Creativity & Spirituality and Marching Forth, Talking to God
Julia Cameron's Seeking Wisdom, weeks 5 and 6
Welcome to the weeks five and six post for Julia Cameron’s Seeking Wisdom! Keep reading for my reactions to the fifth and sixth chapter, followed by the weekly check in.
I wished for what I always wish for.
I wished for another poem.
-Louise Glück
Creativity and Spirituality
“If ‘the force that through the green fuse drives the flower’ can work for me as a Higher Power, and if that force is also the driver of creation and creativity, then I cannot deny the power of this force,” Cameron writes. This chapter explores the link between creativity and spirituality, and I think I would have liked to have read it a little earlier in the book!
Cameron talks about how, before she got sober, she was always trying to be brilliant and impressive, but after, she tried to write more from a spirit of service.
“As artists, we, too, are both delicate and sturdy. Sometimes we feel our delicacy to be a liability. we wish for thicker skin. and yet, as poet Julianna McCarthy says, ‘If we rid ourselves of our vulnerability, we rid ourselves of our capacity to create.’ And so we must be open to the pain that comes with life. Our openness moves us to create.” I think this gets to the root of why it is so hard to make art: it is sensitivity that inspires us to create in the first place, but that same sensitivity, the awareness of the world around us, is also what makes it hard to stay in the place required for us to make art.
Blocking as an issue of faith
Cameron comes back to her idea that the artist’s block is solvable. It is simply a matter of faith. “We worry that we won’t have enough ideas or that our ideas won’t be good enough. We worry that what we’ve said has already been said by someone else.” If we can learn to be open to help, we will find that God has unlimited ideas, unlimited money, and unlimited help.
Nature of Patience
Velocity is not the answer, Cameron is reminded. If she is able to let go, even briefly, of her demand for speed, she can trust the unfolding.
Godsends
Cameron sees her friends as godsends, pointing the interconnectedness of the universe. “How else to explain the mysterious chemistry that connects us across rooms and across continents?” she asks.
The Light of Enlightenment
When teaching, Cameron often sees faces brighten and spirits lift and she teaches the tools for recovering creativity. I love this visual!
Asking for Prayers
God is not the only person we can ask for help and support: Cameron notes friends can serve this purpose, too (and indeed, the reader sees her leaning on friends frequently in these books). Asking for support connects us to community.
Bliss
Cameron concludes the chapter by noting the various ways her friends pray: lighting incense, hiking, making soup, writing with a fountain pen. I wish she had spent more time exploring this idea!
Marching Forth, Talking to God
Finally, we experiment with talking to God as a constant companion.
Embrace and open up your love, your joy, your truth, and most especially your heart.
-Jim Henson
Hope is the flip side of despair
“To despair, there’s no point hoping for a silver lining. […] Despair tells me I am alone, on my own without the aid and support of a Higher Power,” Cameron writes. Essentially, if we want to live in faith, we can’t live in despair. I’ve been thinking about this a lot, especially in these times when despair feels so close. Andrea is doing a Year of Hope in Dream Book and I keep meaning to catch up on the prompts…
Praying with- and for- Friends
Cameron writes out her prayers daily, naming her friends and praying for them to have joy, health, peace, and acceptance, “all good things.” This sounds like such a sweet practice.
March Forth
Cameron’s birthday- on March 4th- initially makes her feel loved, with loads of flowers from friends and phone calls. But she found her mood slipping later in the day, and at dinner with a friend, discussed the feeling of not having done enough “by this age.” Cameron has written over 40 books, and by any measure has done a lot! It’s a good reminder to not got hung up on external markers of success- we could always do more, but it doesn’t mean we should.
Check In
How’s your creative life?
I’ve gotten way off track the past couple of weeks, hence the double post. Seasonal allergies really knocked me out, and then my toddler got impetigo (don’t look it up if you’re unfamiliar! it’s a gross skin infection). Summer is right around the corner and I’m ready to shift into a new a season with new habits and routines.
I did make time recently for rewatching one of my favorite movies, Crazy/Beautiful (2001). I remember watching it for the first time as a teen and being obsessed with Nicole’s art journals (and thinking Jay Hernandez was really, really hot). Good inspo for getting back into my own notebook!
If you’re reading along with me, feel free to check in in the comments!
How many days this week did you do your morning pages?
Did you take an Artist Date? How was it?
Did you take your walks?
Did you try asking for guidance in writing, and then listening to the answer?
This was a great summary and very familiar to me. I have read anywhere near all of Cameron’s book but I am in long term, 12 step recovery, so mention of a Higher Power and weaving spirituality into my life feels familiar and not an obstacle that I need to overcome. I love thinking about concept of a Higher Power/God/Source/Nature and then after careful and mindful thought, realise how little I know! It’s always a humbling experience.
I’m in the season of life where it seems to be either writing or my sketchbook. I’m in my sketchbook almost every day but I don’t think I’ve written pages for several weeks. Although, only this morning, I have felt a little whisper to pick up my fountain pen again! I find picking up that habit much harder than my sketchbook and making doodles — it feels inviting and playful, whereas my writing doesn’t. Also, something I might bring into my prayer this morning, help with my resistance. What’s exhausting is the feeling I just need to push myself when maybe I don’t. I’m going to reflect on the question of how I show up and what’s going on inside.
Sorry to hear you’ve been poorly and impetigo is awful, my niece gets it sometimes, so I hope your child is on the mend now and not in too much discomfort.
Great share!
Thx