Who we most deeply are is mirrored in our artistic work. Our need for mirroring simultaneously attracts us to and repels us from our creative callings and relationships. It is one of life's great dilemmas. Artist's block and lover's block flow from the same pool. Often, we fear deeply the very thing needed to create original art, to experience intimate relationships and to live authentic lives: we are frightened by the impulse to be fully revealed to ourselves, and to others, as this most often entails exposing the unacceptable shadowy aspects of our humanity and risking rejection. Mirrors in all their manifold guises permit us to safely see and experience ourselves in reflection and become better acquainted with the rejected, ostracized aspects of our personalities. Creative work is one of the few places where we can truly express and witness lost aspects of our authentic selves. Within us a treasure beckons. This is what we spend our lives pursuing. What slows and distracts us is not the object we long for, but where we search. To find this precious gem, we must eventually return to our own creative spirits.
Use the Ancient Wisdom of Yoga to Explore the Deepest Aspects of Your Creative Self Combining expressive arts and yoga therapy, Yoga for the Creative Soul is an invaluable guide to healing emotional wounds and creating a joyous life. Through drawing, writing, dancing, humming, and cooking—as well as yoga postures, meditation, relaxation, breathing, and self-inquiry—this book helps you cultivate your true intentions and live your deepest values. With helpful tips for daily practice and a quiz to support you in identifying areas of imbalance, author Erin Byron shares techniques that you can personalize to meet your specific needs. Discover how to bring color, movement, and melody into everyday moments with the five paths to self-realization: Karma, Jnana, Raja, Bhakti, and Tantra. Engaging a process of personal transformation and learning how take control of your life are gifts you can give yourself with Yoga for the Creative Soul Praise: "I'm dazzled. Yoga for the Creative Soul is more than a program or philosophy. It's a gift, merging the tenets of ancient and yoga-based psychology with the expressive arts and personal healing...In this blessed book, Erin presents us with an all-inclusive path to joy."—Cyndi Dale, author of Llewellyn's Complete Book of Chakras "A DIY guide full of exceptional exercises to awaken your best and most creative self . . . Yoga for the Creative Soul will help you to gently release fear, embrace change, gather courage, and overcome your inner-perfectionist."—Amy B. Scher, author of How To Heal Yourself When No One Else Can
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. From Kahran and Regis Bethencourt, the dynamite husband and wife duo behind CreativeSoul Photography, comes GLORY, a photography book that shatters the conventional standards of beauty for Black children. Featuring a foreword by Amanda Seales With stunning images of natural hair and gorgeous, inventive visual storytelling, GLORY puts Black beauty front and center with more than 100 breathtaking photographs and a collection of powerful essays about the children. At its heart, it is a recognition and celebration of the versatility and innate beauty of black hair, and black beauty. The glorious coffee-table book pays homage to the story of our royal past, celebrates the glory of the here and now, and even dares to forecast the future. It brings to life past, present, and future visions of black culture and showcases the power and beauty of recognizing and celebrating oneself. Beauty as an expression of who you are is power. When we define our own standards of beauty, we take back that power. GLORY encourages children around the world to feel that power and harness it.
Christine Valters Paintner, author of Water, Wind, Earth, and Fire, invites readers to discover and develop their creative gifts in a spirit of prayer and reflection. This twelve-week course draws on the insights and practices of Benedictine spirituality to explore the interplay between contemplation and creativity. Summarized in the phrase "pray and work," The Rule of St. Benedict provides the inspiration for Christine Valters Paintner's newest exploration of the mutually nourishing relationship between contemplative practices and creative expression. Artists of all stripes and stations in life--poets or painters, potters or photographers--will discover how traditions of Benedictine, Celtic, and desert spirituality can offer new sources of inspiration for their work. Through this twelve-week course, themes like "Sacred Tools and Sacred Space," "Creative Solitude and Community," and "Nature as a Source of Revelation and Inspiration" are enriched by Paintner's perceptive discussion and enhanced by insightful quotations from well-known artists and writers. Each week offers suggestions for grounding both the creative and the spiritual life through three basic practices: walking, lectio divina, and journaling. In sync with Paintner's vibrant Internet presence, The Artist's Rule is supplemented with online resources, including guided meditation podcasts, video lessons, and discussions.
This groundbreaking book by David Castro, President and CEO of the Institute for Leadership Education, promises to transform thinking within organizations and communities about the fundamental skills required for human progress. David explores the evolution of leadership skills within effective organizations, recognizing that leadership processes have been evolving into different and more promising practices. To capture this trend, David introduces a new concept and a new word, genership: the skill set required for the practice of creativity in groups.
Painting the Landscape of Your Soul engages and reawakens your innate creativity as a path to self discovery. This book is a step-by-step journey of empowerment, reclaiming your inner self with paint and paper. It incorporates trusting your intuitive voice with deep, underlying principles of healing such as energy medicine and shamanism. It's a journey toward integration and wholeness and will bring a twinkle to your eyes again! No artistic skill is required."
Art is a tool for living, a spiritual calling that all of us must eventually answer. Just as athletes aren't the only ones who need exercise, artists aren't the only ones who need creativity. All of us must exercise creativity on a regular basis to keep our spirit and joy from being diminished. In this age of remote controls, convenience food, and prepackaged everything, our souls are crying out for the spiritual replenishment only offered through a creative practice. Art and Soul takes readers on a year-long journey into their creative souls, offering a map for finding and expressing the art that dwells there. It encourages readers to recapture their authentic self that many abandoned long ago with their Crayola crayons. Even those who swear they can't paint, write, compose, or build can express creativity in everyday activities that revitalize and nourish their spiritual well-being. Art and Soul is divided into 52 weekly chapters, each containing an inspirational message; a creative assignment, and three or four suggestions for fun projects that encourage us to stretch our creative wings. Here are just a few: Go to a thrift store and buy the most outrageous outfit you can.Learn three little-known facts about Martin Luther King Jr..Make sugar cookies shaped like body parts. Come up with the title of your own autobiography.The ideas range from the practical to the ridiculous, but all are easy and fun to complete. This book will show readers that they don't need fancy art supplies or lessons to be creative, and that getting in touch with our creative selves is just as easy as do-re-me. Finally, the perfect book for women who have had it with feeling like the dynamic pulse of life hasfaded and who are looking to recharge their existence. The draining stress and hubbub of the modern world can sometimes make a woman feel like she's just a shell of the fun-loving, vivacious person she once was. To solve this common problem, author Amy Hall presents Getting Your Groove Back, a sassy and hip collection of tips and exercises for women who are eager to reinvigorate life by recapturing their lost but innate Grooviness-the spunk and special aura that used to set them apart from the crowd. This book covers everything a woman needs to know in order to get her career, relationships, and sense of self back on track by standing up to the evil forces of numbness and mediocrity that have taken root! Hall dishes out tough love, provoking insights and advice with a biting humor that just doesn't stop. At the office . . . A tried-but-true confidence builder moves from the bedroom to the office place. Wear really sexy underwear not only on third dates, but also to any dreaded presentation you must give.In relationships . . . Save the money you set aside for the obligatory birthday gift for the friend with whom you are no longer close. Spend it on yourself instead. Go buy a decadent box of chocolate-dipped strawberries from those fine Godiva folks and scarf them under a tree, celebrating your ability to sever the old and seek out the new. That relationship had a place in your past, and guess what, we call it the past for a reason-move on. Besides, the hussy never returned that favorite belt of yours she borrowed; hence, it's time to trot toward evolution.Within the inner self . . . Stop beating yourself up because you're not what you said you'd become when you were a little girl. Okay, so you didn't get an Olympic gold medal or become an ambassador to the UN. It's true our lives don't always deal us the cards we need to get the grandiose life, but get real, you're a born couch potato and you detest politics. Why should you feel guilty any longer for not doing something that doesn't fit your personality anyway? There's nothing wrong with not being a famous athlete or political figure. There's lots of us out here, and we're okay people. Join us. Love us. Become one with us.Getting Your Groove Back is the ultimate book for those who are tired of fluff and want fun self-help with an attitude
When was the last time you did something just for the joy of it? The Creative Soul Within invites you on a 52-week journey to embrace the creative soul within you to help you grow in your relationship with God, yourself, and those around you. With each entry, you're invited to unplug, rediscover your imagination, let go of stress, learn how to play again, and take the deep and meaningful journey to develop the creative gifts the Lord has given you. The Creative Soul Within invites you to: Reflect on your emotions and let go of stress Connect back to the simple things that bring you joy Reflect on God's faithfulness and His goodness in your life Explore your creative side with easy, guided prompts Each entry includes: A Bible verse about God's creation A brief and encouraging reflection about faith, friendship, nature, and beauty A simple writing prompt, craft, or gardening tip to help you engage your creative side A low-budget shopping list, as needed For creatives of all skill levels, The Creative Soul Within is a perfect gift to give to people who want to know themselves and their God more deeply. Featuring four-color photography and a bright and fresh design, The Creative Soul Within is a beautiful gift for Mother's Day, graduations, birthdays, holidays, or self-purchase.
A Soul's Delight: Your Step-by-Step Higher Self Integration Journey provides information, inspiration, resources, and practical activities designed to help you learn and be Soul Attuned through The Higher Self Integration Process. You will be led through experiences enabling you to consciously design your own Higher/Soul Consciousness Program that fits your individualized Soul's awareness and developmental levels. Everything from prayer to accessing your own Soul's voice, physical healing to Chakra and Kundalini activation, precognition to working with Nature Spirits, spiritual partnership to one's own life tasks, and more are explained in a matter-of-fact and comprehensible manner. It stands unique in how it puts together so many systems and truths about life, providing a complex and holistic, yet realistic and practical guide. You are given the opportunity to understand the multi-levels of life in order to consciously co-create a lovingly prosperous and joyful daily reality.
