AFTERWORD

The tool I ask you to undertake now is the most profound writer’s tool I have devised or experienced. Called “Morning Pages,” this tool is the bedrock of a writing life. Morning Pages bear witness to our lives. They increase our conscious contact with spiritual guidance. They prioritize our days while they miniaturize our censor, allowing us to write more freely and effectively. So what, exactly, are they? Mornings Pages are three pages of daily longhand writing, strictly stream of consciousness. They are about anything and everything that crosses your mind. They may be petty, whiny, boring, angry. They may be cheerful, illuminating, insightful, and introspective. There is no wrong way to do them. Yes, Morning

Pages must be done in the morning. You want to catch your mind before it has its defenses up. You want to surprise it when it’s still close to your dreaming consciousness. You do not want your Morning Pages to march like perfect little soldiers, to be a carefully manufactured product of your rational workaday self. What you do want is to catch yourself unawares, to record things you didn’t really know you were thinking. Just as walking aerobicizes the physical body, producing a flow of endorphins and good feelings, writing seems to alter the chemical balance of the soul itself, restoring balance and equilibrium when we are out of sorts, bringing clarity, a sense of right action, a feeling of purpose to a rudderless day. Furthermore, writing when we are out of happiness can lead us into writing from happiness. We recall happier moments and we recall happiness itself.