It was in a Creative Writing class lead by Professor Nynke Passi at the Maharishi International University where I learned about the Artists Way. I've probably heard of it before, because it is everywhere, though have never actually engaged with its processes. One of our assignments was to begin writing daily Morning Pages, which means we would write 3 pages about anything and train ourselves to just keep going no matter what happens.

After a few sessions of Morning Pages I began to realize that when I did them, I always felt great and noticed wonderful feelings throughout the day. This began to fascinate me and I wondered, how can it be that simply allowing myself to write whatever came up created these great feelings?

I began to understand that giving myself the gift of total freedom to simply express myself in whatever ways I felt at the moment without hesitation allowed Creative Energy to flow through me and that Flow is what was feeling so good.

Later I discovered that this Flow State is widely studied by many points of interest, including professional Artists and elite Athletes. They have discovered that getting into and staying in this Flow State is what creates outstanding performances and experiences. It's a scientifically verified conclusion.

It became clear that writing in the Flow State is a very powerful experience, and I noticed the effects of it expanding into all areas of life. I also began to notice that while writing Morning Pages, as much as I think I've given myself the freedom to write whatever I wanted, seeing what I am writing and even trying to keep the text legible and inside the lines of my page is causing a degree of resistance within me.

A new question erupted and captured my imagination -- and the next several years of my life...

What if... what if I didn't see what I was writing at all? What if I couldn't erase or change anything until I've reached some goal I've set for myself?

I had to find out.

The first version of ilys, which stands for "I Love Your Stories" was created inside a quaint little coffee shop in Mount Vernon, Washington State, sometime in the year 2013. I fell in love with it, and we've been growing together ever since.

Fast forward to now, it turns out that other people love ilys too. We have members from all over the world, with so many different interests and talents, all wanting improved Creative Flow. I always feel extremely blessed and appreciative of being able to help people with this important aspect of their lives.

I'm excitedly curious to discover where this adventure will lead next. So far it's been an incredibly deep and transformational ride.


Wishing you fun and joy,
Michael Gurevich
ilys-maker