Be, Awake, Create: Mindful Practices to Spark Creativity

Rebekah Younger

Jul 2019 · New Harbinger Publications

About this ebook

“The Artist’s Way for the twenty-first century.”
—Nancy Coleman, PhD, clinical psychologist, writer, facilitator, and teacher

Settle your mind, connect with the moment, and unleash your creativity with this unique and mindful art journal.  

In our demanding, fast-paced culture, it’s increasingly important to find ways to decompress and recuperate from the busyness and stress of life. More and more, mindfulness and creativity are being recognized as antidotes to the speed and overstimulation of modern society. This beautiful book combines the two, offering both creative and meditative practices to provide a guided journey into contemplative art for healing, relaxation, deeper connection, and greater well-being.

Rather than focusing on any one medium or art form, this unique guide offers basic meditation instructions, and a variety of creative prompts and activities—from collage and coloring to meditative mark making and sketching to photography and perceptual exercises—making it perfect for anyone who wants to deepen and cultivate their mindfulness and creativity.

With these artistic and introspective practices, you’ll put meditation into action, and learn to view yourself and your own creative process without judgment or aggression. Using Be, Awake, Create, you’ll see beyond habitual patterns, discover the richness of your world, and recognize the ordinary magic of your own creativity, with greater freshness of expression and spontaneity.

By cultivating awareness and allowing yourself to play in the open space of artistic creation, you’ll come to discover all of the positive impacts mindfulness and creativity can have on every area of your life.

About the author

Rebekah Younger, MFA, is a multidisciplinary artist with over thirty years of experience as a creative professional, entrepreneur, designer, and teacher. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and museums around the United States, as well as featured in magazines such as Ornament, FiberARTS, Threads, and The Crafts Report. Younger is trained as a Shambhala Art instructor, a training in which art is viewed as a practice to cultivate an awakened mind and genuine expression beyond aggression. This program, based on the teachings of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche (a Tibetan Buddhist teacher of such creatives as Allen Ginsberg, Alice Walker, and Meredith Monk), explores the creative process as a meditative practice and a means of awakening to things as they are. Younger completed a Master of Fine Arts in interdisciplinary arts at Goddard College, with a focus on contemplative art, Buddhism, and photography/video/installation. She lives in Chicago, IL, where she teaches photography, creating, and meditation.