Over the last twelve weeks I completed one of the most popular spirituality and creativity programs, The Artist's Way. I documented the midpoint milestone in a previous post, and am now capping off the experience! Below is a compilation of the second half of the program, followed by a general reflection.
Week 7
It was actually difficult to pinpoint an overall theme, but I enjoyed all of the components! We were tasked with listening to 20min of music daily – totally loved this and it’s something I’ve wanted to do for quite some time anyway. Additional mini activities included taking a risk, creating a meal that smelled good, and wearing a favorite article of clothing.
On the reflection side, we had to create a jealousy map (i.e., who, why, and how to get rid of that feeling), which was pretty confronting given that I’ve done a lot of gratitude work in this space over the years as a barrier. Then, journaling questions on childhood such as: “As a kid I missed…,” “I used to….” “I wanted more…,” “I beat myself up about…” Plus complimenting and appreciating ourselves in the present with prompts like: “I think I have nice…,” “I’m taking greater interest in…,” “I’m getting better at…,” “My self-care is…,” and “My creativity is…"
How about a Morning Pages check-in because it’s been a while? Welp, most days I broke the practice I had for the previous 6 weeks (i.e., not doing anything on my phone prior to starting them aside from writing down dreams). Striving to kick that bad habit for Week 8 though. On the bright side, I’m feeling lots of energy swirling with more and more ideas (how is this possible?!?!) and avenues to explore for expanding and promoting my business. I am ready to expand!
Week 8
I found myself more aware of the volume of ideas I’ve been generating and the need to slow down and prioritize. 2024 has been a year of recognizing my Mani Gen tendency to dabble and create across a variety of inspired actions. Prompts this week asked us to consider where we want to be and how to get there in the next week, month, and year. That type of perspective setting is super valuable when you need a bit of grounding!
Another activity this week was picking a color to describe yourself (and why), but I felt called to also add a prompt for which color I’d like to embody. Ultimately I picked Rose for my current color (no clue why so clearly this was intuitive haha): “it carrie the intention of blooming and to shift in color, plus it’s rooted and looking for the sun and is fueled by water.” For the future color, I wrote “Aqua because it’s bright, playful, eye-catching, intrinsically tied to water and ease and can make people feel calm or joyful or both simultaneously.” Which colors are you represented by in present and future?
The journaling questions for this week focused on beliefs (e.g., in childhood, from others, about artists, etc). It was surprisingly challenging to think up stories and held beliefs on artists and myself as an artist because I don’t have any one story and grew up exposed to art and creativity. In some fashion it was woven through my childhood through crafts, museums, music, chorus, and more. The only negative stereotypes I heard were about “artists don’t make money” and I never considered it as a clear path for myself, rather it grounding my hobbies. It is apparent that my self-doubt and limiting beliefs are tied to visibility, acceptance, and imposter syndrome.
This week I stuck to social media-free mornings (prior to the Morning Pages) – yaaay for the bare minimum! An took stock of my next steps and pacing where I place my energy. Overall a super fruitful week with lots of psychic readings and my first astrology one. Lots of big moves people!!!
Week 9
We had the tall task of rereading all of the morning pages for the previous eight weeks. Did I end up doing this on the last two days of the week? Yup. Did I struggle to read my scribbles? You bet! Did I find obvious and repetitive themes? Oh yeah. This exercise was almost like a slow motion version of a meditation practice – you’re seeing where your mind floats in the first moments (or in my case sometimes hours lolz) after waking. Ultimately, I was wowed at the progress I've made in the last 2 months because, back on June 2nd, I was still in the concept phase for my business website and now I’ve done several readings using it!
We journaled on obstacles and u-turns we’ve had in life that move us away from embracing creativity. Further, we were asked to reflect on resentments and fears swirling around a project, what we have to gain by completing it, and what we could gain if we don’t. I’ve got so many irons in the fire right now (something I’m also trying to reflect on and pair down because I feel my mind is a bit hyperviligant these days), so it was tough to pick one. In the end I landed on whether people actually care about anything I’m producing, whether I’ll face rejection, financial insecurity, recalibrating what “success” means, the expansion of my circle and voice, filling my spiritual cup, etc.
Proud of these 9 weeks thus far and can’t believe I’ve reached the last quarter of this program already!
Week 10
We grappled with obstacles (whether out of our control or self-imposed) in the way of creativity and authenticity. Upfront we identified actions to secure an hour per day of play. I’d say I faired pretty well considering all of the ingrained habits that contribute to time-sucks. For example, I set a new rule to not go on social media while laying in bed (both am and pm); this small adjustment got me up and at ‘em earlier each day and freeing to listen to my audiobook or a meditation at night. I’ve become increasingly aware of overstimulating my mind with constant planning and reflexively drifting to my phone to revenge scroll. I wanted to decrease my screen time this week and that function decided to malfunction and claim I’m only on 1m per day… Mercury Retrograde anybody?
Other lists included: friends who make you self-doubt versus believe in yourself, painful behaviors, new boundaries to set, and small victories. One that I want to document here was 5 Small Promises:
No Social Media While Laying in Bed
Daily Yoga to Heal My Body
Create for FUN Too
Love Myself More Than Any Attention Crumbs
Hydrate Sufficiently
Overall I’m motivated in a totally new way because several projects are moving towards the finish line! Plus, I’ve made hug strides in centering more of my time and energy vs constantly giving it away to people who don’t return the energy.
Week 11
There were a whole lot of lists at play! We were asked to write 10 Wishes across a variety of topics: Leisure, Relationships, Career, Creativity, and Spirituality. Too much to rattle off here across all of the list but there is definitely a thread of wellness, growth, and ease. Finding inspiration to turn small experiences into a special little adventure. Ensuring I show myself respect and water my self-worth through deploying boundaries and embracing joy. Thinking bigger for myself than I’ve allowed since childhood. Trusting the twists and turns of my path and evolution.
The journey is almost complete, which is mind-boggling to think about. I can’t believe I’ve been writing three pages every morning for 11 weeks, plus all of these other exercises and reflections! I’ve experienced a lot of change in my life since starting this program, but I’ll save the bigger reflection on that for next week!!
Week 12
I’ve officially completed The Artist’s Way Program! WHAT A FAST 12 WEEKS. And yet, on the other hand it feels like a lifetime ago. I started at the very beginning a June, which was before I’d registered by business, launched my website, held my first solo event, and so much more!
Before I get too deep into a reflection, I’ve gotta recap this final week! We identified goals "of the heart,” resistance, fears, and what we’d most like to create. It was fascinating to compare Week 1 vs Week 12 resistance – somehow with all of the change and creation over these past 3 months, I had circled back to the same topic: safety. Meaning, feeling save in my own body and identity to be vulnerable and trust myself to not self-abandon out of a fear of rejection. It’s clear to me in a lot of ways that I’m climbing (yaaay ascension), but still have upleveling to do!
This program encouraged me to shift my routines, integrating play and creativity as a staple (vs a “when I have time”). While I’m definitely looking forward to the morning pages being over (sorry!!!) I’ve certainly witnessed how useful a tool it is. I know when I need a reset or am feeling particularly mentally bogged down that I can turn back to them. Until then, here’s to the next leg of the journey!
The Artists Way Reflections
I know I shifted a ton of energy throughout this program and can look around and see how different a place I'm at in life. Writing this one week post-TAW experience, and I still am relieved to no longer have to do the Morning Pages hahaha I feel like I gained so much time back each morning to start my day. I've continued several of the practices I began during the 12 weeks and have gained insight into what's working and not in my life and routines. For example:
Slow down and create windows for silence and mono-tasking
Right the ship with my sleep schedule because there's a ripple effect!
Create for fun, not just obligation for xyz project
Seize opportunities (every once in a while) to step out of my comfort zone
Show self-love by taking care of my body and immediate environment
Trust the process
So grateful to have this catalogue, and my chicken scratch morning pages and lists (!!!), to look back on. This program truly acts as an authentic snapshot of this massively transitional period in my life. And I'm well aware that there's plenty more to come and in the not-so-distant future I'll be reviewing this chapter in awe because I'll have catapulted in multiple areas. Here's to surrendering control and taking your power back!
If you have personally connected to this journey, have questions about my experiences, or would like to share your own, please do utilize the comment section below :)
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