By: Margaux Paul
This morning I made sure to wake up early so I could get my Morning Pages done before I did anything else. It is a ritual I’ve been consistent with since first reading Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way in 2018. I haven’t always been perfect when it comes to this habit, but when I am consistent with my Morning Pages, the benefits they offer to my craft as a writer as well as mental health are obvious. But what even are the Morning Pages?
The Morning Pages
The Artist’s Way was first published in 1992 as a guide for creatives to heal their inner artist. It provides many tools to inspire self-confidence for artists, the most consistent tool being the Morning Pages. Julia Cameron writes, “Morning Pages are three pages of longhand, stream-of-consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning” (1992). They’re not supposed to be “good”; they just need to get done. In fact, Cameron notes that writers have the most challenging time with the Morning Pages compared to other artists because writers want to make their Morning Pages read like art when the act itself is supposed to inspire you to create, not be the creation itself. The Morning Pages take the preciousness out of writing and offer a safe space to explore thoughts and feelings free of judgment.
Benefits of the Morning Pages
All right, so what are the benefits of doing the Morning Pages? I’m glad you asked! There are many benefits to making the Morning Pages a part of your daily routine.
- It allows you to put all your stress and anxieties down on the page first thing in the morning, meaning you have the space to welcome new ideas and creativity. Are you worried about everything you need to get done later in the day? Or are you still thinking about that awkward conversation you had with a friend last week? By writing down all your thoughts and feelings in one long stream of consciousness you get them out of your head and onto the page, which allows you to analyze them without judgment.
- You can discover your inner child in the process. How often do you let your inner child speak? You’d be surprised how doing the Morning Pages can bring your inner child out from the subconscious. During your childhood, you may have been told that your ideas weren’t good enough or that something needed to be perfect to be worth doing. By giving yourself free rein to write for three pages, whether or not those pages are “good” in your mind, allows your inner child the freedom to explore new ideas free of judgment for the first time in years. It’s easy to write for one, maybe even two pages, but once you get to the third page you start to run out of ideas, and then what’s really on your mind gets jotted down. More often than not those thoughts are from your inner child trying to tell you what they need from you.
- It’s beneficial for your mental health. Journaling is proven to be an excellent tool for processing emotions, and the Morning Pages, before anything else, is a form of journaling. And because the whole point of the Morning Pages is to make it a daily habit, you will experience the daily benefits of having a journaling habit.
- They help with brainstorming ideas. You may have the answer to a problem that’s keeping you up at night, but you won’t know that until you get those ideas down on the page.
How to Get Started
As Julia Cameron says, there is no right or wrong way to do the Morning Pages! Buy yourself a beautiful journal and pen, but most importantly, commit to the process and commit to yourself. All you need is a pen, journal, and dedicated time in the morning for yourself.
Through our expressive writing program, you can gain inspiration for your Morning Pages today! Click on the link below to begin healing your inner artist and child.
Begin Journaling Here
References
Ansari, S. (2020, December 26). 5 profound benefits of morning pages. Medium. https://sidraansari-2835.medium.com/5-profound-benefits-of-morning-pages-909536a490d
Cameron, J. (1992, July 17). The artist’s way: A spiritual path to higher creativity. TarcherPerigee.
Winfield, C. (2019, March 8). These 3 pages might be your key to a clearer mind, better ideas and less anxiety. Chris Winfield. https://www.chriswinfield.com/morning-pages/
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