All of us hold a vast reservoir of non-verbal, non-rational, non-cognitive wisdom. When we loosen our fixation on what we think, this other reservoir of wisdom has a chance to present itself. Truly innovative solutions require that we explore beyond what we logically know. Because breakthroughs arrive in non-rational ways. If you want to understand…
The composer Leonard Bernstein would complain sometimes about being dry and blocked. During those times, he’d sit for long hours at the piano and just improvise–strum chords or try a sequence of notes. And then suddenly, he would find one chord or note that “hit.” That one note suggested the next. Bernstein said that the…
I spent years trying to fit into traditional boxes, yet never fitting in, because a spiritual calling will never fit into a box. I spent more years not trusting what Spirit was showing me; feeling that I wasn’t the right person for what I was being called to do. I wanted a safe and normal…
Albert Einstein sought beauty in his scientific theories. For Einstein, a theory should not only be useful but also elegant. A beautiful theory was one that could explain something complex in a simple and graceful way. (He said, “when the solution is simple, God is answering.”) Einstein was convinced that beauty was a guiding principle…
When I wrote the art book Sky’s the Limit, I spent hours interviewing the gifted artist, Nancy Cawdrey. I adore Nancy’s work and I’m inspired by her artistic process. She emphasized to me how much training she’d had. But the women of Gee’s Bend blow the idea that artists need extensive training out of the…
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