Comments on: Did anyone manage a week’s reading ban?

By: Joanne Sandercock

Joanne Sandercock — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 13:38:23 +0000

I’m sorry to disappoint Julia, but I really do have to spend pretty much all day at work reading (nothing very interesting I might add!) and short of not turning up there is no getting out of it. What I have been doing since the start of the AW this time is a total ban on reading the newspapers online, which I use as a “numbing out” mechanism, and that’s been really good. I feel a lot less overloaded with other people’s words. For the reading deprivation week I was going to cut out the blogs I read too (there’s only a couple I look at, honest!) but didn’t manage that. Did manage not to spend time “binge reading” fantasy novels though, and discovered I had time to do some yoga instead. A useful reminder that my cries of “I don’t have time” should more accurately be “I sometimes indulge bad habits instead of doing productive,creative or nuturing things”…

By: JB

JB — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 13:58:59 +0000

Neither did I, but I refuse to feel bad about it. I justified it to myself as not resisting it as such, I just didn’t feel it was the right thing for me. I think that in itself is part of the process of listening to my creative self. I am getting such a lot out of the AW, but I do feel I will tailor it to fit me, and that feels just fine.
A very good friend of mine who sadly moved to France in the new year, popped back on a flying at the end of last week, and we talked about the AW. She is a healer and knows the AW very well. It was really great to talk it through (without sharing my morning pages content of course!), and I found that syncronicity was still the topic we ended up talking about the most.
When she moved to France I bought her a copy of The Alcamist by Paulo Coelho which I recommend to you all (now you’re all back reading and have the time of course!). Its hard to summrise, but it is a story with a spiritual theme with magic and dreams and many many wonderful wise sayings such as ‘If you listen to fear you won’t be able to hear your heart’.
I think its because I’m working through the AW at the same time, but I found it a remarkable book.
Good luck all with week five and remember not to listen to your fears!

By: Julie Shackleton

Julie Shackleton — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 13:55:05 +0000

I didn’t manage a day. But what I did was to think about why i was sitting down at the particular moment to read. For me emails at work could take all day to read. SO I chose the ones that were relevant and ignored the rest. At home reading is a sit down with a cuppa and grab time for me. My conclusion for myself is that I read everything becuse I feel I have to so I can be in the know and updated. I also use reading as a means of avoiding other tasks both at home and at work probably so I can be busy and overloaded like everybody else reckons on to be This actually only serves to create stress so I have learned something by trying to not read. Reading is necessary, enjoyable and luxurious and not to be taken for granted.

By: sophie

sophie — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 13:54:16 +0000

I only cheated three times – once on Monday cos I needed a book for work. Then this weekend I momentously drove back to get my stuff (and cat) from my ex’s house.
So I had a (small and controlled) tantrum on Friday morning when I reached for the comfort of the crossword to help me eat my cereal.
Then another on Sunday afternoon when I needed the Sunday Puzzle Page to get me through the afternoon.
Otherwise I was very good and definitely saw the benefits! More creative energy, and all that time forced me to stop and reflect instead of buttoning down and hiding my feelings away. )

By: Maria

Maria — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 13:51:45 +0000

I nearly weakened on day 3 when one on John O’Donohue’s book’s was beckoning me to open it and the daily mail was shouting ‘buy me’ in the newsagents. That evening I had a phone conversation with a friend who has been teaching yoga for almost 30 years. She’s very evolved as you can imagine. She told me that she hadn’t bought or read a newspaper in over 10 years and that although her bookshelf is full to the brim she hasn’t read anything from it in the past year. She didn’t know I was doing AW but I felt like such a lightweight almost caving in on day 3! I made it until day 6 when my copy of psychologies magazine came through the door. I’m listening to the news a lot less I’ve noticed and becoming less attatched to the bad stuff I hear.
As you say Suzy it’s baby steps forward; I’d love to give up newspapers altogether and hope I’m moving towards that.
Take care,
Maria

By: Caite

Caite — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 12:50:25 +0000

No I didn’t….I read the AW (which was allowed) but I bought the paper on wednesday after the news regarding the sad death of Ivan Cameron. I just get the impression that Julia Cameron doesn’t quite live in same world I do and although she likened it to ‘tantrums’ it’s just not practical when one is working….and I don’t even need to read or write for a living. It would, I have no doubt, have stilled the mind….but 20 mins meditation has the same effect for me. The AW is a very structured approach to therapy and to be honest I can only give it a certain portion of time. I no longer do the morning pages but meditate instead…morning pages are not the only way!!! And Ms Cameron made me feel like a naughty little girl…;-)