Our consciousness is fed with other consciousness. The way we make decisions,our likes and dislikes, depend on the collective way of seeing things. You may not see something as beautiful, but if many people think that it’s beautiful, then slowly you may come to accept it as beautiful also, because the individual consciousness is made up of collective consciousness. – Thich Nhat Hahn
The word create originates from the Latin creare which originally meant “to make grow”. Oxford Learner’s Dictionary defines creativity as “involving the use of skill and the imagination to produce something new or a work of art”. This association of creativity with either a particular skill, innovation, or an achieved outcome valued as a “work of art” often makes the ambition of being “creative” seem intimidating or even unattainable.
Let’s challenge this notion of linking creativity to a measurable outcome such as a“work of art”. How is art determined as art unless more than one person agrees that it’s art?
The value we place on objects is determined by the collective, not by the object itself. We are all influenced by the collective ways of seeing and thinking. And yet, when we think about being “creative,” we fall into the ego-trap of seeking to produce something new, unique, different, something we can label as “artistic” or “worthy”.We associate the ability to be creative with the need for a particular skill, or talent, or“eye’. We focus on a subjective object, the outcome, and lose all sense of the beauty and magic of creativity. We forget the root of creativity, creare, which is not about bringing something new or artistic into being but about nurturing life and enabling growth.
True Creativity
Only in our creative acts do we step forth into the light and see ourselves whole and complete. – Carl Jung
True creativity transcends words and attempting to define it risks destroying its essence. Our minds cannot attempt to understand how a melody was formed in such a way that it evokes a strong emotion when we listen to it, any more than we understand how the universe came to be. If we splice the song into individual notes to analyze it, it loses its magic, and simply becomes an assembly of separate notes. And so it is when we try to individuate creativity, to analyze, define or measure it.
When we consider creativity as something we must prove, we lose connection with the very source of creativity, the source that connects us together, that keeps us alive. And what happens when we lose touch with our creativity? We become disconnected from the flow of life. Not only do we stop growing, but we stop contributing to growth. We are no longer nurturing our beings; we simply exist and do. We are living only a fraction of the life that is available for us to live.
Creative Intuition
The mysterious, the dark black of lacquer, the impenetrable and profound depth out of which glorious things come, is always an essential element in creativity. ~ Alan Watts
Creative intuition is the ability to instantaneously access insight and ideas without conscious thought. It is what we call gut intelligence; it is nonlinear knowledge that doesn’t rely on the brain to analyze and predict.
The word intuition comes from the Latin intueri, roughly translated as “the teacher inside.” When we trust our intuition, we set the foundation for the freedom of creativity to occur, as creativity is spontaneous by nature. It flows from a state of mind where analytical thought has ceased, stillness is present, and presence is the only time that exists.
How do we connect with our intuition? Listening to the sensations of our body, literally our gut feelings. The more in tune we are with these, the more we will learn to access different sources of information than our thoughts. We must pay attention to our energy levels, including how they intersect with others. If we want our intuition to speak to us, we must listen to it, and we must trust it. We do this by opening up to the flashes of insight we have, those Aha moments, heeding them, and expressing gratitude for what happens next.
The Art of Gratitude
The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude. ~Friedrich Nietzsche
Gratitude helps us focus on what we have, rather than what we lack. With gratitude we experience joy, we see the magic in the world, and in that magic is possibility. We see the grace in life and acknowledge and receive the spontaneous gifts the universe offers us in every moment, and in allowing the manifestation of these gifts within us, we are co-creators.
True gratitude doesn’t hinge on conditions. We may not be seeking what we are given, it may seem to be the opposite of a gift when we are dealing with a painful loss. We don’t need to confuse gratitude with false happiness. When we cherish life, we will grieve a loss within it, and to deny that grief would be putting us in conflict with what is. Gratitude doesn’t erase grief, but grief doesn’t need to erase gratitude. If anything, it can highlight everything that still exists that is precious to us. When we stay in flow with the universe and accept what is, we can use our creativity to bring forth growth from the labor pains of life.
The Gift of Humility
Gratefulness always goes beyond myself. For what makes something a gift is precisely that it is given. And the receiver depends on the giver. This is true humility.- David Steindl-Rast
Humility derives from the Latin word, humus, which means earth. It is also the root word for human. When we are humble, we embrace our humanity and acknowledge our interdependence. With humility, we fully and wholeheartedly appreciate the gifts that others bring into the world.
Creativity is how we accept those gifts with gratitude, learn from them, make them a part of us, and then gift them to others extending ourselves in the process. By both giving and receiving, we create harmony and balance. We are of the earth and yet diaphanous. We reflect the light that others shine and shine the light that others reflect.
We have each been given a gift; this gift is the unique glimmer of the universe that we mirror, the note we play in the symphony of life. To honor this gift, we can’t be opaque, blocking the passage of radiant energy, or ghost notes so muted that the music dies. Being creative is opening ourselves up to the universe, receiving everything that it has to offer us, and bringing the universe into being by simply being. Shining forth as translucent, vibrational beings, we are whole and complete.
If this isn’t our purpose, then what is?
