Thoughts on Julia Cameron’s interview on Good Life Project podcast 

“The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron is a book that I heard of years ago from my art teacher who lived in crumbling house in the heart of Jerusalem, but taught me not to fear oil paints and gave me the courage to allow my feelings to display themselves on a white canvas. 

My heart skipped a beat today, in the car, on my way home from work, while listening to a podcast, almost 20 years after those art lessons. The very talented Jonathan Fields actually had the honor to interview Julia Cameron herself on his podcast “Good Life Project”. She spoke of her childhood, and it made my heart open up wide and brought tears to my eyes. She spoke briefly about her parents, who were both writers, and had 7 children. Her mother used to bring out an array of art supplies when they came home from school, and lay them out on the table for the children to get creative with. The “best” art pieces were hung up afterwards for display. Julia mentioned that her mother was also a good baker, thus turning their house into an attractive destination for other children, many friends who came around for the art and the incentive that accompanied it – her mother’s cookies. What a dream. Her love for writing began in the 6^th grade, when she wanted to impress a certain boy, and she began writing short stories and sending them to him. Julia went on and was fortunate to find people who believed in her along the way. A nun at school encouraged her to continue writing and gave her a slot in the high-school newspaper. Two of her teachers at college encouraged her to write – poetry and more – and gave her ideas on what to write about. After graduating, she worked as an aid to the “real” writers in the Washington Post, a frustrating position for her. She tells the story of how one evening one of the managers saw her typing up a piece for the paper and asked her why she looked so miserable. She said that she just typed up a piece for tomorrow’s edition and it stinks. He asked her if she thought she could write something better. While he went off to dinner, she sat and wrote, and when he came back and read her piece she also became a writer, even though it was mainly men who were allowed to become writers at the time.

I find it amazing that some people have this creativity on the one hand, and then the self-confidence and determination to see it through. She was discouraged, mainly in college, when she was told that women should become wives and writing was for men. But that didn’t stop her for a second. I wonder how much of all this – both the actual creativity and the self-confidence – is something that one is born with, or if it is something that develops over time and builds with encouraging mentors and feedback. I assume that it is a mix of the two and all of the in-between. Creative parents, who never forced their children to find a “proper” and “sensible” vocation, creative outlets and opportunities at home with art supplies opening up an entire new world to the children from a young age, and then mentors along the way, strong figures throughout her life who gave her both the encouragement and the positive feedback to write again and again and believe in herself.

Several months ago, I heard another podcast that reviewed the book “The Artist’s Way”. This review focused more on the practical side of the book and did not go into Julia Cameron’s background. After hearing this I went to the library to take out the book to re-read it. In the book Cameron describes several practices that support the artist and promote creativity. One of them she called “Morning Pages” and this became very popular and is often mentioned. I myself began a similar practice as a result of listening to this podcast. Cameron’s suggestion to write 3 pages upon waking up in the morning; trying to do this first thing, thus in a way dumping the thoughts in our mind on the pages and clearing the mind for the actual creative work that will follow. The next day I cracked open a nice new notebook and began my own practice of “morning pages”. Unfortunately, due to life constraints which include mainly getting to work on time, I do not have the opportunity to do this first thing in the morning, but I did not allow this to discourage me. I try to write in my notebook almost every day, and I’m not sure if I’m getting the exact effect that Julia Cameron describes, yet I do benefit from this practice. The writing is an outlet for me, and I find that often helps me to clear my mind and to understand certain things that were unclear to me beforehand.

Towards the end of the interview, Jonathan Fields asks Julia Cameron how one develops this inner validation – knowing that you have something unique and valuable. Julia claims that working with “The Artist’s Way” gives the artist tools to gain self-worth. When one gains self-worth one gains self-belief, and when one gains self-belief one gains success.