Integrity: firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values
Artist Pages and Revelations of Self
The text of this chapter mostly revolved around the morning pages; how the morning pages reveal ourselves, and how that revelation is the thing that should come through in our ART.
The chapter begins with describing how the morning pages reveal our true selves, both things we want more of and things we want less of. As we face the things that we don't like, we will find that we will want to change, and then we will start to take the actions to change.
My summary is that Julia is telling us to recover our sense of integrity we need to processes (like morning pages) to act as a mirror, and when faced with our reflection (truth) we will inevitably act on it.
She warns us that it won't be pleasant, that there will be turmoil. As we change, there is turbulence: a tantrum, aka the sanskrit term kriya meaning spiritual emergency or surrender.
Affirmations
Again we are told about affirmations. That we should/could use morning pages for affirmitive statements of ourselves.
Reading Deprivation (Media Fast)
For me, I need to extend this to a media fast, as I don't really read any physical media, but I do scroll Reddit primarily, and a couple other websites. To my interpretation it seems what we gain is the time and perspective to do other things, things which are productive differently, to act in the ways of which we are - to have more integrity. I'm curious to see how the rest of you do - I'm writing this on day 2, and so far I have not started my media fast yet, but I endeavor to!
Tasks
This week I categorized the tasks as Likes, Boundaries, Reflection, Affirmation
Likes: Describe your ideal environment, what do you like in that?
Likes: Describe yourself at 80, what did you do that you enjoyed?
Likes: Describe yourself at 8 years old, what did you like?
Boundaries: Where in your house could you create a private environemnt for maximum creativity?
Reflection: Review your life pie from week 1, how has it changed?
Affirmation: Write your own Artist's Prayer
Affirmation: Go an extended artist's date
Boundaries: Throw out old stuff in your closet, make space for the new
Reflection: Look at a situation in your life you should change...
Reflection: If you break the reading deprivation/media fast, what happened?
I did all my morning pages. It's a nice time to vent about whatever's going on or to be excited about things etc.
I went to Denney's again. It was a nice time to indulge. The pancakes were great.
I did not experience any synchronicity.
I really was bad about doing any tasks. I'm going to have to write out my plan for next week so that I follow it.
I tried really hard to deprive myself of news, because it can be so upsetting. It always ends up coming up in conversation though.
I did my daily writings every day. I did not do the Artist's date. That's really been a hard one for me. I got all of my weekly tasks accomplished, I pretty much failed on the reading deprivation but over the weekend I pretty much stayed clear of my most visited websites. I have been getting a lot of good practice time in on my accordion and I'm really having fun. I'm currently updating my new phone which was an unexpected and too expensive purchase. UGH!
Did the writing and artist date. Amazing synchronicity! Winter wonderland out there today. The roads should clear up before I go see Dallas this weekend.
So, we passed our friend’s old place of work, which got us to talking about him, including “I wonder if he’s still playing that accordion you gave him?” (A big old Zon Rio that I rehabbed). We haven’t seen him in a couple years.
On Wednesday we were hiking when who should appear with his wife and grandchildren!
More amazingly, he said, “My son in law is visiting and just asked me, ‘Do you ever see that guy that gave you the accordion?’ “. How about that?
Here is what I plan for the week. I might end up doing them out of order, especially what I have listed for Monday which has to do with reading deprivation (yet to be started).
Wednesday - Environment (1)
Thursday - Environment (4)
Friday - Revisit life pie
Saturday - open your closet
Sunday - Changing a life situation
Monday - Breaking reading deprivation
As usual, I have to figure out an artist's date. I hope to get that in sometime during the week. Of course, I'll continue the daily writings.
When I read the section about the reading deprivation I immediately thought it would be impossible and I'm still finding that to be the case. Maybe I'll use the weekend to take a break from the online resources I look at every single day an several times a day.
My calendar of tasks
Wed: ideal environment
Thu: Write my own artist's prayer
Fri: Look at one situation in my life to change
Sat: Myself at 80 yo
Sun: Artist date at the "Taste of Jalisco Festival" in Cathedral City, CA
Mon: What room in my house (in Pennsylvania) could be my private artist space
Tue: Read the next chapter!
(Keep posting as Terry the Tester accidentally sorry!!)