The Listening Path by Julia Cameron

A lot of you will have heard of Julia Cameron, hailed by the New York Times, as ‘The Queen of Change.’ 

Her wonderful book The Artists Way, was first published in the UK in 1994. The book consists of twelve chapters, outlining a twelve-week course, which can be done alone or with a group. It guides you through the process of recovering your creative self. It tackles self- doubt, self-criticism (the inner critic we are familiar with in our Focusing) and time, money. and support to pursue a creative dream. The book has been translated into forty languages and has sold over five million copies.

In the meantime, she has written several other books on creativity, spirituality, fiction, plays and poetry. Has written and directed a film (God’s Will) and written her Memoir (Floor Sample, a creative Memoir).

Now she has done it again with her latest book, published in the UK in 2021, The Listening Path. Although it has the same number of pages, this book has just six chapters, or a six-week course to pursue deeper and deeper listening to ourselves, others and the environment.

The introduction, which is thirty-six pages, is a synopsis of the Artist’s Way. The first chapter is about listening to our environment, noticing, as we do in Focusing, how these sounds feel in our bodies. From the sound of our alarm clocks, the micro wave, to traffic on our commute and listening to the sounds of nature, wind in the trees etc. We are invited to keep a daily log of the sounds, noticing if they are pleasant or abrasive and checking what we might be able to do to make our auditory sounds more pleasant, Like, changing our alarm sound, going a quieter way to work etc.

The next chapter is about Listening to Others. This chapter encourages us to listen carefully and with full attention to our conversations. We are invited to keep a log of our progress and our reactions, whether we want to interrupt or give advice etc.


She interviews several journalists, novelists, musicians, actors and artists, to discover how they use listening in their careers. One interesting response from an artist who said she " listens to the sound of the brush to guide her!

I haven’t actually read all the book, so I cannot offer a detailed review. But I felt because listening is the language of Focusing it was worth recommending for a Christmas stocking filler.

The other chapters are;
Listening to our Higher Self, Listening Beyond the Veil ( That could be interesting) Listening to our Heroes and Listening to Silence.       

Reviewed by Marian Neary Burke