Mindfulness Practices: Books | Websites | CDs | Music | Apps

Healthy Practices: Books | Psychology and the Creative Process | Psychology and Writing | Psychology and the Visual Arts | Life Stories | Healing Power of Creativity

Mindfulness Practices for Creative and Performing Artists

Mindfulness Books

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Mindfulness Websites

  • Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction – webinars, programs, and resources at the Center for Mindfulness (Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD) http:// umassmed.edu/cfm
  • Tara Brach is a leading western teacher of Buddhist meditation with an emphasis on vipassana (mindfulness or insight) meditation, http://TaraBrach.com
  • Chopra Center – Deepak Chopra, MD and Chopra Center practitioners provide meaningful approaches to mind-body wellness via their website, with offerings of Meditation, Yoga and Wellness, http://chopra.com
  • UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center –classes, resources, free Guided Meditations, and weekly podcasts on Mindfulness practices, http:// marc.ucla.edu
  • Deva Premal & Miten Mantra Meditations – http://devapremalmiten.com
  • Yoga Journal offers yoga poses and sequences for your in-home practice along with step by step instruction and healthy lifestyle information – http://yogajournal.com

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Mindfulness Meditation CDs

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Music for Meditation, Relaxation, Sleep & Yoga

  • Adagio Greatest Hits, BMG Classics – 09026 68832-2, Available at http://classicalmus.com
  • Bach at Bedtime – Lullabies for the Still of the Night, Phillips Classics Productions – 446 915-2, PolyGram Records, New York, http://deccaclassics.com
  • Beethoven at Bedtime – A Gentle Prelude to Sleep, Phillips Classics Productions – 446 485-2, PolyGram Records, New York, http://deccaclassics.com
  • Breathe – the relaxing piano, Telarc International (2005) – CD 80652, www.telarc.com
  • Classical Wellness: Musical Tonics for mind, body and spirit (3 CD Box Set: Classical Chamomile, Laugh with Classical Music, and Classical Caffeine), http://delosmusic.com
  • Lifescapes Music Collections – Music to rejuvenate mind, body and soul. CD Titles: Meditations: Native American Flute; Music for Mind & BodyRelaxing Classical: Pure Stress Relief (3 CD’s: Quiet Piano, Relaxing Guitar and Pure Relaxation); The Best of Classical (3 CD’s: Morning, Noon and Night); The Best of Relaxation (3 CD’s: Pure Relaxation, Yoga and Sleep); Harmony; The Zen Relaxation Collection; Celtic Dream (The Lifescapes Music Collection is available at http://amazon.com, and http://target.com)
  • Mozart at Midnight – A Soothing Little Night Music, Phillips Classics Productions – 442 493-2, PolyGram Records, New York, http://deccaclassics.com
  • Mozart for Meditation – Quiet Music for Quiet Times, Phillips Classics Productions – 446 378-2, PolyGram Records New York, http://deccaclassics.com
  • Perchance to Dream – A Lullaby Album for Children and Adults, Carol Rosenberger, piano, Delos International – DE 3079, Available at http://delosmus.com
  • Serene Journeys (3 CD Set: Serene Symphony, Serene Piano, and Serene Voices), http://delosmusic.com
  • Such Stuff as Dreams – A Lullaby Album for Children and Adults, Carol Rosenberger, piano, Delos International – DE 3230, Available at http://delosmus.com

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Mindfulness Apps

  • The Mindfulness App – Guided & Silent Meditations
  • The Mindfulness Training App (this and other apps available from http://soundstrue.com) brings a selection of interactive audio, video, and written instructions to support your meditation practice
  • YogaQuote – Daily inspirational quotes
  • Yoga Nidra – Deep Relaxation – this app offers tools for inducing deep physical, mental & emotional relaxation
  • Sleep Genius with Revive Cycle Alarm – a scientifically designed sound program created to soothe your brain into longer and deeper sleep by training your brain into its natural sleep rhythms.
  • iSleep Easy – Meditations for Restful Sleep – offers a variety of guided meditations to help you fall asleep and sleep deeply; create playlists with choices for music and nature sounds
  • Sleep Stream 2 Pro – a sleep and relaxation tool with soothing sounds, guided meditations, brainwave programs and beautiful visualizations
  • Day One – award winning journaling app that syncs to all your devices
  • Moving Art – a collections of inspirational videos from visionary filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg
  • Pandora Radio – create personalized stations that play the music you want to hear
  • Spotify Music – stream tracks, artists or albums and play for free in shuffle mode

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Healthy Practices for Creative and Performing Artists

Recommended Books for Creative and Performing Artists

  • Aron, Elaine N. (1998). The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive when the World Overwhelms You, New York, NY: Broadway Books
  • Aron, Elaine N. (1999). The Highly Sensitive Person’s Workbook, New York: Broadway Books
  • Cameron, Julia (1992). The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity. A Course in Discovering and Recovering Your Creative Self, New York: Putnam & Sons
  • Cameron, Julia (2002). Walking in this World: The Practical Art of Creativity. Further Steps Along The Artist’s Way. New York: Penguin Group
  • Cameron, Julia (1996). The Vein of Gold – A Journey to your Creative Heart. New York: A Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam Book
  • Chopra, Deepak (2004). The Book of Secrets: Unlocking the Hidden Dimensions of Your Life, New York, NY: Random House, Inc.
  • Cutler, David (2010). The Savvy Musician: Building a Career, Earning a Living, and Making a Difference, Pittsburgh, PA: Helius Books
  • Fleming, Renee, (2004). The Inner Voice: The Making of a Singer, Penguin Books
  • Klickstein, Gerald (2009). The Musician’s Way: A Guide to Practice, Performance and Wellness
  • Maisel, Eric (2007). Creativity for Life, Novato, CA: New World Library
  • Maisel, Eric (2011). Mastering Creative Anxiety: 24 Lessons for Writers, Painters, Musicians & Actors Novato, CA: New World Library
  • Nichols, Wallace (2014). Blue Mind: The Surprising Science that Shows How Being Near, In, On, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do
  • Storr, Anthony (2005). Solitude: A Return to the Self, New York: Free Press Paperback Edition

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Books on Psychology and the Creative Process

  • Bruner, Jerome (1986). Actual Minds, Possible Worlds, Cambridge, MA: Harvard
  • Boyd, Jenny. (1992). Musicians in Tune: Seventy-Five Contemporary Musicians Discuss The Creative Process, New York: A Fireside Book (Simon & Schuster)
  • Brendel, Alfred. (1976). Musical Thoughts and Afterthoughts. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press
  • Campbell, Don (1997). The Mozart Effect, New York: Avon Books
  • Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly (1997). Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life. New York: HarperCollins
  • De Bono, Edward (1970). Lateral Thinking – Creativity Step by Step, New York: Perennial
  • De Bono, Edward (1992). Serious Creativity, New York: Harper Business
  • De Bono, Edward (1994). Parallel Thinking, New York: Penguin
  • Ealy, C. Diane (1999). The Woman’s Book of Creativity, New York: Celestial Arts
  • Feder, Stuart, Karmel, Richard, and Pollock, George, Editors. (1990). Psychoanalytic Explorations in Music, Madison, Connecticut: International Universities Press, Inc.
  • Gardner, Howard (1982). Art, Mind & Brain: A Cognitive Approach to Creativity. New York: Basic Books
  • Gardner, Howard (1993). Creating Minds. New York: Basic Books
  • Gedo, John E. (1983). Portraits of the Artist – Psychoanalysis of Creativity and It’s Vicissitudes. New York: The Guilford Press
  • Ghiselin, Brewster, Editor (1985). The Creative Process: Reflections of Invention in the Arts and Sciences. Berkeley, California: University of California Press
  • Larsen, Stephen (1990). The Mythic Imagination: The Quest for Meaning through Personal Mythology. Manchester, VT: Inner Traditions International
  • Leonard, Linda S. (2000). The Call to Create: Celebrating Acts of Imagination. New York: Harmony Books
  • Lockhart, Russell A. (1983). Words as Eggs: Psyche in Language and Clinic. Putnam, CT: Spring Publications
  • Maisel, Eric (1992). A Life in the Arts, New York: Tarcher/Putnam
  • Maslow, Abraham H. (1983). The Farther Reaches of Human Nature, New York: Penguin
  • May, Rollo (1975). The Courage to Create, New York: W.W. Norton
  • Osborn, Alex F. (1957). Applied Imagination, New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons
  • Osborn, Alex F. (1991). Your Creative Power, Schaumburg, IL: Motorola University Press
  • Moustakas, Clark (1967). Creativity and Conformity, Princeton: D. Van Nostrand
  • Rothenberg, A. & Hausman, C., Editors (1976). The Creativity Question. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press
  • Rothenberg, Albert (1979). The Emerging Goddess: The Creative Process in Art, Science, and Other Fields. Chicago, Illinois: The University of Chicago Press.
  • Rothenberg, Albert (1990). Creativity & Madness. Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press
  • Serafine, Mary Louise (1988). Music as Cognition – The Development of Thought in Sound, New York: Columbia University Press
  • Shekerjian, Denise (1990). Uncommon Genius – How Great Ideas Are Born, New York: Penguin Books
  • Storr, Anthony (1992). Music and the Mind, New York: The Free Press
  • Whyte, David (1994). The Heart Aroused, New York: Doubleday Books 

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Books on Psychology and Writing

  • Cameron, Julia (1998). The Right to Write, New York: Tarcher/Putnam
  • Coles, Robert (1989). The Call of Stories, Boston: A Peter Davison Book, Houghton Mifflin Company
  • DeSalvo, Louise (1999). Writing as a Way of Healing: How Telling Our Stories Transforms Our Lives. New York: HarperSanFrancisco
  • Dillard, Anne (1989). The Writing Life, New York: HarperPerennial
  • DiTiberio, John K. and Jensen, George H. (1995). Writing & Personality: Finding Your Voice, Your Style, Your Way. Palo Alto, CA: Davies-Black
  • Fox, John (1995). Finding What You Didn’t Lose, New York: Tarcher/Putnam
  • Goldberg, Natalie (1986). Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within, Boston: Shambhala
  • Goldberg, Natalie (1990). Wild Mind: Living the Writer’s Life, New York: Bantam
  • Keen, Sam and Valley-Fox, Anne (1973). Your Mythic Journey: Finding Meaning in Your Life through Writing and Storytelling. New York: Tarcher/Putnam
  • Lamott, Anne (1994). Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, New York: Doubleday
  • Metzger, Deena (1992). Writing for Your Life: A Guide and Companion to the Inner Worlds. New York: Harper
  • Vogler, Christopher (1998). The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers, Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese Productions

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Books on Psychology and the Visual Arts

  • Bachelard, Gaston (1958). The Poetics of Space, Boston: Beacon
  • Berger, John (1972). Ways of Seeing, New York: Penguin
  • Broughton, James (1977). Seeing The Light, San Francisco: City Lights
  • Edwards, Betty (1993). Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, New York: HarperCollins
  • Henri, Robert (1984). The Art Spirit, Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press

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Creating Our Life Stories

  • Greene, Liz and Sharman-Burke, Juliet (2000). The Mythic Journey: The Meaning of Myth as a Guide for Life. New York: Simon & Schuster
  • Hillman, James (1983). Healing Fiction. Barrytown, NY: Station Hill
  • Hollis, James (1996). Swamplands of the Soul: New Life in Dismal Places. Toronto: Inner City Books
  • Johnson, Robert A. (1986). Inner Work. New York: HarperCollins
  • Johnson, Robert A. (1991). Owning Your Own Shadow: Understanding the Dark Side of the Psyche. New York: Harper San Francisco
  • Keen, Sam and Valley-Fox, Anne (1973). Your Mythic Journey: Finding Meaning in Your Life through Writing and Storytelling. New York: Tarcher/Putnam
  • Larsen, Stephen (1990) The Mythic Imagination: The Quest for Meaning through Personal Mythology. Manchester, VT: Inner Traditions International
  • Meade, Erica Helm (1995). Tell It by Heart: Women and the Healing Power of Story. Chicago: Open Court
  • Metzger, Deena (1992). Writing for Your Life: A Guide and Companion to the Inner Worlds. New York: Harper San Francisco
  • Pearson, Carol S. (1991). Awakening the Heroes Within: Twelve Archetypes to Help Us Find Ourselves and Transform Our World. New York: Harper San Fransisco
  • Whyte, David (1994). The Heart Aroused, New York: Doubleday
  • Whyte, David (2001). Crossing the Unknown Sea. New York: Doubleday
  • Woodman, Marion and Mellick, Jill (1998). Coming Home to Myself; Reflections for Nurturing a Woman’s Body & Soul. Berkeley: Conari

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CDs and Music

The Healing Power of Creativity

  • Estes, Clarissa Pinkola. (1991). The Creative Fire – Myths and Stories on the Cycles of Creativity. Boulder, CO: Sounds True, www.soundstrue.com (An invitation to awaken your hidden talents with insights about the creative forces which inspire humans to achieve artistic greatness).
  • Estés, Clarissa Pinkola (1993). The Gift of Story, (audiotape), Boulder, CO: Sounds True Recordings
  • McNiff, Shaun. (2001). Art Can Heal Your Life. Boulder, CO. Sounds True, www.soundstrue.com (Artist and Art Therapist, Shaun McNiff, tells us ways to engage the healing energy the exists within art – a therapy of the imagination).
  • Moore, Thomas (1993). On Creativity. Boulder, CO, Sounds True, www.soundstrue.com (Moore describes a re-imagining of the creative process which defines a way of living that nourishes the creative spirit).
  • Woodman, Marion (1994). The Stillness Shall Be The Dancing. College Station, TX, Texas A&M University Press. (Noted author and psychotherapist offers the possibility of healing through work with dreams, images, and symbols)

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