Julia Cameron > Quotes

“Most of us are not raised to actively encounter our destiny. We may not know that we have one. As children, we are seldom told we have a place in life that is uniquely ours alone. Instead, we are encouraged to believe that our life should somehow fulfill the expectations of others, that we will (or should) find our satisfactions as they have found theirs. Rather than being taugh to ask ourselves who we are, we are schooled to ask others. We are, in effect, trained to listen to others' versions of ourselves. We are brought up in our life as told to us by someone else! When we survey our lives, seeking to fulfill our creativity, we often see we had a dream that went glimmering because we believed, and those around us believed, that the dream was beyond our reach. Many of us would have been, or at least might have been, done, tried something, if...
If we had known who we really were.”
― Julia Cameron

“In times of pain, when the future is too terrifying to contemplate and the past too painful to remember, I have learned to pay attention to right now. The precise moment I was in was always the only safe place for me.”
― Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity

“As you move toward a dream, the dream moves toward you.”
― Julia Cameron

“Leap, and the net will appear.”
― Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity

“Life is a spiritual dance and that our unseen partner has steps to teach us if we will allow ourselves to be led. The next time you are restless, remind yourself it is the universe asking 'Shall we dance?”
― Julia Cameron

“You do not need to work to become spiritual. You are spiritual; you need only to remember that fact. Spirit is within you. God is within you. (67)”
― Julia Cameron, God is No Laughing Matter: Observations and Objections on the Spiritual Path

“Procrastination is not Laziness", I tell him. "It is fear. Call it by its right name, and forgive yourself.”
― Julia Cameron, The Prosperous Heart

“We should write because it is human nature to write. Writing claims our world. It makes it directly and specifically our own. We should write because humans are spiritual beings and writing is a powerful form of prayer and meditation, connecting us both to our own insights and to a higher and deeper level of inner guidance.

We should write because writing brings clarity and passion to the act of living. Writing is sensual, experiential, grounding. We should write because writing is good for the soul. We should write because writing yields us a body of work, a felt path through the world we live in.

We should write, above all, because we are writers, whether we call ourselves that or not.”
― Julia Cameron, The Right to Write: An Invitation and Initiation Into the Writing Life

“Writing is like breathing, it's possible to learn to do it well, but the point is to do it no matter what.”
― Julia Cameron, The Right to Write: An Invitation and Initiation Into the Writing Life

“Pray to catch the bus, then run as fast as you can.”
― Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity

“No matter what your age or your life path, whether making art is your career or your hobby or your dream, it is not too late or too egotistical or too selfish or too silly to work on your creativity.”
― Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity

“But do you know how old I will be by the time I learn to really play the piano / act / paint / write a decent play?"
Yes . . . the same age you will be if you don't.”
― Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity

“God does not give us more than we can handle," I am told but I wonder if God doesn't overestimate me just a little. Or perhaps, and this is likely, I underestimate God.”
― Julia Cameron, Finding Water: The Art of Perseverance

“Creativity requires faith. Faith requires that we relinquish control.”
― Julia Cameron

“Serious art is born from serious play.”
― Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity

“Perfectionism doesn't believe in practice shots. It doesn't believe in improvement. Perfectionism has never heard that anything worth doing is worth doing badly--and that if we allow ourselves to do something badly we might in time become quite good at it. Perfectionism measures our beginner's work against the finished work of masters. Perfectionism thrives on comparison and competition. It doesn't know how to say, "Good try," or "Job well done." The critic does not believe in creative glee--or any glee at all, for that matter. No, perfectionism is a serious matter.”
― Julia Cameron, Finding Water: The Art of Perseverance

“We need to bridge our sense of loneliness and disconnection with a sense of community and continuity even if we must manufacture it from our time on the Web and our use of calling cards to connect long distance. We must “log on” somewhere, and if it is only in cyberspace, that is still far better than nowhere at all. (264)”
― Julia Cameron, God is No Laughing Matter: Observations and Objections on the Spiritual Path

“Being in the mood to write, like being in the mood to make love, is a luxury that isn't necessary in a long-term relationship. Just as the first caress can lead to a change of heart, the first sentence, however tentative and awkward, can lead to a desire to go just a little further.”
― Julia Cameron, The Right to Write: An Invitation and Initiation Into the Writing Life

“Creativity - like human life itself - begins in darkness”
― Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity

“Basic Principles:

1. Creativity is the natural order of life. Life is energy: pure creative energy.

2. There is an underlying, in-dwelling creative force infusing all of life -- including ourselves.

3. When we open ourselves to our creativity, we open ourselves to the creator's creativity within us and our lives.

4. We are, ourselves, creations. And we, in turn, are meant to continue creativity by being creative ourselves.

5. Creativity is God's gift to us. Using our creativity is our gift back to God.

6. The refusal to be creative is self-will and is counter to our true nature.

7. When we open ourselves to exploring our creativity, we open ourselves to God: good orderly direction.

8. As we open our creative channel to the creator, many gentle but powerful changes are to be expected.

9. It is safe to open ourselves up to greater and greater creativity.

10. Our creative dreams and yearnings come from a divine source. As we move toward our dreams, we move toward our divinity.”
― Julia Cameron

“Progress, not perfection, is what we should be asking of ourselves.”
― Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity

“Often it is tenacity, not talent, that rules the day.”
― Julia Cameron, Finding Water: The Art of Perseverance

“Art is not about thinking something up. It is the opposite -- getting something down.”
― Julia Cameron

“Survival lies in sanity, and sanity lies in paying attention...the capacity for delight is the gift of paying attention.”
― Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity

“Creativity occurs in the moment, and in the moment we are timeless.”
― Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity

“Just as a good rain clears the air, a good writing day clears the psyche.”
― Julia Cameron, The Right to Write: An Invitation and Initiation Into the Writing Life

“The creative process is a process of surrender, not control.”
― Julia Cameron

“Art is born in attention.”
― Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity

“Creativity - like human life itself - begins in darkness.”
― Julia Cameron

“Mystery is at the heart of creativity. That, and surprise...As creative channels, we need to trust the darkness. ”
― Julia Cameron