Trust the Process: An Artist's Guide to Letting Go

by Shaun McNiff

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.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Writing, Psychology, Self Help, Design, Reference

210 pages, Paperback

First published March 31, 1998

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

you might look at the title of this book and think "well, here is some real cheesy crystal healing self-help shizazzle," but MY FRIEND please give this book a chance, because actually trusting the process is some pretty deep business.

i read this book over one year and made a real recorded music album without totally freaking out and throwing it in the garbage so i'm gonna say that's a five-star book

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author writes about the creative process,how everyone has creativity within them, how to overcome creative blocks and ways to expand on creativity you already use.

It was a bit more philosophical than I am, but the underlying advice is good: Just do it. Do it every day, practice, practice, practice. And open yourself up to new experiences, new mediums, new ways of looking at things.

I ended up with 3 1/2 pages of notes..and of course I can't share them all with you, but here are a few:

pg 55 "Interest and commitment, rather than talent, have been the determining factors in almost everything I have done throughout my life."

pg 46 "A more liberal and tolerant vision of mistakes is essential to trusting the process."

He advocates doing several creative things, experimenting with dance and painting and writing and singing...because" one creative act is the stimulus for another."

pg 163 "As the Zen teachers say: When you eat, eat, when you walk, walk. When children paint they paint with all their being. Adults tend to think too much."

pg. 174 "The process is like a muscle. It needs to be exercised in order to function effortlessly."

So...the point is, just do it. Don't worry about mistakes. Enjoy the work, let it go, be child-like again and "the process will take you where you need to go."

[Renee Felsch · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

Probably the best book I've read on the creative process to date. So inspiring. Literally left me itching to create. Think it probably could've been a 5 star, but it felt a little repetitive at times and this made it feel too long. I got a little bored and avoided it for a while, but there were so many parts I absolutely ate up.

If you loved Art & Fear, you'll loveeee this! Highly recommend to my creative people!

[Erik Akre · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a recommendation that is undeniable I will say, This book broke me out of a creative frustration that lasted, over-arching, for ten years or so. Since I picked up this book and began reading, in the period of one mere month (and this is no coincidence), my creative life has come into its fullest once again. I am a writer and a painter, and McNiff's simply-stated encouragement showed me directly (without saying directly) how to gently play and trust down the walls, and to find the time, that I might make art without hesitation or undue care.

The reading is slow, but only because the reader puts down the book so frequently to make art! Making art becomes irresistable as you read...

Shaun McNiff reintroduces you to the most trustworthy companion on the creative's path: yourself. Your body, your imagination, your childhood, your environment... your fears, your insecurities, and your very own sensibilities (read "sense abilities"). You can easily take the lead of whatever is present, and you can easily follow with curiosity and openness, and you can't go wrong. Trusting the Process is Never Going Wrong. Play; express; fear not.

Julia Cameron, in her book about breaking down the wall and smashing the block, would have done so much better to just write this book instead. Shaun McNiff does what she didn't do, although she tried. Trust the Process, with its joy and celebration of the universal creative process as it flows through you and me, offers a direct encouragement that so perfectly compliments efforts to pick up those brushed and pens.

If you make art, reconnect with (or enjoy reveling in) your source and its flow. If you want to make art but need encouragement, let the author show you that it's really not that hard to just jump in the river, or that you're already there.

[Autumn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was gifted to me years ago by an art therapist friend when I graduated from my studies, and author Shaun McNiff is renowned in the field of arts in medicine for being a voice. I realized, however, that by page 81 I started to fade...the book is a call to action, a useful book perhaps for someone just joining the field as it is basically 200+ pages of an answer to the question "Why should I do this?"

That is not to say the book is not meaningful, and there were parts that really touched me in the place where I stand today. For instance:

--> "Can you imagine people feeling their prayers, spiritual exercises and meditations must be commercially published?" In my work the answer to this question has been yes, and this does open up other interesting questions for me.

--> [in reference to one of his students] "When things were going badly I was the subject of her fury. It was very difficult and I privately wondered whether I was doing the right thing. She needed someone to fight against, someone who would hold firm amid all the turmoil."

--> "The only way to change the energy is to begin working."

There are more pieces that I have noted as being meaningful. I did not produce any of my own art while reading this book, and that feels a bit...constipated. So I shall put it down and refrain from reading about art for the winter break and make some of my own.

[Apryl Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This probably deserves 4 or 5 stars, and I suppose I'm giving it 3 out of jealousy. I feel as if I should've written this myself! So many thoughtful and encouraging statements to snap us out of debilitating fear and get to work, and my response is "of course," yet here I sit, reading.

[Sasha · Rating 1 out of 5]

Vague.

[Matthew Castillo-Kohlenberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this book was a bit like meeting a really cool new friend for the first time at their going away party. I enjoyed it well enough, but there was a certain amount of disengagement from it that I felt because the timing just isn't right. I can think of many dark nights of the soul where McNiff's gentle but unshakable belief in our human capacity to create would have been the right thing, and I'm certain there will be more of those in the future.

And let me take a moment to admire how good this book is in the context of what it doesn't try to be. It doesn't try to be a method. It doesn't try to be a step by step guide. It doesn't pretend to be anything other than what McNiff has learned from his years of practice. It has structure, but it's not interested in any strong sense of direction or endpoint. Any chapter could be read in any order, and it is highly quotable and remixable, down to the paragraph.

What it is is a quiet reminder that creativity is exploration, respect, and deep engagement, and we have almost infinite directions we can go at any point. LaMonte Young's Variations 1960 instructed the performer to "draw a straight line and follow it." Sister Corita Kent advised her art students to "find a place you trust and try trusting it for a while." Well, sometimes you follow that line and you get very far away indeed, and sometimes you trust places and then you don't trust them anymore, or at least you get that itchy feeling that maybe its time to gather your bindle and move down the road. Trust The Process reminds us that an infinite number of straight lines runs through any point, and if you're stuck in place, the best thing to do is to take a step.

[giovanni]

I have not read this book yet, but it sounds really interesting. Here is the book summary: 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.

[Marcella Burnard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I need to take this book in small bites. It is well written, but the concepts are wrapped and presented differently that the many other books on creativity I've worked with. Whether it's because Mr. McNiff's approach is deeply steeped in psychology - he mentions working in art therapy settings - or whether it's the academic turn of phrase, I had getting into the book for the first chapter or so, but then I began marking pages with passages that applied to my struggles with writing my second book, or to bits of sage advice I hoped would help me write that book. So ultimately, while the book was a slow start for me, it's been more than worth the effort to find the bits of gold that reminded me I'm doing what I do because it's what I love.

[Rhoda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I consider this a hands-on spiritual manual. The encouragement of physical creative expression applies to all areas of life.
"Frustration, dissatisfaction and even a sense of desperation may help you access an eloquence you never new existed."
Practical inspiration!

[T.L. Merrybard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Been some years since I read this book. I'm surprised how much of it I had internalised, to the point where I'd forgotten where I got it from, but it influences my work every day in writing, art and music. There was even more to get out of it on the reread too. Thanks Shaun!

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book to help get those creative juices flowing.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of my top favorites, also one of those special books i give to friends. even after reading it, i find myself referring to it for encouragement often.

[Heron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really, not a well or helpfully written book.

[Yasmina · Rating 5 out of 5]

De una claridad brillante, una mirada respetuosa a la realidad del proceso creativo. Muy inspirador para cualquier persona que desee comulgar con un estilo de vida acompañado de la creación.

[Tristy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The name says it all...great book about letting go and being free.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to get back to a creative practice, and thought I would kick it off by reading some of the highly regarded books around creativity. Some of the key themes resonated with me, and will shape how I approach establishing a regular practice. The advice I took to heart was to set aside stereo types about what a creative person is and look for ways to find individual self expression across a diverse set of mediums, to forgo conceptual ideas and instead embrace working in the medium as an exploration of emergent ideas or styles, that repetition is okay - good, and vital to exploring, and to not self identify too strongly with any by products of creative exploration. The book offered lots of ideas and exercises along the way, embedded among more of the philosophical advice, of which I did only a few. Overall, I would recommend 'Trust the Process' as a worthy read for anyone looking to explore creativity with a wider lens.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

"We plan our vacations and leisure time with the goal of imbibing the salubrious qualities of water, mountains, and open spaces."

Zuh?

High hopes for this one, but I think McNiff has delivered a McWHIFF!

There's roughly 500 different ideas of what you can do, including writing some poetry about your car that doesn't work. I'll take a pass on that thank you very much!

Some good nuggets here and there but probably could have used some bullet points/summaries to go along with those 500 ideas...most of which didn't sound all that appealing. Your mileage may vary!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’ve read many creativity books published in the last dozen or so years, you might think that there is nothing new in ‘Trust the Process.’ That’s because McNiff is the giant on whose shoulders the more recent creativity authors have stood. This is the original book about recognizing that there’s a creative spirit and we need to let go of the reins of control and simply trust the process by making the next mark.

There’s quite a lot of repetition in this book but perhaps it was necessary repetition because it has already made a difference to me in the art I’ve been making.

[J]

⭐⭐

Attempted to read the book twice but just couldn't finish it. Made it to pg. 65 on my second try. I just couldn't relate to the writing, and I feel really disorientated by the large amount of analogies and barrage of questions the author used. I tried to read the book because my therapist recommended me the book, twice.

[rinflin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book was a delightful meditation. Pages are full of reflection and epiphany. I appreciate that the content does not deals with anything concrete, leaving gaps for artistic imagination. The last part about dealing with criticism was seriously helpful.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must read for anyone trying to find his or her creative voice.

[Renee Bhatia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book reflecting on the creative process that is a natural part of being human.

[Alexandra Mathias · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books on art/creativity ever!

[book freak · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some good stuff but also some silly moments. A little more silly than good but still the useful parts are useful

[Aleksandr Voinov · Rating 2 out of 5]

Edit: Adjusted the rating to 2.5 stars.

Nothing fascinates me more than the creative process (duh), but after reading about 60 pages of this, I'm finding the useful bits could have fitted on one page, so my information-processing brain capacity was starting to check my email all the time. The voice is a very zen-like drone that almost put me to sleep a few times.

There's good stuff in there, but, so far, I'm thinking that this book would have been ten times better if the editor hadn't spared the hacksaw. I rather suspect it'll end up in the charity shop.

Update: I read it, and it reliably put me to sleep. Donated to my local Oxfam shop. Enjoy.

[Kate Arms · Rating 4 out of 5]

The perfect book on artistic process for a multi-media, intellectual, kinesthetic like myself. There is a great emphasis on engaging with artistic processes with the abandon of a child and the skill of a practiced adult, which results in a process that is connected to deeply intuitive sources with an awareness that creating a quality result is part of honouring that impulse

McNiff is a dancer, actor, and painter, and he talks about how those various arts interact in his life.

The writing style itself is intelligent and thoughtful. This is an intellectual processing of artistic process by an artist who both thinks deeply and creates art through movement more than thought.

[Michael Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice little book on being creative. Nothing really new or earth shattering, but well written. As another reviewer noted, work with the abandon of a child and the skills of an adult. It's the first part that's a bitch.

[Kid · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is about three times as long as it should be. It does have some good ideas, but the amount of repeated information/fluff made this a complete snore. In fact, I nodded off reading it more than once.