Overview

What if acting isn't just acting? What if it's a journey of the soul? Have you ever watched a performance-on stage or on screen-that left you breathless? That one unforgettable role that didn't just entertain, but moved you. It wasn't the lines or the technique-it was something more. Something real. This book is about that something. In this bold and poetic exploration, Dr. Jiawei Liu-actor, researcher, and transpersonal psychologist-asks a simple yet radical question: Can acting become a path toward self-discovery and inner awakening? Through a powerful fusion of Aikido's flowing principles and the clarity of mindfulness meditation, this book introduces a new paradigm of actor training-one that invites performers not to imitate, but to inhabit. Drawing on empirical research conducted at Sofia University, Dr. Liu presents a compelling study of actors who, through embodied practice, uncovered not just stronger stage presence-but a deeper sense of themselves. Here, the wisdom of East and West meets the stage. Stanislavski's legacy is reimagined through the lens of transpersonal psychology. The actor becomes not just a technician of emotion, but a vessel of presence-a being in motion, awake and aware. And this book is not just for actors. It speaks to educators, therapists, and anyone who has ever felt the tension between the roles we play and the truth we long to express. For those seeking authenticity in art-or in life-it offers a rare kind of nourishment. This is not a book about how to perform better. It's a book about what happens when we stop performing altogether. Open it, and you may discover: That acting is not the art of pretending, but the practice of becoming. That presence is not a talent, but a discipline. That the stage-just like life-is not where we hide. It's where we arrive. This is a book about acting. And it's also about becoming. Once you've read it, you may never see performance-or yourself-in quite the same way again.

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9781966814085

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Jiawei Liu holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Performance from Shanghai Theatre Academy, a Master of Arts in Theatre Directing from Moscow State University of Arts, a Master of Arts in Multimedia Communications from the Academy of Art University, and a PhD in Transpersonal Psychology from Sofia University. He is the Executive Vice President of Golden Gate College, a Board Member of CaliforniaPrivate University, and Chair of the Drama and Psychology Association under the Da Vinci Education Foundation.

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