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

by Shaun McNiff (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 178 ratings
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A guide to embracing the ups and downs of the artistic process—and allowing them to carry you along your unique creative journey
 
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.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    210 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Shambhala
  4. Publication date
    March 31, 1998
  5. Dimensions
    5.99 x 0.62 x 8.99 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1570623570
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1570623578
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"McNiff is able to expand the reader's view of what it means to truly live with the labyrinthine path of the creative spirit, conveying an unlimited sense of the ways of the lived imagination."— Common Boundary



"The instructions and insights in this 'artist's guide to letting go' can lead you to creative heights and depths no matter what your medium."— Yoga Journal

About the Author

Shaun McNiff is internationally recognized as a founder and leading figure in the arts and healing field. University Professor at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he is past president of the American Art Therapy Association and the author of several other books including Art As Medicine, Trust the Process, and Creating with Others.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Shambhala; First Edition (March 31, 1998)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 210 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1570623570
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1570623578
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.99 x 0.62 x 8.99 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 178 ratings

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Shaun McNiff

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
178 global ratings
Good book, but mine came dirty
2 Stars
Good book, but mine came dirty
The book itself is interesting. I took off stars because this is supposed to be a new copy, but came dirty as if it was used.
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Top reviews from the United States

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Trust the process/ Mcniff
Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2015
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Indepth book well written referencing the factors that contribute to the creative process and what an artistic journey involves. I purchased this based on the recommendation of the artist Deborah Stewart who also has a book on Amazon related to abstract painting using acrylic and pastel. Author also talks about the psychological aspects of an artists journey. As an emerging artist, I would have been more prepared on what to expect and how creativity emerges if I would have read this book. Advanced artists can relate to the experiences described or reminded about the pathway to creativity. New artists or those who wish to tap into the creative process can develop new insights. Sophistocated reading.
15 people found this helpful
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Christopher Arp
5.0 out of 5 stars I loved this book.
Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2021
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I just finished reading this book and I really appreciated they many angles it offers to help calibrate the creative experience. It certainly kept me motivated.
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taneyae
4.0 out of 5 stars Trust and Failure
Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2012
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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. Whether it is dance, storytelling, musical improvisation, painting, mime, or poetry, the same forces of creation move through the experience, affirming that there is something essential that cannot be taught when we focus only on specialized technical instruction."

Shaun McNiff talks about how teachers are more resistant to free imagination. I thought this was interesting because growing up I had many teachers who would talk about imagination and try to bring it into the classroom. However, looking back at this I realize that most of the time they didn't succeed. McNiff goes on to say that the reason teachers resist is because schools are focused on training the literal mind and the way teachers meet this is to "demand clear directions and immediate applications." Then he goes on to talk about the school system: "Most of the educational system is established on the assumption that learning follows a logical and predictable pattern of acquiring knowledge." This is an excellent way of teaching things like math or science, but I believe that what our students need today is the skill of creative thinking. They need to know how to do things themselves, problem solve with new answers, and become a thinking individual instead of a mindless robot who just memorizes answers for a test. McNiff talks about adding in an education of the imagination, which is based on sustained encounters of uncertainty. When you are faced with uncertainty enough times you will find a way to handle it. With uncertainty it is difficult to use a formula and fit it into a neat box. It requires exposure, frustration and even failure.

Overall, I have found this book very interesting. Shaun McNiff has a lot of excellent points and tips when trying to teach and figure out creativity. More often than not, it is yourself that gets in the way of your creativity. We just need to learn how to get past ourselves and "Trust the Process."
52 people found this helpful
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yogiji8
5.0 out of 5 stars The title says it all.
Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2019
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This book was suggested to me by an art teacher. It is a wonderful book for anyone who can't remember why we make art to begin with, and everyone else! It sits next to my bed and is referred too often. The book could have also been named: Stop Thinking so Much.
9 people found this helpful
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2+2=4
5.0 out of 5 stars This book is a gift to civilization
Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2016
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I cannot believe a book like this was even written. Just stunning. Each page is a gold nugget of intelligence into the artistic process... and life. It's taken me months to read because I keep reading and pausing to reflect on the insights. Artists are vital and important and the author unpacks something rarely examined -- PROCESS. Artist or not, this book will improve the way you see and exist in the world.
25 people found this helpful
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Chelly
5.0 out of 5 stars Supportive, knowledgeable and readable text on the creative process
Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2016
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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 many types of art making. I found his book so illuminating and his ideas personally helped remove me from a self imposed prison of 'shoulds'. Thank you for this book Shaun.
4 people found this helpful
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hector han
4.0 out of 5 stars A great book for wanna be artists.
Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2013
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Many of us want to be a painter, writer, singer or something like that. Many even have great ideas for a book or a play. But creative process is more than just a brilliant idea (although that idea is crucial), it takes perseverance,planning, time management and all that. Often we just can think of an amazing plot for a story, but can't really write it down. This book helps just that. It teaches one how to think and work like an artist, in a modern office setting.
3 people found this helpful
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Grace K
3.0 out of 5 stars This books is about art education at school
Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2010
This book is for art practiced by everybody. Although there were some useful information there, I could not continue reading it after a few chapters. For serious artists, I recommend Julia Cameron's "The Artist's Way."
8 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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BCapples
5.0 out of 5 stars Livre de référence
Reviewed in Canada on June 20, 2023
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Ce livre m'a été recommandé par mon professeur d'histoire de l'art. Et je suis bien contente de l'avoir dans ma bibliothèque de référence. Ce livre aborde des questions fondamentales que peut se poser tout CRÉATEUR, non seulement des artistes visuels mais aussi des créateurs dans les domaines de la danse, la musique, la littérature, le design etc. En le lisant, on se retrouve, on se reconnaît. On a est invité à des réflexions plus poussées sur l'acte créateur lui-même. Nos doutes, nos blocages, nos victoires, tout le processus créatif et sa mécanique mentale, commune à tous les domaines, nous est expliqué, est rationalisé en un tout très "digeste" et pas ennuyant du tout. Je vous le recommande chaudement! Le livre est aussi prenant que l'a été pour moi la lecture de "Art and Fear" de David Bayles et Ted Orland.
One person found this helpful
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Tintenfisch
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book, useful ideas
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 18, 2004
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Earlier in the year, I came across Mcniff's book ART AS MEDICINE. Whilst I did find it overlong and rambling in places, I was impressed by the breadth and width of this man's experience as an artist and an art therapist. So when I came across TRUST THE PROCESS, I was keen to give it a go. And I'm very glad I did. In fact, I'm about to re-read it. McNiff doesn't use jargon so this is a great book whether or not you are "in the field" (I'm not). He doesn't lecture, get on his high horse, or give hopelessly fluffy-bunny advice(unlike some creativity books I could mention !) He acknowledges that the creative process can be frustrating, lonely, difficult. . .whilst also deeply believing in its joyous or simply fun aspects. I particularly enjoyed his references to his six-year-old daughter and the work she is engaged in, also how she feels about it.She sees things clearly without grown-up hang-ups and inhibitions. Lovely.
And he has these interesting little tasks for the reader to do as s/he sees fit . I'm particularly keen on his advice to break things up into small portions-do a whole series of quick little drawings, for example, rather than getting paralyzed at the thought of THE MAJOR WORK that one "must" produce. I am a poet not an artist, by the way, so I've been taking this advice to heart and writing quite a few little matchbox-sized poems! But I'm also going to try out the notepad of little drawings exercise-I haven't done any art since I was about 10 because I was given the distinct impression-as are so many people-that I had no "talent". But McNiff makes it sound like fun.
Thank you, Shaun McNiff-and daughter.
88 people found this helpful
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Karie Lee
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book
Reviewed in Canada on October 30, 2018
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Product was exactly as described and arrived in excellent condition !
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AM
5.0 out of 5 stars great book!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 8, 2008
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This book is so inspiring and puts you on the right track when it is so easy to get off. It reminds you that the process is what is important...not the outcome, which is something I need to regularly be reminded of. I find that it is helpful not only in my artistic life, but also in everyday life...when the process is really what matters. Very few books are available which address which subject of The process, the present moment, the now...in such a practical and real-life manner, so I'm very happy to have discovered this gem. I dip into it regularly for fresh reinforcement that the process is what is important. For example, I work with photography and sometimes when getting the photos ready for clients, it's VERY easy to move attention to the outcome or finished product...but then all my joy disappears. But, when I continue to focus on the actual DOING (the process) of the project, my motivation remains high. I love this book and will continue to dip into it for regular reminders. Oh, BTW, it is not a step by step guide...it is more inspirational than that in that you can see that others in the arts go through the ups and downs of the creative process and you eventually come to accept your own individual process. Great stuff!
17 people found this helpful
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Rosemary
3.0 out of 5 stars Self-indulgent and long-winded.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 20, 2020
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Some good advice, but too many anecdotes and perhaps rather self-indulgent on the author’s part. A book that could, and should, be more “fun” and easier to read. Very long-winded making it rather a boring read.
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