Get in Touch with Your Creative Side

Mind & Spirit: NST Life & Times: 15/02/2011

http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/Mind_Spirit_Getintouchwithyourcreativeside/Article

BY CHIM LI YEN
 


Why should we use all our creative power...? Because there is nothing that makes people so generous, joyful, lively, bold and compassionate, so indifferent to fighting and the accumulation of objects and money.
— Brenda Ueland

When was the last time you did something creative? It could be anything — sewing, drawing, painting, writing, dancing or composing music as long as it came from the heart.

Some of us wish we are more creative. Many of us sense that we are more creative but we are unable to tap into that creativity effectively. We have fantastic ideas which have not been actualised. Our lives feel flat and mundane. We secretly crave a certain excitement or passion — an expanded sense of “being” that can only be experienced, a reason to wake up every morning.

Creativity is the natural order of life which is nothing but pure creative energy. We are born to create! Are you aware of how happy and free you feel when you are in the creative process? The essence of creativity is an experience of the mystical union between God and us.

As we open ourselves to our innate, inspired nature, we unleash the underlying latent creative force that infuses all of life. Slowly but surely, the universe starts to work in accordance to our dreams. Synchronistic events start to become an everyday occurrence. Many gentle yet powerful changes stream into our lives.

The only thing that lies between that miraculous flow and where we are now are creative blocks. All of us are creatively blocked to a certain extent. Many of us live a second-hand life. We squandered our own creative energies by investing it in the lives, dreams, plans and hopes of others. We conveniently forget what it is we really want in life. We forget who we really are.

As we begin our creative recovery, we must undergo a time of withdrawal process from life as we know it. It is a time to detach from our usual ways to empower us to make valid, creative choices instead of sticking to the safe ways that we have been accustomed to.

This process can be unnerving at first. However, the more you do it, the more free-spirited you become. Your personal flexibility increases while your malleability to the whims and fancies of others decreases. You are able to articulate your boundaries and dreams. You experience a heightened sense of possibility and autonomy. It is amazing!

I would like to share the two tools suggested by Julia Cameron in her book The Artist’s Way: The Morning Pages and The Artist Date. I found these simple tools particularly effective since I have experienced many changes in myself after I incorporated them in my life last year.

Commitment in writing

The Morning Pages are a commitment to write three pages of stream-of-consciousness longhand writing every morning. The pages are a form of active meditation as you just engage in the act of moving your hand across the page and write down whatever comes to mind.

In the Morning Pages, we declare to the world and ourselves what we like, what we dislike, our wishes, our hopes, our regrets, our experiences and our plans. Nothing is too silly, too petty or too weird to be included. Nobody is allowed to read the morning pages except you and it is advisable not to read them yourself for the first eight weeks or so.

We are victims of our own internalised critic who resides in our left brain, constantly churning out nasty comments to mercilessly criticise what we do. The Morning Pages help us get beyond the comments of the obnoxious critic to our quiet centre inside. They are the pathway we follow into our interior so we can connect with our creative power.
Don’t underestimate the efficacy of the morning pages. They might sound like a lot of effort but the results are worth every pen stroke.

Setting aside time

The Artist Date is a block of time, perhaps two hours weekly, set aside for you to nurture your creative consciousness, your inner artist. It is a play date for you alone — no friends, children, lovers or spouses. The artist date is a time for receptivity, pre-planned solitary hours of pleasurable activity to open to insight, guidance and inspiration.

Your inner artist is a child. Pamper your artist by taking it on a long nature walk, a solitary adventure to the beach to watch the sunset, enjoy the sights and sounds in a weekend bazaar, visit an art gallery, go to a jazz bar to listen to some groovy music — anything that sounds like fun to you.

In order to have a real relationship with our creativity, we must take time and care to cultivate it. Our creativity will use this time to confront us, to confide in us and to bond with us.

Used together, these tools work like a radio set. The Morning Pages send signals into the universe and the solitude of the Artist Dates allows for the answer to be received. The Morning Pages and Artist Dates must be experienced personally to be understood, just as reading a book about baking is not the same as smelling the aroma of freshly-baked bread and tasting it. Without your own experience, you cannot extrapolate what the Morning Pages and Artist Dates can do for you.

These put us in touch with our intuitive selves so we can expand our ability to derive new ideas. As we lessen the static — the interference caused by old habits and blocks — we become clearer and more able to listen. We become more receptive to creativity and allow ourselves to fulfil our artistry.

The writer is co-founder of The Violet Flame Holistic Shop and Therapy Centre, Bangsar. Check out the website at www.thevioletflame.com.my for details.