Contents
- The Creative Journey
- How These Books Can Support Your Creative Practice
- Our Top 3 Creative Books Overview
- The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron
- Free Play by Stephen Nachmanovitch
- The Creative Act by Rick Rubin
- Wrapping Up
The Creative Journey
When we embark on a creative journey and embrace an artistic lifestyle, our minds can start to think in more abstract, non linear, unpredictable and even messy ways! This is because we are stepping outside of predetermined boundaries, witnessing our limitless imagination at play, redefining what we thought was possible and exploring new avenues of doing, being and creating.
It’s so much fun to witness how our minds start to PLAY!
How These Books Can Support Your Creative Practice
For those of us who think and thrive creatively, having an infinite abundance of possibilities can sometimes lead to feeling overwhelmed, confused, lost and even unmotivated.
The creative process can also feel too vulnerable, scary and intimidating at times, especially because it makes us confront our fears of imperfection, judgment, failure and it gives our self-doubt new material to play with.
As creatives we need constant support and reassurance- nothing wrong with that. We need to remember that what we enjoy doing is not “a waste of time”, and that art, and creation serve a bigger purpose in our lives and in our world than we can even imagine.
Our Top 3 Creative Books Overview
Whenever these needs and issues come up, I now know what to do. I’ve found certain books that have become sources of motivation, grounding, inspiration. reassurance and guidance and I’d love to share them with you in hopes that they help you and lift you up as much as they did to me.
The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron
The first one I want to mention is ‘The Artist’s Way’ by Julia Cameron. This book is a decades-long favorite for many artists and for many reasons! It’s a 12-week spiritually creative program meant to reignite your artistic excitement, expand your artistic brain and encourage your self-expression. It offers lots of practical tools and exercises to connect deeper to yourself and to source, reminding you of how creative you can be and how supported you are on your journey. It requires a lot more commitment than other books but the benefits can’t be measured! The two main exercises that she offers in this book are writing your daily Morning Pages (3 pages of stream of consciousness writing, with 0 stakes) as soon as you wake up, and having an Artist Date with yourself and your inner artist every week. Whenever I’ve committed to these 2 practices, I can easily see and feel how supportive they are. Not just for my creativity and artistic endeavors, but for the connection I have with myself. It releases unhelpful baggage that gets in the way of fulfillment. I highly recommend her book :)
Free Play by Stephen Nachmanovitch
Another book I LOVED reading was ‘Free Play’ by Stephen Nachmanovitch. It’s an incredible source of permission slips to test, experiment, discover, fail and play! It reminds you of the gems you can find when you let go of seriousness and the need for perfection. He emphasizes the importance of being present in the moment, embracing spontaneity, and trusting our intuition. This is a book that I would recommend to anyone, regardless of whether they are artistically inclined or not, because we could all use a little more playfulness, wonder and liberation in our lives.
The Creative Act by Rick Rubin
Another book I LOVED reading was ‘Free Play’ by Stephen Nachmanovitch. It’s an incredible source of permission slips to test, experiment, discover, fail and play! It reminds you of the gems you can find when you let go of seriousness and the need for perfection. He emphasizes the importance of being present in the moment, embracing spontaneity, and trusting our intuition. This is a book that I would recommend to anyone, regardless of whether they are artistically inclined or not, because we could all use a little more playfulness, wonder and liberation in our lives.
Wrapping Up
I hope these resources offer you the support you’ve been wanting and now, we want to hear from you! Are there any books that have sparked your creativity and offered you memorable insights? Feel free to share them with us! Let’s make it all more fun by supporting each other in our creative processes.
Lastly, I’d like to remind that any creative journey is as much about the process as it is about the outcome. It’s about who you become on your way to your goal. It’s about embracing the highs and lows, the uncertainties and breakthroughs that will inevitably happen. It is all part of this beautiful adventure and we are so courageous for embarking on it! Here’s to us!
"Creativity lies not in the done, but in the doing" Julia Cameron
** Thank you for reading! This post was written by our very own Jimena Perea who is a beautiful soul that inspires our creativity everyday. Thanks Jimena for sharing!