Customer Reviews

The Creative Fire

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Living with a creative fire demands a life that can consciously harness the forces of imagination in a constructive fashion. Creativity at its essence is a source of vitality that requires those who depend on its fuel to channel moments of imagination into productive outcomes. The Creative Fire by Dr. Clarissa Pinkola-Estes is a recording collection in storyteller format that shares myths, poems, and tales from around the world on the art of living with a creative inferno inside you. The "creative" gives birth daily whether as a writer, artist, performer, thought provocateur, teacher, or any profession that cannot exist without innovative imagination. Pinkola-Estes has distilled in her recordings a form of "creative midwifery" to support, nurture, and propel the creative to manifest their art in physical form. These series of stories offer guidance on the fundamentals of working with the creative spirit, which by its very nature, is unbridled and capable of so much potential. Any fire requires a container to harness and unleash the incredible energy contained in the flames. The risk of many artists' lives according to Julia Cameron (author of The Artist's Way) is being consumed by their own energy through addictions, depression, fear, etc. Pinkola-Estes' work parallels this concept and through The Creative Fire gives practical techniques that delve into the creative soul (psyche) to retrieve and release the obstacles that misdirect such a potent force from its true aim: creative birth.

The Creative Fire is also inspired by the author's Jungian training to foster personal discovery, healing through archetypes, overcoming the negative emotions that squelch the creative fire, working from vision, and opening oneself up to new avenues of creative inspiration. The creative needs a muse and The Creative Fire is one musing to never be without. A must have tool to keep the artist alive, occupied, and continuously on creative fire by being out of their own way, thus freeing up the psyche to express without abandon.

Dr. Clarissa Pinkola-Estes is also the author of Women Who Run With the Wolves. She is a Jungian psychoanalyst, poet, and a cantadora (storyteller) in the Latina tradition.

the minute i heard it i loved it and responded to it. dr. estes weaves myth together with her sharp insights about people, the soul, conflict and creativity and makes an irresistible tape about what drives us. she views creativity as a life force and her stories about it take this point of view, which she explains convincingly and with passion.
i have been thoroughly inspired by this work and i recommend it to everyone, no matter who you are or what you do.

This brilliant analysis of the origins of creativity and its cycles and how to rekindle it is one of the greatest treasures I have ever listened to or read. Written and spoken by famed poet and Jungian psychologist Clarissa Pinkola Estes.

Estes voice is like hot chocolate- warm, nourishing, reassuring. Her kindness is as enveloping as her genius. She is the genuine article, her words are a rare and unique gift. Its depth and richness has so many dimensions, I have listened to it over and over, never tiring of it and picking up more insights each time.

Before this CD, I felt blind to the literary arts. Estes has gently prised my eyes open.

Can a word turn a river? Can a sentence move a mountain? I would never have thought so until I heard this. Now at least I think it is possible.

This is the tonic that many creative people need. I highly recommend it and her other works.

I am a huge fan of Clarrisa Pinkola Estes. I've listened to The Creative Fire many times over the years. I love the hypnotic rhythm of her voice. As a storyteller she guides me into that dreamy space and wakes me up with different eyes.

One of the most inspiring and liberating concepts I've ever come across. Being a graphic designer and one who enjoys painting, ceramics, beading and other crafts, The Creative Fire has stoked the embers of my soul into a blazing inferno. I would recommend these audio CD's to anyone with a creative flair or anyone who wishes to discover the artist within. (review by Clarissa Witten)

This CD is full of insights and stories to help a person understand the nature of creativity. The application of her insight can apply to painters, poets and those of us just trying to create a happy life. As always her stories are relevant and interesting. The time flies by while listening to the author explain difficult concepts, giving this CD the illusion of being shorter than it really is. I gave this 4 stars instead of 5 because some of the stories were also in Women who Run with the Wolves and I would have preferred all new stories.

Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes (cpe) brings you to the fireside with her inspiring and useful stories about The Creative Fire. Creativity comes in so many forms, and she opens your heart up to the burn.

A must have for any creative mind. Will help you understand and deal with your own creative cycles. I had my doubts on the audiobook thing as it was my first (I'm used to reading and my own pace...) but it's worth it every minute of it. Listen to it and pass it along to someone you love.

This is a highly helpful and beautiful 3-CD series that is both healing and restorative on top of being easy to understand. Add in Dr Estes appropriate moments of dry humour and you have a must for anyone wanting to deal with issues about creatvitiy.

Estes understands the depths and labyrinthine maze of the creative process, what it demands and how it transforms those who give themselves to it. She speaks of creativity in a way that can't help but lead the listener to deeper self-reconciliation, healing, and compassion.