NAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2018 BY Esquire - PopSugar - The Huffington Post - Buzzfeed - Publishers Weekly
A unique new guide to creativity from Questlove--inspirations, stories, and lessons on how to live your best creative life
Questlove--musician, bandleader, designer, producer, culinary entrepreneur, professor, and all-around cultural omnivore--shares his wisdom on the topics of inspiration and originality in a one-of-a-kind guide to living your best creative life.
In Creative Quest, Questlove synthesizes all the creative philosophies, lessons, and stories he's heard from the many creators and collaborators in his life, and reflects on his own experience, to advise readers and fans on how to consider creativity and where to find it. He addresses many topics--what it means to be creative, how to find a mentor and serve as an apprentice, the wisdom of maintaining a creative network, coping with critics and the foibles of success, and the specific pitfalls of contemporary culture--all in the service of guiding admirers who have followed his career and newcomers not yet acquainted with his story.
Whether discussing his own life or channeling the lessons he's learned from forefathers such as George Clinton, collaborators like D'Angelo, or like-minded artists including Ava DuVernay, David Byrne, Bj rk, and others, Questlove speaks with the candor and enthusiasm that fans have come to expect. Creative Quest is many things--above all, a wise and wide-ranging conversation around the eternal mystery of creativity.
Although the benefits of this study to scholars are obvious, this thought-provoking mixture of scholarly and colloquial will enlighten inquisitive general readers, too. -- Library Journal (starred review)
The classic study of the creative process from the bestselling author of Flow.
Creativity is about capturing those moments that make life worth living. Legendary psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (The leading researcher into 'flow states.' -- Newsweek) reveals what leads to these moments--be it the excitement of the artist at the easel or the scientist in the lab--so that this knowledge can be used to enrich people's lives. Drawing on nearly one hundred interviews with exceptional people, from biologists and physicists, to politicians and business leaders, to poets and artists, as well as his thirty years of research on the subject, Csikszentmihalyi uses his famous flow theory to explore the creative process. He discusses such ideas as why creative individuals are often seen as selfish and arrogant, and why the tortured genius is largely a myth. Most important, he explains why creativity needs to be cultivated and is necessary for the future of our country, if not the world.
Big ideas that just might save the world--The Guardian
The founder of the international Transition Towns movement asks why true creative, positive thinking is in decline, asserts that it's more important now than ever, and suggests ways our communities can revive and reclaim it.
In these times of deep division and deeper despair, if there is a consensus about anything in the world, it is that the future is going to be awful. There is an epidemic of loneliness, an epidemic of anxiety, a mental health crisis of vast proportions, especially among young people. There's a rise in extremist movements and governments. Catastrophic climate change. Biodiversity loss. Food insecurity. The fracturing of ecosystems and communities beyond, it seems, repair. The future--to say nothing of the present--looks grim.
But as Transition movement cofounder Rob Hopkins tells us, there is plenty of evidence that things can change, and cultures can change, rapidly, dramatically, and unexpectedly--for the better. He has seen it happen around the world and in his own town of Totnes, England, where the community is becoming its own housing developer, energy company, enterprise incubator, and local food network--with cascading benefits to the community that extend far beyond the projects themselves.
We do have the capability to effect dramatic change, Hopkins argues, but we're failing because we've largely allowed our most critical tool to languish: human imagination. As defined by social reformer John Dewey, imagination is the ability to look at things as if they could be otherwise. The ability, that is, to ask What if? And if there was ever a time when we needed that ability, it is now.
Imagination is central to empathy, to creating better lives, to envisioning and then enacting a positive future. Yet imagination is also demonstrably in decline at precisely the moment when we need it most. In this passionate exploration, Hopkins asks why imagination is in decline, and what we must do to revive and reclaim it. Once we do, there is no end to what we might accomplish.
From What Is to What If is a call to action to reclaim and unleash our collective imagination, told through the stories of individuals and communities around the world who are doing it now, as we speak, and witnessing often rapid and dramatic change for the better.
When we are in painfully difficult or confusing life situations, especially amidst ever-uncertain times, our minds grapple for structure: a funeral ceremony definitively lays the dead to rest; the exaggerated choreography of a surgical room confirms its sterility; and a daily schedule gives prisoners a sense of normalcy. These practices, these rituals, give us peace. Though it might seem contradictory, ordered rituals actually bring us freedom, creativity, and mental well-being. Rituals aren't a thing of history or belonging to elaborate ceremonies, and they aren't even confined to the most painful or confusing of times. Rituals can be at a family dinner table or in a morning bathroom routine. In Everyday Rituals, Pearl Katz shows us just how transformative rituals are, no matter what kind.
Unlike other titles on the subject in the self-help genre or in anthropological reportage, Katz applies her years of fieldwork and psychiatric study to tangible, everyday American life. She writes a thoroughly persuasive argument, using poignant case studies, to truly inspire readers. Specific hormones flow and brain paths open when artists follow their creative regimen, and mental health increases in patients under hospital directive; in contrast, young people suffer stress in unbounded undergraduate hookup culture. And after the coronavirus ripped many rituals from American life, the ill effects of a life without routine burn bright. It's in the ordinary that Katz discovers unlimited potential: mundane routine actually sparks incredible imagination. With scientific evidence, case studies, personal narrative, and guiding wisdom, Katz enlightens us as to how and why we can feel true freedom.
In The Creativity Algorithm, Joseph Swope PhD provides a unique guide to reaching sales and professional goals through applied creativity. Offering 52 exercises, one for each week of the year, the book encourages readers to explore mental challenges, called sophisms, in a relaxed state.
By learning how to enter an alpha state of consciousness, readers can unlock innovative ideas that lead to transformative breakthroughs in their careers. Whether used as a weekly workbook or explored at your own pace, The Creativity Algorithm promises that success is just one creative idea away.
Confronting systemic injustices and paving the way towards a more inclusive, culturally responsive, and effective practice, Chioma Anah examines how art therapy can be used as a tool in addressing racial trauma.
Delving into theories of racism and its evolution, the taxonomy of microaggressions, advocacy and intersectionality, this resource exposes the powerful structures that perpetuate daily microaggressions experienced by African Americans and how therapeutic relationship can repeat these. It shares poignant client narratives and artwork as well as insight from diverse art therapists, all men and women of color. With invaluable recommendations for future research, implications for counseling and counseling education, this book is essential reading for therapists, counselors, and educators.What are the core concepts of music therapy? What do music therapists do and how do you become one? What actually happens in a therapy session? And how does music therapy make a difference?
In the style of a graphic novel, A Graphic Guide to Music Therapy answers these questions and more. Music therapy and its key concepts, theory and practice are introduced through illustrations and text.Unique and creative warm-up exercises that facilitate communication, connection and creative expression
Expanding upon art therapist Susan Buchalter's celebrated 250 Brief, Creative& Practical Art Therapy Techniques, this follow-up book provides 200 more art exercises clinicians can use in art therapy and psychotherapy groups.
With just a few simple materials, Buchalter provides endless opportunities for clients to create meaningful images, share their experiences, and become more focused and open in therapy. To make it easier for therapists, teachers, psychologists, counselors, and individuals, the exercises are categorized into beneficial themes: