Diana Rowan - The Bright Way: Five Steps to Freeing the Creative Within

Contents

Praise for The Bright Way

Drawing from many traditions, The Bright Way offers a friendly, well-paced system for reconnecting with ones own artistic voice, no matter how long its been. Rediscovering the profound joy of the creative process can be life-changing utterly transformative and lots of fun, especially with Diana Rowan as your guide.

Sam Bennett, author of Get It Done and Start Right Where You Are

Diana Rowans beautiful book will be an invaluable guide and inspiration for anyone who has felt exiled from their creative self. There are depth and wisdom here; the authors five steps offer a powerful yet accessible and practical process that will help even the most creatively blocked of us share our gifts joyfully and confidently with the world. The Bright Way shines; in its pages, creativity becomes a magical, transformative, and healing practice that enriches both self and community.

Philip Carr-Gomm, author of Lessons in Magic and Empower Your Life with Sophrology

Drawing on the riches of the worlds wisdom traditions and her own personal experience, Diana Rowan invites the reader on a journey to the creative spark that is the birthright of every human being. Filled with inventive exercises and compassionate encouragement, The Bright Way offers people from all walks of life a practical road map to the creative life.

Gail Needleman, cocreator of the online American Folk Song Collection (http://kodaly.hnu.edu)

This is that rarest of things, the self-help book that will actually help! And for the most abstract and elusive of pursuits, creativity. Every creative person knows the paralysis of performance anxiety or being blocked including the author, who so revealingly shares that experience, and maps a beautiful way out of it.

Bob Guccione Jr., editor and publisher of WONDERLUST

This illuminated manuscript presents a beautiful path to overcoming blocks and anxiety so that you can do what matters most: live your purpose, give your gifts, and connect with others.

Kaia Alexander (a.k.a. K. Hollan Van andt), award-winning author of Written in the Ashes

If youve been feeling stagnant in any aspect of your life, The Bright Way will guide you to a path of illumination and newfound creativity. Diana Rowan paints in words a clear understanding of how to access a well of peace and worthiness.

Joanna Garzilli, award-winning author of Big Miracles

Artist and author Diana Rowan has given us a gift. She grounds lofty philosophies and themes in practical language and lessons, with detailed guidance on discovering, exercising, sharing, and rejoicing in each persons creative self.... A virtuoso performance.

Patrice Adcroft, former editor in chief of Seventeen magazine and author of Every Day Doughnuts and Mother, Father, Me

If you have ever felt stuck or unsure about sharing your creativity with the world, please read Diana Rowans personal story of recovery and how she harnessed her fears by learning to share from her heart. If you have any inkling of doubt about sharing your creative gifts with the world, The Bright Way will guide you in fulfilling your creative purpose.

Cary Broussard, author of From Cinderella to CEO and CEO of Broussard Global Communications

A powerful tool for all on the creative path, The Bright Way guides us to reconnect with our innate creative selves. Diana Rowan is a wise and loving mentor on this journey. She distills the ancient intuitive art of creativity into a thorough, practical, and clear pathway for us all.

Alice Giles, world-renowned harpist

The extraordinary Irish-born musician Diana Rowan provides a much-needed window into the creative process and spirit within each of us.

Sam Barry, author of How to Play the Harmonica and Other Life Lessons

Copyright 2020 by Diana Rowan

All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, or other without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

Illustrations by Vladimir Balti

Text design by Tona Pearce Myers

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Rowan, Diana, date, author.

Title: The bright way : five steps to freeing the creative within / Diana Rowan ; illustrations by Vladimir Balti.

Description: Novato, California : New World Library, [2020] | Includes bibliographical references. | Summary: A musician and teacher gives aspiring artists, writers, and musicians practical techniques to overcome creative blocks and performance anxiety. The book includes skill-building exercises, meditations, and affirmations to increase confidence and creativity.--Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019049213 (print) | LCCN 2019049214 (ebook) | ISBN 9781608686445 (paperback) | ISBN 9781608686452 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Creative ability.

Classification: LCC BF408 .R7245 2020 (print) | LCC BF408 (ebook) | DDC 153.3/5--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019049213

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019049214

First printing, March 2020

ISBN 978-1-60868-644-5

Ebook ISBN 978-1-60868-645-2

Printed in Canada on 100% postconsumer-waste recycled paper

10987654321

I see the eternal flame inside you:
You were born with this bright light.
May our journey unveil your true radiance,
Blazing your joy from the inside out,
Lighting up the lives of all around you,
Shining your Bright Knowledge down through the ages to come.
You are stronger than you know:
Throw down your shields, and declare yourself boldly.
Together lets illuminate your way
Back to your true self, Bright One.
Welcome home.

Contents

T he concert finishes, the house lights blaze, and applause rings out. I take a bow happily and bound off the stage to meet my audience. And it happens, as always; among the people surrounding me, several approach with a particular shyness Ive come to recognize. They hail from all walks of life, yet they share a deeply hidden desire. Sometimes they know my dramatic story of severe performance anxiety and how I finally managed to recover from it. Others know me only as a performer, composer, writer, and teacher and generously assume that Ive always had confidence and motivation. Either way, there are two things they probably dont know: the vast potential they hold inside themselves, and how much their story is my story.