Several years ago I was introduced to Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way.  An incredible book aimed at uncovering your creativity.  Aside from artists’ dates which can be both daunting and fun Cameron prescribes the writing of morning pages.  Three pages written free hand with a pen every day.  You only pick up your pen at the end of the third page.

At first this sounded and felt like a lot of hard work.  It reminded me of being told at school to write a three page essay about anything.  So what do you write in your morning pages?  Anything and everything.  It is incredible the stuff that comes up.  The reflection is invaluable.  Problems solved.  New awareness built.  And conversations I have had “with others”.

Pages are very personal.  It is a commitment I have made to myself to write regularly.  However I call them my anytime pages.  I write them when I feel moved to.  It could be first thing in the morning (hardly ever) or any other time during my day.  This is time I take for myself to be with myself.

The reason for three pages is to unlock a stream of consciousness.  A knowing that the right words will come out onto the page.  You will give yourself exactly what you need in the moment.  Doing your pages is a powerful exercise.  I can feel when I have not been writing or my commitment to myself and my pages has waned.  I feel off kilter or out of focus.