RECOMMEND – THE ARTIST'S WAY – A Journey to Uncovering Your Creativity!!

[Anonymous]

Hey All!!!!!

I just wrote something regarding The Artist’s Way (by Julia Cameron) on another forum post, but thought I should perhaps do it as a separate entry! You know…since I’m at work and all and have some time to kill. BAHA. Should probably get back to organizing my 11000 emails. Yep…that’s actually how many I have. I deleted 5000 so far! AND put some into email folders!!!!!! HOW EXCITING!!!!

K…so…as I was saying…there’s this amazing self-discovery course that I was recommended years ago, failed twice but decided to start up again this year because it was time!!!! I DECIDED to want to do it this time around…not someone else telling me to do it which made a huge difference for me. I am sick of feeling stuck and lost, and being in limbo with my life! Watching it pass by. Watching people grow and I remain in the same place. I have been told I’m this highly creative person but can’t seem to create!! I’m completely blocked due to lack of self-confidence, years of emotional abuse and years of living unfocused…dabbling here and there in everything with no real mastery created in any of them! Year 2010 my friends, is OUR TIME!!!! A time of opportunities and of growth and change!!! SO why not get to know ourselves even better. I’ve lived with a mask on for so many years, trying to live within the perceptions of what people saw me as and that isn’t working much anymore! And I tried to conform to what “normal” was in this society. There’s so much more to me then just a smiley face, or being the source of entertainment due to my scatterbrained, hyperactive ways!!! This course guides you through 12 weeks of tasks that help peel away layers of crap and uncover your creativity! Actually it really allows you to drop the blocks so that you let the creativity flow through you…through a place of heart, not ego though. You go on play dates with yourself, write out self-discovery tasks, and do A LOT of writing exercises period!!! It’s a time commitment to yourself but honestly well worth it if that’s the next step you want to take in your life – finding YOUR TRUE YOU! BAH! I usually set aside an hour or so a night (although it could go over that), set the mood with a quiet atmosphere, or with some positive music…light a candle or incense and just write!! I get lost in it sometimes, and it can definitely be an emotional roller coaster that’s for sure. You can uncover parts of yourself that have been locked away for YEARS!! Become angry, sad, happy, reminiscent! SO Be prepared BUT be open as well. Open to whatever is thrown in your face. And let it go so you can move on. That’s a tough thing to do, because being a person with ADHD can attract a lot of negative feedback, or behaviour towards us and can create terrible defense mechanisms AND HUGE WALLS OF protection!! Most of us are super sensitive so we are constantly trying to protect ourselves. This course helps break those down and make us look in the mirror and be completely honest with ourselves. I sound like a freakin promoter for this book, but I am so excited to be embarking upon this journey that I thought I’d provide a little hope for other people going through similar struggles. I have definitely resonated with a lot of people’s stories on this site and am so fortunate to have an outlet to express my feelings and concerns and be UNDERSTOOD!!!! as I understand so many others on this!!!! Thank you!!!! BAH!

And a side note…this course can also be done in a group…so people can form this online!!! If they need support and motivation along this process.

Have a great weekend everyone!!!!

Lianne

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[Anonymous]

Lianne, I think you’re on to something here. This is her website http://www.theartistsway.com/ where you can find more information about what Lianne is talking about. I like the videos you can find under “News & Events” (just scroll down a little and click the more videos’ link under the one video). Thanks Lianne

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[ADDled]

You beat me on this one!!

I have just read “The Artist’s Way at Work: Riding the Dragon” and was going to mention it on the forum.

If you are having trouble dealing with all the weirdness at work, or are weird at work, this book may help.

I learned a lot about how to survive in the “cube jungle” where most of us eek out some kind of living. In fact, I wish this book was around a long time ago, it certainly would have saved me some major grief.

The funny thing is, that when you start work, no one ever shows you the secondary skills, the survival skills you need to stay employed and still be you. This is especially important for us with ADD because generally we lack the ability to sometimes read social situations very well, and often misread cues that others understand and know readily. A very powerful book. It has caused me to re examine how I work and how I relate to it.

I read the original Artist’s Way, a way, way back when it first was published. That had a profound outlook on how I veiwed creativity. The thing I learned was you can be an artist and you need not lead a bohemian, beatnik, hippie lifestyle starving in a seedy studio with only cold water and a bare light bulb. The idea that artists exist only on the fringes of society is completely wrong. You can be a CEO, a mother, or a mechanic and still be an artist: it’s all about the approach to how you do things. And that creativity is not necessarily constrained to painting, sculpting or any of the traditional preconceived ideas about what creativity is supposed to be about. Creativity is a powerful tool and all can access it. And this creativity can be applied to any situation. A great book.

Thank you Lianne, for mentioning ‘The Artist’s Way’

BTW, I have trouble with the “Morning Pages” thing, but I have to tell you, there is some merit to them; almost like meditation. I shall start them again.

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[Patte Rosebank]

I just found a quotation from Oscar Levant, which seems deliciously appropriate: “There’s a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased that line.”

Time for all of us to erase that line, and have fun while doing it!

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[Patte Rosebank]

Here’s another one from Oscar Levant, that also fits: “It’s not what you are but what you don’t become that hurts.”

Unrealized potential, anyone?

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[Anonymous]

Thanks all for posting! Rhawser…thanks for posting the link! I looked at it the other day and will go on the forum once I finish the course to add my two cents. I find if I read too much about other people’s struggles on its forum I feel like I’m never going to recover myself! Love the quotes Larynxa (definitely unrealized potential!!! That’s what I’m facing!) and book suggestion Addled!!! I too find it difficult to do the morning pages…mainly cause I’m a terrible morning person!!! Literally I have one eye opened as I’m writing because the other one can’t open!!!! Meditative for sure though…I can’t even remember what I write. And it’s going to be hard to read what I wrote when I’m all done as I write so fast it’s hardly legible! I haven’t heard of The Artist’s WAy at Work! I’ll have to check that out when I finish this one. The whole course is amazing so far. Everything I actually wanted to touch upon in my life this year! I’m happy it’s structured in a way that I can take baby steps in evolving as a person. I’d want to do it all at once or wouldn’t know which aspect of my life to touch upon first! And you can definitely be creative no matter what you do in life. It’s the divine flow that keeps our blood pumping and that’s in everyone! We were all given gifts in this world to use! It’s true that we’ve sort of been taught that being creative means you’re an artist or a writer! Breaking out of that way of thinking is certainly hard. Being creative can be making up a way to get your kid to eat beans! Possibilities are endless! Yay Have a great rest of the day everyone!

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