THE MORNING PAGES: The primary tool of creative recovery (Read pages 9-18)
You will need a pen and a journal, notebook, or loose-leaf paper.
The morning pages are "three pages of longhand writing, strictly stream-of-consciousness..." "brain drain." You write without lifting your pen off the paper. You write whatever pops into your mind. Your write the repetition, the dumb words, the "ums" and "aahs". You write anything and everything you think as fast as you can get it on paper. "Pages are meant to be, simply, the act of moving the hand across the page and writing down whatever comes to mind. Nothing is too petty, too silly, too stupid, or too wierd to be included."... Other people should never read them, nor should you. Get it all out, all the stuff running through your mind. You get three pages each day to do that--no more, no less.
THE ARTIST DATE: One date with yourself each week (Read pages 18-24)
A block of time (an hour or more) each week where you take yourself (and only yourself) on a pre-planned excursion. Something fun for you that fills your "creative well." It can be something playful and fun, something nurturing and nourishing, something creative and new to you, or or something peaceful and meditative. It doesn't matter "what," just that it's something that feeds your creative inner child. Not keeping these dates with ourselves reflects the importance we give to our needs and desires. Keep your artist dates!
Personal Contract:
I,_____________________, understand that I am undertaking an intensive, guided encounter with my own creativity. I commit myself to the twelve-week duration of the course. I,_____________________, commit to weekly reading, daily morning pages, a weekly artist date, and the fulfillment of each week's tasks.
I,______________________, further understand that this course will raise issues and emotions for me to deal with. I,_____________________, commit myself to excellent self-care--adequate sleep, diet, exercise, and pampering--for the duration of the course.
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(signature)
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(date)