5 comments about If... Questions for the Soul.

1. This book goes to the heart of the matter, or in this case directly to the soul. It is a book that can be picked up at any time as life twists and turns the answers may dramatically change. There are questions that this reader has never considered and questions that are at unanswerable, but mentally challenging.



2. After reading the reviews on this book, I decided on the spot to order it. Although it has many thought-provoking questions in it, they definitely arn't life changing. It is a decent book, but it didn't meet my expectations. If you are a very religious or spiritual person, this may be your style.



3. From the "If" series of question books this book is filled with questions that seek to find your true beliefs. With many religious and soul stirring prompts this book will start you on a journey towards the essence of your inner most soul. This book will take awhile to get through only because the questions require a bit more fore-thought if you want to get it right. So forget the chicken soup and just ask yourself a few of these insightful questions instead!



4. As a Christian psychologist, I often recommend this book for couples. Its questions are great for stimulating deeper, more meaningful conversations. Often spouses want to know each at a deep, intimate level, but do not know what questions to ask or how to enter into conversations in which they reveal themselves to each other. This book can help. Keep it in the car for long trips, take it on a date and enjoy getting to know the one you love.



5. This book is full of "what if" questions in relation to your spirituality. I was so interested in it that I bought a couple more as gifts for friends and family. I really love this book!

5 comments about CIRQUE DU SOLEIL® THE SPARK: Igniting the Creative Fire That Lives Within Us All.

1. The Spark is about what ignites the creative fire. It shadows Cirque du Soleil and what drives them to excel and gives us a small peek behind the tour de force performances of this world class performance engine. But what is it that drives these performances and takes world class athletes and makes them a creative team that inpires passion and evokes feeling from their audiences? In this fiction of a bored man, going thru the motions of his life and business, the authors lead him down the "rabbit hole" and into a world of passion, creativity, destiny and fulfillment. It is a lesson we can all learn from. This message, unlike most business books or self help tomes goes down easy and is as effortless as the graceful art of the performers. Some may find it too simple, but most truth is simple. Some may find it as a PR tool for the Circus. Yes it is, but what a tool, for in seeing the Circus as it puts it's best foot forward, (and yes I realize it is not telling me the whole "warts and all" story of this amazing group)...in glimpsing the vision, the guiding principles of this troupe, we may find a model to inspire our creative spark to ignite all over again...and this just might be transformative. Run away down the rabbit hole, and join the Circus for a while...you may never be the same again. Thank you to Cirque for this effort!! Another medium...yet still...dazzling!



2. A great book on understanding Cirque Du Soleil and the creativity that exists within the culture. A very interesting read and would recommend it. A great size to read while traveling.



3. I am a profesional magician. Let's get that out right now. As such, I am always looking for things which inspire creativity in my art.
   
   And like all artistic types, I go through slumps. I get distracted or weighed down with mundane things like paying bills, cleaning the house, fixing the car or any of a hundred other things which take up time and mental effort and leave you nothing left for your art.
   
   I had been experiencing just such a slump for several months. The annual slump I get working my way through the Thanksgiving to New Years time span which is always filled with tones of work, family and life. I know this slump comes up every year and when New Years is over I start looking for things to get me out of it.
   
   Well, this book didn't get me out of it, but only because I had managed to pull myself out on my own. However, for Valentines Day my wife took me to see "Kooza" and this book was being sold there. I looked at it before the show and thought it looked interesting. At intermission I went back out and picked up a copy.
   
   I read it in just a couple of hours the following day and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since. If I had still been in my creative slump this would have certainly taken me out of it.
   
   The dedication to creativity, the inspiration, the words that point to methods of artistic integrity (and by integrity I mean "integrated into the whole") are worth every cent and every moment it took to read.
   
   Yes, the story is somewhat simplistic, but the story isn't the point. The message under the story is the point and a very valuable point it is. If you are an artist of any stripe you will find something useful in this book. If you are a performing artist of any type, you will be even more inspired.
   
   There are lessons here that any artist can apply to their art and to their efforts to make themselves better at their art.
   
   I highly recommend this book.
   
   [...]



4. I, too, fell for the "fake" story, and then couldn't figure out what was going on because the narrator didn't appear in the credits. OK. I went to the Cirque store in DowntownDisney, hoping for a bit more "reality" rather than the same stuff they sell at the road shows, and this was as close as I got. Had to make a buying decision before I could get here and check out the reviews and, well, if you've been to Disney, you know how the wallet opens and money just flows out...
   
   Wish I'd read a copy from the library.
   
   If you have a day job and that's the height of your creative output, you might find something inspirational is this little book. If you already know you are creative and were hoping to take away a bit of specific energy that differentiates Cirque from any other day job, you might find more in Gordon MacKenzie's Orbiting the Giant Hairball.
   
   It's hard to write usefully about creativity. Good thing for Cirque's bottom line that they make their money in performance art, and not expository writing.



5. A book that I thought would be about the history and business of Cirque du Soleil, The Spark is surprisingly a book more about self-help and insights on how to be a better person, be more motivated at work, and how to reach a higher potential. It is very rare that I say this - but this book was too short and could have actually been longer. It would have been nice to learn more about the Cirque operation, background and history. As well, there are likely more of life's lessons that could have been woven into this well written book.
   
   I've been lucky enough to have seen at least five of the Cirque shows in various cities around the globe though even if you have never been to a Cirque production you will likely enjoy this book and should get some good points/reminders out of it.
   
   Overall, a whimsical and well-written book that might surprise, educate, and entertain you. I look forward to a sequel or the next in what could easily become a series.

4 comments about The Art of Emotional Healing.

1. This book offers so many wonderful ways to express, understand and move through your emotional inner landscape. It is a veritable treasure chest of ideas and "angles" to help you mine the important insights within your emotions. I especially liked that it used so many methods of self-expression. You could easily find something that fit your mood or interests, even combining two forms of self expression, such as movement plus writing about how that felt. A form of non-invasive, private self-therapy that is FUN! Very liberating!



2. Lucia Capacchione's Art of Emotional Healing offers a rich array of tools, ideas, exercises, experiences and wisdom to enrich our day to day living. Though this is new material, exploring many different expressive media, this book is somewhat similar to her excellent first book, The Creative Journal, in that it is also jam packed with artful directions for new and fresh results. Drawing, painting, writing, dialoguing, dancing, mask making and so many more activities are explored with Lucia's characteristic insight. I found a simple exercise about movie watching answered an important question I had been unable to clarify for myself until then - and that was just a five minute excursion! Our emotional life does not stop growing and changing, and the deeper we go into this practice called Life, the more we find to contemplate, explore and enrich us. What is important is stepping up to the plate and being willing to look inside. This book helps us to keep our eyes open, and it helps us to keep up the surprise of discovery. Veterans of personal enquiry will find much to inspire, and newbies can feel reassured that they are in Lucia's safe and capable hands. Any artists feeling stuck, in a rut or disenchanted will find new energy here. One could hardly ask for a better guide into the grand mystery of you.



3. I have attended Lucia's workshops and read many of her previous books.
   
   This is one of her best yet, a definitive guide to utilizing our creative spirit to heal.
   
   I highly recommend this book!



4. I saw this author at an art therapy workshop a couple of years ago. It was an incredibly moving and meaningful experience, and I decided I wanted the book as a resource for my therapy work. It's a really comprehensive resource, including exercises in many different modalities such as movement and sound. I recommend it.

5 comments about How to Work with Just About Anyone: A 3-Step Solution for Getting Difficult People to Change.

1. Lucy Gill's realistic strategies add a significant number of new tools to the communication toolkit. The problem-solutions presentation is like mental aikido: you can see how to use the situation to help correct the situation.

   I'm a project management consultant and coach for Internet startups. My clients can usually handle the technical problems; it's the people that challenge them, especially in hectic "instant company, instant culture" environments.

   Lucy Gill's examples really tap an individual's "response-ability" to change their role in a situation and create solutions. I give my clients a copy of the book to reinforce our discussions - so they can take with them answers to the question "What do I say when I get back to my office?"




2. I recommend this book highly. As an IT manager I can testify to its practical tips for getting to the heart of a difficult situation and resolving it effectively. It's insightful, clever, witty and useful. The techniques presented can provide relief when dealing with a difficult colleague, superior or subordinate. I was particularly impressed with the methodologies for determining what the real problem is, instead of just complaining and "horribleizing." The solutions may well make you laugh, but they work.



3. I read a great deal of personal growth/self help books. This one has some good ideas, but it's not as good as alot of ones I've read. I must admit that Gill is a good, clear writer, and that she obviously understands the underlying theory that her suggestions are based on. She uses alot of examples to illustrate her points. The book is well laid out and easy to follow. I particularly like that it contains a summary of the steps at the end. The author also provides a (too brief) bibliography to give readers a chance to get more information and support in using the techniques presented.

   Despite the fact that the book does have good points, and some people will probably find it useful, I didn't find it particularly helpful for me overall (although I did agree with certain points -- notably, the idea that people have a tendency to repeat the same mistakes). It's too short, and I find that the techniques she suggests, which are based on the work of Brief Therapists such as Paul Wazlawick, are too cognitively based -- I have an admitted bias against cognitive behaviourism. In my experience, some of the techniques she suggests are superficial and they don't lead to long term change. They don't get to the root of the issues between people and really allow you to connect and improve the relationship. If you want to do that, this book won't help.

   If you just want to get along well enough to achieve a task, and aren't really interested in the long term health of the relationship or achieving true communication, some of the ideas here might work. But this approach deals with the symptoms, it doesn't get to the root of problems. Some would go so far as to say it involves being manipulative -- I'm not sure.

   If you have some familiarity with solution focused therapy/thinking, and you generally believe in the benefits of that orientation, you will find this book of value. If, like me, you prefer a more humanistic, person-centred theory, you likely won't get as much out of this book. I'm glad I read it, and I did take a few ideas from it, but I've already put it in my "to give away" bag.




4. Lucy Gill presents a new approach to dealing with problem people at work that is simple, fresh and extremely useful. The bottom line? Stop using the same old methods that don't work for you. If you want to see new results, you've got to employ some of the new tricks put forth here. This book will help you, whether you are stumped on dealing with a boss or employee. If you have ever felt frustrated by a bully, nerd, lightweight, arrogant or some other problem-causing co-worker, then here is your book.

   This well-written book is a quick, enjoyable read that will give you more power in those moments when you feel powerless.




5. have to admit i have not yet read this book but i support the author. sure it is a good read

5 comments about The High-Performance Mind.

1. This is a book about biofeedback, but from a different perspective. Just about every other book ever published on biofeedback has a clinical, reductionist medical approach (except for Elmer Green''s books, Beyond Biofeedback and Ozawkie Book of The Dead.) Anna Wise, a regular trainer at Esalen, takes a more holistic approach based on her 25+ years of experience observing the brain wave patterns of people with awakened mind-- yogis, top executives, artists, etc.

   Rather than talking about treating illness, she talks about optimizing brain function and mental states, about enhancing the contents and quality of consciousness.

   She discusses how she uses the Mind Mirror, a technology originally developed by her Mentor Max Cade and engineer Geoff Blundell, to assess how our brains are operating and then, she devises strategies to get our brains working more like a person with an awakened mind.

   She offers exercises and a strategies which help you learn to put your brain in better places.

   If you want to see the whole picture of the biofeedback world, Anna is definitely not a part of the medical pathology mainstream and that's the way she likes it.

   When she is a speaker at the EEG biofeedback conference I run, she speaks a different language, which addresses spirit and the whole person. There have been some academic researchers who were really turned off by her, at first. But after discussing her approach, in detail and not just reacting to her "soft" approach to brain technology, many have turned around, and found common ground with her.

   Jim Robbins book, Symphony in the brain, is a good history of the more recent developments in higher frequency brain biofeedback, mostly focused on treatment. Evan's and Abarbanel's Quantitative EEG and EEG Biofeedback is a strictly professional text, with about 15 contributed chapters. Anna Wise's contribution to the writing on brain biofeedback provides a very nice feminine ying to the masculine yang that has predominated in the field.




2. I'm not sure why Anna Wise gave this book its rather inappropriate title but it is very misleading. The books sounds like some sort of low-grade improvement guide meant for high-power executives searching for ways to increase their ability to outwit dumb consumers and investors; nothing could be further from the truth.

   There was a lot of interest in biofeedback in the 1960's and then interest turned to more "scientific" endeavors such as genetics; we're only just beginning to realize our folly. Luckily a few researchers continued what was begun and their hard work and determination can now be seen to have a lot of value.

   Wise owes a lot of her background to her mentor, Max Cade, and some rather personal problems she outlines in the book. She combines experience and theory from Eastern meditation with EEG biofeedback work, something Pelletier and others have alluded to for a while. However, Wise really puts a lot of valuable tips and information together and that is the beauty of this book.

   The book outlines some basic information about brainwaves and then gets into a great overview of some typical patterns and their apparent link to various personal states. Of course there is no purely theoretical link between what EEG measures and what is happening in your head but there can be no doubt that there is a connection. And this book details some of the important connections.

   There is an excellent overview of meditative "states" and their subjective "landmarks". Wise offers some great insight for people who are starting on the path to meditation and are getting stuck at certain points. This material has been available through other sources, notably from the Zen tradition, but these days it can be difficult to make sense of the multitude of books and so-called "masters". Wise's suggestions are straight-forward, simple and clear which is great.

   There are guided meditations, again taken from EEG studies, that allow anyone to make his/her own tapes. The visualization exercises have been used successfully in beta-theta biofeedback studies and anyone who has participated in Qigong or Zen will recognize many common elements. But the best part of this book is the clarity and the way information is presented in a manner better suited to those of us from the scientific framework.

   That's the funny thing, the information has been available for thousands of years but science is only just beginning to acknowledge it. In the book's final pages Wise details her own struggles with healing blindness and Kundalini rising; something that most Western readers would scoff at without the preceeding pages "explaining" the link to something we can relate to.

   Definitely worth buying and, more importantly, using.




3. Anna Wise has produced a groundbreaking book on the topic of brainwaves and consciousness. This book examines the relationship between brainwave patterns (frequencies and amplitudes) and states of consciousness and activity. The author discusses neurofeedback techniques and various meditative exercises that can be used to develop desired brainwave patterns. Wise focuses on developing patterns she calls the "high performance mind," which include a mix of the 4 major brain wave frequency ranges. Developing the combined brainwave patterns also helps improve brain hemisphere synchronization. Wise briefly covers topics that relate more directly to metaphysics, such as kundalini, and she seems to be unclear about the full nature of the relationship between brain electrical activity and consciousness, as the brain is merely a tool for consciousness to use in interacting with physical sensory reality. Wise acknowledges that during OBEs brainwave patterns can be weak and non-informative, which shows how consciousness can be very active and dynamic without being filtered through a brain. Thus, there can never be a perfect correlation between brainwaves and consciousness, even though brainwaves usually reflect focii of consciousness and can be entrained for development of consciousness and self-regulation. If that is your interest, then this is an excellent book to gain ideas and insight from.



4. Bearing in mind Anna Wise supposedly has many years of experience researching eeg feedback she writes a complete load of rubbish. I have never seen so many inaccuracies when it comes to talking about brainwaves and eeg. Technical inaccuracies I mean, almost as though she doesn't know what she's talking about. I run a neurofeedback centre and have a doctorate in his area and it saddens me that so much nonsense is written about brainwaves.
   For a start we talk about delta, theta and so on as though they are real things when in fact they are just arbitrary ways of describing the content of the eeg waveform. Using Fourier analysis we break down the complex eeg brainwave into sinusoidal waves of certain frequencies and these frequencies we call delta, theta etc. It is therefore completely untrue to say that the brainwave 'is' theta or 'is' beta or whatever. Every brainwave can be broken down into proportionate amounts of each group, so what we should be talking about is the relative amplitude of the groups.
   Now, there are numerous howlers in this book and she goes so far to say that normal waking eeg 'is' mainly beta and some people may have delta. The fact is that in any normal waking brainwave there is probably 5 times more delta amplitude than beta, so where the notion of waking eeg 'being' beta is complete nonesense and simplifies the eeg enormously. She also never even mentions gamma rhythms which are looking increasingly interesting.
   Another howler says delta is associated with the unconscious. Pardon ? Show me the evidence ? Does that mean that in normal waking consciousness which is composed of 5 times the amount of delta than any other rhythm, we are actually unconscious ?
   It's about time a sensible book is written about neurofeedback and brain rhythms. They are indeed important and our understanding of what is going on in the brain electric will lead to new ways of our controlling behaviour but please don't buy this book and think you are going to get anything other a load of tosh when it comes to eeg technicalities.
   P.S. This goes for all Ms Wise's books relating to brainwaves or eeg or neurofeedback.



5. This book refers extensively to the awakened mind pattern developed by Max Cade, and he was Anna's mentor.
   
   The AMP is based on Cade's research on EEG patterns of yogis, swamis, and healers and the discovery of common patterns for people engaged in creating, problem solving, learning, healing, memorizing and meditating.
   
   People in that state of consciousness are using a specific combination of beta, Alpha, Theta and Delta brainwaves. If you spent decades modeling the EEG patterns of yogis, swamis, and healers, you might find common patterns for people engaged in creating, problem solving, learning, healing, memorizing and meditating.
   
   If you were to use entrainment to create sound pulses and music to recreate those exact same EEG patterns in normal individuals, a feeling of lucid awareness, you would create something wonderful.
   
   Dr Jeffrey Thompson has done this. For the price of an ordinary CD you can get the pioneering benefit of all this amazing technology.
   
   According to the sleeve notes with the CD there are fifteen different layers of brainwave entrainment sounds used to create the awakened mind pattern.
   
   This CD is very mentally stimulating, creating all sorts of mental imagery and very relaxing.
   
   This type of CD also uses subaudible binaural beats in the soundtrack. How this works is that if a frequency of say 100 Hz goes in your left ear, and 105 Hz goes in your right ear, then both sides of your brain reconcile this by creating a third 5 Hz brainwave, which would be in the Theta range associated with creativity and a trance state. This also creates new neural pathways in the brain enabling you to access this desired state more easily in the future, and also induces synchronicity between both sides of your brain. With fifteen different levels of entrainment on this CD, you can imagine how beneficial this could be.
   
   So, I recommend you get the CD first. In one session you can immediately reattune to the awakened mind pattern. With practice you can reach this state automatically.
   
   Then if you find that helpful, go ahead and buy this book which has many insights on this interesting subject, and some interesting meditation techniques to use with the pattern.
   
   If you find this review helpful, please click yes.

5 comments about The Zen of Creative Painting: An Elegant Design for Revealing Your Muse (Practical Art Books).

1. The book was very logical yet had many creative aspects. I would recommend it for a mid-range painter.



2. I like Carbonetti's art and this book is full of it. For that reason it is worth buying. She also succeeds in showing the mental aspects of creative art. However, her seeing of Zen is not so successful. She also wrote books like "The Tao of Watercolor" and "The Yoga of Drawing". I would prefer if she simply explained her own position without packaging it into so many commercialy attractive titles.



3. A must to read to start your own ideas on Watercolor painting, using the Zen method.



4. I have recently started doing watercolor paintings since I retired and was lent this book by my teacher. I had to buy it as soon as I opened it. The paintings are absolutely splendid. I think that they are what watercolors should be. And the text sets a mind frame that will enhance any budding artist down the path to great work.



5. Jeanne Carbonetti has produced awonderful book to unleash one's creativity--whether you understand Zen or not---It is not easy to get into Zen, but the illustrations help us to learn something at a deeper level--not just intellectual or academic.I like the play of light and color---in a sense that is what art is all about ---to convey your feelings or even passing moods...Books like these go beyond the 'right brain-left brain' theories that have filled the academic discussion on art training....May be ,one should work out his/her own Zen approach--this book can only point the way---not to imitate but to emulate Jeanne.

5 comments about Letters to a Young Artist: Straight-up Advice on Making a Life in the Arts-For Actors, Performers, Writers, and Artists of Every Kind.

1. Actress, teacher, and creator of an acclaimed series of one woman plays, Anna D. Smith gives some valuable incite about artist and their world. This book consists of a series of letters she writes to an imaginary young artist she calls BJ. But the letters are for artists of all ages and of any art form. She shares the rules of the road in the business of making and selling art.
   
   Ms. Smith's stories are about her life, the influence by other artists, students, scholars, and activists. About how to unleash your potential, awaken your self mastery, and cement your power base. And about how to corral the phenomenal influence from audiences and people you may never meet.
   
   With two Obie Awards and nominations for two Tony Awards, she challenges the next generation to believe in their vision as well as their dreams. It is her belief that an artist should take what is complex and make it simple. And to do that it takes skill, human understanding, stamina, courage, and heart. LETTERS TO A GREAT ARTIST is direct, personal, and encouraging. This is a must read, particularly for aspiring artists.
   
   Reviewed by aNN
   of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers



2. Anna Deavere Smith knows what it's like--the struggle of the artist, the cold night of the soul when sometimes you feel punished for being a visionary, and she gets a lot of it down on paaper in this book of letters modelled to a certain degree on Rilke's famous LETTERS TO A YOUNG POET. She's seen it all in her multi-tasking career, and if she doesn't know it, she has a host of excellent friends to ask, everyone from Wynton Marsalis to Paul Van De Carr. James Baldwin, whom she met when she was just a struggling actor, told someone that she reminded him of "Lorraine" (Hansberry, the playwright who wrote A RAISIN IN THE SUN) and this overheard compliment sustained Anna Deavere Smith through many a disheartening audition. She's been on THE WEST WING and she played the mother in the movie of RENT. It's a bedside book you might give to any young friends you might have, or hope to influence. They'll read a few passages and take heart.
   
   It gets docked one star for its relentless name dropping. We know she's at the very top of the tree, but she doesn't miss a beat about talking about famous friends, or people she's met in the publis sphere, and some of her enthusiasms get a little embarrassing. Did she have to tell us that Lauren Hutton should win Kennedy Center honors for her smile? That's the kind of thing Louella Parsons used to say, and it didn't sound any more sincere the first time around. And her inability to say a negative thing about any of her friends grows tiresome, especially when she says that "Naomi Campbell has presence" or brags that Condoleeza Rice came to one of her performances when they were colleagues at Stanford. Please, ADS, draw a line somewhere!
   
   Though to be fair she does spoof her own propensity for the spotlight. She's not without humor, it's just a little weird to be writing a whole book of letters to an imaginary young girl, or is it? I think the scheme helps her incorporate different journalistic assignments she's been given over the years. For example, the imaginary teen is supposed to be a painter, so ADS gives an account of interviewing Brice Marden, "and just like you guessed, he is indeed tremendously sexy." Such double dips are a commonplace in occasional books of this kind, but we expected a little bit more from the genius who gave us TWILIGHT LOS ANGELES and FIRES IN THE MIRROR.



3. Actress and playwright Anna Deavere Smith wrote a series of letters, collected as Letter to a Young Artist (2006; Anchor Books) about "the rules of the road in the business of making and selling art." Certainly the book has received high praise from sources including actors, editors, authors, and museum directors. I found my own reactions more ambivalent, partly due to a prejudice I have regarding how people in the arts tend to talk about themselves and their work. Let's get that out first. Mind you, I'm a writer, photographer, and am often involved in various ways in theatre, so I'm not indifferent to the arts. Yet I dislike the term artist, because its context has come to emphasize the individual at the expense of the craft. But to many, the label is important and they tend to focus on the primacy of the "artist," not the art. Sometimes in the book that is the sense I have of Smith. For example, she writes:
   
   
   "I think of art as work, so I worry about going off into the stratosphere with theoretical questions like, 'What is art? What is truth?' ... If we get caught up in pondering these questions, we sell ourselves short. How we live, and how we treat one another, is what is at issue."
   
   Yet then she goes on to nothing less than questioning the nature of art. Although she is trying to pass something on, I had the sense that she really usually doesn't know the answers and often is as puzzled as the fictional BJ, whom she addresses. That, to me, made the book intriguing. At times I found the contradictions gave me material for thought. In one section, she discusses the fictional difficulty that BJ faces when his or her school is about to turn a painting studio into a state-of-the-art biology lab and move the studio into a basement. On one hand she arguing about the uselessness of such a lab "ridiculous." Nevertheless she still goes on to write:
   
   The awareness of the importance of the artist's vision always needs to be enhanced in schools. it is shocking to me that the argument continually needs to be made--but it does.
   
   Now think of the biology students who for some apparently extended period of time had to make due with second-rate facilities. Also, it is easy to take some of her stated reactions, like being spell-bound by a given recorded performance of a song, and as self-indulgences unless you can remember having similar moments. (I can remember once being so floored by hearing a guitar transcription of Bach's Goldberg Variations that I stood still for a while just listening, and then immediately bought a copy.)
   
   There are times that I got the sense she was missing the very point of an experience that she was trying to communicate, such as her father telling her, "Don't take it too hard," on finding that she didn't win a Tony. "I could feel his resignation about his failures in his own life," Smith wrote. Maybe that's what he felt, or perhaps, in his 70s, he knew that the real failure is to take such ephemera as important when in the most profound sense they mean nothing. After all, when Herman Melville died, the critics had long written him off as an unimportant writer, rather than one of the foundations of American literature. J.S. Bach in his day was considered a second-rate composer. How foolish on reflection is our collective wisdom, and how more foolish to spend precious life paying attention to it.
   
   Nevertheless, there is a lot of good in the book. Smith well understands the practicalities of art - that there are power structures one will deal with and that a Tony might well mean the difference between a show continuing or closing. Those are certainly lessons that those in the arts need to learn, that they will be engaged in commerce, whether they like it or not. Ultimately, I found that reading the book and engaging with the author led to my rethinking things, and whether I agreed with Smith or not, as always it is a useful exercise.



4. I bought Anna D's book at age 55 because I wanted to have a little inspiration from one of the great theatre artists of our time...I only wanted a little -- she gave me a lot. If you need an encouraging word at this point in your career -- whatever point that is, and I say, "who doesn't?" -- you must buy Anna's words asap. I got the audio version because to be surrounded by her ringing and truthful voice speaking the words she wrote is REALLY something. Reviewed by Katherine



5. Letters to a Young Artists is not worth reading. Anna Deavere Smith is a gifted artist herself, but her book inevitably springs from the assumption that she has profound wisdom to bestow. She never gets out from under that narcissism. I lost respect for her after reading her book.

5 comments about Blessings: Prayers and Declarations for a Heartful Life.

1. I truly consider myself blessed . . . so when I saw a friend had a book called BLESSINGS: PRAYERS AND DECLARATIONS FOR A
   HEARTFUL LIFE (see also Section 11) by Julia Cameron, I aturally
   asked to borrow it . . . and I'm glad that I did.

   This is a short book of prayers and declarations that can be read in one sitting or spread over time . . . it reminded me of how good it is to be alive and, also, made me more fully appreciate the beauty that surrounds me.

   Each blessing is preceded by an introductory quote . . . two
   that I particularly liked:

   It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is
   because we do not dare that they are difficult.--Seneca

   In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity--Albert Einstein

   Virtually every blessing touched me . . . however, to give you
   a feel for the material, here's one I thought you might enjoy reading:

   I love others for their true self

   I bless and salute the divine goodness available for all human beings and in all human beings. I allow people to be uniquely themselves, bringing their true natures and true gifts to our relationships. I do not demand that those who love me change their essential nature for my comfort. I express them my nature. I tell them my truth. I do not hide or pretend I am different form what I am. I trust that each of us is a perfect part of the divine whole. I trust that each of us is as lovable as we are. I allow originality, inventiveness, and variability in my loving relationships. I invite the unique souls in my life to love me as
   their true selves allow.




2. Great Book for any artist, author etc. Julia Cameron is in my opinion one of the best encourager for all people in the arts of any field... would highly recommend any of her books...



3. This is JC at her best. This little book is not preachy but fresh in its approach on all angles of life, with easy reading in a pleasant format. I bought it for myself when I was going thru some tough emotional times several years ago, and still keep it around to read a page from here and there, just for perspective. More recently, I bought it for someone dear to me who has just gone thru a divorce. It's uplifting and genuine in its gentle message.



4. A wonderful book with many wonderful "blessings" selections to read aloud and share. A friend uses this regularly before guided meditations. Selections are short and sweet.



5. I love this book. It is very uplifting and gives me hope. Julia Cameron has such a way of putting words together. She paints pictures with words. Beautiful.
   
   The picture on the cover is awsome. Someday I would like to see the painting. It is himmel and erde (heaven and earth).

2 comments about Creativity Revealed: Discovering the Source of Inspiration.

1. I really enjoyed this book and for a more detailed review, visit my blog http://waynehastings.blogs.com/offtheshelf/2008/07/creativity-revealed---a-review.html. I found Scott's book to be a tremendous kick in the pants to my own creativity. He does a fantastic job of giving the reader context and also practical advice on creativity. I would recommend this book to anyone.



2. This book by Scott Jeffrey is a Gem! Not your usual book on learning/finding/developing Creativity in your life or business! I underlined so many pages and going back to re-read the book! If you are serious about being more creative in any endeavor and have an open mind to want to learn how, then I truly recommend this book "Creativity Revealed" You will get more out of it than you can imagine...You will see what I mean!
   Thanks Scott:)

5 comments about Zing!: Five Steps and 101 Tips for Creativity On Command.

1. Good book for quick-hitter material. I recommend reading this along with Harrison's other book, IdeaSpotting.



2. GREAT CREATIVE BOOK
   
   I have over 400 in my collection from over 30 years of reading and writing or co-writing similar books.
   
   This is a definite read.
   
   Looks of thought provoking ideas



3. I bought this book looking for help bringing out my creativity but it mostly was distracting and impossible to sit down and read for the multitude of font changes, quotes, catch phrases thrown in among the actual useful information. I wasn't able to get through it because of all of the "tips" that make it into more of a daily quote type of book rather than something you can sit down and read. If you removed all of the saying and anecdotes the book would end up about 40 pages.



4. Nothing earth shattering here, but a great inspirational guide to have on hand. When you work at an agency, sometimes you forgot to use some of these tools to guide your troops. Great for roadblocks and getting a brainstorm going, I especially love the format, you can literally open this book to any page, read that page, and it could inspire an idea.



5. There's been a wealth of publications made available that suggest they'll teach you to be more creative. Aha! Zing! a 'Whack', Thunderbolt Thinking....they all have that sudden jolt feel designed to capture the creative moment.
   
   I was disappointed in some ways by this book: I couldn't but help and think of De Bono and his TO LO PO SO GO....a five-step process that encapsulates much of what has been said recently about getting there - whether that be creative thinking or implementing corporate strategy. Understand the TOwards point, LOok around, POssibilities...etc. It's a solid framework but hardly something must of us don't understand intuitively anyway.
   
   While that lack of freshness might be an issue, there's no doubt that the book does offer value if you're coming at this without much in the way of previous training in creativity: suggestions to 'abosrob lots of information', 'see things in new ways', etc are all pretty much the de rigeur recommendations of creativity authors. And, at something like one of those ideas per page, the book can feel a little 'light'.
   
   Still, it's worth reading if you want a solid framework and something that you can dip into as a point of breaking thinking patterns that aren't working. But I was disappointed when I received the book and felt that I'd not received as much as I'd hoped for from this particular book.