A Big New Free Happy Unusual Life: Self Expression and Spiritual Practice for Those Who Have Time for Neither
Product Description
A captivating performance artist and teacher, Nina Wise has dedicated her life to tapping the wisdom that emerges from spontaneity. Under Wise’s guidance, thousands have discovered the healing power of spontaneous movement, storytelling, vocalizing, and other forms of unedited self-expression. Now she shares the time-tested discoveries of her surprising and spirited workshops in A Big New Free Happy Unusual Life.
In clearly-explained, ten-minute exercises that can be performed almost anywhere, Nina Wise points the way towards a fuller, more creative life. She invites us to rediscover the body, to fall in love with language, and most of all to see the extraordinary in the ordinary. Wise’s voice is invigorating and warm as she provides a remarkable antidote to anyone struggling with burnout, past traumas, everyday stresses, or specific fears. A Big New Free Happy Unusual Life helps us unlock deep sources of peace and leads us to discover the robust cr… More >>
I just bought this book after seeing her perform/talk. If you get a chance to experience her live, do so. It’s a great book. She has a website: http://www.ninawise.com/
What a delight this book is! Profound? Maybe yes, maybe no – but if your bones are settling into a rigid mold, this may be the one to break you loose again. And loose simply FEELS so much better….
Most self-help books take you down serious paths of introspection: Wise bushwacks you into self-knowledge by teaching you to play again, and letting that play reveal new vistas.
Loads of simple, fascinating and just plain fun things to do that will break loose your creativity, your freedom, and your happiness – and will even give you ideas for outrageously fun parties at the same time.
This book is great to read however one pleases: first page to last; here and there; last page to first; etc. There are many helpful tips to creating moments of peace in life. Wise is neither pedantic nor obtuse. She offers a great deal of tools for those who would like more out of life, more joy, more excitement.
As a teenager, I once took out a couple of library books that purportedly tested your creativity. According to them, I failed miserably because I didn’t come up with the “right” answers, and it was years before I realized that I’d actually been TOO creative for the tests! But their approach is typical of how narrowly our educational system defines creativity: if you have a gift for (say) drawing or singing, you can become a professional in the arts, but otherwise creativity is irrelevant to most people’s daily lives. And, anyway, even if you feel that you’d enjoy taking a pottery class or an acting workshop, you have more important things to do with your time and money. Nina Wise shows us how to circumvent both of these obstacles and bring creative expression into our lives. The crucial factor is awareness, both of ourselves and of the world around us. Her exercises give us the opportunity to know ourselves as complex beings, with bodies as well as minds and spirits, and to appreciate the beauty and complexity of even the most mundane aspects of our surroundings. Becoming more aware isn’t necessarily easy, or fun, or reassuring, but it can enrich anyone’s life immensely. I heartily recommend this book to everyone — especially those who think “I’m not creative” or “I have nothing to say”: you are, and you do, and this is how you find out.
Are you having enough fun in your life? Enough play? Do you feel a lack of self expression welling up inside you? (It may not even be said, only felt). Remember when you used to dance, and frolic, and sing, and make up ditties, and hang out more often? This book reconnects you to that place, and to heart and soul, without being sentimental or infantile like a lot of creativity workshops or New Age pablum. This is a book that integrates the rarest of combinations – meaning and play (and soul). You know, like party with a purpose. It’s hard to describe what goes on here, but it’s sure to bring sparks and fun into every day of your life. And it’s WAY cheaper than a workshop or therapy!
I’ve taken many workshops with Nina over the last six or seven years, and this book distills ALL of what she teaches and more. It’s a gold mine for your self – and your friends. A perfect book to give for any occasion – birthday, graduation, wedding, Christmas. Who couldn’t use a book like this?