Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17328 in Books
• Published on: 2006-07-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 237 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
With the basic principle that creative expression is the natural direction of life, Julia Cameron and Mark Bryan lead you through a comprehensive 12-week program to recover your creativity from a variety of blocks, including limiting beliefs, fear, self-sabotage, jealousy, guilt, addictions and other inhibiting forces, replacing them with artistic confidence and productivity.

This book links creativity to spirituality by showing how to connect with the creative energies of the universe, and has, in the four years since its publication, spawned a remarkable number of support groups for artists dedicated to practising the exercises it contains. --Amazon.com

About the Author
Julia Cameron is the author of fifteen books, fiction and non fiction, many plays and movies. She lives in the high desert of New Mexico where she busies herself with movies, musicals, poetry, horses and dogs. She has taught extensively for two decades from London to Los Angeles, from Esalen to the New York Times. Her work on Creativity features the bestselling books The Artist's Way, The Vein of Gold, The Right to Write, Transitions, Blessings and Heartsteps.

Excerpted from The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. Copyright © 1995. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Many of us wish we were more creative. Many of us sense we are more creative, but are unable to effectively tap that creativity. Our lives feel somehow flat. Often, we have great ideas, wonderful dreams, but are unable to actualize them for ourselves. Sometimes we have specific creative longings we would love to be able to fulfill - learning to play the piano, painting, taking an acting class, or writing. Sometimes our goal is more diffuse. We hunger for what might be called creative living - an expanded sense of creativity in our business lives, in sharing with our children, our spouse, our friends. While there is no quick fix for instant, pain-free creativity, creative recovery (or discovery) is a teachable, trackable spiritual process. Each of us is complex and highly individual, yet there are common recognizable denominators to the creative recovery process.

Working with the process, I see a certain amount of defiance and giddiness in the first few weeks. This entry stage is followed closely by explosive anger in the course's midsection. The anger is followed by grief, then alternating waves of resitance and hope. This peaks-and-valleys phase of growth becomes a series of expansions and contractions, a birthing process in which students experience intense elation and defensive skepticism.

This choppy growth phase is followed by a strong urge to abandon the process and return to life as we know it. In other words, a bargaining period. People are often tempted to abandon the course at this point. I call this a creative U-turn. Recommitment to the process next triggers the free-fall of major ego surrender. Following this, the final phase of the course is characterized by a new sense of self marked by increased autonomy, resilience, expectancy, and excitement - as well as by the capacity to make and execute concrete creative plans.

Customer Reviews

This book has changed my life
That's a strong thing to say I know but its true, I am currently on week 8 and I have never been so inspired to make changes in my life and I am LOVING IT!

A friend gave me this book because I was complaining that I didn't have a creative bone in my body and I was generally bored with doing the same things over and over. She thrust the book at me and said 'read this!' I bought a journal the same day and I have written in it every day ever since. It has made me remember many precious things about my past and discover new interests and the importance of spending time with myself, doing things that make me happy like hanging out in a bookshop, buying that lush sketch book I never felt worthy of because I couldn't draw

I am currently entertaining the idea of becoming a writer because I have simply loved the process of writing. I have never done Amazon reviews before but I value them as a way to see what others thought so I wanted to encourage this book.

If you doubt that you have any creativity in you buy this book - if it speaks to you like it sp[oke to me, you will be amazed.

Releasing Creativity!
Much creativity is lost between the time we are young children and when we become adults. The school system, societal influences, and even maturity itself eventually whittles away the artist in most people.

Julia Cameron systematically addresses subjects to release the enormous creativity we all have. I found the book useful for stimulating an artist's though processes. Improving one's creativity is a key element in developing the right brain for Critical Thinking.

The Artist's Way validated several ideas that I had picked up through the years. I have been fortunate to have a very creative family. My sister has created amazing miniatures for many years. After retirement my father became an amazing wood carver ( I have a ship he carved on my mantle in the living room) and my mother an excellent painter (some of her painting are displayed prominently around my house).

This book's twelve week system is a good common sense approach to using the right side of the brain much more effectively. The book chapters each focus on twelve subjects. They are: Recovering a sense of safety, identity, power, integrity, possibility, abundance, connection, strength, compassion, self-protection, autonomy and faith.

There are many great ideas to ponder in the book. For example, in the chapter: ecovering a sense of Power, Cameron writes:

"Remember that creativity is a tribal experience and that tribal elders will initiate the gifted youngsters who cross their path. This may sound like wishful thinking, but it is not. Sometimes an older artist will be moved to help out even against his or her own wishes. "I don't know why I'm doing this for you, but..." Again, I would say that some of the helping hands may be something more than human."

Some people may like the considerable connection to the universe (or God) that Cameron uses. Others may not. However, the force of the universe is something that no man or woman completely understands and it does seem to govern many of what happens in our lives (Karma etc). Accepting there are things that we don't understand and striving to have these forces on our side is a good thing!

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide To: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

Hugely Dissapointing.
I was hugely dissapointed upon reading this book.Having seen numerous positive and glowing reviews, as well as it being widely stocked, I did not hesitate to buy this book when I attempted to start painting again after a period of acute illness.

Unfortunatley, my hopes were not met. Wishy-washy and pseudo-psychological opinions really started to grate with me, as well as the authors dramatic use of theatrical language. There is also an obssesive reliance on God which could possibly become a crutch for some recovering creatives.

The book is not pragmatic, is not practical, is very linear , and very, very boring. It is not empowering, enlightening and unfortunatley delivers nothign it promises, at least for me. I simply, and much to my dismay, cannot understand why this book is so highly regarded.