The Vein of Gold: A Journey to Your Creative Heart

by Julia Cameron

The Vein of Gold: A Journey to Your Creative Heart

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Art, Self Help, Spirituality, Reference, Personal Development

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Julia Cameron has been an active artist for more than thirty years, with fifteen books (including bestsellers The Artist's Way, Walking In This World and The Right to Write) and countless television, film, and theater scripts to her credit. Writing since the age of 18, Cameron has a long list of screenplay and teleplay credits to her name, including an episode of Miami Vice, and Elvis and the Beauty Queen, which starred Don Johnson. She was a writer on such movies as Taxi Driver, New York, New York, and The Last Waltz. She wrote, produced, and directed the award-winning independent feature film, God's Will, which premiered at the Chicago International Film Festival, and was selected by the London Film Festival, the Munich International Film Festival, and Women in Film Festival, among others. In addition to making film, Cameron has taught film at such diverse places as Chicago Filmmakers, Northwestern University, and Columbia College. Her profound teachings on unlocking creativity and living from the creative center have inspired countless artists to unleash their full potential.

Reviews

[Anne Ku · Rating 4 out of 5]

I treated this book like the bible to open up my creativity once again. Years ago, nearly a decade ago, in London, I read The Artist's Way and religiously wrote my "morning pages" and followed the exercises.

Now, having once again at another milestone in my life, I am forever grateful to discover this book among a collection of books for sale by an 86-year old retired artist who lives nearby. It was in pristine condition, and I begged to borrow it before she sold it. Every day, I sat down and wrote my "morning pages" and then read the book, against an invisible and imaginary deadline.

Just a few months ago I suddenly consciously realised that I had lost my love for cooking. I stopped composing when I finished my 4-year study. Much to my chagrin, I had gone to conservatory precisely because I couldn't stop composing. I didn't look at the house I lived in as a home where the heart is but more like an obligation and I was the slave who owned it. I felt obliged to share the house instead of enjoying it alone.

Today I am happy to report that I finished this wonderful book while waiting for two loaves of banana bread to finish baking. There was a time, in Houston, when I baked a loaf of bread every week. I am thus amazed --- that by freeing myself, deliberately trying NOT to be busy, so as to have time to read "The Vein of Gold " --- a title I first heard from my writing teacher, the prize winning novelist Ann de Graaf, as well as starting to write again.

The Vein of Gold really is about freeing yourself and finding the creativity that lies within. As aptly subtitled: the vein of gold is a journey to your creative heart.

Even a writer who has never known herself to be musical can finally compose a song -- "Avalon" music and lyrics by Julia Cameron. Perhaps a musician can finally write a novel.

[Robby · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh, Julia, Julia. Hidden somewhere among the continued name-dropping and quasi-religious diatribes is indeed a bit of gold. I certainly wouldn't call it a vein. More like a few shavings of gold dust here and there among the flotsum. Julia would like us to remember that therapists are garbage, the universe has good things in store for you, and that nothing cannot be solved with the construction of a few creepy dolls.

Yes, go for gratitude walks. Keep on chugging away on your morning pages. Go on an artist date! The thing is... this is not new to her pantheon - it is simply the one thread she carries everywhere she goes. And it's a good thread! But there wasn't much in this book to add to the Julia Cameron canon IMHO.

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a fascinating and enlightening one. It has many exercises and ideas to help a person bring out their inner creativity, in whatever their chosen field. It was also filled with famous or not so famous, but great quotes from well known people, about life, and their own searches for creatvity and expression. It's a book worth spending lots of time reading, and sadly, I didn't own it, so had to return it to the library. But I highly recommend it.

[Elina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some good reminders and advise like walking daily, but like others have commented, it isn't nearly as good as The Artist's Way.

The religious stuff seemed somehow more blatant in this one, and as an atheist, I really disliked that side of the book. With The Artist's Way I could more easily just skip in my mind all the talk about God.

Also I think the book is less well constructed - too many quotes, and it seems like very long stream of consciousness.

[RF · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very inspiration - more like a workbook than a book. Creative ideas for exploring your creative heart... I found some great nuggets in this book. And plenty of inspiration.

[Charlotte Wrenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Invaluable. Creativity is connected to Spirit is what I got from this book, which I thought I knew, haha. I go back over and over to this amazing book. Full of fabulous quotes and resources, too. Julia Cameron's exercises will change your life.

[لیزا فاخر · Rating 4 out of 5]

تمام شد، اما من همان آدمی نیستم که این کتاب را شروع کردم. آیا این را مرهون این کتابم؟ نمی‌دانم. آیا این کتاب به من چیزی آموخت که از قبل نمی‌دانستم؟ گمان می‌کنم تمام تمرین‌ها و نوشته‌های این کتاب چه قبول داشتم چه عناد داشتم، یک هدف داشت: به من یاد داد که دنیای رنگارنگ و بازی‌گوش و پر از حواس‌پرتی و پراکندگی پشت استخوان پیشانی‌ام به اندازه‌ی تمام این پرونده‌ها و صنعت‌ها و هشیاربودن‌ها و دقیق و جدی بودن‌ها واقعی است و اگر بیش از آن‌ها قابل احترام نباشد، کم‌تر از این دنیای اخمو هم نیست. یاد گرفتم حرف‌های ریزریز و خجالت‌زده‌ی خودم را گوش بدهم و مهم بدانم، حتا اگر مهر تایید هیچ‌یک از آدم‌های معقول و مهم دنیا را ندارد.

[Liaken · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was entirely worth it for the first few exercises. The ideas about the connection between walking and writing as well as the (rather intimidating) narrative timeline project both gave me more than I ever expected. I'm sure I'll come back to this book again and taste the next few exercises when the time is right.

[Toby Neal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Richer and deeper than Artist's Way. A fitting capstone.

[Sue Gregg · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am very disappointed in this book. Julia Cameron's "The Artist Way" was so full of life-changing tools focused on honing one's creativity. This book repeated some of those tools, and did provide some potential creative ideas to generate an increased understanding of oneself along the path to greater creativity. However, much of this book is based on mystical and New Age religion. I did not seek to read about mysticism in any way. I feel misled. I struggled to finish this book which should not have taken as long to read, but the sentences were too long. too flowery and at times repetitive. The pages aren't filled with manuscript, rather they leave very large margins which are filled with quote after quote which got very dull. The "Vein of Gold" can be summed up in a few paragraphs. The best part of this book is the beautiful cover. I had hoped to keep this one in my collection but out it goes. Bummer.

[Cynthia Sillitoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this has some excellent ideas, the program is not suitable for everyone. Part of it is taking long walks, building up to longer walks, and all this walking is supposed to be essential. Not only is it not feasible for me, but, as she goes on and on about the glory of the energy coming up from the ground and into your feet, I'm thinking "What if people don't have feet? What if they are paralyzed?" I guess this could be argued about The Artist's Way because some people have good excuses for not writing morning pages by hand...like if they have no hands? Ok, so I'm a literal thinker, but....it's been 15 years since I read this and I'm still irritated.

[David Sweet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Third time through. Enjoyed this book greatly in my 20s and how it influenced my thought. Even now in my 50s I still do my morning pages. But now I don’t feel the need for the motivation and passion driven by the exercises. Going back to Rumi or Wordsworth or Shakespeare inspire me just as well and deeper. Too mechanical in nature. Good read for any new artist to get the right mindset.

[Joni Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

An astounding, eye-opening resource for writers, painters, and other creative types. This is like a field guide for artists on how to coax out their freshest, most unique concepts and to rein back the inner critic that hampers creativity in the early stages. I highly recommend this work.

[Susie]

Didn't like this one.

[Lindly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even better than Julia’s “The Artist’s Way”. Lots of insightful exercises to bring out creativity and directions for an artist to go.

[Keerthana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! I will say some of the tasks and activities felt redundant to my existing spiritual practices, but this feels like a logical next step for people who love the Artist’s Way. Full of great spiritual and creative reminders, the most being — NEVER STOP LOVING HARDDDD

[Leani · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, I found that The Vein of Gold adds less value and contains more fluff than The Artist's Way. Which is a pity, because some of the tasks in this book are great. I particularly like her cross-disciplinary use of music, to which I can add my own skills from art and dance therapy. The importance of the narrative time line was also valuable to realise, but I would use different methods in future. The Vein of Gold expanded my toolkit, but was definitely second-class.

[Jobie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good enough, inspiring

Though my favorite is still “artist way,” this was a very good complementary book to that. I wouldn’t have wanted to do this book before “artist way.” That being said it’s been a while since I’ve read “artist way” and don’t know how similar or how different this book is from that. It feels very similar but I also believe in inspired me in different ways.

It reignited my passion for morning pages. I was in a rut and headed journaling and now I’ve come to really love it like I used to love to journal.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of this book is sparking creativity. There are certainly a lot of different practices recommended and if you're looking for an activity-oriented book, then this would fit the bill. I enjoyed the sporadic quotes, even if some of them seemed quite random, and the sections were manageable lengths. Most everything seems to be from the opinion of Julia Cameron on what makes a creative so if you're able to "take what you need and leave the rest" then you might enjoy the formatting and overall feel.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

After working through The Artist's Way with a wonderful group of women, we decided to continue working together on Cameron's Vein of Gold. It's a project, but I'm setting aside time to work on the tasks and enjoy this spiritual journey.

[Kedooms · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you don’t want to do any assignments,you may want a different author. The key to Julia’s method is DO SOMETHING!
If you have a dream ( being an artist,musician,whatever) take steps to make it happen. And start now!
Very useful.

[Debb · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a good book for finding your way back to your own personal creative center...

[Sass · Rating 5 out of 5]

I go back to this book time and time and again when nothing else helps.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Opens you wide up. Gives you absolutely no means of pulling yourself back together. Having said that, the narrative time line is one of the most meaningful tasks I've ever undertaken.

[Yaaresse · Rating 3 out of 5]

She's kind of made a career out of rehashing the same basic material. Not that it's bad material, but how many times do you want to pay for the same book under different titles?

[M. Jane Colette · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the Artist's Way. It changed my life. This book, I have tried to slog through several times now, and I find it unreadable. Oh, Julia.

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book on tape quite a few years ago. It's the one I can listen to over and over until I wore out one tape. Found it again in a drawer yesterday. Healing, soul filling and lifting.

[J. Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Used this as a text book in a women's art class. Terrific reference and inspiration.

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was the same as, only trying harder than The Artists Way. Some of the new material was fun/interesting but a lot of it was just a lot. Next time I would just do The Artists Way again.

[Matthew Kresal · Rating 4 out of 5]

To say that Julia Cameron has had an impact upon my life would be an understatement. Being gifted The Complete Artist’s Way (containing The Artist’s Way, Walking in This World, and Finding Water) by my best friend in 2014 helped to move me from would-be writer to published author with Morning Pages having become a part of my daily routine. It’s why I both found it easy to overlook the more New Age woo-woo aspects of those books in favor of the practical advice and why I’ve returned to Cameron from time to time. Indeed, this past year saw that same best friend loan me The Vein of Gold, Cameron’s 1996 book on creativity.

Did I find it helpful? In places, yes. Some of the reading and exercises proved to be insightful, especially going through what’s been a creative funk and a period where I’ve not had much published. It also, along with other events, helped bring other parts of my life past and present into focus as well. In places, Cameron proves insightful by citing examples from her own life and teaching experiences with Artist’s Way to open doors toward being more creative and embracing things both old and new with tools from Morning Pages to walks and creative exercises. At its best, it’s what Cameron did so well in her other books: making the elusive part of creativity tangible and practical.

That said, the agnostic in me struggled in places. Largely as Cameron full-on engaged with New Age woo-woo starting with an early mention of ESP and going from there. True, Cameron views creativity as a spiritual experience (and this reviewer is not one to argue with her or the impact that her writings have had on my life and millions of others). Yet when Cameron goes off the path, so to speak, it might be interesting for her but less for readers or those seeking a more practical expression. In that regard, it’s very much a “your mileage may very” thing but it did diminish my own experience with the book.

Which isn’t to dismiss it, but merely offer a word for those less inclined to spend pages (if not admittedly short chapters) dealing with such things. For those seeking something more practical, the three aformentioned volumes are probably better suited. Even so, Cameron offers plenty of wisdom here to make this worth visiting for those familiar with her work.