Julia Cameron: It’s Never Too Late To Begin Again
Miriam Knight: That’s such a poignant story. Now, Julia, I heard you speak a couple of years ago at the International New Age Trade Show. You gave a wonderful talk, and one of the comments that you made has stuck with me. You said, “Woo-woo is the new normal,” or something that effect.
Julia Cameron: Yes.
Miriam Knight: And I was delighted to read in your book that not only are you asking questions of yourself, but you’re getting answers from somewhere. Tell us about that.
Julia Cameron: Well, one of the things that I believe is important to do is to ask for guidance, and trust that you’ll receive it. So, when I write, very many times at night I will write LJ for little Julie, and then I’ll say, “Please guide me.” And then, I’ll listen and write down what I hear. And very often what I hear is a sort of calm, gentle, supportive voice. And I find that the guidance is reliable.
Miriam Knight: So, when you talk about little Julie, are you assuming that that’s your inner child, your higher self?
Julia Cameron: Yes.
Miriam Knight: And have you done more extensive channeled writing?
Julia Cameron: Well, I write prayer books. I have written five prayer books. And I find when I sit down to write a prayer that I feel myself in contact with a larger source. I have a prayer book called Prayers to the Great Creator, and it’s 650 pages long–many, many prayers. And I read those prayers at night, and I think, “Who wrote that?”
Miriam Knight: How wonderful. I never knew that. Are you writing another one at the moment?
Julia Cameron: I just finished a book, which I call, Life Lessons. And it’s short, bullet-length prayers, and I found myself saying to myself, “Gee, I wonder if these prayers are too brief. They are very condensed.” And I turned the book into my publisher, and I said, “I’m worried that the prayers might be a little too brief.” And he said, “Oh, Julia, this is the age of Twitter.” .
Miriam Knight: You also point out that you, yourself, can be a crazy-maker.
Julia Cameron: Yes.
Miriam Knight: Have you ever been a crazy-maker for yourself?
Julia Cameron: I think that I sometimes procrastinate, and that’s a pretty potent form of crazy making. And I’ve found myself saying to myself, “Oh, Julia, just begin.” And that’s where the title of the book comes from.
Miriam Knight: Uh-huh, It’s Never Too Late to Begin Again. Now, other ways that we can sabotage ourselves is by our doubts, (Are we worthy?) our skepticism, and our need to create something perfect. How do we overcome those blocks?
Julia Cameron: Again, here we go one more time back to morning pages where we’re talking about writing imperfectly. You write whatever crosses your mind. It might be, “I forgot to call my sister back, I didn’t buy kitty litter, the car has a funny knock in it, I didn’t like the way Joseph talked to me at the office yesterday.” So, you skip topic to topic to topic. And as you do so, you’re going to find that your inner censor perks up and starts criticizing you.
And you’ve learned that there’s no wrong way to write morning pages. So, in effect, you say to your sensor, “Thank you for sharing, and I’ll just keep going.” And when you keep going, your sensor becomes discouraged, and it stops fighting you so strongly. And I think that people find a sense of hope and a sense of adventure as they move past their sensor.
Miriam Knight: So, as we come to the end of our conversation today, Julia, what final thought or urging, I know: morning pages, would you leave with our listeners?
Julia Cameron: You’re exactly right. I would tell people to do morning pages. I would say, “Just try three pages daily, longhand writing, and you will have a spiritual awakening.”
Miriam Knight: At the very end of your book you share the idea of the wish list. Shall we close with that?
Julia Cameron: Well, I think it’s a very potent tool. I say, “Number from 1 to 25,” and say, “I wish…, I wish…, I wish…” And your wishes will range from the sublime to the ridiculous. But, what they do has they put you in direct contact with the voice of your soul. And your soul has yearnings and desires. And as you acknowledge them, you gain a sense of strength.
Miriam Knight: Well, I recommend this book for anyone actually – you don’t have to be retired, especially if you’re looking for more juice in your life, or to connect to your creativity, this is the book to get: It’s Never Too Late to Begin Again, Discovering Creativity and Meaning at Midlife and Beyond, by Julia Cameron, and her website is Juliacameronlive.com. Thank you, Julia. Thank you for your book and for being with us today.
Julia Cameron: Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity to discuss it.
About Miriam Knight
Miriam Knight has been a publisher in the body-mind-spirit field for over 15 years. She was a senior business executive who made a mid-life shift onto the spiritual path after her husband’s awakening experience, which led them to move to the US from England. Miriam Knight is an author, speaker and highly regarded radio host, whose award-winning author interview show provided the foundation for her latest book, What Wags the World, Tales of Conscious Awakening (with Julie Clayton.) A psychologist by training and explorer by inclination, Miriam Knight has lived on four continents, speaks four languages and is a citizen of the world. http://www.ncreview.com
http://omtimes.com/iom/shows/new-consciousness-review/
