Quotes from Julia Cameron

Creativity is God's gift to us. Using our creativity is our gift back to God.

When we open ourselves to exploring our creativity, we open ourselves to God: good, orderly direction.

We are not accustomed to thinking that God's will for us and our own inner dreams can coincide.

What would a nontoxic god think of your creative goals? Might such a god really exist?

Perfectionism is not a quest for the best. It is a pursuit of the worst in ourselves, the part that tells us that nothing we do will ever be good enough - that we should try again.

We must attend to what our inner guidance is nudging us toward.

When I went in, my editor said, 'I hope you don't think you're a writer.' And I said, 'I hope you don't think I'm a journalist.' And, uh, turned out we were both right.

Art is the imagination at play in the field of time. Let yourself play.

The creator made us creative. Our creativity is our gift from God. Our use of it is our gift to God. Accepting this bargain is the beginning of true self-acceptance.

Setting skepticism aside, even briefly, can make for very interesting explorations. It is not necessary that we change any of our beliefs. It is necessary that we examine them.

There will be many times when we won't look good-to ourselves or anyone else. We need to stop demanding that we do. It is impossible to get better and look good at the same time.

We can believe we are being self-reliant and independent, and yet there is still clearly an overarching destiny, a Great Maker. So when we say we have faith in ourselves, we cannot really separate the small self from the large self.

As children we hoard and gloat over words. Words give ownership: we name our world and we claim it...Children trust the power of words.

The grace to be a beginner is always the best prayer for an artist.

In order to have a real relationship with our creativity, we must take the time and care to cultivate it.

I always start everything with the weather, because the weather is the first thing that I notice when I wake up in the morning.

When I was first approached about doing an autobiography, I said, 'absolutely not.' But when I sat down, memories came pouring out. It wrote very quickly - I think there was an emotional impulse, because once I started in, the story itself carried me along. It was a very intense writing period and took a year and change to finish.

When I ask for help with my creativity, I get it.

My work unblocks people, and then I look at the work that they do, and I think, 'My God, how could they not have known they were talented? How could they not have known?'

In my experience, divorce takes you out for about 10 years, but you hear people talk about it lightly. The same with depression. You only have to have one good breakdown before you realize you need help. It's pretty frightening.

I have learned, as a rule of thumb, never to ask whether you can do something. Say, instead, that you are doing it. Then fasten your seat belt. The most remarkable things follow.

There's this mythology that parents are supposed to be parents 24/7 and are supposed to be completely fulfilled by their kids. That's not the case. We need to make our own passions a priority.

I think everybody encounters difficulty. It's just more pitched in some people.

For most people, creativity is a serious business. They forget the telling phrase 'the play of ideas' and think that they need to knuckle down and work more. Often, the reverse is true. They need to play.