Table of Contents
IN ORDER TO MAKE ART
We must first make an artful life, a life rich enough and diverse enough to give us fuel. We must strive to see the beauty where we are planted, even if we are planted somewhere that feels very foreign to our own nature. In New York, I must work to connect to the parts of the city thatfeed my imagination and bring me a sense of richness and diversity instead of mere overcrowding and sameness. In California, my friend must work to do the same. We must, as the elders advise us, bloom where we are planted. If we later decide that we must be transplanted, that our roots are not in soil rich enough for our spirits, at least we have tried. We have kept hold of the essential thread of our consciousness, the I that gives us the eye to behold
from THE SOUND OF PAPER
ALSO BY JULIA A CAMERON
NONFICTION
The Artists Way
The Artists Way Morning Pages Journal
The Artists Date Book (illustrated by Elizabeth Cameron)
Walking in This World
The Vein of Gold
The Right to Write
God Is No Laughing Matter
Prayers from a Nonbeliever
Supplies
God Is Dog Spelled Backwards (illustrated by Elizabeth Cameron)
Heartsteps
Blessings
Transitions
Inspirations: Meditations from The Artists Way
The Writers Life: Insights from The Right to Write
The Artists Way at Work (with Mark Bryan and Catherine Allen)
Money Drunk, Money Sober (with Mark Bryan)
FICTION
Popcorn: Hollywood Stories
The Dark Room
POETRY
Prayers for the Little Ones
Prayers for the Nature Spirits
The Quiet Animal
This Earth (also an album with Tim Wheater)
PLAYS
Public Lives
The Animal in the Trees
Four Roses
Love in the DMZ
Bloodlines
Avalon (a musical)
The Medium at Large (a musical)
FEATURE FILM
Gods Will (as writer-director)
JEREMY P. TARCHER/PENGUIN a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
New York
JEREMY P TARCHER/PENGUIN
Published by the Penguin Group www.penguin.com
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, NewYork, NewYork 10014, USA Pengum Group (Canada), 10 Alcorn Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4V 3B2 (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephens Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd) Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Austraha Group Pty Ltd) Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi- , India Penguin Group (NZ), Cnr Airborne and Rosedale Roads, Albany, Auckland, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd) Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd,24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank,Johannesburg 2796,South Africa
Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England
First trade paperback edition 2005
Copynght 2004 by Julia Cameron
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors rights. Purchase only authonzed editions.
Published simultaneously in Canada
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The sound of paper : starting from scratch / Julia Cameron. p. cm.
eISBN : 978-1-101-12703-2
1. Creation (Literary, artistic, etc.). 2. Self-actualization (Psychologry). 1. Title.
BF408.Cl5dc22
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
http://us.penguingroup.com
This book is dedicated to Joel Fotinos, who has taught me to approach the changing seasons of my life with faith.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Sophy Burnham, for her creative courage
Elizabeth Cameron, for her loyalty
Domenica Cameron-Scorsese, for her artful heart
Sara Carder, for her meticulousness
Carolina Casperson, for her belief
Sonia Choquette, for her believing mirror
James Dybas, for his generosity
Joel Fotinos, for his faith
Candice Fuhrman, for her support
Natalie Goldberg, for her example
Kelly Groves, for his enthusiasm
H.O.F., for his artistry
Linda Kahn, for her clarity
Bill Lavallee, for his service
Emma Lively, for her catalytic collaboration
Larry Lonergan, for his vision
Julianna McCarthy, for her creativity
John Newland, for his lessons
Bruce Pomahac, for his friendship
Johanna Tani, for her care
Jeremy Tarcher, for his leadership
Edmund Towle, for his perspective
INTRODUCTION
The small book you hold in your hands was begun in a green eastern spring and written throughout a long, parched summer in New Mexico. It is intended as a creative companion. Its essays are modest and gentle. Each is accompanied by a matching task, also modest and gentle. It is my belief that we make great strides in our creativity by taking little steps. Think of this book as a summers hike through the New Mexico wilderness. You will gradually build stamina and savvy. One essay at a time, one task at a time, you will become more and more familiar with your own creative strengths.
IN YOUR BACKPACK
There are three creative tools that should be undertaken and continued throughout your work with this bookand, I hope, far beyond.
MORNING PAGES: Morning Pages are the pivotal tool of a successful creative life. They are three pages of longhand, morning writing, about anything and everything. You may complain, whine, grumble, grieve. You may hope, celebrate, plan, plot. Nothing is too small or too large to be included. Everything is grist for the creative mill. Why should we do Morning Pages? Morning Pages prioritize our day. They render us present to the moment. They introduce us to an unsuspected inner strength and agility. They draw to our attention those areas of our life that need our focus. Both our weaknesses and our strengths will be gently revealed. Problems will be exposed, and solutions suggested.
Morning Pages are a potent form of meditation for hyperactive Westerners. They amplify what spiritual seekers call the still small voice. Work with the Morning Pages awakens our intuition. Synchronicity becomes a daily fact. We are more and more often in the right place at the right time. We know how to handle situations that once baflied us. In a very real sense, we become our own friend and witness. Morning Pages are the gateway to the inner and higher self. They bring us guidance and resilience. They make us farseeing. I have been doing Morning Pages for two decades now. Many of my students have used them a decade or longer. They are a portable, reliable, and friendly tool. Do Morning Pages daily.
