Written by music conductor Benjamin Zander and psychotherapist Rosamund Stone Zander, this book combines Benjamin’s talent as a teacher and communicator and Rosamund’s brilliance in creating innovative paradigms for achieving personal and professional fulfillment.

The Art of Possibility addresses the notion of possibility and its power in various aspects of life. This week, Ashto and Jonesy learn twelve breakthrough practices for bringing creativity into their daily lives. (Oct.What You Will Learn from The Art of Possibility Although not groundbreaking, the Zanders' suggestions constitute sound, practical advice that has much in common with Zen concepts of holism, balance and grace. The authors' emphasis on ''practice,'' the importance of ''flow'' and the joy in creation and expression is apt and often truly inspiring.

In a chapter entitled ''Giving an A,'' for example, Benjamin relates a classroom technique that allows students to envision their own futures: all students in his class receive an A if they write him a postdated letter relating ''the story of what will have happened to you by next May that is in line with this extraordinary grade.'' Other chapters emphasize practices such as thinking in terms of making a personal ''contribution'' rather than stark ''success or failure'' ''lightening up'' in order to see a problem from a new perspective (e.g., a patient of Rosamund's was able to have a sensual experience with her husband even though she was angry at him) and reassessing ''frameworks for possibility'' (e.g., a teacher shaved her head in order to ''reframe the meaning'' of a hairless class member who had leukemia). In a lively, sensible manual for turning life's obstacles into possibilities, the Zanders introduce various ''tools'' for transformation, drawing on their extensive experiences with musicians, students and patients in therapy (Rosamund is a psychotherapist and painter Benjamin is the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic).

The art of possibility book