The Seven Deadlies…

It’s Week Nine of Julia Cameron’s twelve-week The Artist’s Way workshop, and we are deep into “it.” Deep into what blocks the expression of our creativity. Deep into owning the yuckiest, darkest, most self-destructive, self-sabotaging parts of ourselves. Ick. “Ick” is definitely the word of the week. So, if you’re not into looking at, and taking responsibility for, the ick in you – it’s there, we all have it – then you might want to stop reading here.

“Oh, but I’m not creative,” you say. I believe you are. I believe we all are whether or not we express our creativity for a living through the arts. I believe we are made in the image and likeness of The Great Creator who creates and is creative. Therefore, so are we. We create our lives, our families, our life experiences. We may be creative gardeners, cooks, handypersons, computer techs, problem solvers, business people or parents.

Julia handed out envelopes labeled “The Seven Deadlies” containing seven slips of paper, each with a different topic. Each participant chose one, wrote it down and returned the slip to the envelope so each time a selection was made all seven topics were available. We chose seven times. The Seven Deadlies are drugs, alcohol, sex, money, food, work, friends/family. The assignment was to write a couple of sentences about how we use the topic to block our creativity (or prevent ourselves from having our dreams come true). The structure of the process made it possible to select “alcohol” three times, “work” four, “money” twice and some topics not at all. We then had the opportunity to look at the significance of that. No topic is inherently bad, in fact, some are quite good! It is when they are abused or used unconsciously to dull pain, avoid fear or hold ourselves back they can cost us our creative self-expression, or making our dreams come true.

For me personally, as surgery looms closer and closer, we dig deeper and deeper with Julia and I feel more and more vulnerable, challenging issues are arising to be faced. My whole life I’ve taken to heart Socrates’ comment, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” I always examine. I don’t always like what I find, but it is always liberating when I take responsibility for what I see. And I don’t always see it in myself first. I see it first in the people in my life. It can take a heartbeat or two, sometimes longer (tongue-in-cheek), to realize what I see in them is true about me, especially when I don’t like it. Think of it as holding up your two hands, palms facing, so they are mirror images of one another; one is you, one the other person. Looking in the mirror of others, we can see ourselves. It’s great when positive qualities are reflected back but “ick” when we don’t like what we see. Author, and metaphysical minister, Terry Cole-Whittaker summarized this experience by saying “All is projection.” Whatever we see in, and say about, others is true about us. The way they treat us is the way we treat ourselves. They serve us by holding up the mirror for us. Understanding and accepting this as true is about step 293 in the process. First come disbelief, denial, indignance, annoyance, outrage, disappointment . . . and blaming the mirror holder. It’s about them. It’s not about us. But it’s always about us because there’s only one energy field. Everyone and everything are part if it.

This week a person who has been very close to me served me by mirroring how I treat my inner artist – with disregard, disrespect, domination, sabotage, lack of empathy, compassion or love. Her survival need to feel powerful and be in control meant meeting her needs only and excluding those of others. While it’s not pleasant being treated that way, it’s even less pleasant to acknowledge “That’s the way I’ve been treating myself, the inner artist in me.” Recognition is the first step in shifting awareness, and, ultimately, in shifting behavior. I’m grateful the mirror was held up. I’m grateful I looked. I’m grateful I’m taking responsibility for what I saw. For me, this is the most challenging part of my ongoing spiritual practice. It is also, for me, the most rewarding, since I believe “The unexamined life is not worth living.”