Writing For Guidance

I’ve recently learned the practice of Writing for Guidance from Julia Cameron. I’ve been using it since January of this year, and has become less of a “tool” and more of a companion. It’s a practice I do every Sunday.

What Is Writing For Guidance?

In Julia Cameron’s view, Writing for Guidance is a spiritual and creative practice involving asking for help on paper and then being receptive to the answer. It is based on the belief that when we quiet our controlling, anxious minds, we can access a deeper, wiser inner voice – what she often calls intuition, higher wisdom, or guidance.

In this practice, you write a sincere question at the top of the page – something you are struggling with or unsure about. Then you pause, let go of trying to “figure it out,” and write a response as if the guidance itself is speaking back to you.

According to Julia Cameron, writing for guidance is not about predicting or solving problems; it’s about listening. The guidance you receive is often practical and compassionate. She suggests this writing enhances creativity, faith, and self-support, as it reminds us we have access to insight.

How it helps me

How I practice it is simple. I write a question at the top of the page. What do I need right now? Why does this feel so heavy? How do I resolve this? Why am I feeling/ behaving this way? Then I pause. I take a breath. And I write the answer as if it’s coming from a wiser, calmer place than my anxious mind. Sometimes I change pens or shift the page slightly, just to remind myself that I’m listening now, not arguing.

The answers that come aren’t grand revelations. I find that it often repeats simple truths – rest, trust, take the next small step. But there is such an element of surprise in seeing those words written back to me, in my own handwriting. and over time, the practice has helped me build trust in my own inner wisdom.

Finding Wisdom Within

Just last week, I was wondering about why I am unable to sleep and instead spending a long time scrolling and going down rabbit holes on the internet. When I asked the question, I wrote that perhaps this was a way of having ‘me-time’ – a time when I don’t feel responsibility or the need to care for José and Lucky. I was guided to write that this was a way of taking control of my life when it feels out of control rightnow. (I also realized that I should work a way around it and I have but that’s not relevant here.) Something made me search Google as to whether this was really true. And imagine my surprise when I realised that this way indeed a phenomenon and one I hadn’t heard of before – it’s called revenge bedtime procrastination. My intiuition had given me the answer before I knew it was a thing!

Writing for Guidance reminds me that wisdom is not something I have to go looking for. Often, it’s already there, waiting for me to ask—and to listen.

Is this a practice you might want to try?