Book cover for Releasing the Creative Spirit: Unleash the Creativity in Your Life by Dan Wakefield

Releasing the Creative Spirit

Unleash the Creativity in Your Life

2012 Released
172 Pages
5-6 Hours
Audiobook Unavailable
SkyLight PathsISBN 9781594734779

Come awake to a more creative life—by realizing clarity of mind, body and spirit.

Creativity is basic to the very fiber of our being, and not—as many suspect—solely the privilege of a gifted few. When we silence the voice of creativity that lives within us, we confine our spirit. Award-winning author Dan Wakefield helps us to examine our reasons for not creating—debunking the myths—and shows us the path to a fulfilling, creative life.

Drawing on examples from religion, philosophy, and literature, Wakefield teaches us that the key to unleashing our own inner creativity is in clarity of mind, body, and spirit. Releasing the Creative Spirit gives us practical guidance to demystify the creative process and to help each of us achieve this clarity by:

  • Breaking the Myths—Explode the myths that creativity is only for the artistic elite, that creators must suffer, and that science and business can not be creative pursuits.
  • Emptying—Learn ways to recognize and move beyond the tired routines in your life that deaden the senses and soul.
  • Filling Up—Experience new sensations through simple practices that revive natural perceptions and unlock hidden creative resources.
  • Creating—Try hands-on, practical exercises to explore the mystery of creativity in your life from a spiritual perspective.

This passionate, personal guide draws on examples from the experiences of many creative people—Elaine Pagels (professor), Tom Wolfe (novelist), John Coltrane (jazz musician), Harold Kushner (rabbi), Danielle Levi-Alvares (yoga teacher), Stephen Hawking (physicist), and Phil Jackson (basketball coach), just to name a few—who each demonstrate one or more of the characteristics of someone who creates from the spirit. Creative People…

  • Develop clarity as the source of creativity
  • Take responsibility for their lives and work
  • Regard age as an opportunity
  • See obstacles as an invitation to create new solutions, techniques, and skills
  • Recognize the body/mind/spirit connection
  • Find surprising new ways to perform routine tasks
  • …and much more

This fresh exploration of the creative spirit includes hands-on exercises to help you unlock your creative powers, inviting you to experience the artistic grace and pleasure that can exist in our everyday lives. You may discover, as many others have, that with creativity comes more joy, more laughter, and more accomplishment than you previously thought possible.

Dan Wakefield

Dan Wakefield (b. 1932) is the author of the bestselling novels Going All the Way and Starting Over, which were both adapted into feature films. His memoirs include New York in the Fifties, which was made into a documentary film of the same name, and Returning: A Spiritual Journey, praised by Bill Moyers as “one of the most important memoirs of the spirit I have ever read.” Wakefield created the NBC prime time series James at 15, and wrote the screenplay for Going All the Way, starring Ben Affleck. He edited and wrote the introduction for Kurt Vonnegut Letters as well as If This Isn’t Nice, What Is?: Vonnegut’s Advice to the Young. Visit Wakefield online at www.danwakefield.com and www.vonnegutsoldestlivingfriend.com.

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