the artist's way

It's been some time since I read The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. It was mentioned over coffee earlier this week, some of the Mondo Beyonders have set up a Ning group and Catherine Just has referenced it on her blog. So, I rediscovered my copy on the bookshelf.

If anyone has asked I've always said that Vein of Gold is my favourite Cameron book. But I'm wondering whether I need to re-assess because it looks like I may have not registered the message behind The Artist's Way.

1. Creativity is the natural order of life. Life is energy: pure creative energy.
   
2. There is an underlying, in-dwelling creative force infusing all of life - including ourselves.
   
3. When we open ourselves to our creativity, we open ourselves to the creator’s creativity within us and our lives.
   
4. We are, ourselves, creations. And we, in turn, are meant to continue creativity by being creative ourselves.
   
5. Creativity is God’s gift to us. Using our creativity is our gift back to God.
   
6. The refusal to be creative is self-will and is counter to our true nature.
   
7. When we open ourselves to exploring our creativity, we open ourselves to God: good orderly direction.
   
8. As we open our creative channel to the creator, many gentle but powerful changes are to be expected.
   
9. It is safe to open ourselves up to greater and greater creativity.
   
10. Our creative dreams and yearnings come from a divine source. As we move toward our dreams, we move toward divinity.

It's that thing again as Slade Roberson says:

Your creativity is your link to divinity.

Perhaps if I'd paid attention all those years ago when I read The Artist's Way the first time around, I might have understood this concept. But then again, perhaps not, because there is a time for everything. I just find it fascinating that enlightenment takes time! And when you do understand these things, it's as though you've made a discovery of something that no-one else knows, only to find that thousands of people have always known!

Last night I went to a talk about Theta Healing. It introduced me to a place called True Serenity and the theory of theta waves. What fascinated me was the similarity between the description of theta and what happens to me when I'm running around with my camera and a switch is flicked and I'm running on auto. Theta, being in the flow, in the zone are one and the same thing. Beth Coleman writes:

The Theta state is where intuition comes, instantaneous healings occur and accelerated learning occurs. Einstein trained himself to spend many hours in that state. It is where you feel one with All.

I'm working on an idea around photo therapy and the theta wavelength is another piece of my jigsaw.