2 comments about Stones from the Muse.

1. I pull a stone nearly everyday and find inspiration for any creative task. Business writing is a challenge for the soul full of passion, and the runes provide fun motivation for otherwise dismal responsibilities... Thanks for the help!



2. What a useful tool for the creative person to use for reflection and insight into motivation and sources of inspiration and application. A brief description of the symbol and its meaning can serve as a guide for the day, or a project... simple exercises help to make the understanding of the particular lesson, from "Play" to "Failure", a Muse in its own right. I would recommend this set highly to anyone who finds themselves "stuck" in their process, be they business oriented, artists, writers, or anyone who needs a boost to correlate ideas with action.

4 comments about Awakening Minerva: The Power of Creativity in Women's Lives.

1. I can't believe how much of this book resonated inside of me. I learned so much fromthe stories and the information given by the author. She made so many things clear to me.I am glad I found this book



2. Contents: Preface: Voices Remembered; Introduction: What is Creativity; Generating Life: A Context for Creativity: The Visual Realm: Creative Personalities and Women Artists; Fertile Lives: Heeding the Call of YOur Essential Creative Nature; In HEr Image: Creativity and Gender: She Who Brings Order and LIght From The Darkness: Trauma and Creativity; Time of Emergence: Your Creative Process; The Realm of the Hearth: Influences on the Essential Creative Nature; The Power Within: Awakening the Goddess.Despite the title of this book the Goddess Minerva was only mentioned in passing--the author said her name was good for a title. This book is not about working with Goddesses to increase creativity at all. The Goddesses that are mentioned are Astarte, Gaia, Demeter, Ishtar, Aphrodite, and Hestia. Some of the chapters open with a short description of a Goddess lasting anywhere a half a page to a page and a half.But no attempt is made to link these Goddesses with the stories of the women in the chapter. It seems like the author knows nothing about Goddesses. She links the Goddesses with creativity just by stating that they are without giving anything to back it up.The book consists mainly of interviews with women about creativity in their lives. The stories are interesting to read but i didn't really get anything out of them. The exercises at the end of the chapter are uninspiring.The book is about creativity not only in the arts but in life in general. The authors argument that creativity is influenced by gender is not really convicing--she gives little to back this up. The ideas on creativity in this book seem as though the could by applied to any gender.It was an ok book but not what it pretends to be.



3. I haven't quite finished the book yet, but it has done a great deal so far in helping me to look at creativity in a different light. Sometimes we categorize creativity as something limited to the arts or crafts, when creativity encompasses much, much more than that. I found this book, as with any book's possibility, a good way to expand your views on creativity, and in essence, expand how you view yourself as a creative being. The mention of Goddesses WHERE applied to each chapter, and examples of the powers of those Goddesses were applied to the women in each individual chapter of how they expressed those particular Goddess traits. Minverva's traits are vast. I would recommend reading it, but if you arent open to this type of thing, or at that place on your path, you wont get it.



4. Doesn't every woman with a pulse harbor a curiosity as to what her creative potential might be? If you answered "Yes, I do" then buy "Awakening Minerva" now. This well-researched, thought-provoking investigation of the female creative process speaks specifically to anyone who has ever pondered the "doorways to the mysterious feminine..." Written in clear, articulate language, the author recounts the sometimes unbelievable real life experiences of over twenty women who honestly bared their souls in the spirit of exploring their essential creative natures. What's most astonishing is the universality of thoughts and attitudes expressed by this multi-cultural cross-section of the female population. Regardless of race, class, socio-economic level and anything else you might imagine would create wildly divergent variations on a theme, these women all sang the same song of femaleness in almost uncanny unison. Clearly, the author's premise that creativity is gender-based--specifically, that it is not androgynous--becomes more and more convincing as the work progresses. "Awakening Minerva" must be read (studied, perhaps) slowly and deliberately, a chapter at a time. For anyone who longs to understand the mysterious magic inherent in female creativity, it's a wisely invested effort.

3 comments about Glyphix for Visual Journaling: Drawing Out the Words Within.

1. Shimoda's book is a wonderful tool for exploring your emotional side and bringing balance into your life. In a culture where life balance is rarely encouraged, spending an hour doing glyphix journaling in the morning could make your whole day go better. (The simple act of centering yourself enough to make the drawings will give you a sense of inner peace.) You don't have to be an artist or writer to enjoy this book. Even if you think it's slightly wacky, give it a try and you might be surprised at your new inight.



2. This book suggests an approach to writing that begins with drawing your own artistic rendering of what a word looks like. The author's illustrations are Zen-like, simple Shodo brush drawings that encourage a meditative approach to language. I have no artistic ability at all and was astonished both at the ways I found to interpret a word through form and shape, and at the deepened relationship with it that emerged as I encoded my own interpretation.



3. This book describes briefly, in several passages scattered throughout the book, and demonstrates amply, a technique for exploring ideas that the author has dubbed "glyphix."

   The first step in creating a glyphix is to represent a chosen word through a drawing. For example, the way the author describes the glyphix for the concept "glyphix" itself (the drawing that appears on the cover of the book above) is that it is the "profile of an eye, open wide with curiosity; the projection from the eye signifies true seeing/understanding." The author uses a _shodo_ brush and _sumi_ ink to produce elegant characters with an Asian feel, but the editor's introduction encourages readers to use tools on hand. The glyphix is somewhat akin to the symbolism used in American Sign Language and the Word Sculptures of Gabrielle Lusser Rico.

   The second step (the author is not particularly rigid about the order in which these steps should be followed) is to create a "string," which is a list of the denotations of the word.

   The third step is the "exploration" of the word's associations and connotations.

   There are two problems with the way the above information is summarized and illustrated in this book.

   The first, which is minor, is that the explanatory text is scattered throughout the book. For me to understand the artist's method required a lot of paging back and forth in the book aside from looking at the illustrations. It struck me as odd that a book about a method of integrating drawing and text wasn't successful in doing so in a didactic fashion. This is an organizational issue, however, and not unusual.

   The second problem I had with this book is more significant: a flaw in the way the publisher chose to display the glyphix. Many of these truly exquisite drawings are spread across two pages, which means that a good part of the drawing runs into, and is cut off by, the bindings in the center of the book (I think this is called the "gutter" in bookbinder's terms). This seriously diminishes their impact, and the ability of the reader to enjoy and absorb them. Those glyphix that appear on a single page, with explanatory text on the facing page, are much more pleasing to the eye.

   The choice to make the book smaller, and the glyphix larger, while it may have decreased the cost of the book, impairs the visual value of the art portrayed as well. It's a shame that such a business decision was made in production, because the concept is truly useful.

No comments about Total Mind Power: How to Use the Other 90% of Your Mind.

2 comments about Releasing the Creative Spirit : Unleashing the Creativity in Your Life.

1. I am a great admirer of Dan Wakefield's work, both as a novelist, and as a spiritual/self help writer - his bare-knuckle honesty easily makes him one of my favorite authors in that latter catagory. I have actually met Wakefield on a few different occassions when he has done book signings and talks around the Indianapolis area, and I have found that in addition to being a fine writer, he is quite a nice guy too! When I saw that a new Wakefiled book called "Releasing the Creative Spirit" was being released, I was eager to get my hands on a copy. However, once I DID get my hands on a copy...I realised that I'd had my hands on a copy all along!!! What on Earth am I talking about??? Well, this supposedly "new" book is actually a word-for-word reprinting on an earlier Wakefield book, 1996's "Creating From the Spirit"! A new publisher (the original was published through Random House) has simply given the book a new title, slapped on some more "modern" looking cover art - and marketed the book as if it were an all-new product! Even in the credits/copyright page for the "new version" it gives the copyright date as being 2001, with no clue given that this is actually a previoulsy-published work from seven years earlier! I mean, this is not even an updated or newly-revised edition of "Creating From the Spirit" - I have compared the two books side by side, and it is the EXACT same text from the 1996 edition! (funnily enough, Wakefield even makes reference at the end of Chapter One that the book is called "Creating From the Spirit"...and that's even in the "new" version!) How does this rate as an actual book? Quite well I must say - this book is an excellent resource for creative artists (writers, musicians, poets, actors, painters, dancers), particularly the more spiritually-minded artist. On the positive side; this reprinting/repackaging is at least of a very high qulaity, with easy-to-read print, strong binding, and better quality paper than the original paperback edition. Please read my review of the original book ("Creating From the Spirit") for a more in-depth view of the actual text (I remember that I rated it at 4 stars). While I remain an admirer of Wakefield and his work, this book seems like not much more than a scam to sell Wakefield fans the same book twice! (What's next? A new title and cover for his popular novel, "Going All the Way"?) Why else was the title AND cover art (not to mention the copyright/publishing date!) changed, if not to give the false appearance of a "new" and different book? Well, that's what happened to me folks, I bought the same book twice thinking that I was recieving a new Dan Wakefield book - and just to make matters worse...the new edition is more expensive than the original! Well, my advise would be to buy this if you have not previously read "Creating From the Spirit" - it really is a fine book! But, if you already have "Creating" in your collection, there is no reason to purchase it all over again...like I did!



2. Years ago I read Wakefield's Returning and enjoyed the book.
   
   Wakefield's book is a coaching guide on tapping into and using the creative process. I believe the exercises are valuable and interesting. Along the way, Wakefield interjects various stories by celebrities that offer various insights on the creative process; mostly however, I think this book operates in the 'support' category for those who are interested in accessing their creative spirit and then making it happen. Several of the stories Wakefield alludes demonstrate how aspiring artists are dissuaded from their craft by a negative experience or review. The author argues against letting this destroy the creative process and offers support to move beyond and through it. In other words, don't accept a life of mediocrity because some one else does not like your creation. Keep working at it until the breakthrough happens.
   
   Overall, I think the book is worth the read if you are looking for tips to access your creative birthright.

2 comments about Black Holes and Energy Pirates: How to Recognize and Release Them.

1. A very powerful book that causes the reader to examine behavior patterns that drain energy. I could identify with this author's "energy pirate" patterns more than the ones identified in the Celestine Prophecy. The author has an engaging and simple style - a fast read, and a book that I will continue to read again.



2. Simple yet engaging presentation of psychological energy dynamics. Focuses on author's life experiences. Timeless principles updated for today's understanding. A fun, insightful, empowering read.

No comments about Creating an Imaginative Life.

3 comments about Verbal Advantage, Volume 5 (Verbal Advantage).

1. I've tried myriad vocabulary-augmenting programs but I think that the best is the WordSmart computer program. Verbal advantage was really dull and took too long between each word. Plus it wastes time by going over words you already know. The WordSmart program was much more effective and efficient. My SAT score and vocabulary went way up!



2. This is the best vocabulary program on the market! It is will written, the words are fantastic, and Charles Elster's voice is great. This isn't just a laundry list of words in cute sentences to entertain you but a serious vocabulary building program. In addition to learning fantastic words, he also covers other ways to improve your writing and speaking.



3. The original, UNABRIDGED [24-cassette (or 24-CD)] edition of Charles Harrington Elster's "Verbal Advantage" existed at least as early as 1995. It was--and still is--arguably the finest vocabulary-improvement product ever issued for mass-market consumption.
   
   HOWEVER, around 1998 a drastically inferior ABRIDGED edition of "Verbal Advantage" was unfortunately (and confusingly) published by "Audio Renaissance". This latter edition comprises eight (individually sold) two-cassette "volumes" of tapes.
   
   These "abridged" volumes are inferior on at least two counts:
   
   (1) They contain significantly fewer words than the original (unabridged) edition, which, by the way, is still being separately marketed as the Verbal Advantage "Success Edition".
   
   (2) Along with the (abridged!) vocabulary itself, these Audio Renaissance tapes contain some protracted (and, mercifully, "exclusive") introductory/intervening "supplementary discussions" that are, in the first place, arguably somewhat superfluous to the primary objective of vocabulary improvement; and--even more irritatingly--the identical "supplementary discussions" are REPEATED on subsequent tapes/volumes in this (abridged) "Audio Renaissance" series. Considering that much time is taken up by those superfluous discussions, there isn't that much space left on any given tape for the actual vocabulary; hence, these "Audio Renaissance" tapes are INDEED "abridged"!
   
   Moreover, if you'll want to SKIP past those redundant "supplementary discussion" segments of the tapes directly to the segments comprising the actual "vocabulary" (and, trust me, you WILL soon want to!), then you'll have the continual hassle of repeatedly fast-forwarding (or rewinding) a given tape to get to the (abridged!) "good stuff".
   
   Accordingly, why bother with any of these "Audio Renaissance" (abridged) Verbal Advantage tapes? Instead, you should do one (or, if you can afford it, all) of the following three things:
   
   (1) Get the REAL THING, i.e, the "Verbal Advantage 'Success Edition'" (comprising 24 CDs or 24 cassettes). That product's ISBN number is: 1131987233. Unfortunately, the unabridged edition is VERY expensive.
   
   (2) Get the following competing product by Denis Waitley: "WordMaster" (comprising 9 CDs). That product's ISBN number is: 1596590289. And it's downright cheap (typically less than twenty bucks).
   
   (3) Consider the (459-page paperback) BOOK edition of "Verbal Advantage" (ISBN: 0375709320), published by Random House. Albeit the book edition is, thankfully, unabridged, I must emphasize that merely reading the text of Elster's discussion is nowhere near as gratifying or effective as experiencing his original audio edition (i.e., the aforementioned "Verbal Advantage 'Success Edition'")!
   
   ***
   
   P.S.: Regarding other "vocabulary-improvement" products, I very much like the "Word Smart" series of CD-ROMs (compatible with both Windows and Macintosh computers). The various volumes (CD-ROMs) comprising that versatile, multimedia product amount to yet another treasure-trove of vocabulary/linguistic edification and amusement, so do yourself a favor and check it out--either directly via its publisher, or perhaps via your public library.

No comments about Surviving Crisis (Creative Nonfiction Reader Series).

No comments about The Fiery Muse, Creativity and The Spiritual Quest.