I just finished reading David Lynch’s “Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity.”

I spotted the book in Powell’s Bookstore while looking for a different title by Ramesh Balsekar which I never did find. I chose to buy the Lynch book instead. I’m a big fan, and the price was marked down to less than half of its original amount.

“Fish” as I’ll refer to it for the rest of this article, is a smallish hardbound volume with lots of white space and occasional references to the Upanishads, Hindu scripture teaching a philosophy called Vedanta.

In the book, Lynch talks variously about his movie making career, his personal meditation practice, and his thoughts on the creative process in general. The only potential downside to the book is that instead of recommending meditation, Lynch recommends a specific brand of meditation and words it in a way that suggests this particular brand is the one that will achieve the best results. Personally, I think any sincere meditation practice can lead to the benefits Lynch discusses.

There are many jewels in “Fish.” For the fan of Lynch films, there are tidbits explaining how certain movies were born as ideas, and how certain problems were solved or certain signature Lynch scenes were created. But don’t expect technical details or how-to information. Just very interesting sketches of how some things were approached or the way an idea came about and was nurtured into finished artwork.

Another gem is a section where Lynch talks about an artist’s obligation to care for him or herself, stay rested and positive, and free from fear. Those acquainted with the dark worlds of imagination that Lynch movies often depict might be surprised to learn that Lynch advises artists to stay away from suffering. “Let your characters do the suffering.” Further, he says: “If you’re an artist, you’ve got to *know* about anger without being restricted by it. In order to create, you’ve got to have energy; you’ve got to have clarity. You’ve got to be able to catch ideas. You’ve got to be strong enough to fight unbelievable pressure and stress in this world. So it just makes sense to nurture the place where that strength and clarity and energy come from–to dive in and enliven that.”

Lynch also speaks about equipment and technique in a general way as he explains why he is drawn to digital movie cameras, and not the megabuck systems that are coming out now, but cheaper medium-fidelity cameras. This too, is a good reminder for the artist that you’ve got to have the right tools to support your creativity, but they aren’t always the most expensive or rare tools.

Thank-you David Lynch. Thank-you for your artful films and your openhearted sharing of how you stay connected with creativity.