by Beth on January 22, 2010
To accept the responsibility of being a child of God is to accept the best that life has to offer you.
— Stella Terrill Mann
More directly from Julia today.
“There is a connection,” she writes, “between self-nurturing and self-respect. If I allow myself to be bullied and cowed by other peoples’ urges for me to [...]
by Beth on January 21, 2010
Listen. Make a way for yourself inside yourself.
Stop looking in the other way of looking.
- Rumi
You may begin to notice that I am directly quoting Julia more and more. Frankly, the previous several chapters have felt slow and heavy at times. But clearly, she was patiently laying the groundwork for this. Now, in Chapter [...]
by Beth on November 12, 2009
Sometimes you have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself.
– Miles Davis
Just like a human child, our inner artist self is nurtured and inspired by a loving, supportive environment. Most of us have already spent a lifetime having our creative selves being shamed, punished, and forced to sit [...]
by Beth on November 6, 2009
As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
– Marianne Williamson
In the post from Zen Habits I mentioned yesterday, author Leo Babauta tells us that patience and perseverance are essential. He tells us [...]
by Beth on October 22, 2009
Our whole life is but a greater and longer childhood. — Benjamin Franklin
I don’t know about you, but I found that yesterday’s exercise was tremendously, actually ridiculously, helpful! In my head, all my fantasies have remained fantasies. They switch from obvious and easy to arrogant and impossible, because my belief has depended on my mood [...]
by Beth on October 2, 2009
Page of Rainbows © Osho Zen Tarot
Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable.
– Helen Keller
Right up there with telling ourselves we don’t have enough money to survive as artists, the other Big Lie we tell [...]
by Beth on August 7, 2009
For improving your behavior, a supportive environment isn’t a luxury. It’s a necessity.– Michael Highstead, CEO of Habit Busters, Ltd.
In her recent (free!) newsletter, Elizabeth Genco Purvis, the “Marketing Goddess” wrote, “One of my mentors said something recently that really shook me up. He said, ‘Your environment is stronger than habit.’ When you think about [...]
What we really want to do is what we’re meant to do.– Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way
Beginning to cooperate with the abundance that surrounds you and wants to guide you is a critical step towards being in the creative flow. It is also one of the most toxic, fear-distorted areas in our culture, and where, [...]
by Beth on April 29, 2009
To love is to admire with the heart; to admire is to love with the mind. — Theophile Gautier
Today we finish our exercises for the third stage of The Artist’s Way. Then, for the next few days, we will pause to observe the great Sabbat of Beltane, one of the two most magical times [...]
by Beth on April 28, 2009
It is never too late to have a happy childhood.– Attributed to Tom Robbins, Wayne Dyer, Berke Breathed and probably more
As we wind down the third step of our journey of artistic recovery, the emphasis is on being especially kind to ourselves while we continue to gently uncover our past memories. One of the important [...]