Engaging the Great Creator

Labyrinth, St. John's Convent, Toronto

Julia Cameron, in her book, Walking in This World, says, How you walk matters less than that you walk. Walking allows the insights of your inner teacher to enter a dialogue with the teacher you encounter in the pages [of this book]. …I simply wrote down [in The Artist’s Way] the precepts of divine intervention in our lives the moment we engage our creativity and, through that, engage our Great Creator. Page 4, Walking in This World, Julia Cameron.

Cameron, as part of the three-pronged artist recovery program in her book, The Artist’s Way, advocated a daily walk as well as a longer weekly walk. In her more recent book for artists, Walking in This World, she again stresses the importance of walking, along with the daily Morning Pages (three pages written in long-hand), and the weekly Artist’s Date.

Toronto Ontario Labyrinth

She speaks of how walking opens one up to hear and see the insights that one already has within. It is as if the regular beat of the footsteps on the ground allows the release of ideas from their dormant position to join forces with the Great Creator to become a new creation, whether it be a poem, a painting, or a piece of music.

The act of walking allows one’s thoughts to take wing. The rational brain lets go its hold on ideas, allowing their freedom into flights of fancy and fantasy so that new life and patterns are created.

Walking can also lead us into contemplation, prayer, and praise, joining us with God and the best part of ourselves.

© Judith Lawrence