Julia Cameron - The Artists Way: 25th Anniversary Edition

I AM SEATED ALONE in a cafe, dining solo. A woman approaches my table.

Pardon me, she says, has anyone ever told you you resemble Julia Cameron?

Startled, I reply, I am Julia Cameron.

Now it is the womans turn to be surprised.

Oh my God, she exclaims, your book changed my life. It made me a novelist.

Thats wonderful, I tell her, genuinely pleased.

I bet you hear stories like mine all the time, the woman says.

In fact, I do, but it doesnt take away the thrill.

Twenty-five years ago, I published The Artists Way, a book that I think of as a support kit for artists. Its popularity caught me by surprise. I thought I was writing a book for myself and a handful of friends. Instead, I wrote a book that spoke to millions. It had a central premisewe are all creativeand with the use of a few simple tools, we can all become more creative.

Creativity, I believed, was a spiritual practice. We had only to open ourselves up to the Great Creator working through us. We became channels for spiritual energy to enter the world. Writing, painting, dancing, actingno matter what form our creativity took, the Great Creator caused us to flourish. And so, encounters like mine in the cafe became commonplace.

The sentence is always the same: Your book changed my life.

No, I often reply. You changed your life. You used the tools I laid out for you.

I think it is important for people to own their own spiritual practice. My toolkit is simple, and it invites practitioners to embrace simplicity. A recent review of my latest book noted that the tools were simple and repetitive. I think of this as a good thing. The tools do not change book to book. The same simple tools that worked in The Artists Way work still, a dozen books later.

In my travels, I encounter practitioners who have used the tools for years. Ive done Morning Pages for fifteen years, a man recently told me. His Morning Pagesthree pages of longhand, morning writing, have filled journal after journal. He doesnt give them up, because they work.

A woman tells me the second primary tool, Artist Dates, a once a week, festive, solo expedition, have given her a life of adventure.

Used together, Morning Pages and Artist Dates do transform lives.

Ive given your book to my mother and my sister, a woman tells me at a book signing. It worked for all of us, she says. Now I want you to sign a book for my boyfriend.

I ask his name, and write the simple phrase, May our words be friends.

I trust that the book will work for him, too. I have come to rely on the book. I trust that it is indeed life-changing.

Julia, dont you get tired of hearing our stories? I am asked. The answer is no. Creativity is never tiresome. It is always an adventure, one I have been privileged to share.

I was a very unhappy lawyer, a Broadway actor tells me. Then I used your tools. Now I am an actorand a happy one.

I was what you called a shadow artist, a thriving director tells me. I was a producer until I used your toolkit, and emerged as a director. Ive worked with your book three times, and each time has led to a breakthrough. Thank you.

Your tools felt natural to me, a fine arts photographer tells me. I used to create in spurts, but your tools have given me consistent productivity.

Before using The Artists Way, my life was very dramatic, a poet tells me. I was always waiting for inspiration to strike like lightning. Now I know that my creativity is a steady flow. I write poems regularly, and without high drama. The poems I write are just as good as any I wrote before.