Morning Pages, created by Julia Cameron, are an empowering tool used to cultivate creativity and personal transformation. The idea is to wake up and immediately write a few pages about anything, simply transcribing your thoughts.
Writing in the early morning rather than the evening is significant since it allows you to capture your thoughts before your ego is awake and your usual defenses are in place. Your vulnerability in the early morning allows you to write truthfully and purposefully. Morning Pages are like a tough love friend – they encourage you to face your aversions and urge you to take action on your own behalf.
There’s a time every morning when we are half awake, half asleep, and not quite fully conscious. At those moments, we have access to our unconscious mind and our inner workings. But like dew on the morning grass, it will soon be gone without a trace. Listening to these tender morning wisps allows us to reach into our inner world, the deeper part of ourselves that helps guide us on our path of transformation. Morning Pages are a stream of consciousness designed to be written in a journal first thing in the morning. Keep your journal by your bed and reach for it while you are still half asleep.
Begin by writing down any memories you may have of your dreams. At first, there may be nothing, or simply minor recollections, but as you do this over and over, you will build the muscle. You’ll send a powerful message to your brain: I am prepared to accept my unconscious thoughts and feelings, and I accept that more and more will be revealed. You will develop a deep, direct relationship with your inner self.
“You are a spiritual being in a material world, moving forward toward the life you deserve, which is the life you truly came here to live.”
Next write 10 things you are grateful for from yesterday. Usually our minds focus on everything that’s not going well….Take time to give thanks and appreciate what went well yesterday.
Next comes the stream of consciousness writing. Write for at least a page, maybe two. Write whatever crosses your mind. Nothing is too petty, too bad, or too silly to write down. Nobody will be reading this, so write it all – no censoring. You will be amazed at what comes out of your sweet, innocent mind. Write quickly or write slowly. Find a pace that works for you.
All the angry, ugly stuff that you write in the morning would otherwise stand in the way of you being your best you. By doing Morning Pages, you get all those repressed thoughts out of your system so you can live your life and realize that you are not your mind and you are not your thoughts.
You are a spiritual being in a material world, moving forward toward the life you deserve, which is the life you truly came here to live. Watch your breath. Watch your mind. It’s like a meditation. Be still and just let it all pass from your mind onto the paper.