Starting Morning Pages?! Read this FIRST!
Julia Cameron describes morning pages as three pages of longhand, stream-of-consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning. This could be the only writing you do all day or just a warm-up, but as Cameron states on her website, morning pages provoke, clarify, comfort, cajole, prioritize, and synchronize the day at hand. If this is all new to you, I suggest grabbing a copy of Julia Cameron’s book, The Artist’s Way. If you find yourself drawing a blank, you can find prompts for your next entry at the end of this post.
It feels bold to say that just by doing morning pages consistently every day, you will experience incredible benefits. But it’s TRUE! One practice, the right practice, can be the butterfly effect to the manifestation of your best, highest self.
Benefits of morning pages include:
Refined Routine,
Clear Thinking and Communication,
Confidence and Higher Self-Esteem, and
Increased Peace of Mind
Why Start Now?
Don’t have a morning routine or ritual? Use morning pages to craft your ideal morning. When you commit to carving out the time for this practice, you commit to building a new routine. If you have one hour to do one thing for yourself every day, take that one hour to do morning pages when you wake up. If you already have a tight routine, think about how you can use morning pages to add flexibility to your schedule.
If you have been struggling in any area of your life, the first step to overcoming is radical honesty. We stay stagnant in our own chaos and dysfunction simply because we are in denial. It’s okay not to be okay or not know where to go, but there is always something you can do to make the first step. Morning Pages becomes a private confessional, a sacred space to release your shame, sadness, and disappointments. Imagine how much lighter you will feel not carrying around the frustrations of last week.
Confidence, higher self-esteem, and tranquility are the results of consistent practice. How much better will you feel when you hold yourself accountable to your own standards and not the validation of others? Imagine the peace of mind you could have by not worrying about things outside of your control. Morning pages are the process of tidying up the mind, or “spiritual windshield wipers” as Julia Cameron calls them. 99% of our confusion and delusion is due to the fact that we are too distracted to hear our own inner voice. How can we live in alignment with our true self if we don’t know who that is?
Stream-of-consciousness writing may not be your style, especially if you struggle with getting the first word on the page. Try these prompts to help get you started the next time you get stuck doing your morning pages.
Prompt 1: What is something you’ve done recently that you are proud of?
Prompt 2: What is something that you would like to get off your chest and out of your mind?
Prompt 3: What is one thing you could have done to be more effective yesterday? How are you going to implement that today?
