|
In any creative endeavor, we are
faced with the
anxiety of creation. Mind will do many things to avoid this
anxiety. In particular it will find some way to numb what it feels
or somehow suppress it or overly it with something that feels good.
Yet when we don’t face the anxiety and/or any associated pain, we
risk developing an addiction.
From a
creativity perspective, there is a risk of developing an
addiction in our creative efforts as a result of five phenomena.
They are the nature of our being, the nature and essence of the
creation process, the anxiety of creation and the unknown, the
nature of mind, and how we lost our ability to be in the spontaneous
and innocent childlike play of exploration and discovery of
ourselves and the world we inhabit. Each of these are discussed
individually and are summarized here.
The nature of our being: Inherent within consciousness is the
desire to experience a feeling of contentment or, what may be better
described as, a “warm
fuzzy feeling.” The desire to satisfy this feeling can be so
strong that we will compromise our truth so as to not be denied this
feeling. The desire for this feeling can, and will become addictive,
as powerful as any substance or activity used to avoid anxiousness
or fear that may go along with the anxiety.
The nature and essence of the creation process: The essence
of the
creative/creation process is energy. Energy is the ability to do
something or the capacity to produce an effect, can neither be
created nor destroyed. As such, all that is, was and ever will be,
already is. It is only continually transformed from the past into
the future, transforming from an existing form into a new form.
Everything is already in an existing form or moving to some new
form. From a creativity perspective, your life and your existing
world is already full. All your energy and time is committed to the
exiting form as it exists. Something must be given up for the energy
to be released to form something new.
If we wish to create something new, we must be willing to give up
that which needs to be given up internally and externally to form
the new creation. Our past will create the future in the image of
that past unless we give up the past we no longer wish to
experience. If we don’t give up what needs to be given up to make
the necessary room internally and externally, our new creation
cannot grow. Or, if it does grow, it will be retarded or stunted in
its growth in some way. To give up the past is often difficult and a
sacrifice. We continually find ways to hold onto that which we
know often to the point of addictive behavior.
The anxiety of creation and the unknown: The
creative/creation process creates new experiences that have not
been previously experienced.
Mind only knows what it has experienced. As such, mind and its
current thinking and beliefs will be of limited usefulness. To the
mind the transformation process appears to be vary chaotic,
unpredictable and unknown. As stated, the essence of all creation is
the transformation of an existing form of energy to a new form. For
that to happen, something must be given up or sacrificed to make
room for the new creation. From the mind’s perspective, there will
always be some type and kind of “death,”
some type of giving up and perceived loss. The transition from new
to old always has
an element of chaos and any chaotic situation always brings a
certain level of anxiety if not outright fear. The
anxiety of creation in this chaotic period will always fuel the
anxiety of the unknown. It takes courage and strength of will to
hold to an intention and to not doubt when mind has no way to fully
understand what is happening. Mind would rather respond and seek
that
warm fuzzy feeling and run to its protective habits of the past.
The nature of mind:
Mind does not feel. Mind only integrates and interprets what is
perceived by our body and/or our being. Mind only knows what it has
experienced. Any truly creative effort brings into existence either
some thing or some experience not previously experienced, or one
that is significantly different from the past. As such, mind cannot
guide you into the unknown of a creative effort. Our mind, i.e.,
what we think, believe, and remember, is of limited value. The best
mind can do is explore, construct experiments, and discover what it
doesn't know about what we desire to create. Mind gets frustrated in
is trial and effort and it tends to be unwilling to surrender to the
flow of energy that will carry it to its desired creation. Rather
than live in the struggle it tends to numb or suppress the pain or
simply return to the ways of the past it has found effective. The
nature
of mind tends to keep it in the past rather than surrendering
and flowing with the energy giving rise to its desired creation.
Loss of freedom to explore: One of the most important things
to realize about creativity is that mind only knows the past. It
will characterize whatever it perceives, including the energy giving
rise to the thoughts we have, based on the experiences it has had.
This means that any thought we have is not necessarily an accurate
representation of the energy we sense. Essential to creativity is
the willingness to be in the unknown and to explore and discovery.
The
loss of freedom to explore the energy behind the thought because
of the experiences we have had in life can severely handicap our
creativity and the options available to us. However, rather than
exploring why we lost our ability to be in the spontaneous and
innocent childlike play of exploration and discovery of ourselves
and the world we inhabit, we remain in the protective response
patterns we develop early in our life. Continuing to avoid why we
lost our freedom to explore and address the
pain we carry can lead to response patterns to life that are
addictive in nature continually trying to suppress what we feel.
Related topics
A warm fuzzy place
The sacrifice of creation
Anxiety of creation/anxiety of the unknown
Nature
of mind
Loss of creative play
Topics on addiction
The
Password
Protected Area provides access to all
currently posted
(click for current loading) Releasing Your Unlimited Creativity
related discussion files and applications.
Top |
