CREATIVITY

The main purpose of my blog is to invite you on a journey…if you didn’t figure it out from the title. Also, if you are reading this, there must be a reason for it, and I’m not talking about superficial chance, random coincidence that came out of boredom or the fact that your friends on Facebook have nothing interesting to say. There is a part of you that yearns for real connection, a true self that sees under the surface of things and cries: I WANT MORE, THIS CANNOT BE IT. You may try to dismiss it on the intellectual level (i.e. your brain) but your heart knows better and will not rest. How many times you had an idea to do something great: travel, write a blog, call a friend you didn’t see for ages. You light up, instantaneous joy fills your body and you feel great. The second later another voice comes in and says: What about the grocery shopping, fixing a car, cleaning the house? And just like that the joy disappears and list of chores overshadows what’s left from the great feeling. Perhaps the next day you want to come back to the idea but you cannot find it, the feeling it’s gone. What you are left with is just another to-do list.

Now, imagine Martin Luther King Jr. saying: “I had a dream of freedom…..but first I need to attend this important meeting, so perhaps I tell you about it later. It was just a dream after all, you know”. What the world would look like if the moments of clarity were dismissed by everyday necessities?

In science we heartier and more about the left brain and the right brain. The left being analytical, logical and controlling part, whilst the right brain the creative one. This is only a model, however describes something fundamental. Something that can be felt but not precisely explained. Personally, I prefer another model; the one so beautifully described in the quote in my last blog entry. The head and the heart. As a society we are being conditioned to use our head all the time; pay the bills, build houses, buy cars. The heart falls to the background. “I’ll have time for that when I retire”. But guess what! By the time you retire so do your big ideas. Ideas have their own life, vibrant and dynamic. They want to be played with, they want to be cherished, they want to be worked on “If not you perhaps someone else!”.

Let me share with you a story. Elisabeth Gilbert, a writer, an author of “Eat, Pray, Love” was one of the speakers during Wake Up Festival that took place in the Rocky Mountains last year. As a writer Elizabeth relies not only upon hard work but also moments of clarity and inspiration. When the idea for a book comes we instantaneously know whether it’s a right one. We connect with it and take it as our own. Every authors admits to many of those occasions. For Elizabeth one of those moments happened when her partner needed help somewhere in Brasil. Elizabeth packed everything up in a hurry and rushed to foreign country to offer her support. The project of course ended up on the back burner whilst her focus was somewhere else. Months later, when the time was right, she was ready to come back and continue. However, the inspiration was gone, the excitement and energy that the idea brought was gone. This may be not so surprising. What is surprising comes next. During one of the meetings or publisher’s presentation she meets a fascinating women. They connect instantaneously, a friendship starts. They share stories and one of them is about an idea for a book. When her new friend starts talking about it Elizabeth realises, this is almost exactly the same idea she had a couple of months ago, the one she wanted to base her book on.

This story makes you wonder, is it just a coincidence or is there something more to it? Suffice it to say, the same situation happened to Elizabeth one more time, later in her career! As she describes it, ideas have their own lives, they fly freely somewhere above our heads and are always ready to be played with, if only the intention or mindset is up to this task. However, if you neglect the idea, if you don’t pay sufficient attention, the idea goes away, look for someone who is more worthy or who is more fun to play with.

This story really made me think of the nature of creativity. Is creativity a talent or rather the awareness, openness to what may come your way. According to the recent research we swim in the see of information. Human brain processes 11 trillion bits per second. Only a fraction of it is perceived. What we need, we already have in front of our eyes. To see it, is entirely different problem. The whole field of mindfulness tries to deal these days with what there really is, what is important, and why the present moment is of essence. As a matter of fact, if you think about it, one second of mindful awareness should provide enough experience for many life times. Why is it that we always chase more and are not happy with what we already have?

Today I invite you to practice with me this simple technique that will help you to tap into your higher potential, allow you to access your creativity.

5-10 MINUTES PRACTICE:

1. Take 3 deep breaths. Inhale deeply through your nose and exhale through your mouth saying in the voice of deep relief aaaaaa….
2. Shake off you hands, stand with your legs slightly apart, your arms by your sides, relaxed and free.
3. Imagine roots growing from the bottom of your feet, connecting you with the Earth’s core. Imaging being grounded, safe and secure.
4. Now raise your head and look at passing clouds. Choose one and think of shape that the cloud resembles. Play with it for a couple of seconds. Perhaps it’s a car, maybe a face, it doesn’t matter.
5. Repeat the exercise a couple of times choosing clouds of your liking.
6. Once you finish, shake of your hands again. Offer gratitude to yourself and the Universe. Smile.

This practice is known to buddhist monks and used as a meditation. If you look at it from a scientific point of view you may notice the creative part of your brain would light up on a fMRI scan.

Let us be open to the world in front of us. Let go of the inner chatter that clouds the true reality. Let us be creative and play with ideas that are constantly at our disposal if we only allow it.

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