Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity: 10th Anniversary Edition Paperback – September 6, 2016

Pretty much only for fans of David Lynch, this book is a collection of short thoughts/chapters focusing on how David uses transcendental meditation (TM) to improve his creative processes.I read it in about a half hour as each chapter was about a page or less (on Kindle, anyway). But I can see this book being akin to a religious text where you are perhaps meant to read it multiple times, or to pick certain chapters to read when you need them; it is not a novel and anyone looking for juicy tidbits about his movies or television shows will be disappointed. It really is all about how David Lynch has used TM since the 70’s to ‘expand his container’ and allow himself to dive deeper where he catches the larger, far more interesting fish that he’s presented his entire career.An absolute must-read for Lynch fans!

1. The importance of meditation and mindfulness in the creative process2. The role of intuition and the unconscious mind in creativity3. The power of visualization and the importance of having a clear vision for a project4. The value of taking risks and embracing uncertainty in the creative process5. The importance of remaining true to one's own vision and avoiding the temptation to compromise for the sake of commercial success6. The role of synchronicity and the interconnectedness of all things7. The transformative power of art and the ability of creative expression to bring about positive change in the world8. The importance of maintaining a sense of curiosity and openness to new ideas9. The power of intention and the impact of our thoughts on our reality10. The value of a positive attitude and the role of perseverance in achieving success.

For all of those who complain that this is neither an in-depth autobiography nor a detailed instructional manual on how to practice Transcendental Meditation - well, it's a bit silly to think such a small book would be a comprehensive ANYTHING.With that said, this little gem reads like you're having a short but intense one-on-one chat with Lynch. Its style is genuine, colloquial, and conversational. More a series of interview high-points than a structured beginning-middle-end journey. He is brutally honest about how he sees himself, how he sees the world, and what he thinks of each of his own artistic endeavours.I take off one star because there are multiple chapters that are literally ONE SENTENCE. Which, frankly, is a bit off-putting and results in a lot of wasted paper. But it's a quick, enjoyable read, and I'd still recommend it to anyone who enjoys Lynch not just as a director or artist, but as a person. It's almost impossible to read the book without hearing it in his voice... which is lovely.

Recommended to all creatives, whether Lynch fans or not. Great listen.

This book has a lot of interesting information in it. David Lynch talks about his experience with Transcendental Meditation and its positive effects on him. He also talks about his strategies for living a life as an artist. And there are several different pages about the movies he's made, the actors in them, and his thoughts on film in general.His biggest points are the importance of healthy living, the importance of meditation, and being your natural self. His advice for creativity, I thought, was pretty helpful for just about any artistic medium.The book is pretty short. It doesn't go super in depth into any one topic. Mr. Lynch spends about a page or two on each idea. It's really interesting to hear everything in his direct voice, but some more detail would have been nice.I loved how positive David Lynch seemed in the whole book. About the biggest thing I took from the book was his advice on being healthy yourself. He says, for an artist, you have to understand things like depression to create conflict in a story. But, if you, yourself, are depressed, it will be very hard to create. So he suggests different ways throughout the book to keep yourself healthy and still make art.This was a great way to see into David Lynch's world through his own words. There's lots of great words, advice, and information, but it is very brief. But, if you're interested in David Lynch and his approach to life strategy, it's a great book.

The day his passing was announced I downloaded this book in remembrance of David’s brilliance. His Masterclass on screenwriting and catching the big fish, that tremendous idea that needs to be written, painted, produced, whatever, goes hand in hand with this book. Don’t miss this honest voice for inspiration in your art.

A very good friend of mine worked for David Lynch until her death. When she told me was a meditator, back in 1992, I found it hard to believe. I had been meditating for 20 years by then and couldn't imagine that someone whose films were utterly incomprehensible and even ugly at times could be diving into the same depths that are opened by TM. That changed when I saw Elephant Man. The depth of profundity of emotion and even the fine grained look of the film all combined to make it a very deep and lasting expression of a singular consciousness filled with joy and tragedy and deep humanity. I went back and saw his other films then and saw the same things through the varied telling and showing of different stories.Even more impressive is his passion to alleviate suffering and the compassion that drives him to do so by opening as many avenues to advance TH instruction for those most vulnerable.This was a delightful book. No fluff.