The Artist’s Way Morning Pages Journal

Morning Pages are three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning.

I have been exploring journaling for a while now. I have been experimenting with different strategies such as Using the Five Minutes Journal, writing on a normal journal. I now would be using the morning pages journal as a way to explore my inner creativity.

Morning pages are three pages of writing done every day, typically encouraged to be in longhand, usually done in the morning, that can be about anything and everything that comes into your head. It involves getting everything all out of your head, and is not supposed to be censored or edited. The idea is that if you can get in the habit of writing three pages a day, that it will help clear your mind and get the ideas flowing for the rest of the day. 

The Artist’s Way Morning Pages Journal is a Companion Volume to the Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. Morning Pages are three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning. *There is no wrong way to do Morning Pages*– they are not high art. They are not even “writing.” They are about anything and everything that crosses your mind– and they are for your eyes only. Morning Pages provoke, clarify, comfort, cajole, prioritize and synchronize the day at hand. Do not over-think Morning Pages: just put three pages of anything on the page…and then do three more pages tomorrow.

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.

Unlike more focused journal writing, you do not set a topic for morning pages. Typically, many topics will appear. They tumble over one another, arriving on the page in a disorganized heap of fragmentary thoughts. That’s fine. Please don’t judge them or yourself. The writing of morning pages is just early-morning thinking set down on the page. Very often, that thinking will feel jumbled up. Remember: these are our wake-up thoughts, nothing more.

I recently re-read the Artist’s Way book by Julia Cameron and finally decided to get the Artist’s Way Morning Pages Journal. According to Julia, as you write your morning pages, you would hear a negative voice saying things like You are so petty, You are so Grumpy, You are so inarticulate. Sometime you would have to tell the negative voice to take the floor for a minute, and when the voice is done, you say thank you, you can continue writing after that.

I would be exploring writing the artist’s way morning pages journal daily as I do hope it helps with my creativity. Here are some tips that might help with using and writing the morning pages:

• Get up earlier
• Let the writing be the first thing you do when you wake up, no checking of your phone or laptop. First thing you do in the morning.
• Make a routine/ritual – For example, do it immediately after you brush or immediately after you take your bath
• Don’t worry about your handwriting, spelling, Grammar as no one would be reading it. Just keep the pen moving.
• Don’t sensor your self, just keep writing with honesty
• Try not to re-read them after you write the morning pages.
• Let go of the worry of anyone seeing/reading the morning page.

Some Benefits of using Morning Pages:

• Morning pages prioritize the day. The create a sort of slipstream that allow us to move through life with greater ease, conscious of a more fortuitous intermeshing of our inner and outer worlds.
• Morning pages are powerful. You may experience them as a river. You may also experience them as a boat. Through the morning pages, you will encounter the propulsion of creative flow underlying and informing all life. That flow may feel so strong that you will need the morning pages to travel comfortably in its celerity.
• Morning pages are intended both to provoke and comfort. In them, we ask questions, but we also receive our answers. The “still, small voice ” is amplified when we go inside to hear it.

You can get the Journal on Amazon: The Artist’s Way Morning Pages Journal

What do you feel about the morning pages journal? Have you tried it? What was the effect on you?

All the best in your quest to get better. Don’t Settle: Live with Passion.