May 16, 2021 05:49PM moth wrote:

scotbird, yay you!

I did morning pages for a while when I did Julia Cameron's the artists way. I should go find those notebooks and shred them lol.

But hmmm, now I'm thinking maybe I should start up again.

May 17, 2021 04:18PM buttonsmachine wrote:

I've never heard of this, but I like the idea.

I have done some handwritten journaling at different points in my life.

Thanks for sharing and please keep us posted!

May 23, 2021 10:02AM scotbird wrote:

Thanks so much for all the encouragement! This was my second week and I did my pages every day except for one day when I had a really early meeting and didn’t get up in time to do pages first. So six days of pages, 3 pages every day (exactly 3). Chicagoan I think I’ll eventually get to where you are. Not doing it every day, but when I feel I need to. I know what you mean about not wanting anyone to read it. I will definitely shred my pages at the end of the month. Can’t quite decide whether I will read anything back yet (I have not done so far). We all have embarrassing, mean or scary thoughts and it’s been liberating to write those thoughts down with no self censorship. Acknowledging them, owning them and letting them be. Buttons machine if you are still thinking about trying it I’d say just do it. All you need is a pen and paper. The 30-45 minutes it takes has been a fantastic investment of time for me at the start of each day. I can honestly say I’m finding it life changing so far in a very positive way. Much happier and calmer. Will report back next week. I’m planning to keep writing my morning pages every day until 9th June. That day is the fifth anniversary from my cancer surgery, and will be a major milestone for me which has been giving me anxiety. I’ve hardly thought about it at allover the last couple of weeks.

Jul 7, 2021 04:43PM scotbird wrote:

I’m reporting back here as I’ve now completed my morning pages 30 times. Originally I said I would try it for a month, but I did not manage to do it every day, it’s taken me until now, nearly 2 months, to complete the task I set myself. I just cannot express in words how much this practice has helped me to become a calmer, happier, less anxious and less stressed person. The process of writing 3 pages in the morning and then letting those thoughts go has had an absolutely profound and life changing impact. I can only say, please please try it. Write down everything in your head, including gratitude, uncomfortable thoughts, mundane thoughts and even terrible thoughts, that you wish you were not thinking, first thing in the morning, before getting dressed, eating or looking at a screen, fill up 3 sheets of A4 paper, and then leave it on the page. I’ve trul found this practice to be absolutely incredible. It took me a while to get into it at first, and I quite often find myself staring into space or getting distracted by other things, but I’m learning to focus better, and the discipline is a great exercise for me as I have a short attention span. I know that Julia Cameron first came up with this idea, and wrote a book about it, designed for creative people. I have not read the book, and am not a creative person, but this technique is completely fabulous. Please try it and let me know how you get on.