I've never actually done this program. And I think it's time.