The Creative Art of Attention
As an enthusiastic student of Julia Cameron’s work - I have studied all of the books in The Artist’s Way series - and have used them in facilitating groups for over a decade.
When she released the two most recent ones, I pre-ordered them while wondering what could possibly be new?
It turns out - plenty.
Her subtitles say it all.
A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity - The Artist’s Way (1992)
The Practical Art of Creativity - Walking in This World (2002)
The Art of Perseverance - Finding Water (2006)
Creating a Life of Enough - The Prosperous Heart (2011)
Discovering Creativity and Meaning at Midlife and Beyond - It’s Never Too Late to Begin Again (2016)
And in this latest addition to her ever growing body of work - The Listening Path (2021) does not disappoint.
The Creative Art of Attention
We’ve all heard the adage that reminds us we have two ears and one mouth - hence, we should listen twice as much as we speak. Cameron shows us the how.
She encourages us to explore and practice six ways of listening:
Listening to Our Environment
Listening to Others
Listening to Our Higher Self
Listening Beyond the Veil
Listening to Our Heroes
Listening to Silence
Each is layer is explored in a chapter that invites us to practice cultivating a heightened awareness of what we may not be attuned to.
Simple exercises such as noting the everyday sounds of our life, approaching conversations more patiently and with curiosity, and being still enough to ask our higher selves for advice - with specific instructions on how to pay attention for the answers in our body’s reactions, what wisdom serendipitously appears from outside and what answers are suggested in our dreams and in our writing.
In Chapter 4 - Listening Beyond the Veil, we’re invited to actively ask our ancestors and friends who have died to share their wisdom. And before you pooh-pooh that suggestion, let me ask: How often have the words of one’s long deceased grandparents, parents or friends come to mind?
This ‘creative art of attention’ requires that we be intentional about paying attention.
Listening to Our Heroes, Chapter 5, is in much the same vein.
Who inspires you?
Cameron talks about Bill W. and Carl Jung - two people whose work significantly influenced her life and work - and who had a correspondence with each other in their lifetimes. The invitation to write our heroes letters is powerful.
Having explored the first five layers of listening - when we arrive at the sixth, Listening to Silence
we’re ready to embrace it.
It is by listening to the sound of sound that we come to appreciate the sound of sound.
The Listening Path, p 169
She invites us to wholeheartedly embrace this space in spite of any reluctance, by sharing an anecdote.
On a call, her friend Jerry said he felt intimidated by silence. She encouraged him to try it for two minutes. He called back. “I had a few ideas about how I should structure my work week”. “Sounds like an insight, she replied…In silence there are answers”.
It’s helpful to note this observation by the multi talented classical pianist, poet, author, and composer Alfred Brendel:
The word "listen" contains the same letters as the word "silent".
Cameron’s unique gift is that she makes the difficult - if not what we’d consider impossible - simple and accessible.
And she models the how.
In addition to the books I referred to above - she has produced over 40 published works. Seven plays, including three musicals, three works of fiction, a Memoir, seven books on spirituality, two books on writing. multiple prayer books and other books on creativity.
And she has done it by making a commitment to writing three pages a day on whatever project she commits herself to.
She has a pact with the god of her understanding (G.O.D.):
“I’ll take care of the quantity, you take care of the quality”
The Listening Path - as with all her other books on the practical art of creativity, writing and prosperity, offers a primer - an instruction manual with tools - that simply teaches us how to get out of our own way.
As we come out of lockdowns and are faced with the shift in everything we had learned about how to navigate life, I invite you to pick up this book.
It will provide you with a means of
having a conscious connection to your environment
achieving a more heightened awareness of your inner wisdom
recognizing and embracing the attributes, strength & guidance to be found in silence
becoming at peace & more confident that listening attentively offers us everything we need to know
Most significantly, you will have learned to embrace the future confidently.
Care to join me in an exploration?
Formally or informally - in a facilitated group or at your own pace in a free DIY offering - you can learn more here.
Or give me a call.
These are complicated times - #DontGoItAlone!
