Success

No one man can, for any considerable time, wear one face to himself, and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which is the true one. — Nathaniel Hawthorne As we continue the final stages of The Artist’s Journey, we encounter a challenge we’ve maybe never considered. This challenge that will come, … Read more

Being Responsible

To accept the responsibility of being a child of God is to accept the best that life has to offer you. — Stella Terrill Mann More directly from Julia today. “There is a connection,” she writes, “between self-nurturing and self-respect. If I allow myself to be bullied and cowed by other peoples’ urges for me … Read more

Richly Supporting The Artist

Listen. Make a way for yourself inside yourself. Stop looking in the other way of looking. – Rumi You may begin to notice that I am directly quoting Julia more and more.  Frankly, the previous several chapters have felt slow and heavy at times. But clearly, she was patiently laying the groundwork for this. Now, … Read more

Wild, Shining, Awakened

Nobody knows where you are How near or how far Shine on you crazy diamond. — David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Rick Wright (Pink Floyd) As we recover what Julia calls “A Sense of Autonomy,” we step it up, and embrace our very own, unique, quirky take on what Artist means. This is deeply individual, like … Read more

Chapter Eleven – Recovering a Sense of Autonomy

He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened. – Lao-Tzu Welcome to Chapter Eleven – Recovering a Sense of Autonomy It has been a long journey, hasn’t it? Well the end is in sight, my friends.  This is the second to last chapter and we now begin to wrap it up. … Read more

Creative Envy and Competition

Envy shoots at others and wounds itself. English Proverb The last hazard of the road that Julia warns of in Chapter Eight is the danger of competition. What we consider a friendly rivalry can all too easily morph into a poisonous compare-and-contrast. Like the longing for fame or recognition, gauging our work against the success … Read more

Co-creation and Genius

In Spain, when a performer has done something impossible and magic — magnificent, bravo — incomprehensible, there it is – a glimpse of God – Allah! Allah! Olé! Olé! — Elizabeth Gilbert I. know that Julia’s description of the road hazard of fame doesn’t resonate with many of us. That word, I think, conjures up … Read more