True Creativity

The Voice of Creativity does not come from the outside world.

Much is being said today about the origins of creativity. There is no shortage of ways to get “in touch” with your personal creativity, make your creativity thrive, bring out your creativity, etc., etc., and on it goes. Until it is recognized that the Source of all creativity is not outside of ourselves but within, we are probably not going to bring it out or get in touch or whatever. It’s a difficult concept to grasp. It has taken me a long time to gain this understanding. Sometimes I forget it. When I do forget, that is when I have to take a step back out of the rat race, turn down all the noise and other constant static that fills up all our lives. With so much outside static battering our senses, the Voice we need to hear cannot get through.

Many people when asked can quickly conjure up the image of a “happy place” that symbolizes peace and serenity. Mine has always been Reelfoot Lake in West Tennessee. The reflections of sunlight on still water, turtles sunning themselves on a log, herons and egrets quietly watching for their evening meal to swim by are remembrances I can quickly go to to gain peace in the midst of the constant stimuli of daily life. The memories instantly cause me to take a deep breath and lean back savoring those peaceful moments. That is when I can get in touch with the Source of creativity. That’s when I can hear the still quiet voice inside. That is when I recognize that the Voice is inside. Not outside.

When I pay attention to that voice from within, I recognize that it is the voice of the Creator, the Source of all creativity. The images in my memories remind me that it is the Great Creator who created, Reelfoot Lake, the lake that gives me so much peace. When I stop to listen, I know that it is that same Creator that creates all works of art. When I listen, I can hear the whispers of how and what to create. I don’t always listen because I get caught up in the noise of daily life. The art reveals when that is happening. I get frustrated. I keep trying but not getting anywhere. I look at the paintings and I want to cry because I can’t figure out what’s wrong. Sometimes the reminder comes from someone out there reminding me to look within. Sometimes I realize it myself. It’s when the reminder says, “Stop, Listen.” Then I can hear the Voice within say, “try some purple and see what happens.” The whispered Voice of True Creativity has broken through the static and that is a beautiful thing. Now I can breath again.

Art and Soul

Realizing all art came from a Creator much bigger than us little humans forced me to look at art in a way I never had before.

The title of a recent workshop I taught spurred me to do some soul searching. More and more information has come out lately about art’s benefit to the soul. All the information now has really been around for years. Arguably, it can be said it all started with Julian Cameron‘s ground breaking book, “The Artist’s Way.” I first read and worked the book over 20 years ago and to say it changed my life is putting it mildly. Realizing all art came from a Creator much bigger than us little humans forced me to look at art in a way I never had before.

You would think that once the light goes on and you realize that all art is much more spiritual than it is cerebral, you could sit back and let the Spirit takeover. “Bingo” you are creating on a higher level and don’t have to think any more. It is actually the opposite. You think more, not less. How can that be, you ask? A wrestling begins between your two warring factions, your heart and your brain. That battle must be fought meaning the ability to sit back and let Spirit takeover doesn’t happen naturally.

For many of us, the reality that art comes from the heart has been known for some time. To allow the Spirit to takeover is to allow the heart to open up. The heart is a lot more vulnerable than the brain. The heart is easily wounded and the artist’s heart even more so. Our soul is contained in the heart. For the soul of the heart to be set free, trust in the Spirit must begin. Trust begins in baby steps.

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