Let’s begin by grounding in.
Close your eyes or soften your gaze. Place your hand over your heart. Take a deep breath in through the nose…and slowly out through the mouth.
This week is all about returning to yourself. To the version of you that was honest about her dreams. The version of you that didn’t flinch when she wanted more.
Inhale: I remember who I am.
Exhale: I return to what I love.
You don’t need to have it all figured out. Just bring your attention back to the inner artist you’re recovering. The one who may have been quiet, but never left.
When you’re ready, open your eyes.
This week in The Artist’s Way is one of my favorites—and also one of the hardest.
Week 4 is called Recovering a Sense of Integrity. And let’s be honest: integrity sounds noble and polished, but the work is messy. It’s about getting real with yourself. It’s about noticing where you’ve been pretending… and gently choosing truth instead.
Julia Cameron talks about creative loss, and how we often silence parts of ourselves for the sake of survival, people-pleasing, or just staying small enough to feel “safe.”
In my own life, I’ve experienced this reckoning—when I realized that parts of my creativity had gone underground. That I’d edited myself, sometimes even unconsciously, to avoid rejection or criticism. And I bet you have, too.
This week, we get honest. And in that honesty, we begin to get free.
🧱 Creative Loss and the Morning Pages
Julia calls the morning pages a “compost heap.” Not glamorous, but essential. It’s where we dump the lies we’ve told ourselves. It’s where we grieve the creativity we’ve lost. And it’s where we plant new seeds.
✂️ Reading Deprivation
This week also includes a radical tool: reading deprivation. Yep, no books, no articles, no scrolling. Why? Because creativity needs white space. We’re so busy absorbing everyone else’s thoughts, we often forget to listen to our own.
You don’t need to be perfect with this. But notice what happens when you stop numbing with input. What ideas bubble up when there’s silence?
💔 Withdrawal & Honesty
With less outside noise, we hear our inner truth. Sometimes that means grief. Sometimes it means realizing we’ve outgrown a project, a pattern, or even a role we’ve been playing.
🎯 The Return to Creative Integrity
Integrity isn’t just about values—it’s about wholeness. Your creative wholeness. And that often requires shedding layers that don’t belong to you anymore.
Here are some fresh writing tools to support you this week:
📝 1. The Permission Slip Letter
Write a letter to yourself that starts:
“I give myself permission to stop pretending…”
Let it be raw. Don’t edit. Tell the truth.
📝 2. The Creative Confession
Fill in the blanks:
The dream I gave up on was...
I told myself I didn’t need it because…
What I miss most about that dream is…
What I want now is…
📝 3. Creativity Inventory
Make a list of all the creative activities you loved as a child. Circle the ones you’ve abandoned. Pick one to revisit this week, even if just for 10 minutes.
This week’s Artist Date is simple: Make something pointless.
Scribble. Bake. Collage. Dance to cheesy music in your kitchen. Create something that doesn’t need to be good. It just needs to be yours.
Your artist doesn’t need an audience. She needs your attention.
[Segment 5: Reflection + Close – 5–8 minutes]
This week is less about doing and more about noticing.
What happens when you stop consuming and start listening? What truth bubbles up when you stop distracting yourself?
You may feel foggy. You may feel grumpy. You may want to quit. But hang in there. That’s the detox. That’s your creative spirit saying, “Finally. You can hear me again.”
And remember: this isn’t about becoming someone else. It’s about returning to who you’ve always been.
Creative Affirmations (Pick one to write in your journal each day):
My creativity is worth protecting.
I do not need to earn my creativity—it is already mine.
I am safe to be honest with myself.
My dreams are valid and worth exploring.
I am not too late, too much, or too anything.
That’s it for Week 4 of The Artist’s Way. Thank you for walking this path with me. If you’ve been feeling resistance this week, you’re right on track. That resistance is a doorway.
As always, your story matters. Your creativity matters. And I’m so proud of the brave, beautiful work you’re doing.
Be gentle with yourself. I’ll see you next week for Week 5—Recovering a Sense of Possibility.
💛 Jen
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