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Tuesday, December 11, 2012

my day with julia cameron

 succulent eye candy on streets of nyc
more succulent eye candy
 taking notes in my sparkly pink idea book
 julia spreading the creativity gospel
holiday bliss at flower market

on saturday i was picked up by fellow creativity seeker carol at 4:45am with thermos of green tea in tow. after scintillating early morning conversation, we boarded a bus en route to nyc at 5:15am. considering i've been preaching the gospel of the artist's way for well over a decade, i decided it was time to meet the master, so to speak. at 10am i arrived to open center with smeared lipstick across my face (thanks to head bobbing slumbering), a hungry belly (quickly healed with kale chips + dried mango), and no eye makeup. despite feeling like a hot mess, i was giddy with excitement about what was to come -- once i removed the misplaced red lipstick and added my signature cat eyes.

the day was filled with exercises from her books. many i've done over the years and some new ones. i'll share heaps of them below. one thing i really enjoyed was the focus on creating action steps around what we were seeking. the biggest resistance for moi came up around constantly finding clusters of 3 new people to work with and share. i'm ok for a few sharing sessions, but the day was packed with them. as an introvert, being forced into small talk is challenging. i put on my big girl pants and only escaped to the loo during one sharing session. i mean, sometime's a girl's gotta go . . . or avoid.

exercises found in my sparkly pink idea book:

1. fill in the blank: artist's are X
2. list 5 imaginary lives and 5 actions to get you closer to them
mine = burlesque dancer, documentary maker, watercolor painter, memoirist, philanthropist
3. 15 things that make you happy
4. 5 things you love
mine = feeling appreciated, learning, making a difference, french chic style, travel
5. answers to: what do i need to know? what do i need to do? what do i need to try? what do i need to accept?
mine = how not to let things get to me so intensely; yoga, yoga, yoga; dancing/performance; not sure
6. rate these areas of your life (think wheel of life): spirituality, exercise, play, work, friends, romance/adventure and list 1 action to enhance each category
7. rate areas of your body and list 1 action to improve the area
8. rate areas of you home and list 1 action to improve the area
9. fill in the blank: if i didn't have to do it perfectly, i'd try X
mine = create a documentary, watercolor, draw, burlesque dancing, have a fashion truck, host meetups, host a nyc workshop
10. fill in the blank: i'd love to X
mine = travel, find spaciousness, feel inner peace, save farm animals, write a memoir
11. list 5 ways you are mean to yourself
12. list 5 actions to be kinder to self
mine = schedule weekly artist dates; write morning pages; prioritize exercise + self-care; get up earlier/to bed earlier; digital time off
13. explore creative u-turns in music, writing, dance, visual arts, cooking, size of personality, theater, public speaking, photography, film
14. fill in the blank: an adventure i'd love to have is X
mine = traveling cross-country in an airstream, setting up a fashion truck, having a piglet
15.5 things you really love doing
16. 5 characteristics you want in a creativity god
17. pen a note to your creativity god on where you are and where you need help
18. pen note back to self from creativity god

after the session, i walked to jivamukti cafe with carol for some tasty vegan food, got my yoga on, and dashed to the 9 bus home with my pink thermos of chamomile tea in tow. i'm still processing the experience and look forward to doing heaps of reflection during the hollydaze on 2012, dreams for 2013, and some of the action steps that came out of this workshop. try some of them yourself and let moi know what comes up for you. bisous. x


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2 comments:

Lisa and Brian @ Anderson Pens said...

thanks so much for sharing!! where did you get the fabulous sparkly notebook??

Sarah said...

I love that you shared how uncomfortable you were with meeting with groups of 3 people throughout the day! I've been to workshops where I've been instructed to open up about my deepest dreams to complete strangers. I was like a deer in the headlights!

Sounds like an inspiring day though. Thanks for sharing!