THE ARTIST'S WAY: THE IMPORTANCE OF CREATIVITY IN OUR SELF-DISCOVERY

Before we can engage in the creative process, we need to explore our inner thoughts. Then, we need to create a space for ourselves where we can express these thoughts. As we gain the ability to look from different perspectives during the creation process, our problem-solving skills improve and we learn to interpret the events we experience from broader perspectives. Moreover, to create an original product, we need to discover our individual uniqueness. We enter the process of character building by getting rid of the rights and wrongs that have been told to us so far and that we have accepted whether we realize it or not. The character building process is basically the process of knowing yourself. The experiences we have are always unique. If we can understand the outcomes of these experiences in our inner world, most things in our lives, from the product we create to our decision-making mechanism, become autonomous. We develop a sense of personal identity and purpose. Therefore, although creativity seems to be a concept aimed at art and artists, it is a concept that every person can instrumentalize in their personal development and self-knowledge. For example; If you have chosen to express yourself by writing or drawing, the important thing is not that your product is aesthetic or that there are no spelling mistakes in your sentences. The important thing is that you are expressing yourself. The important thing in this process is to create.

Julia Cameron compares the process of reading this book to the mourning process. She says that she observed defiance in the first weeks, and then anger and grief followed this process. After the weeks are halfway through, readers enter a process in which waves of resistance and hope emerge, and in this process, a defensive approach emerges in direct proportion to suspicion. In this process, readers try to create their individual spaces in the form of a constant expansion and a constant contraction. The contraction process is directly proportional to the desire to return to the usual life, and the expansion process is directly proportional to the individual's motivation to discover his/her limits. Then comes the bargaining process. It has been observed that this is the period when readers are most resistant. Julia Cameron generally says that readers tend to abandon practices in this process. The last phase is the acceptance phase. The book ends with a phase in which the reader's independence increases, his/her sense of self strengthens and s(he) has concrete and constructive plans for himself/herself, but it is said that its effects are permanent.

The Artist's Way also has an inclusive nature, claiming that every person has an instinct to create, but some people have not yet found a way to activate it. While explaining the nature of creativity from a theoretical perspective, it also suggests practices to make the emotional inner world of readers visible. The first of these is the morning pages. The book says that every individual has an inner censor and that this inner censor subconsciously sabotages our lives with negative comments, and uses the morning pages to make this inner censor visible. She explains that keeping a three-page diary with the thought flow technique when we wake up in the morning makes what is in our subconscious visible. Most readers who commit to the book and apply the technique confirm its benefits and say that they get in touch with their inner world in the morning pages. Julia Cameron recommends artist meetings as a second basic tool. Artist meetings are a space to spend time with ourselves, or as Julia Cameron puts it, with our inner child. It is recommended that you choose one activity each week and do it alone. In this way, you create a space for yourself as an individual, where you can get to know yourself. At the same time, during this process, you realize how much time you spend alone is being invaded by others, and you create various methods to protect yourself from these invasions. It is recommended that you practice these two basic tools for twelve weeks. In addition, there are weekly readings and practices. These practices are tools you can use to discover and get to know yourself.

We can say that this book plays a functional role for anyone who is ready to embark on a process of self-discovery but does not know how to do it. However, this book can be just a tool in changing our lives. If we decide to discover ourselves and proceed with the process, this book can complete its mission and guide us. In short, this book will not reintroduce you to yourself. On the other hand, deciding to read this book and making this decision sustainable may offer you the opportunity to meet yourself again and truly.