How to Journal with Morning Pages

  Over the past few weeks I have been sharing my love and belief in the power of journal writing.  It has excited me to receive comments and emails with questions in response to the subject. Each week, I want to remind you that there is no right or wrong way to journal. Many people have stated they hate the fact that they start and stop, or the way their handwriting looks or simply they do not know what to write about. 

Today, I wanted to introduce the concept of Morning Pages. Julia Cameron first described morning pages in The Artist’s Way  This is a concept where each morning you sit with your journal and write 3 long hand pages. This is basically a free write where you could begin with your “to do” list of the day, what you have going on for the day or how you are feeling. It is simply a stream of consciousness where you let your mind and writing go where it needs to go.

Many people feel the difficult aspect of Morning pages is simply taking the time. After all, how do you squeeze writing three pages in between a workout, getting dressed, making breakfast and lunch and getting out of the house for work? I am not a consistent morning pages writer (I am more of a weekend morning pages writer) but I can tell you that I do feel better when I do consistently write on a daily basis.

A few of the significant points for this process is that you are forcing yourself to slow down before the day begins. Beginning your day with  a journal write helps to center your anxious mind, allows you to focus and can allow you to focus upon items and events that you may find ways to avoid otherwise. Having a minimum of three pages also forces you to continue on with writing about subjects which may initially be uncomfortable but because you write about it, you find comfort.

 Morning Pages can change your life as each day you write, you begin to acknowledge issues in your life and develop ways to cope differently. One of the funniest stories you will find when searching for the subject of Morning pages is this blog post  where the author openly credits writing three pages daily helped her to lose 40 pounds, change her career and divorce her husband. 

As the weekend is approaching, I encourage you to try a trial of morning pages. Remember it is three handwritten pages (about whatever it needs to be for you) written within the first 30 minutes of your day. Don’t edit yourself and simply write down whatever is on your mind – it could be what you need to do at work, how you are worried about something or the weather.

Let me know if you have written morning pages or if you are willing to try a few over the weekend.

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