It’s easy to get into overwhelm at the best of times. And we’re in some unprecedented times.
So, I’m sharing a technique called Morning Pages from the book, The Artist’s Way, by Anne Cameron.
Designed for artists to be able to clear the decks to get themselves into flow and producing work, this simple technique works for anyone to help you get re-centered.
This isn’t journaling (although that’s useful, too).
“[T]he morning pages are three pages of longhand writing, strictly stream-of-consciousness. …. Nothing is too petty, too silly, too stupid, or too weird to be included.”
“Three pages of whatever crosses your mind-that’s all there is to it.”
It may be nonsensical, whiny, angry, self-pitying, anxious – just keep writing. Can’t think of anything to say? Then write that.
By dumping all this stuff out of us and onto paper, we “get to the other side: the other side of our fear, of our negativity, of our moods…we find our own quiet center, the place where we hear the still small voice.”
These pages are for you only – and Cameron suggests you don’t even read them for a few weeks.
I found that, besides calming me, this technique enabled me to hear information bubbling up from my subconscious that wasn’t yet in my conscious awareness.