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Summary: Changed my life immediately- twice!
Review: Absolutely amazing how this book can start a transformation of your life from the minute you start reading. The real kicker is when you actually start using it. The "morning pages" which, according to the author, are mandatory, made my life start going in the right direction. Things start coming to you and lining up in the proper order. I started the process recommended some time ago when I first got the book. (One of the great things is that you get to start the work as soon as you start reading the book- actually I haven't even finished the reading yet!) My life was turning around and then I gave up on the "morning pages". Everything went down the drain and the struggle back up has been hard. I once again picked up my trusty copy of this amazing book two weeks ago and started doing the "morning pages" again yesterday. Things are already starting to be better in my life in so many ways! Call me crazy but it works. I have been recommending this book to all of my friends and am now very excited to see that there are others by this author here at Amazon. I will be ordering all of them very soon!
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Summary: From the first page, I knew it would change my life...
Review: This is a book that everyone should participate in, whether you are in an artistic profession or not. I say participate rather than read, because it is not a book that you read - it is a path that you take. Every person has an artist within them, they just have to find it and let it be free. This book will take you on the path to discover your artist within, and it will give you the tools to nurture and protect it. In taking the journey that The Artist's Way will giude you on, you will travel a path of self-discovery and healing, and will regain your creativity and artistry that has been supressed within you for years. There is an artist inside each and every one of us, and this book is the way to find it.
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Summary: An artist's prayer answered
Review: "The Artist's Way" was recommended to me by one of Jerusalem's most successful and productive visual artists and I'm very grateful for the tip!A lot of creative work is done in solitude, so I especially welcomed the sense of community the authors provide. It also reaffirmed my inner struggle against the notion that "artist" is synonymous with "lunatic". Refreshing, generous of spirit, spiced with great quotes from creative masters, it seems to me that anyone who wants to feel more alive (artist or not) will appreciate this book.
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Summary: Best Creativity Book Ever
Review: This book is so great in so many ways! One of the best aspects of this book is that it gets you to look at all the unfair and untrue steriotypes about artists. NO, we're not all selfish, alcoholic, junkies, transgendered-homosexual-beastiality-loving necrophiliacs, and we're not all bad with money, or hermits, or suicidal, or homicidal, or prisoners, or child-molesting, or lazy, or insane, or liberal-loonies, or immoral, or incapable of staying married, dingy, etc. Reading this book will help you realize the overwhelming majority of us are quite healthy, generous, stable, responsible, peaceful, moral, spiritual, happy, happy, happy, and rich. And all that is in one chapter! Another chapter discusses the value of putting your inner critic on hold until you need it. Another chapter has you examine all the topical areas of your life to determine how authentic they are in reflecting your inner areas. Another chapter helps you in being brave with your ideas. Another chapter, helps you to handle criticism, and to determine whether or not is is fair -- GREAT chapter. I could go on and on with this book's value. After writing my first novel, I was hopelessly stuck until I found this book. Now, I'm even illustrating my second novel! In fact, I was so impressed with this book that I rushed out after I completed it, and purchased EVERY SINGLE THING this woman and her partner have published. You name it and I bought it, and I LOVE it all!
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Summary: Buy the book...and the tape series
Review: I highly recommend this book to anyone trying to recover from any kind of pain or abuse or criticism, to anyone searching for meaning in life, to anyone wanting to become more creative and fulfilled. Some books can change your life...this is one of them. And if you truly want to get the most out of The Artist's Way, buy Julia Cameron's tape series "Reflections on the Artist's Way"; listening to Julia describe this amazing process she discovered will drive her point home...right into your heart.
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Summary: This book is even great for "Agnostics"
Review: I was somewhat apprehensive about this book, as I didn't consider myself a very "religious" person and felt it would be "too preachy"... I found, however, that the entire thing is written with respect for EVERYONE'S spiritual beliefs, does NOT preach, and provides those who participate in the exercises a wonderful opportunity to explore and expand the inner Self. I like the fact that the tasks are specific (not vague, "do whatever" things), that the exercises challenge you to take a few moments each day to actually take care of Yourself, and that what you discover about yourself is helpful -- on many levels. You HAVE to stay committed to the process -- no "fudging", no quitting along the way -- but the results are worth the effort. It's okay to nurture yourself; and you can do that without being "selfish" or "egotistical"... It's a great book.
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Summary: A Design For Life
Review: I bought the Artists' Way by Julia Cameron six weeks ago and I won't say it's changed my life - yet, but certainly my attitude towards creativity. Julia Cameron is an award winning American screenwriter who believes that it is our birthright to be creative, but that our creativity is stymied by limiting beliefs, self sabotage and fear. In a 12 week programme, she guides the reader through re-discovering and excavating their creativity by writing morning pages (writing at least three pages of stream of consciousness first thing in the morning) and artist dates (doing creative, fun things at least once a week). There are other exercises which aim to get to the bottom of self limitation and liberate the artist within. One of the themes throughout is 'showing up on the page'ie writing the morning pages, regardless of mood, enthusiasm and just doing it. I have found this to be a liberation. Before I wrote when I was in the mood, but now realise that moods are temporary and that writing as much as you can on a consistent basis begins to open up avenues hitherto closed. Another useful theme is taking small steps - before I had to write the great novel -now I realise that writing a letter to a newspaper for example is a valid way of writing and self - expression. 'The longest journey begins with a single step'is a Chinese saying. Here Julia Cameron shows ways of making those steps. She writes of 'filling the Well'and looking after the Artist in you by giving it treats, taking it out to interesting places and doing new things, seeing things differently, creating visual stimuli which reflects the life you want and stimulating the long dormant Artist to create. Another key theme is that of Synchronicity. As a wise person stated 'Leap and the net will appear'. Once we start making and opening ourselves up to changes then all sorts of doors open to support us. If I have one complaint about the book, I guess that it may not be practical enough for some people who want to know not just how to create, but how to market and channel their creativity. The programme makes many references to 'the Great Creator', the 'Universe'and other kinds of spiritual references, which some people may find offputting, although I personally didn't. In many ways the Artists' Way is limited by being aimed at Artists. In fact it has a much larger relevance to all of us in finding creative ways of living, It is, essentially, a Design for Life, creating and finding ways to enjoy our lives much more fully and realising that being creative isn't something to be denied or suppressed, but celebrated and enjoyed.
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Summary: Rebuttal
Review: It should be noted that all the great creative geniuses ever acknowledged certainly lived a self-serving lifestyle. Thank god or whomever that they did.
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Summary: Inspired me to write and publish a book
Review: I received this book as a gift and was skeptical but I decided to do the steps with a close friend who lived across the country. Once a week we would call each other to discuss that week's chapter. Doing it with a friend helped to keep me going. I found that it truly awakened the artist inside of me that had laid dorment for years while I miserably trodded through corporate life and denied my creativity. Once I began to explore my creativity I felt much better spirtually, emotionally and physically. I ended up completing a guide book which is now for sale and I completed a novel which is not published yet. Whenever I feel depressed or overwhelmed with my life, I start the morning pages and almost instantly feel more in control. Even if you never thought of yourself as an artist, this book helps with self-exploration that may bring forth parts of you that you never realized where there.
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Summary: Deceptive
Review: I was very excited when I started out with this book, but then realized that the reason I was being freed up is the exercises were manipulating my sense of social or family responsibility and instructing me to live selfishly. If you want a successful career and ultimately no deep love in your life, I suggest this book. It also instructs you to redefine God as Good Orderly Direction. This is blasphemy! God defines Himself. He created direction and it is not our place, nor could our pea-sized brains possibly understand the synchronicity she expects us to see in our day to day life. When you do get to the point in your life with this book that you actually think you can see the synchronicity on a moment to moment basis, you hopefully will realize the bigger picture and that you have been truly manipulated. The book guides you into a self-serving life-style! If you have the desire to ponder further, you will realize the similarities between the affirmations, asking the universe (in a general way) for what YOU want (not what God wants in your life) and other attitudes towards God, that this book is actually a very deceptively evil book that leads people away from the one true living God. The beautiful talented people buying this book are usually people that are also searching for themselves and truth, which makes it that much more the tragedy! Love, Cindy
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