The morning pages: Grounding myself into a safe space
The ‘Morning Pages’ by Julia Cameron from ‘The Artist’s Way’ describes a practice where you write three handwritten pages of stream-of-consciousness writing first thing in the morning. It’s a way to dump out thoughts, feelings, and ideas without editing them to connect to a sense of safety. It’s just one tool to get creatively unblocked, clearing mental clutter. Here I share my process of using the Morning Pages for a sense of embodied safety. [18.2.25.]
The Morning Pages: How I adapt them as a busy mother
I started the Morning Pages as part of a women’s community doing a 12-week Artist’s Way project. Each week we’d go through the writing prompts and aim to do three pages of stream-of-consciousness writing in the morning, as well as an artist’s date once a week (a solo creative activity that allows you to explore your imagination).
Soon I realised that as a busy mother, I didn’t have the luxury of writing three pages early in the morning. My baby woke up multiple times during the night and if I did catch a pocket of time to write most of my musings were complaints, “I’m so tired,” etc. When I think of motherhood I think of duty and part of me was desperate to cling to my creative and curious self.
I didn’t do traditional artist dates like visiting galleries or picking up a hobby, but I adapted creativity to daily life—cooking a new dish, learning a new word, or listening to an unexpected audiobook. My Morning Pages also shifted from three pages to simple one-liners, single words, or inspirational Bible quotes. In some ways, the time constraints of motherhood pushed me to be more creative. I learned that writing can fit into busy schedules.
Here are some shorter versions of Morning Pages that grounded me each day:
One-Line Morning Pages: This could be a reflection, dream, feeling, or desire. A single line may not seem significant but sometimes it sparked new ideas.
One-word Morning Pages: Pinterest has new words in different languages such as Meraki (a Greek word that means to do something with love, creativity, and soul. It can also mean to leave a part of yourself in your work) which would strike my interest. Positive words, enigmatic words or even surprising words bring vitality to each day.
A wish Morning Page: As a new mother I struggled with my emotions, tiredness and depressive thoughts. I never felt good enough so making a wish, intention or just saying what I was grateful for allowed me to focus on the positives.
A question Morning Page: Sometimes I was so tired that I simply asked a question to myself: “How can I make today easier and better?” or “How can I speak kind words to myself today?” This allowed me to notice my self-talk.
A motivational quote Morning Pages: When I didn’t have the energy to even think (hello brain fog), I’d copy out an inspirational quote to give me a sense of possibility.
Letting go Morning Pages: I’d sometimes invite myself to let go of three things that day. For example, “I let go of comparison,” “I let go of doing things perfectly,” “I let go of wishing things are different.” It was cathartic to release pent-up emotions.
Embodied Morning Pages: Writing down how I was feeling in my body and soul was helpful to ground me to a sense of peace. I’d then ask how I’d like to feel, imagining and expanding that feeling.
On-the-go memo Morning Pages: When I woke up late I’d speak into my phone, recording a voice memo. “Spilling my guts” let me talk with no filter. Granted, usually, I complained or voiced my struggles but within these rants were gems of learning.
Writing as an embodied practice
It’s taken over a year of Morning Pages for me to realise that writing doesn’t have to be an intellectual exercise. It’s a craft and a way of connecting deeper into my subconsciousness and accessing my soul. I learnt to experiment with embodied writing — tuning into how I was feeling and taking time to listen to my confused parts. Unlocking this new dimension of self-expression lets me access my aura or essence (which goes beyond words ironically).
Now I begin to listen to body cues more, honouring tension and uncomfortable emotions (without giving in to them). By letting anxiety, anger, and resentment be there without trying to repress them they soon melt away.
I used to try to write in a way that impressed others and now I’m learning that messy, raw and awkward writing is also valid. Who am I trying to impress anyway? Embodied writing feels more authentic because each of us is flawed and by acknowledging this I am starting to accept imperfection. When I feel stuck it’s ok and I can be kind (not harsh) to myself.
Grounding myself into a sense of safety
By writing regularly I’ve begun to rely on writing as a way of being. The action of putting pen to paper (or fingers to a keypad) grounds me and soothes my soul. I’m realising that my problems and struggles aren’t “me” as I’m bigger than any blip in the road.
It’s given me the confidence to imagine and envision more (even if I don’t immediately see the results). In my lowest times during motherhood when days would merge into one, it would feel like my stuckness and depression would last forever but getting these words on a page would allow me to flow forwards. I sensed that just as I wrote new words I could touch new possibilities.
Imagination is powerful in this way and I could start to rely on my sense of groundedness whatever chaos was circling me.
Hard questions and revealing inner secrets
Throughout writing the Morning Pages I’ve asked myself some hard questions. Sometimes I suppress how I feel and think because it’s painful to confront this in the light of day. At night my mind usually races (usually at 3 am). It’s as if my fears and irritations begin to crawl and prowl about in my mind just when I want to sleep.
Some deep questions I’ve been asking myself lately through Morning Pages:
What am I hiding from?
What is my heart aching for?
What am I avoiding that I need to face?
What am I not saying that I need to express?
What fear am I carrying that is holding me back?
What am I ashamed of and how can I start to forgive myself?