Soulforce
How to discover your artistic purpose, create more freely, and make art that matters
For artists who want their work to actually matter — to inspire, heal, and connect.For readers of Julia Cameron, Elizabeth Gilbert, Alex Grey, and Rick Rubin.
“A deeply inspiring and hopeful vision for how a more fulfilling creative process can create a better world.”— Raji M. · Fingerstyle guitarist
Available now on Amazon, at indie bookstores, and at Joseph’s in-person events.
Deeply moving and wonderfully practical. Soulforce empowers artists to address their creative and physical blocks and make the kind of art the world needs right now.
Arnold’s advice releases our innate creative energies, honors wildness, and restores hope. His account is both deeply spiritual and eminently practical. We are lucky to have it.
An impassioned plea for the necessity of the arts in our fragmented society. Though written with musicians in mind, all creative people will benefit from Joseph’s beautifully written and practical suggestions.
What’s ours to do, as artists, in a world gone mad?
Many artists, musicians, and creatives share a secret fear: that their art doesn’t really matter — that it isn’t practical or useful enough to make a tangible contribution to a world in need.
This couldn’t be further from the truth.
The purpose of art is to bring us more alive, to connect us with something bigger than ourselves, to inspire, heal, and bring us together. These are universal human needs whose fulfillment gives life meaning, purpose, and belonging — and without which life becomes a dry, dusty bone.
But to make art that fulfills this purpose, you first have to come to terms with creating in an extractive, consumer-driven society.
Soulforce — the transformative energy that comes from facing creative challenges from a place of wholeness, aliveness, and connection — can breathe new life into your work and change how you experience your art and its impact on you, your community, and the world.
Through his Soulforce Arts Approach, Joseph Arnold helps you see art through the lens of deep humanity and interbeing, and offers a curriculum for moving from fear, doubt, and disconnection to a place where art becomes a tangible expression of love, life, and the divine in all of us.
Words for things they’d felt their whole lives.
This book brought me to tears more than once. I’m a visual artist who hadn’t made much work in years, after some dark, turbulent times. Joseph’s words gave me the inspiration to keep going — to express my creative magic and integrate the darkness with the joy.
Emily C.Visual artistSoulforce showed me that being kind to my body, heart, and soul is the key. It healed the place in me that never felt good enough, and gave me hope I can finally move beyond the tendinitis that’s held me back — and reclaim the joy and magic that first drew me to music.
Elena R.Concert pianistI love what I do, but my career had turned into a grind — living gig to gig, taking work that made me feel less whole, asking myself, ‘Is this really why I became a musician?’ Soulforce gave me a bigger vision, and a way to reconnect to my creative life force and be of real service through it.
Marie D.Oboist & music teacherWhat changes when you read this.
- Find your real voice
Let your Soulforce guide what you make and how you make it.
- Make a living without selling out
Build a creative career that actually pays and still lines up with what you believe.
- Create with purpose
Shape your creative life around something that genuinely means something to you.
- Make art that does some good
For the people around you, and for the world.
- Fall back in love with it
Get back the joy and ease that made you pick up your instrument in the first place.
- Learn to play with ease
Nine simple lessons from the Alexander Technique that take the pain and strain out of playing.
- Heal what's been hurting
Let go of the physical and emotional toll of years of pushing too hard.
Four parts, one path.
Soulforce moves through four sections — from naming what’s gone wrong to a real plan for a creative life that holds you up.
The Arts in a World Gone Mad
Artists and artistic institutions aren't immune to the broader challenges of our world. Rooted in a mindset of separation, we see ourselves and our creations as isolated rather than interconnected. This section names that mindset and offers the Soulforce Arts Approach as a remedy.
The Heart of Soulforce Artistry
The purpose of art is to come more to life, to awaken to a larger reality, to heal. But this purpose can get lost in modern life, turning art into routine. If you reconnect with your inner guidance, you'll create with renewed authenticity and heart.
Holistic Values Development
So much of what we do stems from division, self-centeredness, and insecurity — fueling both global chaos and the challenges artists face. By understanding how individual and societal values evolve, we can pivot toward a more cohesive, compassionate way of life, and toward richer artistry and deeper impact.
Practical Soulforce
Tangible methods for harnessing Soulforce in how you create, practice, perform, and teach — plus a blueprint for the thing that can seem unattainable: a thriving, meaningful artistic career that marries your Soulforce, your financial needs, and a dedication to the greater good.
Mind-Body Interludes
Nine lessons from the Alexander Technique — a century-old practice that turns unwanted tension into ease and graceful movement — anchor the Soulforce Arts Approach in your body, so effortlessness becomes possible even in the most demanding creative work.
How I got here.
I’m a professional violinist and a certified Alexander Technique teacher, and I’ve spent years figuring out how to make and teach art from a more holistic place. The repetitive strain injuries I sustained in music school came from the outdated notion that musical mastery is achieved through effort and virtuosity alone. My journey since then taught me that it actually requires the development of your whole self: mind, body, and soul.
Soulforce is everything I’ve learned, put into one book — meant to reignite your spark and change how your art touches the people around you.
Joseph Arnold
This book is for you if…
You want to make art that's real and means something — but everything around you pushes you toward the shallow and the show-offy.
You want to create freely, but perfectionism, self-doubt, or pain keeps getting in the way.
You want your work and your income to line up with what you believe — but you worry the money won’t add up, or that you’ll have to sell out to make it.
You want to be around artists who care about more than just their careers — but you often feel alone, or worry you’re “too idealistic.”
You want your art to make a real difference — but some part of you fears it isn’t practical enough to count.
You love your art, but somewhere along the way it started to feel like a grind — and you want the joy back.
Brilliantly refreshing and informative. It gave me a new feeling of purpose and put a spring in my step on my journey as an artist. Yes — it was an inspiration.
Every time I pick it up I learn something new — a valuable resource for artists and creative entrepreneurs. The premise is so thought-provoking. It’s helping me disengage from hustle culture and get back to why I love making art.
I’m not an artist, but I found this book so inspiring and useful for all areas of life. Using less effort rather than more, and tuning into our “inner audience,” makes you more effective and joyful at everything — performing, talking with a friend, playing catch with a child. It’s rare that I sit and read a book these days, but I had a hard time putting this one down.
Soulforce
How to discover your artistic purpose, create more freely, and make art that matters. Winner of the 2024 NYC Big Book Award. Available now through online sellers and at Joseph’s in-person events.
“Soulforce taught me a way to approach the piano that feels more real, comfortable, and kind to my body. I can now see how my music can serve something larger than myself — a way to connect with others and make the world a little better.”— Raquel B. · Pianist & translator
If the book named something you’ve been carrying — not only in your creative life but in your body, in the tension or pain or anxiety that shows up when you play — there’s a place to take the next step. The free Musician’s Tension Reset Lab is where the ideas in Soulforce become something you can feel.
Contact the author.
For inquiries about Soulforce or to book Joseph for a speaking engagement, get in touch.