The Artist's Way - week 1

This week we're 're-covering a sense of safety' for our inner artist - identifying the negative beliefs that keep us from creating and creating some new mantras that champion our artist within. I love it.

I have just booked Dr David Hamilton, author of How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body, to come and do a big talk in London on the 25th April.(watch this space)

Hamilton is a scientist, who was inspired by the field research tests he conducted for drug companies. Realising that placebo tests produced comparable results with the sample that received the actual drug, he set about understanding why. “The more research I did, the more studies I found that showed irrefutable evidence that the thoughts we think have a massive impact on our bodies and our lives.

The mind cannot tell the difference between real and imagined," he says.

In context of this first chapter of The Artist's Way, Hamilton's book has made me realise how the negative stories we tell ourselves about our creativity/our talent or lack of it - will profoundly affect what we create in our lives as well as on the page.

But what I've discovered is that it takes immense courage to change the stories that we tell ourselves. When we change our beliefs about what is possible, then things begin to change - and that can be very scary. It's sometimes easier to hide and grumble in the shadows.

I completely resonated with Cameron's description of the shadow artist. I married an 'artist' - a musician and spent a large part of my marriage championing his dreams versus following my own. Much easier! But when I first read the Artist's Way, this first chapter resonated so deeply that I went off and signed up to a screenwriting course, and started writing my novel. I didn't want to live in the shadows. And it's working. Not because I've got a deal or a film optioned but merely because I've dared to see myself as a creative.

What would happen if you dared to see yourself as creative being? I say 'dare' as Cameron also mentions it. "Very often audacity, not talent, makes one person an artist and another a shadow artist - hiding in the shadows, afraid to step out and expose the dream to the light, fearful it will disintegrate to to the touch."

It reminds me of what I always say about the Big Leapers - some of my most successful clients are not successful because they are more talented, more creative, more brainy - they are just braver. They dare to put themselves out there, they dare to fail, they dare to put their head above the parapet and go for it. And to start you off on the journey, that's all you need. 'Leap and the net will appear', indeed.

I've just spend the afternoon watching Kung Fu Panda with my son. It's brilliant. It's about Po, a 'big, fat panda' who 'by accident' is chosen to be the 'dragon warrior' - despite there being a crack team of kung-fu experts who would seemingly be better served to save the valley from the baddie - the scary snow leopard. Better at feeding his face than kung fu, Po discovers that he can use his innate hungry personality to motivate him to learn kung fu in 5 days. And learns the secret from the dragon scroll that 'there is no secret ingredient' to learn. 'It's just believing in yourself.'

Ok, it's a Dreamswork film but there I was weeping on the sofa because it hit the spot. We're not perfect, we may not be a creative genius, we may be 'a big fat panda' but when we use what skills and our innate talents - be that eating or kung fun - and have the courage to believe in ourselves, then who knows where we may end up?

This first chapter of The Artist's Way helps us re-ignite that self belief. And I know from personal experience and from coaching thousands of clients that this can be the biggest leap of all.

Exercises this week:

1. Read chapter 1
2. Do as many of the exercises at the end of the chapter as you can fit in.
3. And don't forget your daily morning (or er, evening pages) plus your artist's date. There is a blanket of snow where I am today so I think I'm going to start my week with a bit of snowman building.

Comments

[Laura]

Resistance...

I started the artist's way a couple of weeks ago as soon as you mentioned it (I'm rubbish at waiting round). I've started it before and never got further than week three. By rights I should be into week three this time but I haven't read the chapter yet. I was ill last week and then a momentous HR mess at work landed on me which comes with quite a bit of anxiety. Then my friend's partner left her so I spent the day with her. Then I was tired and I didn't want to do the morning pages. I struggled to find a date for myself and ended up going to the local library to get a movie. I lay on the sofa all day yesterday. No morning pages either. Sound like resistance to you? It does to me! Point I'm trying to make is that whatever "life-stuff" comes our way, we still have to make time for things like this. It's too easy to use "life" as an excuse to not actually live it. I'm reading Chapter three when I go to bed tonight.

ps... i think this may just have been my evening page.

[Kerry]

I have started a few days later as my copy arrived yesterday. I was and still am very excited and a little nervous of whats to come.

I started reading straight away but unlike most things, I read just what I was supposed to rather than jumping ahead thinking its all very good but not following the course.

Popped out last night and got myself a rather nice notebook then questioned buying A4! How would I fill that in the morning?

My alarm went off at 5.30am and it took 20 minutes of '5 more minutes' to lean across the room and get that scary A4 sized paper and start writing but I started and half an hour later three pages were complete. For once I did not mind how messy my writing was, I did not care what I had written and I did not bother to look at it again.

I have wondered about shredding it after it is written to make sure I dont go back to it.

Lots of interesting things have already come up just in that first 30 minutes and I am starting to realise that everything I wish I had been or done (but still can be or do) is very creative unlike the job I actually do every day.

I am looking forward to todays exercises and the changes that come about!

Kerry

[HoweERIN]

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