Connecting to the Source

This is an AI-free blog.

NOTE: These posts are inspired by The Artist’s Way, a 12 Step Process to recovering your creativity by Julia Cameron. You can read all about it here.

Today we talk about one of my favorite sections of The Artist’s Way—Recovering a Sense of Connection.

My first novel, Oblivion Black, is the timeless story of an artist and his muse. It’s about tapping into the creative source and trusting that your work already exists, in complete form, waiting for you to become the person to create it.

Likewise, your actualized self, who is a masterpiece of creation, is also waiting for you at the end of your artistic journey. Our art runs in tandem with our growth as individuals.

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At the time I was writing this novel, I thought I was stumbling into artistic revelations no one had ever thought of. Little did I know, it had all been said and done before by countless others throughout time (including the Artist’s Way).

This only proves that there is a common source we are all connected to that expresses itself through us through our many different artistic lenses.

Where did that come from?

Have you ever written something that completely surprised you? That is a sign that you are connected. You are now at the depth of being that your conscious brain does not have access too, which means it won’t step in your way and say, don’t go there, don’t do that.

This is why Hemingway said, “Write drunk. Edit sober.” Drugs and alcohol are chemically induced ways to bypass the stodgy, reasonable, cautious mind and free the boundless, fearless, artist to do what it knows it’s supposed to do.

Your turn

Fortunately, you can safely connect to your creative source without going into into a chemically-induced trance.

Here are some ways to tap into your unconscious and increase your receptivity to the collective well.

• Morning pages/journaling
• Yoga
• Meditation
• Breathing exercises
• Self-awareness/mindfulness
• Listening to music in the dark
• Physical exertion (e.g. trigger a runner’s high)
• Therapy/psychoanalysis
• Tantra
• Hypnosis
• Dance
• Chanting
• Religious practice/service
• Massage
• Sauna or steam room
• Divination practice
• Sensory deprivation (float tanks)

Challenge: try something new this weekend

Clear your creative circuits. Pick one or more of the above activities that you haven’t tried before.
See what happens!

What’s your favorite way to channel the muses?

Please share it with us.