Beauty at the
Edge of
Catastrophe
Cultivating Mindful Presence in Musical Performance
Dear musicians, you hold in your hands a beautiful offering that can enliven your embodied presence, and bring heart wisdom to your art.
About the Book
Inspired by Nikolaus Harnoncourt's insight that beauty lives “at the edge of catastrophe” and echoing Jon Kabat-Zinn's invitation to meet “the full catastrophe” of life as it unfolds, this book opens with the author's own experience—one shared by countless musicians—of standing alone on stage with fear, self-criticism and doubt.
Drawing on four decades as a performing cellist, intrigued by the meeting between meditation and contemporary neuroscience and writing as a mindfulness teacher, mentor and lifelong yoga practitioner, she traces both her own transformation and the profound shifts she has witnessed in her students as they move from injury, anxiety and overwhelm into health, ease and presence.
Ruth Phillips offers musicians neither a method nor a cure but companionship: a way of walking mindfully through the landscape of their inner lives, meeting their edge and softening again and again. With more than thirty original practices grounded in the lived experience of performance, this holistic and heartfelt guide shows how mindfulness, compassion and embodied attention can open a path toward freedom, connection and joy in music-making.
Praise
I loved Ruth’s book! It is enlightening, affirming, nurturing and deeply consoling. Musicians will resonate with so much here. Drawing on her vast experience as a performing musician, Ruth offers tools and practices that help us understand and embrace the uncomfortable places within us, and the human fragilities we encounter as performers. Supported by beautiful quotes from a wide spectrum of wise voices — from musicians such as Harnoncourt and Casals to spiritual teachers including the Buddha and Thich Nhat Hanh — Ruth weaves in her own exercises and meditations, enriched by personal stories, clear explanations and techniques developed over her long performing career. Beauty at the Edge of Catastrophe is a truly inspiring book: easy to dip into before a stressful concert, to read deeply from cover to cover, or to keep close as a practical handbook of exercises and meditations. I will be recommending it to every musician I know — students, newcomers, and seasoned professionals alike.
My dear friend Ruth Phillips has written a truly remarkable book. Though presented as a mindfulness guide for musicians, it reaches far beyond that description, speaking to anyone interested in meeting life’s challenges with greater clarity and care. A beautifully articulated exploration of non-judgemental attention, it shows how our responses can soften the stresses and strains of everyday living.
This book is inspirational. While it is gold-dust for any curious, aspiring or questing musician, it is much more than that. Ruth takes us by the hand with compassion, wisdom and humour, guiding us through the challenges most frequently experienced by musicians — including her own. She writes beautifully and engagingly, with thought-provoking reflections, illuminating case studies, wonderful quotations, and a rich collection of meditations and practical exercises: a toolbox into which we can safely delve. There is a beautiful musical symmetry to the shape of the book, adding further resonance to all it offers. It feels as though one has been on a nurturing journey from start to finish. You will never feel alone as you read this book. Ruth holds a safe space for all of us, together.
A beautiful, deeply resonant, life-enhancing book, written from the heart by someone who knows first-hand the challenges that musicians face. An essential read — and an invaluable resource — that touches upon the very essence of what it means to be a musician.
About the Author
Ruth Phillips is internationally recognised as a cellist, performance coach, and writer working at the intersection of music and mindfulness. With an approach described as “inspirational” and “innovative,” she has supported performers from leading chamber groups, conservatoires, festivals and orchestras in finding greater ease, confidence, and creative freedom both on and off stage. Cellist Steven Isserlis says of her work: “I wish that more musical training started from those precepts.”
A graduate of the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification and Mindfulness Mentor Programmes with Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield, Ruth’s work draws on neuroscience, contemplative practice, somatic awareness, and four decades as a professional musician. Her coaching, and mindfulness retreats have become a refuge for performers all over the world seeking a more humane and heartfelt relationship with their art and craft.
Ruth’s first book, Cherries from Chauvet’s Orchard, was shortlisted for the Guardian Women’s Memoir award. She has written for The Strad, BBC and Classical Music Magazines and CelloBello. She gave a lecture on Performance, Mindfulness and the Brain at the International String Teachers’ International Conference in 2025.
When not meditating or playing, Ruth enjoys swimming, yoga, and good ice cream. She lives in France.
Get in Touch
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