Fingerpainting on the Moon: Writing and Creativity as a Path to Freedom [Hardcover]

Peter Levitt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2003

in Fingerpainting on the Moon, Peter Levitt shows us new ways to create and live from the spiritual source of our lives. “We were born to create,” he says. “It’s our birthright. Our nature. Remember: Everything is permitted in the imagination!” Based on Peter’s more than thirty years as a poet and teacher, this book helps readers to express and rely upon their deepest nature in creative work, whether it is writing, painting, music, or just being alive. “You are both deeply human and deeply Divine,” he tells us. “Only practice fingerpainting on the moon and you will discover how true this is.”

Creativity of any kind requires risk—the risk of being a beginner, letting go of control, or revealing intimate or even unknown parts of ourselves. It can also be a source of tremendous joy: the joy of giving voice to our deepest needs and imaginings. Taking a gentle and freeing approach to creativity, Peter Levitt shows us the essentially spiritual nature of creative acts and helps us open our hearts and minds so we can express ourselves with courage, innate wisdom, and authenticity.

No special conditions are required to create. We need not wait for inspiration to strike, or worry that it has abandoned us. Developed over decades of work with writers and other artists, the exercises, stories,
meditations, and other tools in this book will:

• Connect us with our inherent and inexhaustible creative and spiritual source
• Quiet the inhibitions and doubts that derail our intentions to create
• Build and nurture trust, intuition, spontaneity, clarity, and confidence
• Rekindle our spirit of play to energize our creative efforts

Synthesizing centuries of global wisdom from traditions that include Zen Buddhism, mystical Judaism, Su?sm, Christianity, and Native American beliefs, and offering insights from such masters as Paul Klee, Itzhak Perlman, Allen Ginsberg, and Pablo Neruda, this book will nurture and sustain the artist in each of us, freeing us to generate work that is genuine, vital, and compelling.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In creativity lies the true path to freedom is this book's central and oft-repeated thesis, and Levitt uses a mishmash of mystical Judaism, Zen Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, Hinduism and other spiritual and philosophical traditions to inspire readers to tap into their own creative genius. Poet Levitt talks mostly about writing here, but asserts his message applies to "anyone who longs to return to his creative source and to express both the journey and what he finds once he is there." Levitt is a warm and often wise teacher, but his lessons can come off as a bit too precious, a bit too New Age. On the importance of asking questions, Levitt muses that questions "can be the moon calling to us to join them there, which we know how to do. To embrace a question born in our imagination is to feel embraced." Levitt's portrait of a creative life, with its intense focus on dreamy self-examination, may strike some as overly earnest, even solipsistic. Those inclined to express creativity through social commentary, for instance, or satire, will likely not be moved by advice such as "It is in the spirit of awe, inspiration, yearning and the need we all have to discover the light of the creative sparks in our lives that I urge you to close the gap and give yourself entirely to all parts of your world." The strongest parts of the book come when Levitt connects ancient mystical teachings with the present search for creativity. The story of a Zen master who shot an arrow into the sea and declared it a bull's-eye, for example, is a tale meant to help readers overcome fear of failure by avoiding narrow, pre-determined definitions of success. As far as creative success goes, Levitt encourages readers, "the target is large and the center can be found everywhere."
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

“A warm, joyful book, full of insights and delights for all who seek to hear with their eyes, see with their ears.”—Peter Matthiessen, author of The Snow Leopard

“With this gentle and fearless guide, the way to creative self-expression becomes a path of liberation. The wisdom and practices offered here free me to walk out into the world as into my own heart—and discover that they are one.” —Joanna Macy, author of Widening Circles

“Fingerpainting on the Moon shows Peter Levitt’s generosity as an artist, and his great gifts as a teacher. Read it and write.”—Susan Stamberg, National Public Radio

“Fingerpainting on the Moon is a book of wisdom. It places in our hands the practices and visions of the true creative life. In writing this book, Peter Levitt passes his wisdom on to us, so that we, too, may become wise and live in beauty.”—Deena Metzger, author of Writing for Your Life and Entering the Ghost River

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Harmony; 1 edition (July 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0609610481
• ISBN-13: 978-0609610480
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,136,249 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Divine Book!, September 5, 2003

By 

Michelle Reed (Malibu, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fingerpainting on the Moon: Writing and Creativity as a Path to Freedom (Hardcover)

And I mean that in every sense of the word: sacred, lovely, excellent, perceptive and intuitive. Peter Levitt's vivid writing and obvious love of storytelling makes each page shine. As I read the book, I felt lost in the wilderness of my imagination and my heart, with a wise and friendly guide hovering near. The exercises at the end of each chapter are not merely "one time wonders" but techniques I know I'll return to again and again. In his chapter on permission, Levitt writes, "Everything is permitted in the imagination." And so it is with the exercises. Our only limitation being how far we are willing to go. Fingerpainting on the Moon is a great adventure.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Necessary Wisdom, August 21, 2003

By 

Amy Uyematsu (Culver City, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fingerpainting on the Moon: Writing and Creativity as a Path to Freedom (Hardcover)

I just read Peter Levitt's Fingerpainting on the Moon and feel it should be required reading for this 21st century. It's written not just for artists, but for "all who long to return to their creative source." Levitt's down-to-earth lessons will surprise you, taking you deep within yourself as well as reconnecting you to the expansive world around you. He writes in a direct, honest, but gently engaging way - with stories, suggestions, a few simple words - that lead you into each chapter's amazing journey of self-discovery. This book inspires us to embrace both the ordinary and the extraordinary in our lives, what Levitt calls the "beautiful particulars," with lasting gratitude and delight.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars been there read that, September 17, 2005

By 

Pam Woolway (anahola, HI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fingerpainting on the Moon: Writing and Creativity as a Path to Freedom (Hardcover)

I make a habit of reading one book on the craft of writing at all times, so over the years I have read a good deal on the subject--from Henry Miller to Mary Oliver, I've covered some territory. I love this book. It is full of surprises. I thought I'd heard it all and I am delightfully mistaken.