“INTRODUCTION WHEN PEOPLE ASK ME what I do, I usually answer, “I’m a writer-director and I teach these creativity workshops.” The last one interests them. “How can you teach creativity?” they want to know. Defiance fights with curiosity on their faces. “I can’t,” I tell them. “I teach people to let themselves be creative.” “Oh. You mean we’re all creative?”…. “Yes.” Cameron, pg. xi

The Artist’s Way Is Not Only for Artists and Writers

“I have taught a spiritual workshop aimed at freeing people’s creativity. I have taught artists and nonartists, painters and filmmakers and homemakers and lawyers—anyone interested in living more creatively through practicing an art; even more broadly, anyone interested in practicing the art of creative living” Cameron

“Because The Artist’s Way is, in essence, a spiritual path, initiated and practiced through creativity, this book uses the word God. This may be volatile for some of you—conjuring old, unworkable, unpleasant, or simply unbelievable ideas about God as youwere raised to understand “him.” Please be open-minded.” pg. xi

“Remind yourself that to succeed in this course, no god concept is necessary. In fact, many of our commonly held god concepts get in the way. Do not allow semantics to become one more block for you. When the word God is used in these pages, you may substitute the thought good orderly direction or flow. What we are talking about is a creative energy. God is useful shorthand for many of us, but so is Goddess, Mind, Universe, Source, and Higher
Power…. The point is not what you name it. The point is that you try using it.” Cameron, pg. xii

“For many of us, thinking of it as a form of spiritual electricity has been a very useful jumping-off place.” Cameron pg. xii

“I myself do nothing. The Holy Spirit accomplishes all through me. WILLIAM BLAKE

“I have worked artist-to-artist with potters, photographers, poets, screenwriters, dancers, novelists, actors, directors—and with those who knew only what they dreamed to be or who only dreamed of being somehow more creative. I have seen blocked painters paint, broken poets speak in tongues, halt and lame and maimed writers racing through final drafts. I have come to not only believe but know:

“No matter what your age or your life path, whether making art is your career or your hobby or your dream, it is not too late or too egotistical or too selfish or too silly to work on your creativity. One fifty-year-old student who “always wanted to write” used these tools and emerged as a prize-winning playwright. A judge used these tools to fulfill his lifelong dreams of sculpting. Not all students become full-time artists as a result of the course. In fact, many full-time artists report that they have become more creatively rounded into full-time people.” Cameron, pg. xii

“Through my own experience—and that of countless others that I have shared—I have come to believe that creativity is our true nature, that blocks are an unnatural thwarting of a process at once as normal and as miraculous as the blossoming of a flower at the end of a slender green stem. I have found this process of making spiritual contact to be both simple and straightforward. If you are creatively blocked—and I believe all of us are to some extent—it is possible, even probable, that you can learn to create more freely through your willing use of the tools this book provides.” Cameron pg. xiiix

“In the brush doing what it’s doing, it will stumble on what one couldn’t do by oneself.” ROBERT MOTHERWELL

“The position of the artist is humble. He is essentially a channel.” PIET MONDRIAN

SPIRITUAL ELECTRICITY

“FOR MOST OF US, the idea that the creator encourages creativity is a radical thought. We tend to think, or at least fear, that creative dreams are egotistical, something that God wouldn’t approve of for us. After all, our creative artist is an inner youngster and prone to childish thinking. If our mom or dad expressed doubt or disapproval for our creative dreams, we may project that same attitude onto a parental god. This thinking must be undone.

“What we are talking about is an induced—or invited—spiritual experience. I refer to this process as spiritual chiropractic. We undertake certain spiritual exercises to achieve alignment with the creative energy of the universe.

“If you think of the universe as a vast electrical sea in which you are immersed and from which you are formed, opening to your creativity changes you from something bobbing in that sea to a more fully functioning, more conscious, more cooperative part of that ecosystem.

“As a teacher, I often sense the presence of something transcendent—a spiritual electricity, if you will—and I have come to rely on it in transcending my own limitations. I take the phrase inspired teacher to be a quite literal compliment. A [Cameron, pg. 1] higher hand than just my own engages us. Christ said, “Wherever two or more are gathered together, there I am in your midst.” The god of creativity seems to feel the same way.

“The heart of creativity is an experience of the mystical union; the heart of the mystical union is an experience of creativity. Those who speak in spiritual terms routinely refer to God as the creator but seldom see creator as the literal term for artist. I am suggesting you take the term creator quite literally. You are seeking to forge a creative alliance, artist-to-artist with the Great Creator. Accepting this concept can greatly expand your creative possibilities.

“As you work with the tools in this book, as you undertake the weekly tasks, many changes will be set in motion. Chief among these changes will be the triggering of synchronicity: we change and the universe furthers and expands that change. I have an irreverent shorthand for this that I keep taped to my writing desk: “Leap, and the net will appear.” [“Build it, they will come” – Field of Dreams]

“It is my experience both as an artist and as a teacher that when we move out on faith into the act of creation, the universe is able to advance. It is a little like opening the gate at the top of a field irrigation system. Once we remove the blocks, the flow moves in.

“Again, I do not ask you to believe this. In order for this creative emergence to happen, you don’t have to believe in God. I simply ask you to observe and note this process as it unfolds. In effect, you will be midwiving and witnessing your own creative progression. Creativity is an experience—to my eye, a spiritual experience. It does not matter which way you think of it: creativity leading to spirituality or spirituality leading to creativity. In fact, I do not make a distinction between the two. In the face of such experience, the whole question of belief is rendered obsolete. As Carl Jung answered the question of belief late in his life, “I don’t believe; I know.” Cameron, pg. 2

“The music of this opera [Madame Butterfly] was dictated to me by God; I was merely instrumental in putting it on paper and communicating it to the public.

David Foster wrote the song “The Prayer.” In the following video, He talks about how his intuition wrote that incredible song:

“…all of those melodies are swirling around in the universe, and the best songs come through you and not from you….The song comes when the feeling can’t be said without it.” – David Foster, Composer

When I am painting and when I am writing, I consider it a great day when something within myself takes over and essentially completes my project for me. This gentle urging is intuition. It is the spark that helped Michelangelo release his sculptures from a piece of rock, and it is my writer’s voice and also the force behind my painter’s style.

GIACOMO PUCCINI Straightaway the ideas flow in upon me, directly from God.

JOHANNES BRAHMS

We must accept that this creative pulse within us is God’s creative pulse itself. JOSEPH CHILTON PEARCE

It is the creative potential itself in human beings that is the image of God. MARY DALY

BASIC PRINCIPLES 

1. Creativity is the natural order of life. Life is energy: pure creative energy. 

2. There is an underlying, in-dwelling creative force infusing all of life—including ourselves. a

3. When we open ourselves to our creativity, we open ourselves to the creator’s creativity within us and our lives.

4. We are, ourselves, creations. And we, in turn, are meant to continue creativity by being creative ourselves.

5. Creativity is God’s gift to us. Using our creativity is our gift back to God.

6. The refusal to be creative is self-will and is counter to our true nature.

7. When we open ourselves to exploring our creativity, we open ourselves to God: good orderly direction. 8. As we open our creative channel to the creator, many gentle but powerful changes are to be expected.

9. It is safe to open ourselves up to greater and greater creativity.

10. Our creative dreams and yearnings come from a divine source. As we move toward our dreams, we move toward our divinity. Every blade of grass has its Angel that bends over it and whispers, “Grow, grow.” THE TALMUD
Cameron. pg. 3.

“Art is a spiritual act. It takes faith to move onto the page, the stage, the easel….. Through morning pages and artist’s dates…you will learn how to build a spiritual radio kit that amplifies the voice of inspiration. You will come in contact with a powerful spiritual force, which some may call God, and others merely the Muse. Do not allow semantics to block you. You do not need to believe in anything particular in order for these tools to work. Although they may seem quite Zen, the tools are in fact intensely practical. They work not on some imaginary life but on the one you’ve actually got. Simply add these tools to your life as it currently exists. Do not look for dramatic—or traumatic—change. The shift you will experience will be substantial, but it will come to you in many tiny increments.

“Our mythology around art is very damaging. Our culture teaches us that creativity is a frightening pursuit. This is not the case. Creativity can be both safe and user-friendly. All of us are creative, and through the use of these simple tools, any life can be made more creative. It is my hope that you will enjoy the process of working with this book, that you will become larger, stronger, and more colorful—that your dreams will move from the realm of fantasy into reality. As you heighten your capacity to listen for creative guidance, you will find your path unfolding organically one step at a time. When I go out to teach, my students often greet me with the sentence, “Your book changed my life.” I always respond, “Thank you, but you changed your life. You did it through the use of a spiritual toolkit.” Cameron Workbook, pg. x.

Jacki Kellum Notes on Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way

In The Artist’s Way Workbook, Cameron says that some might call their God-like Creative Force “The Muse.”

I call the Guiding Force that Cameron labels as God — My Intuition.

In my case, I do believe in God, a Heavenly Father, and I believe that my Intuition is a gift from my God, but a belief in my God is not necessary to benefit from Cameron’s The Artist’s Way

How My Intuition Wrote My Picture Book The Donkey’s Song

“The Artist ’s Way is a journey of discovery. You are the terra incognita that you will be exploring. Expect to fall in love with both yourself and the world around you.

Basic Principles of The Artist’s Way

1. Creativity is the natural order of life. Life is energy: pure creative energy.
2. There is an underlying, in-dwelling creative force infusing all of life—including ourselves.
3. When we open ourselves to our creativity, we open ourselves to the creator’s creativity within us and our lives.
4. We are, ourselves, creations. And we, in turn, are meant to continue creativity by being creative ourselves.
5. Creativity is God’s gift to us. Using our creativity is our gift back to God.
6. The refusal to be creative is self-will and is counter to our true nature.
7. When we open ourselves to exploring our creativity, we open ourselves to God: good orderly direction.
8. As we open our creative channel to the creator, many gentle though powerful changes are to be expected.h
9. It is safe to open ourselves up to greater and greater creativity.
10. Our creative dreams and yearnings come from a divine source. As we move toward our dreams, we move toward our divinity.” Cameron Workbook, pg. xi

The Artist’s Way Workbook was published after the original Artist’s Way book. Owning both the Workbook and the book are not necessary. Cameron explains her program in the original book. The Workbook is more of a speed-read, bulleted version of the book–with some extra tasks.