Quantum Creativity: Waking Up to Our Creative Potential

by Amit Goswami, Maggie Goswami

The author of this volume integrates existing theories of creativity with quantum physics-based experimental data. He supports his theory with practices toward fulfilling one's creative potential.

Genres: Nonfiction, Spirituality, Psychology, Physics, Science

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Amit Goswami is a nuclear physicist and member of The University of Oregon Institute for Theoretical Physics since 1968. Dr. Goswami is a revolutionary in a growing body of renegade scientists who in recent years have ventured into the domain of the spiritual in an attempt both to interpret the seemingly inexplicable findings of their experiments and to validate their intuitions about the existence of a spiritual dimension of life.

He became best known as one of the interviewed scientists featured in the 2004 film What the Bleep Do We Know!? , the recent documentary Dalai Lama Renaissance , and stars in the 2009 documentary The Quantum Activist .

Please visit www.AmitGoswami.org for the latest events and information.

Reviews

[Ayz · Rating 4 out of 5]

the do-be-do method will change your relationship to your creativity and super charge it with jet fuel.

[Toni · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I received this book to review from Net Galley, I was completely excited about it. I mean, creativity is truly in my wheelhouse since I work as a graphic artist at a daily newspaper. And the area of quantum physics has always fascinated me. But I was truly let down while reading this book.

The content is amazing. I mean, it's all in there. Everything you want and the kitchen sink, but the text is full of jargon that only a truly masterful mind who lives in the quantum world would understand. The author said that this book was for the layperson. That made me think it would be easy to read but I felt like I was walking through thick mud and my eyes strained as I moved from page to page.

There are many stories the author uses as examples that are great but they almost have a detached feeling about them as if stuck into certain places in the text to explain a concept.

I plan to keep this book and use it as a reference book because a book with a creativity theme is always something I will come back to over and over again.

Thank you to Hay House for allowing me to read this book. I truly did learn a whole LOT!


NOTE: Netgalley.com is a place where people can review books from publishing companies before and after their release.

[Carla Cilvik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quantum Creativity is book designed to help anyone realize their creative potential. The author explores numerous avenues to help you get there such as using examples from famous scientists, philosophers, Hindu's and Buddhist's while giving examples from his own life. Often posing questions and then giving longer, in-depth answers, this book lets you ask those same questions for yourself in order to explore. There were even meditation exercises included to help you achieve a calm, clear state of mind.

While exploring, I was able to identify with one of the main concepts, that ego consistently interferes with creative growth. When focused on the ego, you can become negative and selfish, and totally miss the bigger picture of what it means to be creative; you cannot connect to the universe, or tap into the energy of the universe when caught up in your own ways. It doesn't do you any good to compare to others, especially famous artists. Comparisons are odious, after all. Anyway, since I was able to identify with that concept, I was able to recognize my own blockages and fears. It's reassuring to know that I have created them all, and in the end, they're not real.

As I mentioned before, Goswami incorporates many quotes and frequently references others. At times I found the references to be a bit much, distracting a little, to the main gist of the information. More often than not though, they were helpful in getting a grasp on what he was trying to convey. I enjoyed the few segments that were laid out as a dialogue between someone else and the author; that put things into perspective, as I could imagine myself postulating on the same issues.

There's always a lesson to be learned in self-exploration. Those lessons can be frustrating at times, and they can also be humbling. I will definitely keep this book close by for reference.

[R.l. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am an artist and a writer, a very creative person. And I am fascinated with quantum physics. So the title of this book caught my eye right away.

The author says that he wrote this one for the layperson. However, I feel that he still did not bring it down enough to where someone on my level could really dive in. The first part of the book was not easy to get into. The second part did get more into the creative side and was more pleasing to read.

I am giving this book four stars for the author's obvious and extensive knowledge of and passion for the subject and his time in putting it all together in this book. And if you are already well educated in Quantum Physics and know all the technical terms and what they mean, you will no doubt enjoy this book and I encourage you to get it. But if you are like me, not really up on all the scientific jargon, but totally in love with the idea of quantum physics, just be prepared to have to dig a little more to really get what the author offers here.


*FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from Hay House Publishing for this review. The opinion in this review is unbiased and reflects my honest judgment of the product.

[Sarah Walsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're not a Creative, why the heel not? Quantum yourself immediate. One of my favourite reads this year.

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember really enjoying this book while struggling with a creative block, so I recently recommended it to my friend who codes and was struggling with solving data work problems. Now him and his wife are really interested in the concept.

[Cathy Patton · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an artist and a creativity coach, I found this to be a beneficial read. I would recommend this to creativity coaches or artists interested in psychology.

[Roberts Smitins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book isn’t a strictly scientific work, but due to the fact that Amit Goswami is a theoretical nuclear physicist, you will find references to actual scientific facts and discoveries in “Quantum Creativity: Think Quantum, Be Creative.”

What does it mean to be alive, to have a mind, to think, and to be conscious?

The author describes his interpretation of what constitutes our memory, cognitive functions, and ability to implement innovations. These are the major themes you will find here.

Please note that “Quantum Creativity: Think Quantum, Be Creative” covers a vast variety of topics.

Some readers may argue that there are too many themes discussed in this book, and it’s not necessary to link some of the stuff Amit Goswami speaks of with quantum physics.

Other readers will praise the author’s choice to associate everything with quantum mechanics because quantum effects underlie all of reality, and the whole world is fundamentally quantum in nature.

[Beth Bonness · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book by Amit Goswami opened a crack into holding opposing insights at the same time and practicing being open to new ways of thinking.

The whole quantum waves as possibilities & particles as a choice of one possibility is enough to last over many, many walks. Holding the idea and twirling it around in your mind.

There were so many concepts to learn and try on:
3 quantum principles:
1) discontinuity (gaps in manifestation) teaches us intelligence in general
2) nonlocality (not being near/local) teaches us ecological intelligence
3) tangled hierarchy (having a connection e.g. thru meditation; co-experience @ a distance)
teaches us emotional intelligence

Also appreciated practical advice:
Stage 1: preparation (intuition or vague feeling about answer to possible problem-fuel your curiosity)
Stage 2: incubation (unconscious mental processing allowed space - go for a walk, etc.)
Stage 3: sudden insight (burst of an “ah-ha!”)
Stage 4: manifestation

Took lots of notes I still refer to periodically.

Well worth the read!

[Frances · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolutely loved this book. tying physics to spirituality was a trip in itself and i found myself wanting to remember a lot of passages in the books. very profound and an insightful read!

[Chris Torretta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well... this one was a bit much for me. I enjoyed the idea of it immensely bet the execution of the book just didn't work as well in the beginning.

Firstly, I am a very creative person but I don't understand physics. I was hoping that this would bring physics into my layman world and introduce me to a fascinating, albeit very difficult to understand realm.

The second part, however, really picked up with the more creative side of things and I was able to understand so much more. So, not all of this is filled with jargon, a lot of it yes, but if you can get through that portion then you'll love the second.

I think I'm going to have to re-read this a few times to fully understand everything but from a first time read point of view it was not horrible, just filled with physics jargon.

I think if you have an inkling of an idea about physics then this would be extremely fun to read but for those like me that have no real idea, it was just way over my head for quite a bit of it. But don't let that stop you, if you are creative and are curious about this, I do recommend!

Thank you to Hay House for allowing me to read this for an honest review.

 This review was originally posted on Creating Serenity

[David]

Ideas, yes. Coherence, no Just as an electron leaps from an atom's inner orbital ring to an outer one, creative ideas occur just as suddenly. Such quantum leaps inspire this book's title.
 
But it's a mish-mash. True, there's some physics in it. There's also ideas from Hinduism, Jungian Psychology, and some others that are the author's own. However, the book lacks a coherent theory or argument. And that's why it doesn't work for me.
 
I didn't finish this book, but I did read enough to know it wouldn't provide the answers I sought. This is the paradox I want to solve: Quantum Physics proves that observers can't be separated from observations. This implies, as Goswami believes, that consciousness is a force in nature. Yet psychologists treat consciousness as an epiphenomena. An epiphenomena is one that occurs parallel to the phenomena under study. This means one can study activity within the brain and the behavior it creates, but one can never say anything about consciousness. So, what is consciousness?
 
Goswami addressed this more thoroughly in a previous book, The Self-Aware Universe: How Consciousness Creates the Material World. When I initially read this book I knew less about physics than I do now. I'm currently re-reading it. I wasn't convinced by Goswami's argument the first time. I'll let you know if a second reading changes my mind. 
 

[D.J. Adamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creating, Creativity Where Does It Come From? Muse? Conscious? Or is creativity a quantum leap of the unconscious?
“The unconscious processing is quantum processing—it takes place in the nonlocal realm of many possibilities at once,” discusses Amit Goswami, Phd., in his book Quantum Creativity: Think Quantum, Be Creative.
A retired professor from the theoretical physics department of the University or Oregon,
Goswami has pioneered a new paradigm known as “science within consciousness?” Many will know him from the film What the Bleep Do We Know? The four stages of creativity according to Goswam: Preparation, incubation, sudden insight, and manifestation. In this work he looks closely at each stage of development.

[Dan Pfeiffer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recommend this book for anyone, creative or not, who is interested in a different viewpoint of where the mind's creative faculties originate, how to receive more of it and how to transmute it beyond just the realm of the artistic. The first section of the book is a little dry with physics but overall it's a thought provoking read and the techniques mentioned are worth investigation (speaking from personal experience).

[Shauna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read a lot of creativity books. Honestly, I've seen better. No anecdotes or practical information about a creative lifestyle. Also the combination of Hindu mysticism and quantum theory, made it quite difficult to work with.

[Kasra · Rating 4 out of 5]

it's fantastic

[Vanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

My name is not mentioned.

[João Paulo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pancada na mente, mas bem interessante, vale a pena a leitura