Morning Pages: Julia Cameron read book online, read for free. Morning Pages: The Perfect Way to Reveal Your Personality

Free traveler, dreamer, life experimenter and author of the Renew Your Life project. I like to bring new things into ordinary things, look at myself from the outside, enjoy the little things, catch smiles and just be happy for no reason. I realized that change is as natural as the change of seasons. And our fears are actually indicators of our development. Using my example, I want to show that change is easy, interesting, and most importantly necessary.

There come moments in life that divide it into “before” and “after”. Such situations arise either unexpectedly, or you draw this line yourself.

One of these moments for me was the discovery of the “Morning Pages” practice and its application. We can say that it was this morning ritual that launched a chain of conscious changes in my life a little over a year ago.

I first learned about the Morning Pages writing practice from Julia Cameron's book The Artist's Way. At that time I was undergoing personal growth training. One of the tasks was to do this practice every morning for a week. I completed the task and continued to write pages every day for several more months in a row.

In fact, most of us have been familiar with this wonderful practice for a long time. I don’t know how common this was among guys, but almost all girls kept a diary in childhood and adolescence - a storehouse of teenage doubts, worries and tears.

Why have we stopped using this powerful tool for purifying consciousness? Some - because they grew up and considered this method to be childish quirks. For others, perhaps all this chaos of thoughts on paper was found and read by relatives, completely discouraging the desire to share their opinion. Some people retained the internal need to transfer thoughts from their heads to another format, and they started personal blogs on the Internet.

In one day, up to 60 thousand thoughts flash through our heads. Can you imagine? And ninety-five percent of them are our old thoughts. The same thing, every day - a familiar picture? Our head has turned into a huge vat in which a porridge of our own and other people's thoughts is cooked without stopping. And we think, think, cook, cook.

Pot, don't cook it anymore!

Brothers Grimm

Just like you clean your house, your room, you should put things in order in your head and put all your thoughts and memories in order.

The essence of the morning pages is approximately the same as that of a girl’s diary.

You wake up. Even before all morning procedures, take a pen and notebook. Set a timer for 30 minutes and start writing without stopping. Try not to stop, not to start thinking about some thought that has arisen, but just write, write, write. Nonstop.

What to write about?

• what did you dream about last night
• what worries you
• what do you dream about
• about the thoughts that are constantly spinning in your head
• complaints, claims, feelings
• describe situations that haunt you
• about pleasant and exciting events

In general, you need and can write about anything. The main thing is to write. Write nonstop.

One of the nice things about this practice is that you don't need to know how to write! It has absolutely no meaning: neither style, nor syllable, nor grammatical structures, nor spelling. No one will require you to submit your writing for verification!

Why in the morning?

A clear head in the morning is a great way to start each day anew. Only in this case will your inner space become a blank slate. The goal of this practice is to remove all unnecessary thoughts, sweep away all the garbage. Make room for a new day.

What if there is nothing left to write about, or no thoughts come to mind?

If you suddenly stop and your head is empty, and the time has not yet been spent, begin to describe yourself, your mood, the place in which you live. After a couple of such ordinary sentences, your computer in your head will have time to reboot, and new thoughts will flow like a river again.

What if my thoughts materialize?

The essence of this practice: tidy up your head. All these thoughts on paper are production waste. They are more likely to come true if you replay them in your head every day. Once out of your mind, they will no longer harm you in the wild.

Is it possible to re-read what you have written?

Re-reading what you have written is like throwing the collected garbage onto the floor after cleaning and sorting through it, looking for something valuable. You need it? If you want, all your writings can be read in a year or a couple of years. Then, when these thought forms have already disappeared.

Quote on Twitter

Is it possible to write on a computer?

Can. But the best effect of practice will still be if you write with pen on paper.

Is it possible to write in the evening?

If you understand that in the morning you don’t think about anything at all, you perform the practice “with a creak” and you only get upset or even scold yourself, saying that everyone can do it, but I can’t do it, then you shouldn’t overpower yourself. Write in the evening or during the day. Find the ideal time and place for yourself so that performing this ritual will only be a joy for you.

Can I write for less or more than 30 minutes?

Can. Try different times of 15, 20 or 30 minutes. Or a different number of pages. Experiment!

For example, I have exactly three pages in my notebook, in which I write in each cell. Everything takes from 20 to 30 minutes.

What if you don't have time in the morning?

Try to find him. Get up early while everyone else is sleeping and write for fun.

I set the alarm specifically 30 minutes earlier to write pages. Seeing the results quickly became a great incentive to wake up.

Is it necessary to write every day? Is one month enough to complete the practice?

As with any practice, the effect occurs after a certain time. Let it be two weeks, a month or two. Everything is individual. At first I wrote every day for about two months. Then I took a break and after a while I felt that I needed to unload again and started writing again. Now I use the practice only if I feel that my mind is clogged and I need to wipe the dust off the shelves.

You have probably noticed yourself that people strive in every possible way to enrich their memory, their knowledge, and practice eloquence, but they almost never care about the culture of thinking. They try to reason logically, without caring about thinking correctly. They mix these things up.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Nice bonuses

While writing pages, new ideas will begin to come to you (space is freed up!), thoughts, answers to questions that you have been struggling with for a long time. Record this. But only after you complete this written ritual completely. Without re-reading everything, highlight the desired thought with a bright marker. Better yet, keep a separate notebook for fresh thoughts and ideas and record all your insights there. They will become for you valuable grains of gold that you found while washing the sand in your head. Store them carefully in a safe place.

Safety precautions

In any business, before you start something, it is better to find out about the possible consequences. Writing practice can lead to amazing results, but there are a number of cases when this exercise should be postponed.

1. If the practice makes you feel uneasy, the old fears and pain return, it is better not to reopen old wounds. Don't describe the past, leave it behind the line. Describe good thoughts and events. Our task is to free up space in our heads, but not to add new experiences.
2. Don't be too hard on yourself and your writing pages. This is a free format. Try the practice on yourself. If you write down all your exciting thoughts in 15 minutes, you don’t have to worry that you haven’t thought of anything for half an hour. If you find that you write best in the evening, then so be it! Calm down, there are no excellent students here!
3. You should not start writing practice while in a depressed state. If you are not yet ready to look inside yourself, it is better to seek help from a specialist.
4. Find a place and space for yourself so that no one disturbs you while you are writing pages, interferes with you, or asks what you are writing. If you are worried that someone will be able to find and read your pages, come up with a secluded place in advance where your notes will be stored, or write on a computer and protect the document with a password. Another option is to carry the notebook with you in your bag or car, so you will always have it under your supervision. My friend wrote pages in the car and carried a notebook in the glove compartment.
5. It may sound cliché, but think positively! You shouldn’t turn your pages into a snotty diary of a whiner, where there will be continuous complaints and criticism of yourself or others. Pages are an element of purification, not self-flagellation! Use it to your advantage. Try to always end on a positive note. For example, at the end I always wish happiness and love to everyone around me.

I wish you a good and fresh day!

There come moments in life that divide it into “before” and “after”. Such situations arise either unexpectedly, or you draw this line yourself. One of these moments for me was the discovery of the “Morning Pages” practice and its application. We can say that it was this morning ritual that launched a chain of conscious changes in my life a little over a year ago.

I first learned about the writing practice “Morning Pages” from Julia Cameron’s book “The Artist’s Way.” At that time I was undergoing personal growth training. One of the tasks was to perform this practice every morning for a week. I completed the task and continued to write pages every day for several more months in a row.

In fact, most of us have been familiar with this wonderful practice for a long time. I don’t know how common this was among boys, but almost all girls kept a diary in childhood and adolescence - a storehouse of teenage doubts, worries and tears.

Why have we stopped using this powerful tool for purifying consciousness? Some because they grew up and considered this method to be childish quirks. For others, perhaps, all this rabble of thoughts on paper was found and read by relatives, completely discouraging the desire to share their opinion. Some people retained the internal need to transfer thoughts from their heads to another format, and they started personal blogs on the Internet.

In one day, up to 60 thousand thoughts rush through our heads. Can you imagine? And ninety-five percent of them are our old thoughts. The same thing, every day - a familiar picture? Our head has turned into a huge vat in which a porridge of our own and other people's thoughts is cooked without stopping. And we think, think, cook, cook.

Pot, don't cook it anymore! Brothers Grimm

Just like you clean your house, your room, you should put things in order in your head and put all your thoughts and memories in order.

The essence of the morning pages is approximately the same as the girl’s diary.

You wake up. Even before all morning procedures, take a pen and notebook. Set a timer for 30 minutes and start writing without stopping. Try not to stop, not to start thinking about some thought that has arisen, but just write, write, write. Nonstop.

What to write about?

• what did you dream about last night
• what worries you
• what do you dream about
• about the thoughts that are constantly spinning in your head
• complaints, claims, feelings
• describe situations that haunt you
• about pleasant and exciting events

In general, you need and can write about anything. The main thing is to write. Write nonstop.

One of the nice things about morning pages is that you don't need to know how to write! It has absolutely no meaning: neither style, nor syllable, nor grammatical structures, nor spelling. No one will ask you to submit your thoughts for testing!

Why in the morning?

A clear head in the morning is a great way to start each day anew. Only in this case will your inner space become a blank slate. The goal of this practice is to remove all unnecessary thoughts, sweep away all the garbage. Make room for a new day.

What if there is nothing left to write about or no thoughts come to mind?

If you suddenly stop and your head is empty, and the time has not yet been spent, begin to describe yourself, your mood, the place in which you live. After a couple of such ordinary sentences, your computer in your head will have time to reboot and new thoughts will flow like a river again.

What if these thoughts materialize?

The essence of this practice: tidy up your head. All these thoughts on paper are waste products. They are more likely to come true if you replay them in your head every day. Once they are out of your mind and free, they will no longer cause you any harm.

Is it possible to re-read what you have written?

Re-reading what you have written right away is like cleaning the house, collecting bags of garbage, and then pouring it all onto the floor and sorting through every grain, looking for something valuable and interesting. You need it? If you want, all your writings can be read in a year or a couple of years. Then, when these thought forms have already disappeared.

Is it possible to write on a computer?

Can. But the best effect of practice will still be if you write with pen on paper.

Is it possible to write in the evening?

If you understand that in the morning you don’t think about anything at all, you perform the practice “with a creak” and you only get upset or even scold yourself, saying that everyone can do it, but I can’t do it, then you shouldn’t overpower yourself. Write in the evening or during the day. Find the ideal time and place for yourself so that performing this ritual will only be a joy for you.

Can I write for less or more than 30 minutes?

Can. Try different times of 15, 20 or 30 minutes. Or a different number of pages. Experiment!

For example, I have exactly three pages in my notebook, in which I write in each cell. Everything takes from 20 to 30 minutes.

What if you don't have time in the morning?

Try to find him. Get up early while everyone else is sleeping and write for fun.

I set the alarm specifically 30 minutes earlier to write pages. Seeing the results quickly became a great incentive to wake up.

Do you have to write every day? Is one month enough to complete the practice?

As with any practice, the effect occurs after a certain time. Let it be two weeks, a month or two. Everything is individual. At first I wrote every day for about two months. Then I took a break and after a while I felt that I needed to unload again and started writing again. Now I use the practice only if I feel that my mind is clogged and I need to wipe the dust off the shelves.

You have probably noticed yourself that people strive in every possible way to enrich their memory, their knowledge, and practice eloquence, but they almost never care about the culture of thinking. They try to reason logically, without caring about thinking correctly. They mix these things up. Saint-Exupery A.

Nice bonuses

While writing pages, new ideas will begin to come to you (space is freed up!), thoughts, answers to questions that you have been struggling with for a long time. Record this. But only after you complete this written ritual completely. Without re-reading everything, highlight the desired thought with a bright marker. Better yet, keep a separate notebook for fresh thoughts and ideas. And record all your insights there. They will become for you valuable grains of gold that you found while washing the sand in your head. Store them carefully in a safe place.

Safety precautions

As with any endeavor, before you start something, it is better to know the possible consequences. can lead to amazing results, but there are a number of cases when their use should be postponed.

1. If practice makes you feel uneasy and your old fears and pain return, then in this case it is better not to reopen old wounds. Don't describe the past, leave it behind the line. Describe good thoughts and events. Our task is to free up space in our heads, but not to add new experiences.
2. Don't be too hard on yourself and your writing pages. This is a free format. Try the practice on yourself. If you write down all your exciting thoughts in 15 minutes, then you don’t have to worry that you haven’t thought of anything for half an hour. If you find that you write best in the evening, then so be it! Calm down, there are no excellent students here!
3. You should not start writing practice while in a depressed state. If you are not yet ready to look inside yourself, then it is better to seek help from your loved ones or a specialist.
4. Find a place and space for yourself so that no one disturbs you while you are writing pages, interferes with you, or asks what you are writing. If you are worried that someone will be able to find and read your pages, come up with a secluded place in advance where your notes will be stored, or write on a computer and protect the document with a password. Another option is to carry the notebook with you in your bag or car, so you will always have it in sight. My friend wrote pages in the car and carried a notebook in the glove compartment.
5. It may sound cliché, but think positively! You shouldn’t turn your pages into a snotty diary of a whiner, where there will be continuous complaints and criticism of yourself or others. Pages are an element of purification, not self-flagellation! Use it to your advantage. Try to always end on a positive note. For example, at the end I always wish happiness and love to everyone around me.

I wish you a good and fresh day!

By making room for something new, you will be surprised at how easily and simply your life will begin to change.

For over a year now I have been starting my morning with “morning pages”. Many of my readers have heard of this practice, but not many have begun to use it so regularly. Today I will tell you what “morning pages” are, why they are needed, and what results they give.

The term "morning pages" comes from Julia Cameron's book The Artist's Way. This practice may have been invented before Julia Cameron, but it became famous after this book. And all authors refer to this book when they talk about morning pages. On a personal note, the book itself is excellent and I recommend everyone read it.

What are morning pages?

The practice itself is extremely simple. Every morning, immediately after waking up, you need to sit down and write three pages of text. Everything that will be in your head. Just write and write, even if it seems like there is nothing to write. Just write: “No thoughts at all. I don't want to write these pages. As much as possible already! And here is another line written. And another one. It would be better to go and clean the kitchen. When will I learn not to leave dirty dishes until the morning?” The main task is to let yourself go, to pull your thoughts and emotions out. Don’t write a text on purpose, but figure it out in your head. It's not that easy. And the first page is almost always “invented.” And then gradually we begin to spill out what really worries us. Of course, not everyone can do this right away. And this practice is not always easy. They even say that if the morning pages are creaking, it means that you have come close to some important revelation... By the way, now these pages always run smoothly for me. I just learned to describe my thoughts, even when there are almost none. Just listen to the noise that is in your head and write it down. Why do you need to write them in the morning? It's easiest to get to your subconscious in the morning. In addition, in the morning, fantasy usually doesn’t work well, the mind is still asleep, and the chance to see something really important in yourself increases, and not just describe the games of the mind. Why three pages? More is possible. The main thing is no less. In two pages you will already understand what lies on the surface of consciousness... And you will be able to look deeper. This is why such a practice was invented.

What do morning pages give me?

Firstly, this is an excellent prevention of getting bogged down in stress. If you pour all the negativity onto paper, it doesn’t have time to accumulate. And while there is little negativity, it is not so difficult to neutralize it with the help of these morning pages. There is no need to take out your emotions on your loved ones... And you can trust paper with everything.
Secondly, if morning pages become a habit, I immediately understand disturbing situations. For example, someone offended you or did something strange to you. You can't help but write about it in the morning pages. And there, having thrown out all the emotions, you will get to the point: why did this happen? Where is my mistake? And so on.
Thirdly, morning pages simply teach you to hear yourself better. Pay more attention to your thoughts and your emotions. Be more attentive to your desires.
Fourthly, revelations do sometimes come. Rarely, but they come. Suddenly you learn something really important about yourself. Such insights often help get things moving in self-development.

How to find time for morning pages?

The hardest thing is to get up early for this practice (“”). At first it can take quite a long time... Then you start writing everything in 15-20 minutes. It seems impossible to get up half an hour earlier for the sake of some strange writing. And many, probably, would not have found enough willpower in themselves. But those who find it will not regret it. And now that morning pages have become a habit, I regularly get up half an hour earlier without any doubt. Although . Of course, now I don’t do this practice every day. There are also restless nights, after which it is better to sleep longer. But once every two days I definitely write morning pages. After all, this helps to get rid of negative experiences in time and notice the accumulation of fatigue!

Greetings, dear friends.

The second bonus day of the project is dedicated to Morning Pages. We found out that questions arise even among those who have been conducting them for more than one year. What can you say about newcomers? Of course, they have a lot of questions. It's time to sort things out a little and put everything on the shelves.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who left lengthy comments under the post with the report posted on the twelfth. Indeed, friends - so much food for thought! Thank you very much. As, indeed, for the fact that we gathered in such a company in the first place. I already said: I didn’t expect that there would be so many of us. And I certainly didn’t expect everything to go so well. Well, I believe that everything will continue like this.

In the meantime, to the questions and answers that were written “based on” your comments. It was a very interesting process of analysis. Thanks again.

1. I didn’t like leading Morning Pages because they infuriate me.

There is nothing surprising. However, there is nothing bad either. On the contrary, it is a wonderful reaction. Now, if you remained indifferent, then it would be a different matter. Why are Morning Pages annoying? It’s not every day that we dump the contents of our heads onto paper, and the contents that we prefer to hide (or rather, try to hide) even from ourselves. In the first days, the truth is disarming, and this is absolutely normal. By the way, if at the very beginning of the Path the Morning Pages infuriate you, this is a great sign. This means that very soon something will click in you, and... and there will be many pleasant surprises. They're just around the corner. You just have to wait a little.

2. So when do they write Morning Pages?

Morning Pages are written immediately after waking up. No business should come between them. Personally, my daily routine is like this. Waking up, morning exercises, shower, Morning Pages with a cup of coffee. It is very important to write them precisely at the moment when your head has not yet been filled with various thoughts about work, etc., etc. Is it possible to write them at work - provided that you arrive at work early and get up in the morning? It is very undesirable, it is better to get up early.

If you can't help yourself, and the thought of getting up half an hour early fills you with chilling horror... I have good news for you: You can write Morning Pages in bed. And for this you don’t have to wake up at all. At one time I did just that - a notebook with Morning Pages lay next to my bed. I opened my eyes, took it and began to write. So there are no hopeless situations.

3. My hand can't keep up with my thoughts. It's annoying.

Writing quickly by hand is achieved through regular practice. It's a matter of experience. After two or three months of daily (this is an important word) doing Morning Pages, you will be convinced that I am right.

4. Is it possible to shorten words?

By and large, there is nothing wrong with cuts. In the abbreviations themselves. The problem comes when we ask the question “why are we using them?” In order to save time. Whose time are we saving? Your own. Do we want to quickly get rid of thoughts and Morning Pages? Do we want to quickly unsubscribe and forget about all this like a bad dream? “Hold on for another week, then until the end of the course, and then quit”? Rhetorical questions, the answers to which you will look for yourself. My answer is that there is no need to cut anything in the Morning Pages. This is the time you devote to yourself. Save on work you don’t like, on social networks, but you shouldn’t save here. Somehow it doesn’t sound very good to save on yourself. I think you agree with me.

5. My Morning Pages are most like...<вставить нужное>. This is good? This is right?

We need to very clearly understand one simple truth that concerns the Morning Pages. This is not a story, not a novel, not a LiveJournal post, and not a literary work. Morning Pages is not a work at all. These are three sheets of brilliant nonsense that you write every day, just after opening your eyes. They are not right or wrong, good or bad. When you write them, critics, perfectionists and skeptics turn off in your head - in the comments they wrote that a feeling of flow is achieved, and someone has already caught it, and this is very cool, because soon it will be possible to make it permanent. And, since all this is turned off in our head, this means that the result of our work is not subject to criticism. The question “am I writing correctly” in terms of meaning and content is a question that not only does not have an answer. There is no point in asking it. If you get up in the morning and write three pages by hand every day about everything that comes to mind, you are ALREADY doing everything right and well.

6. Three pages or half an hour on a timer?

Three pages. Why not a timer? Because for me, let’s say, Morning Pages sometimes take half an hour, and sometimes forty minutes. Sometimes even forty-five. Therefore - three pages. Half an hour is not a guideline.

7. What to do with Morning Pages when there are sooooo many of them?

In search of an answer to this question, I scrolled through the book to the end. Yes, it seems that Julia is really talking about the further “use” of the Morning Pages only in the continuation of “The Artist’s Way”, “Goldmine”. I would like to believe that we will reach the end of the Path, and then take a short break and start working on the “Gold Mine” (and it will be many times more fun there than now! And there the need for support is especially acute there). Well, in the meantime... so what to do with the Morning Pages when there are many, many of them? Julia recommends re-reading them every three months and then destroying them. What happens during rereading? In general, various important things are noted with the help of a marker. They are recorded using extracts. But we will talk about this in more detail in due course.

8. So what do we have with the format? A-4? A-5? In line? In a cage?

The optimal page size for maintaining Morning Pages is A-4. At least in my opinion. And Julia talked about exactly this in her explanation of the method. If you are demoralized by a large format, then you can take smaller sheets, “matching” A-4, but personally I am not attracted by the idea of ​​flipping through page after page - I don’t like it from a psychological point of view.

Cage or ruler? A ruler is preferable - at least there will be no doubt about which cell to write in, across a cell or in each line. A wide-ruled notebook allows us to fill out the sheets evenly and not torment ourselves with various unnecessary thoughts. Julia recommends doing Morning Pages this way: A-4 and a ruler.

There is another question that newbies sometimes raise. Julia talks about keeping Morning Pages on paper. They wrote three sheets of paper and put them in an envelope. Then they wrote three more - and again in the envelope. And so on. Accordingly, the question is - maybe the Morning Pages should be kept on sheets of paper, and not in a notebook? And here, too, you can choose whatever you want. Personally, I find it more convenient to write in a notebook - somehow I don’t really want to bother with envelopes and sheets. On the other hand, I know people who keep Morning Pages on sheets. Moreover, they change the color of the sheets if they get tired of writing on the most ordinary white ones.

The same applies to the question of what to write with: an ink pen, a ballpoint pen, a simple or colored pencil, perhaps a felt-tip pen? You can write with anything. If today you want to use a pencil, let it be a pencil. By the way, at one time I wrote Morning Pages in pencil. If you want a felt-tip pen, let there be a felt-tip pen. Just ask yourself - what do you want today? Probably it will be a red piece of paper and a black marker? Tomorrow it will be a yellow piece of paper and a red ink pen? As stated above, there is no right or wrong. There is only what you like at the moment.

These are all the “extremely important” questions that we have raised, are raising, and will probably raise in our conversation about Morning Pages. If you are interested in additional questions and details, friends, do not hesitate to ask.

Let me remind you that we meet on Saturday, April 19th, to review assignments for the second week. I'm sure inspiring stories await us!

Have a nice continuation of the week to all of us.