Hi everyone,
I've been reading a lot of posts on the forum and thought it might be a good idea to start a thread about resources we all come across that can help us address our issues and expand our knowledge base with things that take us outside the "Box" of what we normally would consider, i.e. audio programs, reading material, etc. If there is a thread on this my apologies for the redundancy and please point me in the direction of the existing one. That being said, a friend gave me a book years ago as a gift called "The Artist's Way", by Julie Cameron. I'm sure there are many on here that are very artistic and those that don't consider themselves artistic at all. It doesn't matter because the book is applicable to everyone.
There are a couple of exercises in this book that I think are extremely relevant to anyone on here and are worth trying. The first exercise is what are called "The Morning Pages". This exercise is designed to shut down that pervasive critical voice that prattles on in our head, that critical voice WE ALL have, and as Mrs. Cameron refers to as "The Censor". That merciless critic that never seems to shut up and has a good deal to do with stopping us from accomplishing our goals. We all struggle with our goals here and over and over, I’ve read (and experience myself) this war inside our minds regarding abstinence, or at the very least, the struggle to moderate. The morning pages is an exercise where you spill out of bed in the morning, preferably before everyone else so you can have peace and quiet, and the first thing you do is write 3 pages. It doesn’t matter what you write, just write. It can be anything you want, whatever comes to mind. No one can read your morning pages so you are free to put ANYTHING down on paper. I've found it best to do it immediately upon waking and not give myself a chance to think of anything else. A blank slate to start my day. I’ve done this exercise before for a few months and, let me tell you, you will uncover things that you didn’t realize were there. It’s an extremely liberating form of self-discovery that is relevant to everyone here, moderators included. I plan to pick up this exercise again because I know it will help me.
Take some time and go to the bookstore and have a read though book, particularly the first chapter called “Basic Tools”. That chapter describes these exercises in a detailed and much better fashion than my quick over-view.
I sincerely hope you approach this with an open mind and consider having a look at this book if you haven’t already. When I did these pages I realized there were a lot of unaddressed issues I had in my life and this helped to bring to them to the surface.
I hope this helps and I look forward to discovering new resources from all here as well. Always remember, knowledge is power!
Best regards,
Dave
