As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I am working through the Artist Way by Julia Cameron. I wanted to share my experience of working through the course as an atheist. Right now I am finishing Week 4: Recovering a Sense of Integrity and I again chose a task I had some discomfort with: the rewrite of the Artist Prayer from the back of the book. Again, I reflected on what I understood the basic ideas behind the words in the original prayer to be and translated it into a language that described that understanding. In the process, I gave it a more secular rendering. Perhaps others will find this helpful.

The Artist Way Week 4 Task 6: Write your own Artist Prayer

To my creative self:
I am here with creativity in mind
so that I may be of greater service to you
I see myself as an instrument
I open myself to your creativity
I surrender my old ideas
I trust in you to lead me
I trust that it is safe to follow you
I know that creativity is a large part of me
I want to unfold my life according to a
plan of creativity, not my low self worth
I want to believe it is not too late and that
I am not too small or flawed to be healed—
Through my own pursuit of creativity—
and made whole
Help me love myself and others
To nurture others unfolding as well as my own
To encourage others growth as well as my own
and understand my own and other creatives’ fears
Help me see that I am not alone
That I am loved and lovable
I am ready to create as a fulfillment of who I am.

Reference: The Artist's Way; Cameron, Julia; Copyright 1992; Penguin Putnam, New York, NY