If I wasn’t writing now and you weren’t reading, if we were together, I would have loved to hear your stories. I would have loved to hear about the changes you went through if you’ve done the Morning Pages. I’ve heard such inspiring stories from people whom I recommended The Artist’s Way. So if there is anyone who hasn’t heard about it, I want to make sure that they do. I think that this amazing author of this book isn’t known in Turkey enough.

Julia Cameron is an educator, poet, playwright, and film producer. She is an artist with numerous identities and has said that she has collaborated on “three films and one daughter” with her ex-husband Martin Scorsese.

I met her four years ago through the birthday present that Nancy (Azarbad) got me and experienced miracles in my own life. I had already started writing Sade with Ege at the time and the book got on an even more influential path with all that I gained from Cameron. I’m not going to get into too much detail about The Artist’s Way here. All I can say is that I recommend everyone to get it and experience their own changes by doing the 12-week long exercises.

Twenty days ago, I spent two magical days with Julia Cameron and a hundred other amazing people in a 13th-century church called Stevenskerk in the city of Nijmegen in Holland. This meeting, which was organized by De Nieuwe Creatieven, began early on a peaceful Saturday morning and ended on a rainy and magical Sunday evening. I can still feel its effect and I think this effect won’t ever leave me.

One of the first things that Julia Cameron said was “You’ll learn more from each other than me”. In fact, all of these people who didn’t know each other did end up learning a lot from one another. During some stories I cried, in others, I laughed. Sometimes I gave strength to the person across from me. But all the dialogues left a huge impression. I experienced countless synchronicities, took pages and pages of notes, felt happy when what I knew about myself got confirmed and got excited when I found out about the hidden corners. As I spent time with people I didn’t know in a city that was new to me, I felt both at home with old friends and excited about new discoveries.

What I’m trying to say is this: go get this book and start your journey already. First with the book and then, if you want, with a plane. And share it with everyone you know. Or even with people you don’t know. I once again realized in this magical weekend that what I value most in this life is sharing. When open hearts communicate through honest words, when someone feels a bit happier than they did before, I am at my happiest.

I dedicate this piece to all who made me experience this amazing feeling.

Begüm

Translated by Talya Arditi