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Trust the Process: An Artist's Guide to Letting Go Paperback – March 31, 1998

by Shaun McNiff (Author)

40 customer reviews

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Whether in painting, poetry, performance, music, dance, or life, there is an intelligence working in every situation. This force is the primary carrier of creation.

If we trust it and follow its natural movement, it will astound us with its ability to find a way through problems—and even make creative use of our mistakes and failures.

There is a magic to this process that cannot be controlled by the ego. Somehow it always finds the way to the place where you need to be, and a destination you never could have known in advance.

When everything seems as if it is hopeless and going nowhere . . . trust the process.

Trust the Process: An Artist's Guide to Letting Go

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Product Details

Paperback: 210 pages
Publisher: Shambhala; 1st edition (March 31, 1998)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1570623570
ISBN-13: 978-1570623578
Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #63,608 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #54 in Books > Arts & Photography > Study & Teaching
- #209 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Psychology & Counseling > Applied Psychology
- #316 in Books > Self-Help > Creativity

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Customer Reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars

5 star		73%
4 star		20%
3 star		2%
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1 star		5%

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Top Customer Reviews

More useful to me than The Artist's Way...

By Kat on October 19, 1998

Format: Paperback

This book helps and inspires me (a visual artist) in a way that Julia Cameron's popular (and wonderful) work has not. For those of us who have a kneejerk negative reaction to following rules and doing "exercises", preferring instead to create our own structure, this is a refreshing alternative to her more structured approach. McNiff emphasizes that the sense of despair we feel when the "flow" isn't flowing is itself an integral part of the process of making art, which I found particularly encouraging and true to my experience. He also encourages the reader to get going by creating multiple small, "disposable" works, which can contain the roots of larger pieces... Read this book!

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Has opened a doorway I thought was forever closed....

By A Customer on January 31, 2002

Format: Paperback Verified Purchase

I have done visual art and writing for nearly 20 years.Several years ago I hit what first appeared to be a "dry spell". To my dismay that "spell" become a year, then two, then three and so on. I found myself profoundly blocked on all levels and the creative energy seemed to have left me altogether. I fell into a state of depression, due in part to this loss of creative energy which felt much like a loss of that which is most core to me. No what what I tried, the door remained tightly closed.
In the process of looking for the skeleton key to reopen this door I looked at nearly every book on creativity and things on the market. Many of them lacked the substance and understanding that I needed. Some were aimed at people that had never been creative and therefore the exercises never worked for me. Others used almost a Twelve Step approach which, while effective for some, didn't work for me personally. Like another reviewer said I, too, found many of the "Step 1, Step 2, Step 3..." approaches to be more frustrating and limiting, only further closing this door of creative expression.
...I had never read the book, but decided to buy it based on some good reviews and a large dose of desperation. I was skeptical and figured I would likely be disappointed by yet another run of the mill "how to be creative" work.
I couldn't have been more wrong. When I finally began reading the book it felt different - totally different. I found things that were pragmatic and rooted in a perspective I understood - the artist that has lost the inspiration and creative flow. It felt like a tangible guide that had the potential of reopening that locked door.
The book has helped me move into a place that I had previously thought to be gone forever.Read more ›

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Trust This Book!

By A Customer on April 20, 1999

Format: Paperback

This is simply one of the best books on the subject of personal creativity & art. Author McNiff doesn't get preachy and didactic, and always gets to the point. He also doesn't engage the reader with "new age" solutions and descriptions. Clear and balanced.
If you have a curiosity about your creativity, or bringing about artistic expression in your life, or you're an artist on the "path", this book is a gift.

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A license to create...

By Karen Carnabucci, LCSW, TEP on August 2, 2002

Format: Paperback

Whether you are an artist, dancer, writer, musician, healer or seeker, you will find inspirition and validation of your path with this book. Shaun McNiff, artist and internationally known advocate of the creative arts therapies, presents a thoughtful and beautifully written case for trusting the natural movement of the creative process. This wonderful book includes observations from "famous" artists about the creative process, anecdotes from ordinary people who are experimenting with new attitudes in their daily lives and suggestions from the author about creating a satisfying life. In a world where destruction has become a form of popular entertainment, this book offers an alternative. Worth reading, then rereading again and again!

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Trust and Failure

By taneyae on December 4, 2012

Format: Paperback Verified Purchase

So far, I am loving "Trust the Process." I find it intriguing. The author said, "the ultimate goal of the creative process is an "enlargement" of imagination for all people. Yet, instead of expanding, most of us tend to confine ourselves to the limitations of habit. . . . I find that the most consistence obstacle to creative discovery is the average person's reluctance to become involved in free experimentation." What limitations am I putting on myself? Why do I feel reluctant to involve myself in "free experimentation"? Basically, I don't know how to do something so I am afraid to start. I don't want to start because I might fail and the possibility of me failing makes me procrastinate it until I don't have enough time to properly create. It is a frustrating path. As time goes on, I become a little more accepting of the possibility of failure. I am realizing that you cannot create art without that possibility. It's frustrating, but like the subtitle of the book says, it's a "guide to letting go." Now that I know a few of my limiting habits I just need to figure out how to adjust them to work in my benefit

One of the chapters was on training people to work within the creative process. The author mentions that personal immersion is vital. He then shares an example from some of the teachers he worked with. He explained that the teachers were able to "describe how there is a pattern to the way they face every new art experience with resistance and fear. They feel an equally consistent thrill and satisfaction after completing each new phase of work.Read more ›

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

Supportive, knowledgeable and readable text on the creative process

Inspiring and supportive of the creative process. Shaun has been there and truly understands the subtleties of thought and surrounding influences that can pervade the creation of... Read more

Published 1 month ago by Chelly

Creative Fuel

Creative fuel. Highly recommend it.

Published 3 months ago by Bernardo de Vegas

I am very glad that I purchased it

What an eye opening book. I am very glad that I purchased it. If you are an artist or maker of any type you need this.

Published 7 months ago by Leah

Painfully horrid

I'm an artist and yet couldn't grasp the obscure babble this author attempted to hoist upon the reader. Read more

Published 8 months ago by CLynn

Trust the process/ Mcniff

Indepth book well written referencing the factors that contribute to the creative process and what an artistic journey involves. Read more

Published 9 months ago by Amazon Customer

Five Stars

very inspirational

Published 9 months ago by Nadine Martin

Best book on creative process

Excellent book. As a painter it really spoke to me and it is one of the best I have read on the process of being an artist.

Published 10 months ago by Diane Ferdico

Five Stars

Great book and writer

Published 11 months ago by Victoria Wreden-Sadeq

Read this book required for a workshop. The first ...

Read this book required for a workshop. The first thing I did was create a studio I wanted to create in. This book steered me in the right direction. It is a process!

Published 11 months ago by Elaine Edelberg

A life-changing book!

What a thought-provoking and inspired book that just drew me in and helped ease some of the "lonely weird" ways I've been feeling lately. Mr. Read more

Published 13 months ago by Baltchik

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