Okay,
so I may already have alienated the pragmatists and those for whom the idea of
artistic creativity is anathema. But stay with me. You, too, will benefit.
The
book is the culmination of a number of years of work Julia has undertaken first
to release her own creativity and then that of friends, and, ultimately, paying
students. She is, of course, a well-known film director, amongst other talents.
She lives in a world populated by people who use their creative talent to earn
their living and to produce many of those things we take for granted in our
daily lives. Creativity is not the sole preserve of the isolated artist living
in a dream, after all. It is an element in the everyday experience of most of
us, if we’re willing to discover it. So, there’s something here for everyone.
And I do mean everyone, regardless of the type of life and the nature of the
work undertaken.
The
book guides the reader through a series of exercises and explorations of self
over a period that is suggested to be 12 weeks. I took a little longer, as I
had 2 weeks of holiday already planned and those weeks interrupted the flow.
The exercises, or tasks as she calls them, are essential to the course.
Before
you make a decision to experience this book - it is more an experience than a
reading exercise - I should warn you that you’ll need to approach it with commitment.
A partial, casual approach will not work. You must be willing to immerse
yourself in all that it entails, if you’re to gain from it the lasting and
increasing benefits it promises.
As
you proceed, you’ll find all sorts of excuses not to do certain things, all
manner of reasons why you, in particular, shouldn’t bother with some aspects.
You’re too experienced, you’re too creative already, you’re simply too busy,
you’re above such considerations, you don’t have that sort of problem, etc,
etc. But allowing yourself to fail, permitting yourself to face those fears you
have buried, will, if my experience is any guide, free you from self-destructive
influences you’re unaware you have acquired.
I
learned a good deal about myself during the course of the weeks. Not all of it
was good. But most of what I learned was positive in its influence on my
development. There were painful recollections, shameful admissions, abortive
attempts at justification and some unexpected unpleasant revelations. But these
are all part of the healing process that permits the inner artist to develop
and flourish in the materialistic age we live in. To compensate for the
unpleasant, there were many unexpected plusses along the way. I discovered
really good things about myself, came to understand why I have held certain
beliefs, why I have been unable to take full advantage of my gifts and talents,
why I have rejected certain helping hands, why I have wasted so much time and
effort; even, perhaps, why I became ill for so many years.
Sound
a little over the top?
That’s
what I thought when I started. But I grow daily more certain about what I’ve
learned during these few, important, weeks of my life. I’ve discovered that I
have true gifts, real talents, a fantastic imagination, a unique way of seeing
and being. Sometimes the journey has been frightening, sometimes it’s been
tedious, but often it’s been exhilarating, exciting, vital, and full of fun.
I
never considered myself a ‘blocked’ artist. I seemed to be moving along with my
creative life quite nicely, thank you. But the honesty this course forces upon
its students woke me to the real reality (yes, I know, a tautology, but a
deliberate one). We spend so much of our lives under the cloud of
self-deception that escape is not only considered difficult, for many it is
never considered at all, since these individuals have no consciousness of their
self-imposed imprisonment.
I
think it is clear that I would recommend this book to everybody.
There
is a ‘but’; there is always a ‘but’.
One
aspect of the narrative and underlying philosophy of the book threatened, from
the start, to undermine the effectiveness of the course for me. I am a
committed and self-defined, one might almost say passionate, agnostic. I’ll
explain what I mean by that, since it’s important to your understanding of my
position and argument. I believe that if there is a God, such a force, being,
presence - call it what you will - is so far above our understanding as to be
incomprehensible. I believe any attempt to define a God must, by definition, be
an insult to such a concept and result in a counterfeit rather than the real
thing. Since I understand the concept to be ineffable, I am left with the only
logical alternative; i.e. I remain open to the possibility of a God but can
make no description of such a power and, by logical extension, cannot accept
any of the orthodox deities currently worshipped by the many religions that
exist. These are, patently, constructs of man in a quest to answer the
unanswerable questions and, no doubt, serve a useful, if often divisive, purpose
in providing a sort of comfort for those who prefer not to think about such
issues for themselves.
So,
when Julia Cameron talks about accepting that there is an external creative
being, that she calls God (using the ‘Good Orderly Direction’ tag to reduce the
objections of the sceptics) I find myself resistant. Initially, this very
insertion of the idea of faith into the course formed a barrier for me. But I persevered,
putting that aspect on the back burner until I could examine it and find a
replacement philosophy. And I’m glad I did that. Persevered, that is. Had I
allowed my objection to stop me completing the course, I would have missed out
on a very positive experience and failed to arrive at the new place I now find
myself, creatively speaking.
As
to what alternative philosophy I discovered along the way to replace the God
aspect: this isn’t the place to detail it. Suffice to say that I found such a
concept and am happy to employ that in place of the God facet.
So,
again, would I recommend this book? Only to everybody on the planet. Go out and
buy, borrow, or beg the volume. Make a commitment to do the tasks and
exercises. Make a commitment to complete the course, however long it takes. If
you follow it with the required open mind and the necessary effort you will
come out on the other side a more creative, balanced and happier person.
