Such a fun read! Loved this one!

Many thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for my ARC.

This book was received as an ARC from St. Martin's Press - St. Martin's Essentials through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I respect how open Julia Cameron was with her journey through prayer, and learning the reason of the power of art and why it's her passion. Being a born-again Christian, I know how powerful praying is, especially during a time of crisis like Julia experienced. Even if you are not a Christian, you'll still be able to relate to this book for its positive language, wise guidance, and personal connection Julia shared and developed throughout the book. I have read many self-help books and every single one of them express how powerful positivity is, but Seeking Wisdom goes beyond positivity, focuses on guidance, perseverance, and resilience.

A self-help guide unlike any other that everyone regardless of their religion will take away from. This book deserves 5 stars.

This book is great. The 6 week course it offers is full of advice, exercises, and different types of prayers. Definitely need a physical copy.

I was first introduced to the writing of Julia Cameron decades ago with her ground-breaking The Artist’s Way. I have read several of her other books through the years, and they always have the same effect on me. They soften me, making me feel vulnerable and strong at the same time. She has a way of wiping away all the things that don’t matter and reminding me of what’s important, what’s possible, what’s meaningful to me. As I read her latest, Seeking Wisdom, I found those old tears welling back up, reminding me of what it is to be human.

In this 6-week program, you’ll find all your old friends. There are admonitions to do your Morning Pages, 3 pages of longhand writing first thing in the morning where you can get out all your worries, your hopes, your dreams, you fears. And there is the Artist Date, a weekly date you go on by yourself to find your joy. There are the walks you take by yourself, to seek out insights by communing with nature. And since the original Artist’s Way, she has added going to the page and asking for guidance and writing down what you hear.

The weeks themselves are a study in prayer. As Cameron shares her own prayers and answers, some of which are yes and some of which are no or not yet, she also shares a peek into her own life, her own struggles, her own fears, her own vulnerabilities. Most of this book was written during a particularly cold and snowy winter at her home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and she talks a lot about what is happening in her backyard. She has a pinyon tree whose branches fill with small birds when the snow starts. It protects them from the weather. And there are ravens and squirrels who gather around the bottom of the tree to feed on the nuts, carefully watched by her dog inside.

Repeatedly, Cameron comes back to this vision of her tree, a strong structure that offers protection and sustenance for those who come to it. It stands there, rooted deeply, stretching towards the sun, towards the stars, offering up what is has to those who need it. It’s like the prayers that Cameron talks about, the ones that keep her rooted and allow her to grow tall, the ones that offer her protection from her worries and food for her hunger.

Seeking Wisdom is a 6-week course in prayer, in learning to pray in the morning and at night, in learning to ask for help and express gratitude. It’s not about religion or churchiness. She just wants you to believe in and pray to a power that is higher than you are, a benevolent creative source that has your back in this world. She speaks to many of her friends throughout these weeks, from a wide variety of backgrounds and religions, and she finds out how they pray and how praying helps them in the big things and the small things.

If you’re wondering how this fits in with the creative recovery that Cameron is known so well for, you will see how her spirituality and her creativity are connected. The more she grounds herself in prayer, the more she goes back to the page to write. She writes this book. She starts a new play. She writes letters to her friends, and she writes about the guidance she finds in her prayers. Her prayers and her creativity are on full display, and her journey leads the way for anyone wanting a refresher on living the artist’s life she talks about in all her books, or for anyone interested in living a prayerful life.

Seeking Wisdom is more than a 6-week course in becoming more creative. It’s a course in becoming more human. It’s very personal, but it’s also universal. Working through these six weeks on prayer, questioning all the beliefs you have about prayer and finding yourself reaching out in prayer in new ways, you will find your spirit opening up in response. At least, I did. And I hope you find the same kind of experience when you encounter Seeking Wisdom.

Egalleys for Seeking Wisdom were provided by St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley, with many thanks.

Seeking Wisdom by Julia Cameron brings a new 6-week program known as the 6 week Artist's Way program. This program builds on the previously published program in The Artist's Way and now highlights the importance of creative prayer.

Creative prayer requires calling on the help of a higher power during the creative process and is key to creative unblocking. The author shares 3 main types of prayer in this book: 1) prayers of petition; 2) prayers of gratitude; and 3) prayers of praise. This consistent with Christian faiths like Catholicism and likely exist in some form for other faiths. Interestingly, this program is much more faith-based than I previously thought. One chapter argues that spirituality and creative are deeply linked and that relying on and trusting in a higher power can improve your creativity. For example, the chapter asks you to respond to questions such as "I pushed God away when...", "If I believe that god could help me i would...", etc. As someone who is spiritual, this is certainly helpful for me. However, for those who adamantly do not believe in some higher power, this may not necessarily be the best fit.

This book also offers a bountiful amount of tips to try that make it easy for the reader to implement the work concretely. However, on top of that numerous anecdotes are provided that help push this further. In many ways, I could relate to some of the stories the author shared about her own experiences when writing. I think if someone wants to understand concepts such as Morning Pages and Artist Dates, I recommend the reader read The Artist's Way before reading this. However, for spiritual individuals needing an extra push in their creative pursuits, I highly recommend this!

Many thanks to the publisher St. Martins Press and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

If you’re considering reading Seeking Wisdom, you’ve likely read or are familiar with The Artist’s Way. You need to read this book! The author shares her practice in which creativity, prayer, and the 12 steps interact to not only increase productivity, but also a consistent spiritual life. After some basic set up, the book is a six week course guide to help those who are creatively stuck get unstuck and those who are overwhelmed by creative thought to simplify their process.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Essentials for an ARC.

I loved the in-depth look and how prayer and creativity intertwine and work together. It’s not something you hear about much and reading through the challenges is inspiring. It’s great to read after The Artists Way.

Beautiful title and an apt companion to "The Artist's Way." Fans of Cameron will enjoy the deep dive into the exact "hows" and "whys" of exploring the hard things. This will go on my shelf and I will be gifting it in the coming year!

This book is a bit different than Julia Cameron's usual stuff, but just as potent. I say that because this seems to be more of an accompaniment for her artist dates and morning pages, and one that talks about the potency of finding wisdom in prayer. and in journaling your prayer. She offers her own stories, insights, tips and "try this" for many journaling prompts. I enjoyed the book, and this would be fantastic to inspire anyone who wants to start journaling again (or even for the first time).

Fans of Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way and other titles related to unleashing blocked or unexamined creativity will enjoy her latest, which is an exploration of the power of prayer. SEEKING WISDOM: A Path to Creative Connection (A Six-Week Artist’s Way Program) revisits some of Cameron’s recommended practices, such as Morning Pages and Artist Dates, which will be familiar to her longtime readers.

For this study of prayer, Cameron interviewed several friends and colleagues working in creative endeavors who maintained spiritual practices. Most of them had experienced some type of disillusionment with traditional religion but came to see prayer as essential to their creative work. She also documented the ups and downs of her journey in the writing of this book over a snowy winter at her home in New Mexico.

There is valuable discussion of prayers of petition, gratitude, and praise in its pages. Cameron’s sign at her desk, “Okay, God, you take care of the quality and I’ll take care of the quantity” is a wonderful reminder that writers need to just write. A lot. The spiritual exercises will make readers consider questions like “If it wasn’t too late, I’d try …” and “If I had no fear, I’d make ….”

Some readers who are more aligned with traditional religion may find her personal and intimate notion of God not to their liking, but I appreciated her explanation early on in the book of how for many of us, our vision of God is punitive and not loving and patient with our failings. By intentionally re-envisioning God as a loving force who wants us to create and give and reach out to others, we can maintain focus on the guidance spirituality offers and grow in both creativity and wisdom.

I grew distracted by the repetitive nature of both the interviews and the mountain home scenes in which Cameron voices her frustration with being confined due to winter storms but then observes her piñon tree/her dog/the ravens in the yard/phones a friend and consequently comes to term with her (temporary) isolation. It was hard not to imagine just how claustrophobic she must have felt during the early days of the pandemic, which during the writing of this book had yet to reach the US.

Every writer has their own voice and idiosyncrasies that appeal to their readers. But by the time I was on the third chapter, I was reading not like a reader but like an editor and becoming increasingly frustrated that the interviews with her friends and colleagues at various cafes over breakfast or lunch were described spoon by spoon, drawing my attention away from the experiences the interviewees recounted and focusing on their posole or oatmeal.

Although I understand the desire to create context, this wasn’t context that was particularly helpful. I came away feeling like the writing of SEEKING WISDOM had been a struggle for Cameron and probably for her editor as well. For this reason, I’d prioritize other titles of Cameron’s for my library, rather than SEEKING WISDOM.

This was a wonderful insight into the idea of wisdom. The book is a six-week program mostly grounded upon the concept of "The Artist's Way" with a key focus on prayer and its relationship to one's expression of creativity. It explores different kinds of prayer as well. Julia Cameron uses examples from her own life to discuss how guidance has both rescued and inspired her. She had many wonderful quoted that I will come back to.

I enjoy reading Julia Cameron very much. She always gives me plenty think about and mull over. A reminder now more than ever we need a call to prayer. Sometime I'd like to visit the Red Enchilada and hope to see her presence.

If you're a fan of Julia Cameron, you'll want to read this book. After decades of leading many of us in developing and nurturing creativity and healthy creative habits, this new book turns to prayer. Ms. Cameron invites us into her home in New Mexico during the winter, setting a lovely and cozy tone for the book. As she introduces the discipline of regular prayer and development of spirituality, she chronicles numerous interviews with friends and neighbors on this subject. This technique nicely peopled the book with interesting characters and made the topic personable and relatable.

Highly recommended. A beautiful book.

A fascinating exploration of different kinds of prayer and our relationship with God as we choose to call God, using the basic tools of Cameron’s “The Artist’s Way.” We are led to explore our personal concept of God, prayers of petition, prayers of gratitude, and prayers of praise. Thoughtful exercises encourage us to see the connection between spirituality and creativity. I especially enjoyed the many quotes sprinkled throughout the text.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Creativity guru Julia Cameron’s latest Artist’s Way entry, Seeking Wisdom:
A Spiritual Path to Creative Connection, is a six-week program that focuses on the need for guidance in our lives and the forms of prayer that can provide connection to a higher power (in whatever form each individual conceives that higher power) in order to receive that guidance.

Cameron uses examples from her own life to illustrate how guidance has both rescued and inspired her, most prominently in her recovery from alcoholism. She also interviews others who use prayer to make spiritual connections and examines a variety of prayer practices and methods, most deviating from formal, ritualistic prayer into a more friendly, companionable relationship with God.

Also featured prominently are Cameron’s standard practices in her books on creativity: Morning Pages, Artist’s Dates, and Walking. Those who have read Cameron’s other works may find those portions repetitive; however, I found her examination of various prayer practices (and their practitioners) to be intriguing, resonating with many of my own experiences.

If it’s been awhile since you read a title from the Artist’s Way series or have an interest in prayer seeking divine guidance, give this one a try--definitely a favorite among Ms. Cameron’s recent works.

As a longtime fan of Julia Cameron's "The Artist's Way," I eagerly welcomed Cameron's latest effort "Seeking Wisdom: A Spiritual Path to Creative Connection."

The book is a six-week program largely grounded upon "The Artist's Way" with a specific focus on prayer and its relationship to one's expression of creativity.

As someone who is both a minister and a creative type, "Seeking Wisdom" feels like a natural fit for me and how I live my life.

However, sometimes a book just doesn't click. For me, "Seeking Wisdom" just never quite clicked as I simply couldn't find Cameron's unique rhythm and could never quite immerse myself in the world she's trying to create with "Seeking Wisdom."

"Seeking Wisdom" isn't a bad book. It's a book, perhaps, best suited for those relatively new toward viewing life and creativity through a more spiritual lens and learning how to tie that lens into their creative lives. As I already do this quite easily, "Seeking Wisdom" felt incredibly fundamental and almost paint-by-numbers.

"Seeking Wisdom" kicks off with Cameron's own personal reflections about her early days of creativity and how it was really seeking sobriety that triggered her exploration of spirituality and its tie to creativity. Instead of experiencing a creative decline as she reached for sobriety, Cameron discovered the opposite and found that her creative life, specifically her writing, began to be expressed in new and exciting ways.

From this discussion, "Seeking Wisdom" immediately leaps into Cameron's six-week program with each week devoted to simple exercises around prayer, spiritual exploration, and Cameron's well known Morning Pages, Artist's Dates, and Walks. Rather than offering a formal structure, "Seeking Wisdom" is mostly organized around Cameron's personal reflections and a series of "Try This" opportunities she introduces throughout the book along with chapter-ending check-ins.

Cameron's approach to prayer and spirituality is rather open. She intentionally widens the spiritual lens here and seems to be very intentional about not necessarily revealing her own specific path or if she even has one. She's very clear that spirituality is at the center of who she is - she simply doesn't necessarily define an organized expression of that spirituality. This works incredibly well for the book at times, though there are other times when the book's language feels overly ambiguous and, well, more than a bit airy-fairy.

Cameron's first three weeks largely center themselves around "types" of prayers. The final three chapters build upon this basic knowledge and more fully pursue applicability and immersion in prayer. I will confess I didn't always resonate with Cameron's views on prayer and found them, more specifically, a little too self-centered rather than God or Higher Power-centered. Prayer, for me, is more about relationship with God - it is in that relationship that creativity becomes fully expressed. As written in "Seeking Wisdom," prayer feels less about relationship and more about personal manifestation.

I simply don't resonate with that at all.

I found much of "Seeking Wisdom" centered upon Cameron herself. While many of Cameron's stories certainly connect to her teachings here, I found myself often wanting more "spiritual path" and less "personal story." I'm honestly not even sure I'd say that "spiritual path" is an accurate way to fully describe this program as it is nearly entirely grounded upon prayer which is, of course, only one aspect or expression of spirituality. While "Seeking Wisdom" offers many wonderful "Try This" moments, I found they didn't always have a natural flow that then led to creative connection.

Overall, it may seem as if I'm particularly low on "Seeking Wisdom." This isn't really accurate. I will admit that I find myself disappointed, an unexpected resulted considering this is an author who's long influenced my creative life. It's more that "Seeking Wisdom" still feels like a work-in-progress and there were times I found myself thinking to myself "Julia, get out of your own way here." There are times that "Seeking Wisdom" feels overly intellectual when it needs to surrender more to spirituality.

There will be, no doubt, those who resonate greatly with "Seeking Wisdom" and who will view Cameron's six-week program and it's familiar structure and guided moments with a friendlier lens. Indeed, there's most certainly an audience for "Seeking Wisdom."

I'm simply not it.