Treasures Of The Creative Spirit

Find Your Creative Self in the Kaleidoscope of Beads & Color "Beading and my spiritual path are intricately interwoven. It would be difficult for me to separate the two because they are so completely intertwined with one another. As I sit and weave with my beads, I allow the Creative Spirit to flow through me, and though my hands are doing the work, another force is actively participating in the process. This force is a transmission of Spirit that fills me with deep inner peace and joy as I bead. As a result, the practice of my art form has become a creative path to my sacred center." —from the Introduction Believing that beading is a form of meditation through which we can access the Creative Spirit that is always present in us, master bead artist Rev. Wendy Ellsworth offers multiple ways to explore beading as a spiritual journey of self-discovery. Each of the seven chapters is rich with personal stories, exercises, and beading projects, and each project has a meditative experience to encourage a contemplative spirit and creative play. The project results are beautiful, meaningful symbols designed by a master bead artist for both novice and experienced beaders alike. Original projects include: • Geometric Mandala • Personal Mandala • Personal Prayer Beads • Beaded Prayer Pouch • Goddess Archetype Necklace • Beaded Stick Figure Goddess • Chakra Necklace • Chakra Flower Sculpture • Free-form Gourd Stitch Bracelet • Ruffled Cabochon Brooch • Dutch Spiral Necklace • Spiral Vessel • Song Beads • Herringbone Stitch Cuff with Freshwater Pearls

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.

Suggests a variety of activities designed to develop one's creativity, and tells how to live creatively free and develop a more positive and open outlook on life

Drawing upon the ideas of more than three hundred notable creators, including painters, scientists, mathematicians, entrepreneurs, writers, poets, naturalists, actors, and rock climbers, The Life of the Creative Spirit explains how to work at most any vocation or avocation as an artist would. For employers, it gives insights for keeping creative workers happy. For educators and parents, it gives ideas for schooling the young and turning them on to a life of creative work. For the young, it offers better understanding of themselves and their career possibilities. For older creators, it gives strategies for keeping their creative faculties and interest going strong. And for readers in general, it gives an increased appreciation of creativity and its role in society, of the oneness of the aesthetic and the moral, and of how creative work puts spirituality into creators'' lives, leading them to what the writer Jack London called ultimate happiness. The book presents new and valuable reasons for humanely treating animals and for preserving nature. It explains that compassion to animals is an integral part of a creative society, and that the more animals are revered and treated kindly, the more creative society will be. It explains that nature is likewise an integral part of a creative society, and that the current destruction of wilderness and species suppresses creativity in society, thereby suppressing the production of great goodness we give to each other through our art and work. Quotations of notable creators comprise half of the book. The author has collected them in the course of scholarly research of studying published diaries, journals, letters, and other autobiographical material, with the intent of making the collection form a gestalt on the topic of creativity. Table of Contents Chapter One: Introduction To Important Matters PART ONE: The Nature Of Creative Work Chapter Two: What A Project Is Chapter Three: How Projects Are Recursive Chapter Four: How Projects Use Modeling Chapter Five: How Creators Collaborate Chapter Six: What Goodness And Quality Are Chapter Seven: Where Quality Comes From Chapter Eight: How Inner And Outer Excellence Run Each Other Chapter Nine: How The Creative Spirit And Quality Humanize Us Chapter Ten: What Motivates Creators Chapter Eleven: How To Be A Universal Artist PART TWO: Examples Of Creators At Work Chapter Twelve: The Work Of The Artist Chapter Thirteen: The Work Of The Scientist Chapter Fourteen: The Work Of The Mathematician Chapter Fifteen: The Work Of The Mechanic Chapter Sixteen: The Work Of The Entrepreneur Chapter Seventeen: The Work Of The Rock Climber Chapter Eighteen: The Work Of The Collector PART THREE: The Responsibilities Of Creators Chapter Nineteen: Guarding Against A Life Given To Sensual Pleasures Chapter Twenty: Raising Children Chapter Twenty-one: Raising Oneself Chapter Twenty-two: Revering Every Form Of Life Chapter Twenty-three: Knowing And Preserving Nature PART FOUR: Credos Of Creative Workers September 2002 review in National Review Network (New Age Retailer magazine). Reviewer: Thomas Peter von Bahr, Pacific NorthWest Group, Lopez Island, Wash. This plain-covered, inconspicuous book is more than 350 pages long. The first 165 pages are Dr. H. Charles Romesburg''s own, and the rest of the book is a collection of wonderful excerpts from the writings of many artists and "creators," ranging from Georgia O''Keeffe to Bertrand Russell to Rainer Maria Rilke to Maria Callas. So readers are treated not only to the rich fabric of thought of humanist and professor of forestry Romesburg as he examines what cultivates a creative life but also to inspiring musings about creativity by noted artists, writers, and thinkers.

My book is about ghosts and goblins and everything in between out of body experiences, the chakra colours, and karma and where I fit into this mad world.

The resource is designed to help spiritual directors and others use expressive arts in the context of spiritual direction. It is the latest book in the unique SDI series, designed for professional spiritual directors, but also useful for clergy, therapists, and Christian formation specialists. The Spiritual Directors International Series – This book is part of a special series produced by Morehouse Publishing in cooperation with Spiritual Directors International (SDI), a global network of some 6,000 spiritual directors and members.