Exploring what is at your SOURCE

Sometimes, in the maelstrom of life, it can be hard to identify what lies at our SOURCE: what we believe to be the most important, valuable and essential things in life. That can feel a bit overwhelming. A bit ‘out there’.

And much as we would like to get into a state of FLOW, its hard to know where to start, especially if feeling playfully silly - free from any idea of outcome, what’s produced or its worth - is a difficult state to tune into.

This is entirely forgivable - and very common in busy mothers. That ‘one foot in, one foot out’ feeling of only ever being half in play with our children is sometimes as close as we get to being genuinely playful.

Tuning in

One huge source of inspiration for me as been THE ARTIST’S WAY by Julia Cameron. Its subtitle is ‘A spiritual path to higher creativity’ and often referred to as a programme for ‘creative recovery’.

Some of the early exercises in The Artist’s Way can help us identify what inspires us, or the people that have best modelled things we like or ways we would like to live. It also has two essential practices (The Morning Pages and The Artist Dates) that run throughout the programme, which can help us tune into (and turn up the volume on) what is going on for us, under the surface, at our source.

This week, I am going to share some of those practices to get you thinking a little differently about what sits at your core, what inspires or excites you - and to think of simple ways to cultivate some new habits in that direction.

The Morning Pages

Absolutely central to The Artist’s Way are The Morning Pages.

First off, in my programme A Creative Life, we acknowledge that as mothers, the mornings can be a particularly demanding window in our day - as finding school shoes, brushing teeth and getting everyone breakfasted takes priority. So we recommend you think about a 20-30 minute period at ay time in your day to do this exercise.

(Morning is best in some respects, and I have managed to set an alarm 30 minutes before I normally rise to be able to write the morning pages - before my brain switches into gear and I crack on with the day. But this may feel too demanding - and I for one know it can be unsustainable!)

Here is what Julia Cameron says about The Morning Pages - and why they are good habit to cultivate.

‘Put simply, the morning pages are three pages of longhand writing, strictly stream of consciousness: “Oh god, another morning. I have NOTHING to say. I need to wash the curtains. Did I get my laundry yesterday? Blah, Blah, Blah…” They might also, more ingloriously, be called brain drain, since that is one of their main functions.

When people ask, ‘why do we write morning pages?’ I joke, ‘To get to the other side!” They think I am kidding, but I’m not. Morning pages do get us to the other side: the other side of our fear, of our negativity, of our moods. Above all, they get us beyond our Censor. Beyond the reach of the Censor’s babble we find out own quiet centre, the place where we hear the still, small voice that is at once our creator’s and our own.”

I have found morning pages an incredibly liberating habit of just spotting ‘what is going on for me today?’ They have helped me trace thoughts, get to the root of a problem, think through a question, find my own solutions. They require me to listen in to what I think and feel (if I write more that a shopping or to-do list) and its almost as if I reveal truth to myself through this simple task. Pages are non-negotiable during The Artist’s Way 12 week programme - and I look forward to a little more light in the spring mornings to start up again. I’d be happy to create some accountability to help each other get going.

What will you need to start a journalling or Pages habit?

Imaginary lives

This exercise is designed to tap into a more childlike state of mind, and one that seems frivilous to start with. But bear with it - the follow-up activities help you do something with the initial insights you gather.

“If you had five other lives to lead, what would you do in each of them? I would be a pilot, a cowhand, a physicist, a psychic, a monk. You might be a scuba diver, a cop, a writer of children’s books, a football player, a belly dancer, a painter, a performance artist, a history teacher, a healer, a coach, a scientist, a doctor, a Peace Corps worker, a psychologist, a fisherman, a minister, an auto mechanic, a carpenter, a sculptor, a lawyer, a painter, a computer hacker, a soap-opera star, a country singer, a rock-anmd-roll drummer. Whatever occurs to you, jot it down. Do not overthink this exercise.

The point of these lives is the have fun with them - more fun than you might be having in this one. Look over your list and select one. Then do it this week. For instance, if you put down country singer, can you pick up a guitar?

Check and see if you could be doing bits and pieces of these lives in the one you are living now. If you have listed a dancer’s life, do you let yourself go dancing? If you have listed a monk’s life, are you ever allowed to go on retreat? If you are a scuba diver, is there an aquarium shop you can visit? A day at the lake you could schedule?

Things you enjoy

This activity is in the same vein - what are the things you most enjoy doing, that bring out a sense of playfulness and fun, and tune in to what you like, what you’re good at, what you enjoy - your source!

“List twenty things you enjoy doing (rock climbing, roller-skating, baking pies, making soup, making love, riding a bike, riding a horse, playing catch, shooting baskets, going for a run, reading poetry, and so forth.) When was the last time you let yourself do these things? Next to each entry, put a date. Don’t be surprised if its been years for some of your favourites. That will change. This list is an excellent resource for artist dates.”

These activities can form a list of artist dates - the other pillar of the programme along with the pages - but for now, just tune into those activities that you most enjoy, that bring about a sense of happiness or fulfilment, or simply put a smile to your face.

These activities are designed to get you tuned in to what you love, what you enjoy, what puts a smile on your face. And the pages are designed to tune in to just what’s there - day in, day out. They can be mundane thoughts and feelings - nothing special. And the activities or imaginary lives might be something you enjoy already.

Think of these exercises as being a direct line to your source - to what lies beneath, sometimes hidden or forgotten about - but always worth rediscovering.