I am so excited at long last, to share my big news with you! My new book “Creating Stillness: Mindful Art Practices and Stories for Anxiety, Stress, & Fear” is available March 7th in paperback, audiobook, and e-book! It is available for pre order right now here or wherever you buy books! You can also learn more about it, and/or read/listen to a sample here.
I began writing the book in 2020 and the whole writing/ publishing process from the beginning to this moment, has felt surprisingly natural and comfortable at times but also has had me feeling like I am standing out on a ledge feeling unsure, at times overwhelmed, and many times scared. I think I will forever be pinching myself when I see the endorsements from Tara Brach & Jack Kornfield. To have these two mindfulness leaders read and endorse the book has been a special honour for me personally since I have benefited so much from their teachings over the years. How did I get here? Well this part I think you will really be interested in knowing because it has to do with the magic of the arts… You know when Rumi wrote “Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.” In 2015 I started feeling a strange pull to writing, so privately I began writing essays, creative memoir pieces, and poetry. I also started to turn towards words to help me process and understand myself and my practice. The call kept getting louder and louder, it didn’t go away. The more I wrote the more I felt called to write (and still do!) One day late in 2019 I was in an expressive arts supervision session with my teacher and we were exploring how I could find clearer intention in my work. In the creative process the image of a crow emerged, a strange alluring creature that makes equally intriguing calls. You know those gravelly, guttural snaps and clicks…. It was in this creative process and through this symbol that I found crystal clarity that the strange calls were to formally write! From that moment forward everything has fallen into place in due time. My lovely publisher plucked my book idea out of the Twitterverse and the opportunity to write and synthesize all my creative musings with my more practical writing exploring mindfulness and the arts was born. I spent 10 months writing in short 1-2 hour chunks of time while my children were in preschool/school. I picked away at it bit by bit and held to the vision of writing something that included traditional non-fiction, creative memoir, and practical DIY invitations to practice creative mindfulness. I also told stories in every way shape and form I could, I told client stories as well as stories from history, science, pop culture and philosophy along with my own. And some how through this elixir Creating Stillness was born! Part 1 of the book offers the foundation for what creative knowing and creative mindfulness are and how to structure an intentional practice in it. Part 2 takes a mindfulness principle each chapter and unpacks the wisdom in it through client stories as well as weird wonderful and engaging stories that help to bring the ideas to life. In each chapter I also share a creative memoir part that shows how my own expression has helped me to begin learning these lessons. Each chapter concludes with a creative invitation, a chance to explore the principle in your own life. And so it is almost time for this creation to be officially born and for it to head out into the world on its own. I can’t wait to share more about it, include you in its release, and continue to deepen the thoughts and ideas with you all. It would mean the world to me if you pre ordered it. With gratitude, Rachel
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