I wrote Morning Pages for a few years. I’ve continued to meditate and write most mornings. They gave me a place to write my feelings and going through the book gave me the courage to divorce my husband of 23 years. I also had Artists Dates for a long while. Now I make a practice of treating myself to something special every week.
Thank you so much for commenting Dawn and sharing your practices.
It sounds as if the morning pages were a powerful support for you to make a huge decision. I'm curious that you meditate and write most mornings, for me meditation also provides clarity and a sense of a shifting, though I am not always able to verbalise what that is. I wonder about the different benefits of the order, which to do first- mediation then morning pages, or morning pages then meditation, and whether they are both just different ways in to our deeper knowing!
I've not picked up the practice of artists dates, I think because something about it feels like a pressure, but a special weekly treat sounds like a great idea!
There are multiple threads here that weave together, of well being, creativity, self knowledge, courage.
Thank you- and I love this- i often think of that part of Gilbert’s Big Magic too- it gives me a nudge to get going with ideas before they get tired of waiting and leave, or just to allow them to go and find another writer to give them life!
Yoga and creativity- now there’s another substack article waiting to be written! Have you written about that for yourself?
All these ways in to the portal- I’m sure people have others. I always used to get ideas for stories / writing when I was out on long runs.
I love the practice of morning pages, but sadly don't often do it. The morning practice I have committed to for over a decade is yoga and there is only so much time to do everything! But for the periods of time when I did do morning pages, I loved how it just opened the tap for words to flow. I often found myself writing my dreams, and sitting with them for a while instead of just losing them as soon as my eyes pop open.
Reading your piece also reminded me of a passage from Liz Gilbert's book, Big Magic, where she talks about ideas as entities that can hop from one person's mind to another, and she tells how a novel idea hopped from her head into Ann Pachett's, who went on to publish that novel. I love the idea that ideas are out there, waiting for someone to open the portal and receive them. It feels like a big part of creativity is how we open that portal - For me, yoga helps enormously to get me out of my own way and allow ideas to channel through.
I wrote Morning Pages for a few years. I’ve continued to meditate and write most mornings. They gave me a place to write my feelings and going through the book gave me the courage to divorce my husband of 23 years. I also had Artists Dates for a long while. Now I make a practice of treating myself to something special every week.
Thank you so much for commenting Dawn and sharing your practices.
It sounds as if the morning pages were a powerful support for you to make a huge decision. I'm curious that you meditate and write most mornings, for me meditation also provides clarity and a sense of a shifting, though I am not always able to verbalise what that is. I wonder about the different benefits of the order, which to do first- mediation then morning pages, or morning pages then meditation, and whether they are both just different ways in to our deeper knowing!
I've not picked up the practice of artists dates, I think because something about it feels like a pressure, but a special weekly treat sounds like a great idea!
There are multiple threads here that weave together, of well being, creativity, self knowledge, courage.
Thank you- and I love this- i often think of that part of Gilbert’s Big Magic too- it gives me a nudge to get going with ideas before they get tired of waiting and leave, or just to allow them to go and find another writer to give them life!
Yoga and creativity- now there’s another substack article waiting to be written! Have you written about that for yourself?
All these ways in to the portal- I’m sure people have others. I always used to get ideas for stories / writing when I was out on long runs.
Thank you to the person who’s got the poll started 😀 I really appreciate it
I love the practice of morning pages, but sadly don't often do it. The morning practice I have committed to for over a decade is yoga and there is only so much time to do everything! But for the periods of time when I did do morning pages, I loved how it just opened the tap for words to flow. I often found myself writing my dreams, and sitting with them for a while instead of just losing them as soon as my eyes pop open.
Reading your piece also reminded me of a passage from Liz Gilbert's book, Big Magic, where she talks about ideas as entities that can hop from one person's mind to another, and she tells how a novel idea hopped from her head into Ann Pachett's, who went on to publish that novel. I love the idea that ideas are out there, waiting for someone to open the portal and receive them. It feels like a big part of creativity is how we open that portal - For me, yoga helps enormously to get me out of my own way and allow ideas to channel through.