Introduction 5

patients and herself. For a year I experimented with a "Milnerian technique" of making doodles to facilitate my own psychological/spiritual journey.

Milner's work provides a stepping stone to a larger discussion of spirituality and creative expression in Chapter 3. I initiate the discussion with the question of whether there is a "basic" experience common to mystical and creative states. Psychologically, in both mystical experiences and creative expression one observes a temporary giving up of the self, a flow experience, an absorption. The definition of mysticism has a role to play here - is it constructivist, perennialist, monist, dualist? The different ways to describe mysticism become important in determining to what extent creativity and mystical experience are the same. Exploring the work of artists and musicians furthers the investigation of the relationship between spirituality, well-being, and the arts. Using examples from the lives of artists, musicians, and scientists, I explore creativity as a form of "spiritual seeing." Creativity, I suggest, is both a search for the sacred and a search for an authentic self.

In Chapter 4 I examine hope, religious stories, and imagination. Evidence of low hope is common among patients with severe and persistent mental illnesses. Hope, it would seem, is important for recovery. The chapter takes two directions: one is to explore the nature and sources of hope. In short, hope depends on the capacity to imagine a better future. The chapter's second direction is to investigate creativity as derivative of human imagination, particularly as expressed through story, symbol, and metaphor. Here I explore narrative as an expression of imagination and how religion can serve as a warehouse for stories. Narrative therapy is drawn upon to elucidate how biblical texts can be used to assist clients with the task of reworking their life stories.

Viewing creativity as spiritual pursuit can be a fruitful avenue for exploring ways that spirituality and creativity can be utilized in clinical application. These ways are investigated in Chapters 5 and 6. Chapter 5 concentrates on issues of mood and anxiety. Manic-depressive illness has been associated with heightened states of both religiousness and creativity, and spiritual strategies can be used alongside other treatment modalities in its treatment. Spiritual interventions have been shown effective for anxiety disorders as well. For example, mindfulness meditation, with roots in the Buddhist tradition, has been the subject of research studies for treating anxiety. Religious cognitive therapy, as well, has demonstrated effectiveness for working with religious patients. A spiritual approach also needs to take into account "existential anxiety," or the anxiety that comes with being human. The inevitability of death requires us to bring existentialist perspectives to bear on modern anxiety.

In Chapter 6 I address how spirituality and creativity can be allies in the treatment of eating disorders. While books such as Holy Anorexia (Bell, 1985) may lead to speculation that religion contributes to the etiology of eating disorders, spiritually-based interventions are being developed for their treatment. Some would argue that anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder are symptoms of "spiritual starvation," with hunger as a metaphor for the need for spiritual