Everyday Creativity

In this provocative collection of essays, an interdisciplinary group of eminent thinkers and writers offer their thoughts on how embracing creativity - tapping into the originality of everyday life - can lead to improved physical and mental health, to new ways of thinking, of experiencing the world and ourselves. They show how creativity can refine our views of human nature at an individual and societal level and, ultimately, change our paradigms for survival - and for flourishing - in a world fraught with urgent challenges.

Kirin Narayan’s imagination was captured the very first time that, as a girl visiting the Himalayas, she heard Kangra women join their voices together in song. Returning as an anthropologist, she became fascinated by how they spoke of singing as a form of enrichment, bringing feelings of accomplishment, companionship, happiness, and even good health—all benefits of the “everyday creativity” she explores in this book. Part ethnography, part musical discovery, part poetry, part memoir, and part unforgettable portraits of creative individuals, this unique work brings this remote region in North India alive in sight and sound while celebrating the incredible powers of music in our lives. With rare and captivating eloquence, Narayan portrays Kangra songs about difficulties on the lives of goddesses and female saints as a path to well-being. Like the intricate geometries of mandalu patterns drawn in courtyards or the subtle balance of flavors in a meal, well-crafted songs offer a variety of deeply meaningful benefits: as a way of making something of value, as a means of establishing a community of shared pleasure and skill, as a path through hardships and limitations, and as an arena of renewed possibility. Everyday Creativity makes big the small world of Kangra song and opens up new ways of thinking about what creativity is to us and why we are so compelled to engage it.

Upend your personal status quo and reclaim your natural creativity in every single action you take Everyone claims to value creativity, and businesses are clamouring for disruptive thinking and innovation. Yet we often feel creatively stifled at work, because business processes seem to leave no room for real originality. In this climate, it takes a heroic effort to reclaim our status as independent thinkers, to bring meaning and joy to our work lives and to make lasting changes that will bring value to everyone around us. In Everyday Creative, culture and creative leadership expert Mykel Dixon reveals what’s holding us back from our full creative potential and explains how we can reclaim our original, vibrant selves. Is your ability to think differently hindered by an unconscious view that creativity doesn’t belong in the boardroom? It’s an all-too-common mistake, but the truth is, creativity is fundamental for business growth and personal fulfilment. If you want to survive in the digital era, you need to pursue your own creative sensibilities and foster creativity in your team. This book shows that original thinking can shake things up, becoming the source of our competitive advantage and a key driver of sustainable success. Recognise your own unconventional talent and creative potential Transform yourself into a more vibrant and resilient human being ready to lead the world in the fourth industrial revolution Cultivate dynamic team environments where people feel safe to explore dangerous ideas Instigate a high-level cultural and strategic pivot toward more creativity in your company Everyday Creative is about creative leadership and the courage to seek, nurture and liberate original thinking. Read this book to learn how to make the essential skill of creativity accessible to all people, regardless of role, title or department.

FIRST OF A SERIES OF FOUR EVERYDAY CREATIVITY (TM) BOOKS, this 1994 "lost book," by a prizewinning 21st century expert, was recently discovered. It introduces the vital concept of EVERYDAY CREATIVITY, "our originality of everyday life," often lost to those who think creativity is only about arts or sciences, or a few famous people. This is our human birthright-creativity as a process and way of life whether managing an office, organizing a fundraiser, parenting, teaching, gardening, fixing the car-or creating that painting. It is less what we do than how we do it. With creativity as a process WE TOO ARE THE CREATION; we come alive, find richness, inspiration, presence, joy, new realms of health-physical and psychological-and in the best cases, also intimacy, love, caring, a greater connection, and new views of world and self. Here too is help for those with anxiety, depression, a range of conflicts, parents wanting the best for their kids, and each of us seeking happiness and meaning in life.

A collection of fifty-two weekly projects is designed to reveal how the author's personal creative and artistic journey transformed his life and provides inspiration for the reader's own artistic odyssey through such endeavors as painting, writing, drawing, carving, singing, dancing, cooking, and performing. Original.

The Cambridge Handbook of Creativity is a comprehensive scholarly handbook on creativity from the most respected psychologists, researchers and educators. This handbook serves both as a thorough introduction to the field of creativity and as an invaluable reference and current source of important information. It covers such diverse topics as the brain, education, business, and world cultures. The first section, 'Basic Concepts', is designed to introduce readers to both the history of and key concepts in the field of creativity. The next section, 'Diverse Perspectives of Creativity', contains chapters on the many ways of approaching creativity. Several of these approaches, such as the functional, evolutionary, and neuroscientific approaches, have been invented or greatly reconceptualized in the last decade. The third section, 'Contemporary Debates', highlights ongoing topics that still inspire discussion. Finally, the editors summarize and discuss important concepts from the book and look to what lies ahead.

Start Ugly is a celebration of the messy creative process and a call to face the obstacles of that process with mindfulness and humanity. This is a book for anyone who has ever wished they were "more creative."