Come Walk in This World with me

Posted by Kristin on Feb 18, 2011 in Get journaling | 36 comments

I’ve been feeling like I need a creative kick in the pants the past few weeks. The winter doldrums set in and I get restless this time of year.

While taking a frosty walk yesterday, I was musing on the power of this simple movement to clear my head and jump start my creativity. Just walking for walking’s sake. Meandering, strolling, breathing in the cold air. It’s so therapeutic.

Then I remembered my battered and love-worn copy of Julia Cameron’s Walking In This World on my shelf back home. I remembered what a great leaping off point it was for me several times over the past 8 years or so. And I knew it was the perfect time to do the program again.

The book is subtitled “The Practical Art of Creativity” and it’s further steps along The Artist’s Way, Cameron’s best-selling book on creativity. The book guides you through a 12 week journaling-intensive exploration of many different aspects of the creative process. You’ll overcome blocks, get fresh inspiration, and in general infuse your creativity with new life.

Please join me!

Order your copy on Amazon

The best part about doing the book is connecting with others over it. In the past, I’ve facilitated several Artist’s Way groups, and they were life changing. I even met one of my best friends (and, through her, The Page) during the last AW group I hosted!

Since my apartment is only about 300 sq. ft, I can’t have you all over for tea and discussion of our creative challenges. However, I do have this blog here, so I’m opening it up for a virtual Walking in This World workshop.

I will be posting my thoughts and experiences on the process a few times a week, as well as sharing any of the exercises I feel are relevant.

How to Participate

How you’d like to get involved is up to you. If you prefer quiet, solitary contemplation, join us. If you want to post daily on your own blog about the process, join us. (I’ll provide a list of participating blogs in the sidebar.) If you want to do the work at home and contribute via comments on my posts, join us.

Basically, you can do this however you want.

Leave a comment on this post if you want to participate. Leave a link to your blog where you expect to be posting your progress, if you like. Tell your friends and anyone else you think would be interested in joining us – the more, the merrier!

Because the book is copyrighted, I cannot post the actual contents. So you’ll need to get your own copy if you want to follow along at home. You can patronize your local book store or buy it on Amazon and support Journaling Saves.

In order to give you time to get the book, we’ll start on March 1st.

What to expect

There are no pre-requisites or required materials aside from a journal and your chosen creative outlet (crafting, singing, writing, knitting, underwater basket weaving, etc.). The basic tools of the 12 week program are:

• at least 3 pages of handwritten journaling each day (Cameron refers to them as “Morning Pages”)
• a weekly walk
• a weekly “artist’s date” where you take yourself out someplace creative and fun, alone
• 3-4 journaling tasks, based on the weekly topic

Reading the book and doing the exercises will probably take you 2 hours a week max. Then the 20 minutes or so of daily journaling, and the two outings.

Here are the sections:

Week 1: Discovering a Sense of Origin
Week 2: Discovering a Sense of Proportion
week 3: Discovering a Sense of Perspective
Week 4: Discovering a Sense of Adventure
Week 5: Discovering a Sense of Personal Territory
Week 6: Discovering a Sense of Boundaries
Week 7: Discovering a Sense of Momentum
Week 8: Discovering a Sense of Discernment
Week 9: Discovering a Sense of Resiliency
Week 10: Discovering a Sense of Camaraderie
Week 11: Discovering a Sense of Authenticity
Week 12: Discovering a Sense of Dignity

There is a detailed description of the entire program on Amazon, as well as a look inside the book where you can read a sample to see if it’s right for you. Don’t forget to order your copy of the book in time for it to arrive by the March first start date.

Post any questions you have in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer them. Hope you can join us!