Gaia Community

Weeks 8 through 12 (LOL!)

Diane [no longer around] said Nov 6, 2006, 8:54 AM:

Well, many apologies for not continuing. I believe I stopped right at the point where I debated whether or not to continue, and thought I had decided to continue! Oh, well. Life got in the way. I really wanted to continue The Artist's Way and I was coming up so short on time that coming here and posting was putting a kink in the process. The lack of any interaction also pushed me to continue on, on my own, rather than come here and type in everything I had already processed on paper for myself.

That said, let me rave about this program and say that you get out of it what you put into it. When you see a little progress, the rush to continue is very exhilarating and as you continue, more and more revelations about yourself and your work and why you do things the way you do them will be shown to you.

I believe that now the Morning Pages and the Artist Dates will be a part of my life for evermore. I just can't imagine not having them. It is truly a way for my younger self to hear how much I love her!

Week eight was the turning point for me. It is the one in which so many ah-has! came to me. But then weeks nine & ten were like pulling teeth for me. I'm sure the chapters we struggle with are as unique as we are as individuals.

I know, from looking all over the web at various discussion boards focused on The Artist's Way, that many, many people fall off in just the first four or five weeks. I know I owned this book for 10 years before I read more than the introduction. But once it is time for you, you will embrace it and it will really take you places.

Best wishes!
Diane

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Re: Weeks 8 through 12 (LOL!)

Alex Chua said Nov 6, 2006, 9:03 PM:

Hi Diane,

I believe everyone here appreciate all that you have put into this. Just as life have gotten in the way regardless of your initial decision, life would get out of the way in due time… keep things open & who knows, you might just be inspired to post something soon, whenever that may be :-)

Best Wishes,
Alex Chua

Re: Weeks 8 through 12 (LOL!)

Diane [no longer around] said Nov 10, 2006, 12:43 PM:

Very true! Even though I decided to finish the 12 weeks on my own, away from Zaadz, it doesn't mean I won't be back to post something later. As I said, this isn't really something that ever ends!

In fact, I'll bable some more right now, and you'll have to forgive me that this is a copy/paste from by blog…

You know how most “self-help” books are a good read and oh-so inspirational while you’re reading them, but then when you put the thing down “real life” interferes and in the end the book wasn’t all that effective in changing anything for you? (Can you tell I’m a bit jaded? From parenting books, to “start your own business” books, to “dealing with difficult people books,” I’ve sort of had some experience here!) Most self-help books are like most cook-books. They assume too much and they ask you to find ingredients that don’t exist in any market you frequent. Well I will tell you that Julia Cameron has hit upon something. There is a difference in her method.

The difference is that all throughout the book, you are incorporating the wisdom into your life, and it really is YOUR life. Not some life the author assumes you are having. As the weeks go by, you read something and then think, “Wow, how did she know?” Or something happens to you, and then you go read the next week’s stuff and there she is talking about that very thing happening “soon.” It’s magic. And at the end, if nothing else, at least you take these three things away with you for life: Morning pages (dumping your mind onto the page every morning), the Artist Date (taking yourself – and only yourself – out for an artistic adventure at least once a week), and the daily 20 minute walk.

So, of all the so-called “self-help” books I’ve read over the years while working at bookstores and the library, The Artist’s Way is only the third that I can ever remember recommending to anyone. The first was “Wishcraft: How to get What You Really Want” by Barbara Sher, and the second was Your Baby & Child by Penelope Leach (a parenting manual refreshingly told from the point of view of the baby).

And I’ll tell you, if you’re like me, you may already have a copy of this book on your shelf! Mine sat for TEN YEARS until Awen finally gave me the nudge I needed to dust the thing off and give it a try. I’m really glad I finally did.

Cheers! I hope you get as much out of it as I did.