Chi And Creativity

Most people tend to idealize artists, writers, and others of the “creative class” as uniquely gifted. But the capacity to create is part of being human–whether that means writing, making art, cooking, gardening, sewing, dancing, acting, singing, or virtually any activity. In Chi and Creativity, Kaleo Ching and Elise Dirlam Ching show readers how to use a wide range of strategies to harness the energy of chi to uncover, and cultivate, that often elusive inner artist.Based on their popular workshops, the authors offer an integrative process to generate the joy, wonder, and sense of well-being necessary for artistic self-expression. Specific exercises draw on everything from acupressure and breathing techniques to Chi Kung movement and meditation. Through Chi Awareness, the body, mind, emotions, and spirit come into greater harmony. Through guided imagery, they dialogue. Through journaling, they speak. Through art, they join in creative expression of the inner discoveries along the path to greater balance and integration. Chi and Creativity is the authors’ way of sharing this magical transformative process and can be used by anyone who wants to add fuel to their creative fires.

For many of us, the return of Zen conjures up images of rock gardens and gently flowing waterfalls. We think of mindfulness and meditation, immersion in a state of being where meaning is found through simplicity. Zen lore has been absorbed by Western practitioners and pop culture alike, yet there is a specific area of this ancient tradition that hasn’t been fully explored in the West. Now, in The Zen of Creativity, American Zen master John Daido Loori presents a book that taps the principles of the Zen arts and aesthetic as a means to unlock creativity and find freedom in the various dimensions of our existence. Loori dissolves the barriers between art and spirituality, opening up the possibility of meeting life with spontaneity, grace, and peace. Zen Buddhism is steeped in the arts. In spiritual ways, calligraphy, poetry, painting, the tea ceremony, and flower arranging can point us toward our essential, boundless nature. Brilliantly interpreting the teachings of the artless arts, Loori illuminates various elements that awaken our creativity, among them still point, the center of each moment that focuses on the tranquility within; simplicity, in which the creative process is uncluttered and unlimited, like a cloudless sky; spontaneity, a way to navigate through life without preconceptions, with a freshness in which everything becomes new; mystery, a sense of trust in the unknown; creative feedback, the systematic use of an audience to receive noncritical input about our art; art koans, exercises based on paradoxical questions that can be resolved only through artistic expression. Loori shows how these elements interpenetrate and function not only in art, but in all our endeavors. Beautifully illustrated and punctuated with poems and reflections from Loori’s own spiritual journey, The Zen of Creativity presents a multilayered, bottomless source of insight into our creativity. Appealing equally to spiritual seekers, artists, and veteran Buddhist practitioners, this book is perfect for those wishing to discover new means of self-awareness and expression—and to restore equanimity and freedom amid the vicissitudes of our lives.

A guide for artists and creative people looking to tarot for guidance and inspiration. Written for novices and seasoned readers alike, "The Creative Tarot" is a unique guidebook that reimagines tarot cards and the ways they can boost the creative process.

"An essential addition...Wegerif zooms in on the most important ingredient of all in a learning-to-learn classroom culture - the kinds of talk that are allowed and encouraged - and brings together both scholarly and practical approaches in a highly fruitful and accessible way." Guy Claxton, author of Building Learning Power, What's the Point of School? and New Kinds of Smart 'This is a thought-provoking and readable book, which makes a very good case for the importance of teaching thinking skills and encouraging creativity through dialogue.' Professor Neil Mercer, University of Cambridge, UK, author of Words and Minds and Dialogue and Development There is growing interest in developing flexible thinking and learning skills in the primary classroom but there has been little agreement as to exactly what these skills are and how best to teach for them. This innovative book responds to that challenge with a coherent account of what thinking and creativity are and how they can be taught. Taking a 'dialogic' approach, it shows how engaging children in real dialogue is possible in every area of the curriculum and how this can lead to more reflective, considerate and creative children who are able to think for themselves and to learn creatively. Wegerif explores the success of approaches such as Philosophy for Children, Thinking Together, Dialogic Teaching and Building Learning Power. Using illustrations and activities, he explains how teaching and learning across the primary curriculum can be transformed. This book is important reading for all primary teachers and trainees who are looking for practical ideas for teaching thinking. It will also be valuable for anyone who wants to understand education and think more about what is most important in education.

A wake-up call for creatives who need that inspiring kick to finally create the thing they’ve been meaning to make, while celebrating the journey of trying, learning, and failing. Over the last eight years, Jason Bacher and Brian Buirge of Good F*cking Design Advice (GFDA) have made a name for themselves in the international design community, inspiring creatives, artists, and entrepreneurs with their products, weekly e-mails, and most important, their unorthodox advice about work ethic and the creative process. Do the F*cking Work is a collection of 100 beautifully packaged pieces that showcase their irreverent advice—inspiration that will help unstick even the most dedicated procrastinators. Covering everything from drinking your morning coffee to handling productive criticism, from embracing failure to rejecting the status quo, their insights upend conventional thinking and teach you to embrace and celebrate the journey of creation—the joy of trying, failing, learning, and sometimes failing again. To make something good we have to make some mistakes. Bacher and Buirge teach you to embrace the unknown and to f*cking laugh at yourself during the process. There is a method to their madness—a surprising reassurance that is baked into their bluntness. We’re all trying, messing up, and trying again. And there’s joy to be found in that—something we often overlook in our rush to get everything done and get it right the first time. With personal insights, actionable advice, stylish visuals, and lots of colorful language, Do the F*cking Work will leave you feeling renewed and inspired, and will make you see that the value of work is as much about the process as the outcome.

Team Work Quality uses statistical analysis in order to infer how team work quality contributes towards the enhancement of creativity with respect to software organizations.

Scrapbook containing letters, souvenir programmes and various news cuttings.

This lavishly illustrated guidebook is the perfect way to introduce readers to the time-honored art of tai chi. The first chapter offers an account of tai chi’s history and philosophical underpinnings, including descriptions of the major schools of tai chi. Subsequent chapters present a series of positions that flow into each other to create several tai chi routines. Each spread of these chapters features a photograph of a tai chi practitioner doing a position, accompanied by a cutaway anatomical drawing of the practitioner in that position. Tips on how to do each position properly are also included.