"All it takes to become an artist is to start doing art."-from On Becoming an ArtistOn Becoming an Artist is loaded with good news. Backed by her landmark scientific work on mindfulness and artistic nature, bestselling author and Harvard psychologist Ellen J. Langer shows us that creativity is not a rare gift that only some special few are born with, but rather an integral part of everyone's makeup.
All of us can express our creative impulses- authentically and uniquely-and, in the process, enrich our lives. Why then do so many of us merely dream of someday painting, someday writing, someday making music? Why do we think the same old thoughts, harbor the same old prejudices, stay stuck in the same old mud? Who taught us to think "inside the box"? No one is more qualified to answer these questions than Dr.
Langer, who has explored their every facet for years. She describes dozens of fascinating experiments-her own and those of her colleagues-that are designed to study mindfulness and its relation to human creativity, and she shares the profound implications of the results-for our well-being, health, and happiness. Langer reveals myriad insights, among them: We think we should already know what only firsthand experience can teach us.
"All it takes to become an artist is to start doing art."-from On Becoming an ArtistOn Becoming an Artist is loaded with good news. Backed by her landmark scientific work on mindfulness and artistic nature, bestselling author and Harvard psychologist Ellen J. Langer shows us that creativity is not a rare gift that only some special few are born with, but rather an integral part of everyone's makeup.
All of us can express our creative impulses- authentically and uniquely-and, in the process, enrich our lives. Why then do so many of us merely dream of someday painting, someday writing, someday making music? Why do we think the same old thoughts, harbor the same old prejudices, stay stuck in the same old mud? Who taught us to think "inside the box"? No one is more qualified to answer these questions than Dr.
Langer, who has explored their every facet for years. She describes dozens of fascinating experiments-her own and those of her colleagues-that are designed to study mindfulness and its relation to human creativity, and she shares the profound implications of the results-for our well-being, health, and happiness. Langer reveals myriad insights, among them: We think we should already know what only firsthand experience can teach us.