Welcome to Chapter Four of The Artist's Way
And how did you get on with Chapter Three?
Hello, and welcome to Chapter Four!
Well, Chapter Three was another good one. I do think I need to re-read it, though. There was so much to take in. I loved the bits around synchronicity, criticism and growth. They had some powerful paragraphs and lines for me to take in.
(If you missed Chapter Two and the introduction of Chapter Three you can find it here.)
Julia talks about asking the universe for what you want, or rather, telling the universe what it is you want, and then watching as it happens.
“I have learned, as a rule of thumb, never to ask if you can do something. Say, instead, that you are doing it. Then fasten your seat belt. The most remarkable things follow.”
Now, I love this. But it does make it sound almost too easy. And, this did lead to a line or two that made me a little uncomfortable:
“All too often, when people talk about creative work, they emphasise strategy…devices they must employ to break into the field. I think this is a lot of rubbish.” Julia believes the universe falls in with “worthy plans”. So, if nothing appears to be happening with what you’ve asked for, does this mean it’s not worthy? Have you done something wrong? Are you not special enough? Is your idea not special enough?
I just find this a little dangerous for the unconfident creative and could lead to all kinds of overthinking.
That being said, I do understand what Julia is driving at. And when she says the universe is “prodigal in its support,” but we tend to ignore these messages because “what frightens us more is the possibility of success,” I think she’s right on the money.
So I do get and accept what she says, “take a small step in the direction of a dream and watch the synchronous doors flying open.” But I’m not going to interpret that as ask for it and ye shall receive. I still need to do the work. I still need to plan, maybe create a strategy and take action.
{I’ve just uploaded the photo below and seen there’s a missed ‘r’ on the first word!}
The criticism section was another good one and this is the one I want to return to in particular. I want to understand shame. My shame. I talk more about this in the video I made for paid subscribers below (alongside how the universe listened to a friend of mine recently.)
The exercises make references to our childhood. I always feel a bit like, ugh, *sigh* when I have to revisit my childhood. Not because of anything bad but because I find it tedious. Plus, I have a bad memory. But I will give it a go. After all, Julia said something like if it makes you uncomfortable or you have reluctance then this tells you something and you should explore that. Obviously, I’m paraphrasing here.
From today we are reading Chapter Four: Recovering a Sense of Integrity. With Julia giving a warning: “do not skip the tool of reading deprivation!”
How are you getting on with the three chapters we’ve done so far? Have any had a bigger impact on you? Chapter Two was a significant one for me. Chapter Three suggests I have some work to do, maybe some inner child work which I struggle to be enthusiastic about.
Just a reminder that commenting on this post is for paid subscribers only and therefore cannot be seen by the rest of the world (join here for 15% off annual plans). But we can also chat in Substack Notes - just be aware that Notes isn’t a private space.
Below the paywall is a video about my journaling notes and some further thoughts from Chapter Three.