The Creative Life [Paperback]

Eric Butterworth (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 25, 2003

In The Creative Life, Eric Butterworth brings his spiritual insight to a unique exploration of the creative process. Within every person, he says, is hidden genius to which we give expression through commitment, discipline, and the enthusiasm that works with passion. Powerful and resonating with meaning, The Creative Life is sure to be a classic work of spirituality for years to come.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

God is creative, and we are creative. That's the premise of Unity minister Butterworth's straightforward and inspiring guide to living a creative life. Although he uses the Genesis account as the book's organizing principle (his seven steps parallel the seven days of creation and rest), this is not a particularly Jewish or Christian book. Rather, Butterworth draws on teachings both Transcendentalist and New Age God is creativity, God is us, God is in us, etc. On the first day of creation, God said, "Let there be light," and Butterworth claims that seeking the inner light is likewise the first step in developing a creative self. He also dwells on the phrase "Let there be," suggesting that readers should take that phrase as their motto: "No suggestion of effort, no strain, no hurry... just let." The overall premise of the book is very, well, creative; Butterworth's use of the creation account in Genesis as a template for human creativity is surprisingly compelling. The exercises he includes at the end of each chapter, however, disappoint. Butterworth urges the newly creative to take a 10-minute breather in the park each week, for example, and to make a written list of their greatest disappointments in life. Such suggestions are predictable and virtually indistinguishable from those in many other self-help book. Still, on the whole this guide will speak to those who want to live a more intentionally creative and spiritual life.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Butterworth, a Unity minister, has one main premise: that God is in all of us and that all that is creative can be tapped as long as we open ourselves to that Godhead. For his latest book, whose spiritualese some readers may find grating, he has divided his thesis into seven working points corresponding to the seven days of creation. Butterworth explains each day's inspirational meaning and offers a series of exercises to help readers release the creativity associated with it. Although somewhat Christian, Butterworth's contentions will not be embraced by the fundamentalist crowd. He avers, for instance, that the creation story is an allegory, and he specifically separates Jesus from Christ, positing that Christ is actually a part of all of us and that Jesus was just more able than most people to find the Christ within. Appropriate for public libraries whose patrons want to understand the connection between spirituality and creativity.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Tarcher (August 25, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585422703
• ISBN-13: 978-1585422708
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #74,177 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Small Book, Huge Message, April 22, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Creative Life: 7 Keys to Your Inner Genius (Hardcover)

I loved THE CREATIVE LIFE by Eric Butterworth. I've been a long-time student of his books, and my favorites are DISCOVER THE POWER WITHIN YOU and SPIRITUAL ECONOMICS. I think THE CREATIVE LIFE is nearly as good as those two. This book is based around the seven keys that will release our creative genius within. Each chapter includes practical exercises to put these ideas into practice in everyday life. This book is small (just over 150 pages), but the ideas in it are huge. By putting these concepts to work in my life, I'm already seeing results. Highly recommended to everyone who has loved any of Mr. Butterworth's previous books, as well as readers new to his work.

34 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Positive Thinking About Creativity with a Biblical Metaphor, June 26, 2001

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 110,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Creative Life: 7 Keys to Your Inner Genius (Hardcover)

Summary: The Creative Life captures many valuable dimensions of improving creativity. The book's metaphor to the seven days of creation in Genesis will excite much controversy among those who read this material differently that will detract from a focus on improving human creativity. The book's basic message is that God creates the potential for all things to exist, but many of them require co-creation by people to come into physical existence. " . . . [Y]ou are no less creative than God Himself."

Review: The book is built around the metaphor of the seven days of creation in Genesis. The basic reading of that part of the Bible is also done in a literary rather than a literal way. Each chapter builds around one day of creation, and ties the lessons back to human creativity. Many helpful submetaphors are contained in each chapter, such as to the combining of minds on the Internet.

"Like God, our creative powers are infinite," says Dr. Peter J. D'Adamo in his introduction. The book isn't quite that strong. It basically argues that the unfilled potential that God has created can all be tapped by humans.

"Let There Be Light." This text is seen as an encouragement to look for inner illumination for the right path. "Love . . . is what we are." "Love is the awareness of light and you naturally project light in a kind of healing influence."

"Let There Be Firmament." "To the person with an unshakeable faith that something wonderful is going to happen, something wonderful is happening." You have to believe in the potential before your mind can take it seriously.

"Let the Dry Land Appear." " . . . [T]he dry land is the mental image of formed thoughts." You need to "see what can be." You are encouraged to create visionary views of what could be in practical detail. I thought that this section worked best of all those in the book.

"Let There Be Two Great Lights." "God can only will the full expression of your powers and capacities." This argument seems convoluted, rather than expressive to me. God can do anything. Any existing limits in humans can be changed by God.

I suspect that many readers, if they are like me, will find this book coming close to arguing that each human's relationship to God is closer to being a peer one than many believe. Sections like this one create that issue. I found all this exhaltation of humans relative to God to be unnecessary to improving personal creativity. The language quoted in this book from the New Testament rightly emphasizes that Jesus pointed out that His ways are open to us.

The best parts of the book are the submetaphors. For example, in coming into contact with your on intuition, you are encouraged to think about the light within as being able to be influenced by a rheostat or a radio tuner. Then, there are exercises to use those metaphors to inspire more creativity. Based on my work with hypnosis and creativity, these are exceptionally fine metaphors and superb directions for using them.

If you find the Genesis metaphor gets in your way (as I suspect it will for many), my suggestion is that you skip over those parts when you get to them. You will still find much solid information here about being more creative. For example, the material in the chapter on "Let the Dry Land Appear" is very similar to that in Think and Grow Rich, and will provide new perspective on those ideas for people who have enjoyed that fine book.

The exercises in each chapter are well worth doing, and you would get almost all of the benefit possible from this book if you simply did them. So if you read the book, be sure to take the time to do the exercises.

A fundamental flaw in the book is to act as though the reader lacks basic experience in being creative. In fact, almost everyone has been very creative many times in her or his life. The material here would have been much more helpful if it had built more on those successful experiences.

After you finish the book, think back to those times when you have been most creative. What did they have in common? Do you routinely try to recreate those circumstances? How can the elements that worked well be combined in new ways?

Aspire to perfection in some important area . . . and you may approach it closer than anyone has ever done before! Be sure to leave a map to follow your journey though, when you take that route.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Creative Life, January 3, 2007

By 

David Mcclure (Kailua, Hawaii) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Creative Life (Paperback)

In this amazing book, Dr. Butterworth unlocks the keys to creativity in the human soul. He gives great examples, illustrations, and exercises to help the individual get in touch with his/her creative self. A very practical book that empowers an individual to let their imagination soar