Starting Your Year with Morning Pages

Last year I discovered a power pack of creative living practices: morning pages, meditation and movement.  With these three in my life, I have found my self and my creative life much more grounded and well-nourished. I also noticed how much more likely I was to stay with these practices when we did our regular check-ins together on Facebook or on Twitter. So let’s start the series together again – first with morning pages in January, followed by meditation in February and movement in March.

I hope you’ll join in for all three, but for now, just consider whether developing a daily writing practice would support your creative life. If the answer is yes, join me on the journey. Every day we’ll have the opportunity to check-in and say, “I did it!” on my Facebook page or on Twitter. There’s no pressure, just some loving support and being in it together. As the saying goes, “It’s a practice, not a perfect.”

What are Morning Pages?*

• In Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, she introduces the idea of Morning Pages: 3 pages of long-hand free-form stream-of-consciousness writing that you write each morning to start your day.

Why do them?

• Morning pages are a practice. They get thoughts, ideas, stuck points, garbage, treasures, energy, out of your head and onto the page. This is not about the product at all. You could (and I do) throw your pages out after you’ve written them. This is about getting the juices flowing and getting your energy going. (Julia does recommend some ways to harvest from your pages at a later date. Be sure to check out her book if that sounds of interest)
• Morning pages also give you a daily opportunity to hear what you’re thinking. Being in touch with your heart, your mind, your soul is the very basis of all creative living. This is a practice to ground yourself in.
• And the woo-woo reason: morning pages are magic. I don’t know how to explain it but every time I’ve started doing morning pages on a regular basis, my life has changed for the better. Every. Single. Time. Energy starts shifting when you start openly sharing with your self and the Universe what’s going on in that beautiful heart of yours, spilling the truth in all its raw power onto the page.

What do I write?

• Whatever is in your head goes onto the page. No censorship. If all three pages ended up being “I don’t know what to write. I don’t know what to write…” that would be fine. Mine sometimes look like this, “I’m tired. I’ve been thinking about writing a piece about– oh, I have to remember to pick up Jinx’s meds. Now, what was I thinking?” That kind of thing. It doesn’t matter what you write, just write.

What do I need?

• A pen. Paper. And about 30 minutes.
• As for the paper, this where I always apply the “Will it move you forward?” test. What kind of paper or journal or notebook will get you to write? If you love pretty journals and it inspires you to wake up in the morning, crack it open and write, do that. If it’s going to take you two weeks to find just the right book, ditch that idea. What will get you started today? I use dollar store exercise books because for me, it’s important they be abundant and not precious. Trisha did something lovely and collaged the front of her Morning Pages Journal to make it special and inviting. I’ve used pages of 3-hole paper. I’ve used a newsprint pad. It just has to be something you’ll actually use.
• It can be a lot of writing, I really recommend experimenting with a few pens to find one that allows you to move smoothly along the page with a minimum amount of grip. So many of us have all kinds of repetitive strain and fatigue in our hands, so be as gentle on yourself as you can be. Find your way to make it work.

Can I do it on the computer?

• If that’s the absolute only way you’ll consider doing it, I won’t discourage you. (And if you do, a lot of people like to use  750Words) It does make a difference to do it by hand. There is something about the pace and the kinesthetic experience that has impact. Trust me. Besides, don’t we all spend more than enough time on the computer anyway?

Do I have to do it in the morning?

• The gift of the morning is we can dive into the pages before we’ve been engulfed by the rest of our regular life. That is tremendously valuable. But again, applying that good old Jamie guideline, if morning’s mean you won’t do it – choose something else! It’s better to do it than to worry about following the rules. I used to always do them right before bed because clearing my head on the page helped me fall asleep and feel at ease.

Does it have to be three pages?

• It is important to have a structure and one that takes you a bit beyond what you might otherwise do.
• Three pages seems to be just about the right amount of time to push you a little bit into new territory. If you just stop when you feel like stopping, you can be sure that you’ll miss the good stuff that’s just around the corner.
• Three pages also seems to be enough to get you through your resistance. Once you know exactly how much you’ve committed to, you can make it a non-negotiable with your gremlin.
• One alternative that has worked for me is to give myself a fixed amount of time. I’ve often given myself 30 minutes for my morning pages. That way I feel secure that I have dedicated time, I have enough time and I don’t have to rush.

How is this going to work?

• Easy-peasy. This is just a regular morning check in on either my Facebook page or on Twitter. Each morning I’ll just put up a little note that says I’ve done my pages and you can share when you’ve done yours. We’ll be able to celebrate with one another along the way.
• Join my Facebook page here.
• Follow me on Twitter at @starshyne. The hashtag we’ll be using is #morningpages, so you’ll be able to search for #morningpages and see what everyone’s up to.

Joining In

• Anyone is welcome to join. If you’d like to make it official and say, “Yes, I’m in!” add your name to the Mr. Linky below. That way we can also come visit and see who we’re playing with.
• You can join in any time.
• There’ s no pressure here. Just encouragement. Even if you just do one day but that’s more than you would have done before – woohoo!
• Here’s a badge if you’d like to make it official on your site.

Let’s Start 2012 with Morning Pages!

* Please note: This is the “Jamie take” on Morning Pages. I encourage you to go to the source for Julia Cameron’s explanations and discussion.

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