This post will serve as a summary of the lessons I have been doing in “The Artist’s Way”

Inspirational quotes, chapter lessons, problems…they are all here. Enjoy!

“Man is asked to make of himself what he is supposed to become to fulfill his destiny.”
-Paul Tillich

“The position of the artist is humble. He is essentially a channel.”
-Piet Mondrian

“God must become an activity in our consciousness.”
-Joel Goldsmith

“What lies behind us and what lies before is are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Words are a form of action, capable of influencing change.’
-Ingrid Bengis

“You need to claim the events of your life to make yourself your.”
-Anne Wilson Schaef

“It always comes back to the same necessity; go deep enough and there is a bedrock of truth, however hard.”
-May Sarton

“Painting is just another way of keeping a diary.”
-Pablo Picasso

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”
-Pablo Picasso

People heal because creativity is healthy- and practicing it, they find their greater selves. And we are all greater than we can conceive.

Higher powers stand ready to help us if we ask. We must remain ready to ask, open-minded enough to be led, and willing to believe despite our bouts of disbelief. Creativity is an act of faith, and we must be faithful to this faith, willing to share it to help others, and to be helped in return.

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.

Spiritual chiropractic-we undertake certain spiritual exercises to achieve alignment with the creative energy of the universe.”

It is my experience both as an artist and 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.

Stop telling yourself, “It’s just my ego’ whenever you yearn for a more creative life.

Stop telling yourself that dreams don;t matter, that they are only dreams and you should be more sensible.

Stop fearing that your family and friends would think you are crazy.

1. MORNING PAGES.
Write 3 full pages. First thing when you get up, every morning. Never re-read just put it out there. Every morning.

Anyone who faithfully writes morning pages will be led to a connection with a source of wisdom within. When I am stuck with a painful situation or problem that I don’t think I know how to handle, I will go to the pages and ask for guidance.

2. THE ARTIST DATE
Set aside a block of time weekly, to nurture your creative consciousness. Preplan. Schedule.

3. Weekly Chapter Tasks
*Pick those that appeal to you and those you strongly resist. Just remember in choosing that we often resist what we most need.*

Week One-Recovering a Sense of Safety
This week initiates your creative recovery. You may feel both giddy and defiant, hopeful and skeptical. The readings, tasks, and exercises aim at allowing you to establish a sense of safety which will enable you to explore your creativity with less fear.

“Nothing has a stronger influence psychologically on their environment and especially on their children than the unlived life of the parent.”
C. G. Jung

“Do not weep, do not wax indignant. Understand.”
Baruch Spinoza

For all shadow artists, life may be a discontented experience, filled with a sense of missed purpose and unfulfilled promise. They want to write. They want to paint. They want to act, make music, dance…but they are afraid to take themselves seriously.”

“Painting is an attempt to come to terms with life. There are many solutions as there are human beings.”
-George Tooker

Most of the time when we are blocked in an area of our life, it is because we feel safer that way. We many not be happy, but at least we know what we are-unhappy. Much fear of our own creativity is the fear of the unknown.

If I am fully creative, what will it mean? What will happen to me and to others? We have some pretty awful notions about what could happen. So, rather than find out, we decide to stay blocked. This is seldom a conscious decision. It is more often an unconscious response to internalized negative beliefs…

As blocked creatives, we often sit on the sidelines critiquing those in the game. “He’s not so talented,” we may say of a currently hot artist. And we may be right about that. All too often, it is audacity and not talent that moves an artist to center stage. As blocked creatives, we tend to regard these bogus spotlight grabbers with animosity. We may be able to defer to true genius, but if it’s merely a genius for self-promotion we’re witnessing, our resentment runs high. This is not just jealously. It is a stalling technique that reinforces our staying stuck. We make speeches to ourselves and other willing victims, “I could do that better, if only…”

You could do it better if you would only let yourself do it!