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Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite
Nicholas B. Proy’s The Cognitive Craftsman System is a music-based self-development guide about using songs to examine thoughts, feelings, and relationships. Proy begins with the idea that a song can stay the same as a listener’s feelings and memories change. From there, he introduces a series of exercises that separate an event from the meaning we attach to it, then examine the response that follows. Listening and journaling help readers recognize recurring patterns, and grounding techniques bring their awareness back to the present. The book is organized like a double album, with individual methods devoted to emotional understanding, logical reasoning, and social interaction. Proy explains how the methods work together and introduces the Active Listening Studio, a companion audio player that can draw different elements of a song to the foreground.
Nicholas B. Proy’s The Cognitive Craftsman System is a fantastic self-development guide, and I love how naturally he brings his ideas into everyday life. The writing is wonderfully accessible, and Proy gives readers practical exercises they can begin using straight away. The example from his wedding reception is a perfect illustration, as he explains how Norah Jones’s Come Away with Me brings back the applause and happiness of that day. I also loved his discussion of Madonna’s Papa Don’t Preach, where listening to another person’s story becomes a way of considering experiences beyond our own. It’s obvious that a lifetime of listening and considerable research has gone into this book, and Proy’s enthusiasm for music comes through in every chapter. Well written and full of usable guidance, readers interested in understanding themselves will adore this.
