God is No Laughing Matter: An Artist's Observations and Objections on the Spiritual Path

by Julia Cameron

Overview

In God Is No Laughing Matter, bestselling author Julia Cameron takes a witty, powerfully honest, and irreverent look at the culture of "spirituality" today and offers insight to enable readers to determine their personal spiritual path. The important thing to remember, she says, is that God is both more humorous and more humane than we've been taught.

With her trademark "sparkling prose" (Publishers Weekly), anecdotes, and helpful techniques, Cameron's thought-provoking essays paint the spiritual journey in a refreshingly clear light. Addressing the way in which spiritual "experts" have clouded the message, her book shows readers how to improve concentration and how to make conscious choices that heighten their individual autonomy as well as enrich their lives and their communities.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781585421282
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/01/2001
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.48(w) x 8.18(h) x 0.84(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Julia Cameron has been an active artist for more than three decades. She is the author of more than thirty books, including such bestselling works on the creative process as The Artist’s Way, Walking in This World, and Finding Water. Also a novelist, playwright, songwriter, and poet, she has multiple credits in theater, film, and television, including an episode of Miami Vice, which featured Miles Davis, 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 the Women in Film Festival, among others. In addition to making films, Cameron has taught film at such diverse places as Chicago Filmmakers, Northwestern University, and Columbia College. She is also an award-winning playwright, whose work has appeared on such well-known stages as the McCarter Theater at Princeton University and the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.

Read an Excerpt

Introduction: Blind Date

Most of us don't know where to start with God. We've got a lot of excess baggage and expectations and "God As Told to Us By" and it can feel an awful lot like a Blind Date.

The trick with God -- just like with Blind Dates -- is to suit up and show up. Who knows? God might turn out to be tall and handsome. Or blond and curvy. Someone you might really like. Somebody you can actually talk to and go salsa dancing with. Somebody who gets your jokes and likes the same terrible Japanese monster movies that you do.

The point is that until you try to meet God, you aren't going to know. If your earphones are unspooling the "Here's what God is like" tapes of everybody else, the Spiritual Big Cheeses, you might miss God disguised as the nice trash man who takes your extra load of stuff without making you phone in to bureaucracy hell for another truck and driver. You might miss God as the red-winged blackbird or the shiny river stone. You might miss God, period.

Much of what you learn about God in this country runs along the lines of "God is no laughing matter." I'm not so sure about that. I think God might have a pretty good sense of humor. Look at octopuses, for example. And baboons, with those hilarious bright red asses. Yes, sometimes I think we are the ones who are grim and God is just pacing around cloud nine, waiting for us to lighten up a little. It's possible.

Experiment:

The world of Spirit is open to all who seek it. "My Father's house has many mansions," taught Christ. Yet, many of us remain locked in the room of our childhood. As adults, we may be stifled by our unconscious acceptance of a God concept we have long since outgrown. The following questions are aimed at clarifying God as you understand God.

1. What was your childhood religion, if any?
2. What was the spiritual atmosphere in your home?
3. What did your mother teach you about God?
4. What did your father teach you about God?
5. Describe your childhood God using at least ten adjectives.
6. Is this still the God you believe in?
7. What is your current concept of God?
8. Describe your ideal God concept using at least twenty adjectives.
9. Write a prayer.
10. Set aside a half hour. Take yourself out of the house. Do something small and festive. Walk, window-shop, enjoy a cappuccino. Sit on a park bench. Be alert to encounter God in any form. This is your blind date.

Copyright © 2000 by Julia Cameron. All rights reserved.

Table of Contents

God Is No Laughing MatterIntroduction
Blind Date
Connection
Conscious Contact
Prayer
Catch-up Ball
Rest
Very Spiritual People
Spiritual Cellulite
Spiritual Experts—How Many Angels Can Dance In This Joint?
Faith
Bullies
Extreme Skiers
Structure
Higher Companions
Spiritually Correct
You're Too Smart for All of That God Stuff
Teachers
Parent Bashing
God's Will
Bad Julie
Sneak
In A Spiritual Kind of Way
Buddha Pests
New Age Rage
Reality
Sex
Lingerie
Believing
School
Humor
The Sound Track
Appropriately Complex
Dunk in the Barrell
My Funny Valentine
Health
Beauty
Discernment
Spiritual Vampires
Spiritual Seduction
Spiritual Waifs
The Fame Game
Slick Velocity
New Age Healing
12-Step Programs
Kindness
Restlessness
Service
Detachment
Grief
Cherishing
Spirituality Salesman
God as We Understand God
Comedy Versus Tragedy
Acceptance
Dope-Dealer God
Depression
Cleaning
Family
Birds
Difficulty
Apologies
Ease
Continuity
Disappointment
Drop the Rock
Visions
Love Letters
Roots and Wings

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Praise for THE ARTIST'S WAY...

“THE ARTIST’S WAY by Julia Cameron is not exclusively about writing—it is about discovering and developing the artist within whether a painter, poet, screenwriter or musician—but it is a lot about writing. If you have always wanted to pursue a creative dream, have always wanted to play and create with words or paints, this book will gently get you started and help you learn all kinds of paying-attention techniques; and that, after all, is what being an artist is all about. It’s about learning to pay attention.”
—Anne Lamott, Mademoiselle
 
“The premise of the book is that creativity and spirituality are the same thing, they come from the same place. And we were created to use this life to express our individuality, and that over the course of a lifetime that gets beaten out of us. [THE ARTIST’S WAY] helped me put aside my fear and not worry about whether the record would be commercial.”
—Grammy award-winning singer Kathy Mattea
 
“Julia Cameron brings creativity and spirituality together with the same kind of step-by-step wisdom that Edgar Cayce encouraged. The result is spiritual creativity as a consistent and nourishing part of daily life.”
—Venture Inward
 
“I never knew I was a visual artist until I read Julia Cameron’s THE ARTIST’S WAY.”
—Jannene Behl in Artist’s Magazine
 
“Julia Cameron’s landmark book THE ARTIST’S WAY helped me figure out who I really was as an adult, not so much as an artist but as a person. And award-winning journalist and poet, Cameron’s genius is that she doesn’t tell readers what they should do to achieve or who they should be—instead she creates a map for readers to start exploring these questions themselves.”
—Michael F. Melcher, Law Practice magazine
 
“This is not a self-help book in the normative sense. It is simply a powerful book that can challenge one to move into an entirely different state of personal expression and growth.”
—Nick Maddox, Deland Beacon
 
“THE ARTIST’S WAY (with its companion volume THE ARTIST’S WAY MORNING PAGES JOURNAL) becomes a friend over time, not just a journal. Like a journal, it provokes spontaneous insights and solutions; beyond journaling, it establishes a process that is interactive and dynamic.”
—Theresa L. Crenshaw, M.D., San Diego Union-Tribune
 
 “If you really want to supercharge your writing, I recommend that you get a copy of Julia Cameron’s book THE ARTIST’S WAY. I’m not a big fan of self-help books, but this book has changed my life for the better and restored my previously lagging creativity.”
—Jeffrey Bairstow, Laser Focus World
 
“Working with the principle that creative expression is the natural direction of life, Cameron developed a three month program to recover creativity. THE ARTIST’S WAY shows how to tap into the higher power that connects human creativity and the creative energies of the universe.”
—Mike Gossie, Scottsdale Tribune
 
“THE ARTIST’S WAY is the seminal book on the subject of creativity and an invaluable guide to living the artistic life. Still as vital today—or perhaps even more so—than it was when it was first published in 1992, it is a provocative and inspiring work. Updated and expanded, it reframes THE ARTIST’S WAY for a new century.”
—Branches of Light
 
“THE ARTIST’S WAY has sold over 3 million copies since its publication in 1992. Cameron still teaches it because there is sustained demand for its thoughtful, spiritual approach to unblocking and nurturing creativity. It is, dare we say, timeless.”
—Nancy Colasurdo, FOXBusiness
 
 
 
Praise for VEIN OF GOLD, the second volume in the ARTIST’S WAY trilogy
 
“For those seeking the wellspring of creativity, this book, like its predecessor, is a solid gold diving rod.”
—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

Editorial Reviews

Praise for THE ARTIST'S WAY...

“THE ARTIST’S WAY by Julia Cameron is not exclusively about writing—it is about discovering and developing the artist within whether a painter, poet, screenwriter or musician—but it is a lot about writing. If you have always wanted to pursue a creative dream, have always wanted to play and create with words or paints, this book will gently get you started and help you learn all kinds of paying-attention techniques; and that, after all, is what being an artist is all about. It’s about learning to pay attention.”
—Anne Lamott, Mademoiselle
 
“The premise of the book is that creativity and spirituality are the same thing, they come from the same place. And we were created to use this life to express our individuality, and that over the course of a lifetime that gets beaten out of us. [THE ARTIST’S WAY] helped me put aside my fear and not worry about whether the record would be commercial.”
—Grammy award-winning singer Kathy Mattea
 
“Julia Cameron brings creativity and spirituality together with the same kind of step-by-step wisdom that Edgar Cayce encouraged. The result is spiritual creativity as a consistent and nourishing part of daily life.”
—Venture Inward
 
“I never knew I was a visual artist until I read Julia Cameron’s THE ARTIST’S WAY.”
—Jannene Behl in Artist’s Magazine
 
“Julia Cameron’s landmark book THE ARTIST’S WAY helped me figure out who I really was as an adult, not so much as an artist but as a person. And award-winning journalist and poet, Cameron’s genius is that she doesn’t tell readers what they should do to achieve or who they should be—instead she creates a map for readers to start exploring these questions themselves.”
—Michael F. Melcher, Law Practice magazine
 
“This is not a self-help book in the normative sense. It is simply a powerful book that can challenge one to move into an entirely different state of personal expression and growth.”
—Nick Maddox, Deland Beacon
 
“THE ARTIST’S WAY (with its companion volume THE ARTIST’S WAY MORNING PAGES JOURNAL) becomes a friend over time, not just a journal. Like a journal, it provokes spontaneous insights and solutions; beyond journaling, it establishes a process that is interactive and dynamic.”
—Theresa L. Crenshaw, M.D., San Diego Union-Tribune
 
 “If you really want to supercharge your writing, I recommend that you get a copy of Julia Cameron’s book THE ARTIST’S WAY. I’m not a big fan of self-help books, but this book has changed my life for the better and restored my previously lagging creativity.”
—Jeffrey Bairstow, Laser Focus World
 
“Working with the principle that creative expression is the natural direction of life, Cameron developed a three month program to recover creativity. THE ARTIST’S WAY shows how to tap into the higher power that connects human creativity and the creative energies of the universe.”
—Mike Gossie, Scottsdale Tribune
 
“THE ARTIST’S WAY is the seminal book on the subject of creativity and an invaluable guide to living the artistic life. Still as vital today—or perhaps even more so—than it was when it was first published in 1992, it is a provocative and inspiring work. Updated and expanded, it reframes THE ARTIST’S WAY for a new century.”
—Branches of Light
 
“THE ARTIST’S WAY has sold over 3 million copies since its publication in 1992. Cameron still teaches it because there is sustained demand for its thoughtful, spiritual approach to unblocking and nurturing creativity. It is, dare we say, timeless.”
—Nancy Colasurdo, FOXBusiness
 
 
 
Praise for VEIN OF GOLD, the second volume in the ARTIST’S WAY trilogy
 
“For those seeking the wellspring of creativity, this book, like its predecessor, is a solid gold diving rod.”
—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

From the Publisher

This provocative and irreverent book deconstructs the culture of spirituality without drawing blood. Cameron offers a refreshingly sassy and sensitive first-hand look at our desperate search for soul and how we can better enrich our lives.
— Genre

Robert Ellsworth