Tired and Overwhelmed? Try Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages

It’s funny how the universe always gives you exactly what you need.

Many years ago my mum was clearing out her bookshelf and I rescued a book from her 'throwing-out' pile.  It was called The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. I took it because I wanted to learn how to paint and left is sitting on my bookshelf until one day, feeling completely worn out by life, I decided it was time I started trying to relax. 

I opened the book in the hope of learning how to paint and instead discovered the morning pages, a tool that really has changed my life. 

The idea is very simple – every morning, when you first wake up, hand write three pages of whatever comes to your mind.  It doesn’t matter what you write, as long as you write something. 

Don’t think too hard, just write. 

Here’s how Julia Cameron describes the morning pages:

“Put simply, the morning pages are three pages of longhand writing, strictly stream-of-consciousness: ‘Oh, god, another morning.  I have NOTHING to say.  I need to wash the curtains.  Did my laundry yesterday?   Blah, blah, blah…’.  They might also, more ingloriously, be called brain drain, since that is one of their main functions. There is no wrong way to do morning pages.  These daily morning meanderings are not meant to be art.  Or even writing... Pages are meant to be, simply, the act of moving the hand across the page and writing down whatever comes to mind.  Nothing is too petty, too silly, too stupid, or too weird to be included.  The morning pages are not supposed to sound smart – although sometimes they might.  Most times they won’t, and nobody will ever know except you.  Nobody is allowed to read your morning pages except you…Just write three pages…and write three more pages the next day.”

In The Artist’s Way, Cameron suggests keeping what you’ve written, but I’ve found for the purpose of releasing that dark weight you might be carrying, it’s best to rip up the pages and bin them as soon as you’ve written them. 

Don’t read through them and don’t keep them – see it as a symbolic way of letting go of the past. 

There’ll be days when you don’t want to do your pages, when they irritate or frustrate you or you think you don’t have time, but still do them anyway.  This resistance is completely normal and part of the process.  See it as an indicator that your energy is about to shift, that something is about to change. 

Steven Pressfield personifies Resistance as someone who is here to purposely “shove us away, distract us, prevent us from doing our work.” Don’t let Resistance stop you from doing your morning pages because they will open up a new world for you and help you get to know yourself. 

As William Knowlton Zinsser says,

“Writing organizes and clarifies our thoughts.  Writing is how we think our way into a subject and make it our own.  Writing enables us to find out what we know – and what we don’t know – about whatever we’re trying to learn.”   

Let your morning pages be your opportunity to learn about yourself and don’t judge how you react towards them. 

One of my patients phoned me early one morning in a rage, saying he found them irritating and a waste of his time, that he had nothing to write.  If you feel like this, that’s great!  Just keep writing!  If you wake up one morning and have nothing to write, that’s okay.  Simply describe the stripes on your pyjamas or the sound of the car on the road outside. 

Over time you will be surprised at what you write.

Another of my patients said she felt like she was ‘vomiting’ onto her page when she was writing.  That’s okay.  Better out than in! 

A friend of mine did these morning pages and said halfway one morning she started scribbling like an angry child.  She was shocked by her own behaviour.  Again, I say – that’s okay, better out than in. 

I remember being a bit horrified by some of the stuff that poured out of me some mornings – stuff I didn’t even know was inside.  What I did notice was how my nightmares stopped and I started sleeping so much better.   

You may find yourself crying or you may find yourself ripping up the pages in a fury.  Some days you may find yourself laughing and others you’ll feel bored. 

Whatever you experience, just remember – it’s okay!  Keep writing!

An alternative to the morning pages is simply journaling and there’s no rules when it comes to journaling. 

All you need to do is sit down and write – get all that weight that you’re carrying around and put it down on paper.   As author Ryan Holiday says,

“Just know that it may turn out to be the most important thing you do all day,” because journaling is “a few minutes of reflection that both demands and creates stillness.  It’s a break from the world.  A framework for the day ahead.  A coping mechanism for troubles of the hours just past.”

References:

Cameron, J. (1992). The artist's way: A spiritual path to higher creativity. Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam.

Holiday, R. (2019). Stillness is the key. Profile Books.

Pressfield, S. (2012). The war of art: Break through the blocks and win your inner creative battles. Black Irish Entertainment.

Zinsser, W. K. (1988). Writing to learn: How to write—and think—clearly about any subject at all. Harper & Row.

Please note: The health and nutritional information provided by Ruth Hull and/or this blog is intended for general educational purposes only. You should not rely on this information as a substitute or replacement for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. If you have any concerns regarding your health and before making any changes to your lifestyle or diet you should always consult your general medical practitioner or other health professional.