The Artist's Way

Always significant, frequently psychosomatic, kriyas are
the final insult our psyche adds to our injuries: “Get it?” a
kriya asks you.
Get it:
You can’t stay with this abusive lover.
You can’t work at a job that demands eighty hours a
week.
You can’t rescue a brother who needs to save
himself.
In twelve-step groups, kriyas are often called surrenders.
People are told just letgo.And they would if they knew what
they were holding on to. With the morning pages in place
and the artist dates in motion, the radio set stands half a
chance of picking up the message you are sending and/or
receiving. The pages round up the usual suspects. They
mention the small hurts we prefer to ignore, the large
successes we’ve failed to acknowledge. In short, the
morning pages point the way to reality: this is how you’re
feeling; what do you make of that?
And what we make of that is often art.
People frequently believe the creative life is grounded in
fantasy. The more difficult truth is that creativity is
grounded in reality, in the particular, the focused, the well
observed or specifically imagined.
As we lose our vagueness about our self, our values, our
life situation, we become available to the moment. It is