On Creativity, Chaos and Dancing Stars



I broke away from my usual style of painting on large canvases to paint a series of small 6" x 12" landscapes (example above) on gesso board. At first I felt certain I couldn't paint "small" but only "big" because it had been my style for so long.  I proved myself wrong.

I came across a wonderful quote by Gail Sheehy recently, who said, "Creativity could be described as letting go of certainties."  I think its important to do a "certainty" review every so often in order to throw out our mistaken ones - beliefs where little or no truth any longer exist.

 

It seems that a lot of so-called "certainty" is learned, is repeated and then becomes habit. Carolyn Myss, who is widely recognized for her work in energy medicine and personal/spiritual growth, describes habits (of behavior, thought and/or relationships) as our way of attempting to stop change. And isn't creativity all about change?  Lesson learned: creativity and habit don't make good bed-fellows in the human psyche and eventually we will be impelled to reinvent our world through our own choice or someone elses. 
 

Learning how to provide creative solutions to everyday challenges can free us from being "zoned out" to "being in the zone"  and its anyone's guess what kind of ideas or actions we could generate to make the world a better, more peaceful, more loving or more beautiful place.

I am finally learning to trust getting out there, getting my hands dirty,  mixing things up, messing things up, and creating a little chaos "on purpose".  As the famous German philosopher Nietzsche says, "One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star".

 

Never Worry If You're Lost

 

I loved this sign in a store window. Who hasn't felt lost at different times in their lives? 
 

I remember someone saying once that if you can't have what you want, then change what you want.  Those words have served me well for many years. Similar wisdom, in this store window in Shrewsbury, England, invited me to stop and look.  Was someone trying to tell me something once again?

I have found that trying to change direction in life is about as easy as trying to flatten a map that has been rolled up and stored in one of those cardboard tubes.  No matter how hard you try to flatten it, it just keeps snapping back until you put something on top of it to weight it down. 

Our own "patterns" are just like that.  We see things in a certain way and do things out of habit and wonder why we just keep traveling in the same direction.  We keep ourselves rolled up, just like the map, at work, in our relationships, our lifestyle choices and perhaps even in our spiritual beliefs.  To change direction may take weeks, months or years of practice and conscious effort depending on how deep the conditioning.  About 6 weeks ago I decided to paint on small gesso boards rather than on my usual large stretched canvases. I'm still uncomfortable.

Speaking Your Truth

One of the languages with which I express is photography. This is one of my photo's taken at an outdoor Asian market in Toronto.  I thought everything looked so beautiful, fresh and colorful. 



The chakra's are energy centers in our bodies. The fifth chakra is located in the throat area.  It's about communication and expression.  At a young age I remember wanting to talk to those closest to me. Yet, growing up I heard often that children should be seen and not heard.  I could never understand this expression, not even as a child. Now I realize it was simply a way for the adults around me to control an oftentimes chatty child.  I didn't have siblings, so those same adults were my only sounding board.  I didn't realize that after a while, they didn't want any longer to hear a 5 year old carry on.  They too needed a quiet place to go within and process their own lives and not only mine.

 

However, what others say often sticks to us like drops of hot melted candle wax on a table. What children hear over and over, quickly becomes their own internal dialog and reality.  And unlike hardened candle wax, which may take but a few moments to scrape off, our internal beliefs can take years of "inner work" to peel away. 

 

I think when life pushes us hard from the outside, we must, for our own survival, give our "inner voice" outer expression to create balance.   We must speak and be heard, and, no matter what the language, be it music, writing, painting or other forms of expression, we just need to keep putting it out there.  If we ever stop expressing, I think it would be like turning off the lights and sitting in the dark.    

A Poem Called "The Artist"

 

I took this photo because I loved the contrast between the light outside and the dark inside and the symmetry of the composition.  However, I could also see that by opening the door, the light is allowed to stream in. 
This is a wonderful metaphor for life.  All we have to do is open the door and the Light will come in.

I recently came across this poem written by Jack Boland, the founder of Renaissance Unity.  As the New Year approaches, I want to remember that within me is an Infinite Wisdom and a Creative Intelligence that has a perfect plan for my life.  As the poem states, this Creator is constantly expressing through each of us in glorious, wondrous, beautiful and exotic ways. My lesson in life is to remember that when I am expressing, it is really not I, but the Artist within that is doing the work.

I share Mr. Boland's work with you:

The Artist

"Are you aware...
That within you dwells an Artist...
A Creator?
Your life is its handiwork...
A living canvas spread for all to see.

The Artist in you is destined to
create a masterpiece...
But, the Craftsman's work
Is not yet finished
Nor shall it ever be.

In Truth...
The work has only just begun.
Glorious, wondrous, beautiful,
exotic forms
Are being imaged now
In the Artist's mind.

Mighty new brush strokes
Will soon bring
new shape and color
to the canvas you know as your world."
Jack Boland

Living A Creative Life

 

I like to line up my paintings to see what they look like together.  It gives me ideas for the next piece of work.  Experimenting with new colors is one of my favorite things. 

As important as anything in deciding to live a more creative life is to dedicate ample time and space to do creative work.  A "studio" can be anywhere - your kitchen table, a garage or extra bedroom, or any space that you can call your own for part of each day.  By going to that space on a regular basis, you will begin to experience what St. Francis calls, "Small beginnings, greater ends". 

By simply dedicating time each day to being creative you will eventually see progress whether its restoring a piece of old furniture, painting on canvas or writing a poem.  Something will soon begin to bubble up from deep within and you will make the world a richer and more beautiful place.



True Faith

 

"Looking at a flower takes time."  Georgia O'Keefe
Even and especially flowers have the energy of God within.  They too are filled with Buddha nature.

How do we distinguish between popular Buddhism and deep Buddhism? They don't necessarily contradict each other. When we first begin to practice, we might think that the Buddha is a person outside ourselves...one who has reached enlightenment. However, as time passes and we become more aware, we see that the Buddha is something within us. The Buddha is in essence the energy of mindfulness, understanding and compassion. We all have within us the Buddha nature. We all have the ability to wake up and "be" understanding and compassion. The Buddha eventually ceases to be a concept, idea or a notion.

In Christianity, Jesus Christ practiced cultivating the Holy Spirit - the energy of God within. This energy is that of mindfulness, understanding, love, forgiveness and compassion. We can cultivate the Holy Spirit and the energy of God within by remaining mindful in our daily lives just like we cultivate our Buddha nature. The Holy Spirit, God's energy, is always present and infused with understanding, compassion, faith and love.

No matter what our tradition or history, we can all have a direct experience with our true nature, our God nature, our Buddha nature and cease to just talk about it in terms of a notion or concept. We can all be Love, we can be Peace, we can be Understanding, we can be Faith and we can be Compassion.  





 

Forest Bathing Boosts Healing Power



A photo I took while walking about 80 miles west of Pikes Peak in Colorado.

I've been an advocate of walking in nature for a long time. I've also taught a form of meditation called mindful walking which again is especially wonderful when done in nature.  There is something about being among trees and plants that is purifying, healing, calming and restoring. Whenever I am out of sorts, I know that a trip to the nearest forest will restore my inner harmony and balance. Recently I come across an article that described this activity as "forest bathing", translated from the Japanese "shinrin-yoku".  The article said that its the phytocides from trees and plants that produce health benefits for humans. By walking slowly and breathing in with an open heart, a healing power is released within us. Unfortunately, city walking or a walk around the garden doesn't produce the same results.  The Japanese recommend we walk in a forested area at least three times a week for 1.5 miles within a two hour time span. At this slow pace, we can see that it is not about power walking or aerobic exercise, but something that truly restores our spirits and contributes to our better health.