ABOUT AUTHOR AND PUBLISHER

Until age 36, I was an artist and exhibited in prominent art galleries as well as at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Throughout my adult life I explored esoteric psychology and studied with a Gurdjieff master for several years during my thirties. In 1974, after teaching art for many years, I opened "The Creative Quest Personal Growth Center." There I gave workshops in Awareness, Creativity, Relationships, and Interpersonal Communication, as well as conducted group and individual psychotherapy.

In recent years I've been writing, practicing psychotherapy, painting, playing piano, and leading Creative Consciousness Groups in my home. My special interest has always been psychology, spirituality and creativity. The combined study has led me to realize that the key mechanism for reaching a deeper level of creative awareness (which I call "Creative Consciousness" or "Being At Soul") is a special kind of focusing. A Creative Focusing.

To test my theory on myself, I took on the task of learning to play piano in 1997, an art form in which I was completely unskilled. After taking a few basic lessons with a prominent New York piano teacher, I proceed on my own. After six months, I made a recording of a few keyboard improvisations and mailed it to him. He was so impressed with what he heard that we began a collaboration. This resulted in our co-authoring the book, "How to Make Music By Ear," and leading a series of workshops for The Learning Annex of New York.

Reading the book series by Neale Donald Walsch, "Conversations With God," caused me to better understand my tendency to wake up in the middle of the night, enter a meditative creative focus, and receive spiritual guidance in the form of "automatic writing." "Messages" which came so easily and fluidly and produced such insightful material that they led me to expand my sense of my own identity. These 'messages' inspired me to set up this web-site and weekly publish "THOUGHTS TO LIVE BY: A Guide to Creative Consciousness." Anyone may avail themselves of these writings by visiting this web-site or by receiving them weekly by e-mail. Just e-mail your FREE subscription request from the home page of this site.

Looking back, I can see that a clear turning point in my life took place when I studied with my Gurdjieff teacher. It was a training which set me off in a consciousness-expanding direction, allowing me to move from a life which was full of loneliness, struggle and dissatisfaction, to a life now full of love, fulfillment and well-being. I feel blessed and happy to share my experiences and knowledge with anyone sincerely interested.

Joseph Dominick Russo