"Lisa Longworth inspires; she revitalizes and regenerates our creativity... She has an especially unique gift to work with the gifted. Lisa is a healer's healer."
-Jonas Salk, MD
Renowned virologist who developed the first polio vaccine
and established the Salk Institute for Biological Studies
For nearly five decades, Lisa Longworth has explored creativity as a living force for human transformation — guiding thousands through the intersection of art, psychology, and neuroscience.
Her path has been as unconventional as her work. Shaped by a near-death experience at nineteen, she went on to spend five years in dialogue with Jonas Salk on the evolution of human wisdom, train with astrophysicist Andrew Galambos, physician Paul Brenner, and indigenous shaman elders in the Amazon. These formative influences gave her work its distinctive depth — grounded equally in biology, psychology, and ancient wisdom traditions.
Lisa is the founder of the International Creativity Foundation and creator of the Cocoon to Butterfly® programs, established in 1986, which have helped thousands worldwide navigate profound life transitions with creativity and purpose. Her bestselling book, Cocoon to Butterfly®: Creative Midlife Change for the Busy Person, reached audiences as far as India, and her structured seven-week Cocoon to Butterfly® Course continues to guide people through meaningful personal transformation. She is currently completing her third book, Higher Wisdom: The New Inner Technology for Human Evolution.
A working artist since 1975, Lisa has exhibited fine art internationally and brought her vision to universities, wellness trainings, and stages around the world. She founded one of the first university departments in Creative Process studies, and her ongoing research weaves creativity, psychology, and spirituality into a living body of work dedicated to one enduring question: how do we become more fully human, so we can wisely create a better world?
Lisa graduated magna cum laude in Fine Arts from the University of California, San Diego, and holds advanced degrees in psychology.
Her path has been as unconventional as her work. Shaped by a near-death experience at nineteen, she went on to spend five years in dialogue with Jonas Salk on the evolution of human wisdom, train with astrophysicist Andrew Galambos, physician Paul Brenner, and indigenous shaman elders in the Amazon. These formative influences gave her work its distinctive depth — grounded equally in biology, psychology, and ancient wisdom traditions.
Lisa is the founder of the International Creativity Foundation and creator of the Cocoon to Butterfly® programs, established in 1986, which have helped thousands worldwide navigate profound life transitions with creativity and purpose. Her bestselling book, Cocoon to Butterfly®: Creative Midlife Change for the Busy Person, reached audiences as far as India, and her structured seven-week Cocoon to Butterfly® Course continues to guide people through meaningful personal transformation. She is currently completing her third book, Higher Wisdom: The New Inner Technology for Human Evolution.
A working artist since 1975, Lisa has exhibited fine art internationally and brought her vision to universities, wellness trainings, and stages around the world. She founded one of the first university departments in Creative Process studies, and her ongoing research weaves creativity, psychology, and spirituality into a living body of work dedicated to one enduring question: how do we become more fully human, so we can wisely create a better world?
Lisa graduated magna cum laude in Fine Arts from the University of California, San Diego, and holds advanced degrees in psychology.