<aside> 💡 “This week initiates your creative recovery. You may feel both giddy and defiant, hopeful and skeptical. The readings, tasks, and exercises aim at allowing you to establish a sense of safety, which will enable you to explore your creativity with less fear.”

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  1. Exercise 1, Morning Pages: Check off the days you’ve done morning pages.

  2. Exercise 2, Artist Date:

    Details of Date:

  3. Exercise 3: “List three old enemies of your creative self-worth. Please be as specific as possible in doing this exercise. Your historic monsters are the building blocks of your core negative beliefs. This is your monster hall of fame. More monsters will come to you as you work through your recovery. It is always necessary to acknowledge creative injuries and grieve them. Otherwise, they become creative scar tissue and block your growth.” 1. 2. 3.

  4. Exercise 4: “Select and write out one horror story from your monster hall of fame. You do not need to write long or much, but do jot down whatever details come back to you—the room you were in, the way people looked at you, the way you felt, what your parent said or didn’t say when you told about it. Include whatever rankles you about the incident.”

  5. Exercise 5: “Write a letter to the editor in your defense. Mail it to yourself. It is great fun to write this letter in the voice of your wounded artist child.”

  6. Exercise 6: “List three old champions of your creative self-worth. This is your hall of champions, those who wish you and your creativity well. Be specific. Every encouraging word counts. Even if you disbelieve a compliment, record it. It may well be true.”

  7. Exercise 7: “Select and write out one happy piece of encouragement. Write a thank-you letter. Mail it to yourself or to the long-lost mentor.”

  8. Exercise 8, Imaginary Lives: “If you had five other lives to lead, what would you do in each of them? The point of these lives is to have fun in them—more fun than you might be having in this one. Look over your list and select one. Then do it this week. ” 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

  9. Exercise 9, My Affirmations: “List your affirmations.” 1.

  10. Exercise 10, Artist Walk

    Details of walk: