Core Creativity: The Mindful Way to Unlock Your Creative Self

Practicing mindfulness can enhance one’s creativity, contends psychotherapist and creativity consultant Alexander (Wise Mind, Open Mind) in this hit-or-miss guide. He posits that mindfulness meditation can help one “develop greater insight and wisdom” and “access core creativity,” citing anecdotes about famous artists to provide guidance on collaborating, generating ideas, and developing productive habits. Alexander debunks such myths as the tortured artist, citing research that found “creative people are less likely to be mentally ill” than the general population. The author also discusses how to achieve a state of enhanced sensitivity to one’s “intuition and core creativity” through meditation, studying one’s dreams, or taking a walk. To boost one’s creativity, the author recommends setting daily work schedules and waking up early (“Ernest Hemingway... rose at 5:30 a.m.,” he notes). The artists’ insights occasionally enlighten (“There were no moments of revelation. It was just work,” Paul Simon once said of writing “Still Crazy After All These Years”), but an overemphasis on obscure celebrities interviewed by the author drags things down (Cody Fern, anyone?). Those looking for alternative methods to enhance creativity might find some useful tidbits. (June)