it is one of the sources which makes human beings what they are. all the rest is the amazingly widespread resistance AGAINST life as the enjoyable gift it really is meant to be. creativity is one strong force in the Science of Being.
how could we develop ourselves without creativity? How would we develop our imaginations and revelations and how would we express the urge to manifest this imagination and revelations? and as we grow older, who reminds us of the neglected 'child' within us (which we deny ) as if it threatens us? do we resist to become our real Self because of all the accumulated fears and anxieties? what makes us hold on to the most stubborn and stupid habits every day as opposed to living a potentially exiting life through infinitely fresh perception?
letting go of old (and everything past IS old!) restrictions and concepts, which might have served us in the dim past but are mere stumbling blocks NOW, is the most fruitful daily activity possible. it's that what creates a new day, a fresh view, a joyful action, a captivating surprise, the daily wonders.
as children we all know it, then growing older we resist it and in the end of our physical existence we again might be able to admit it: life is a constant flow, nothing is stable, all form eventually vanishes or transforms itself.
an attitude of 'possession' cannot capture the beauty of the moment, nor the natural wonders one can perceive if one is open, aware and curious. to possess means to stick to what I know from before, what I got in the past and how I remember having functioned yesterday. reproduction qualifies for unintelligent and uncreative actions, thus contributing to the mechanization of our world. and as if that would not be enough, from a certain point on one feels the necessity to DEFEND one's possessions, which is the source of all aggression. having a new and fresh view at the situation on the other hand gives one the option to change and to grow which leads also to generosity.
probably the worst mistake in our education seems to be the underestimation of playing , as a source of joy , as a way of discovering and developing, as a journey full of experiences and revelations, as a source of trust and confidence. and once puberty indicates a time of new growth we seem to stop playing exactly at that time, because we are going to become 'adults' now.
as a tool to meet life's challenges, to view them from different angles, to find new solutions, to act intuitively and by that staying in contact with our deepest self, the value of playing is immense. and so is the lack or even loss of it when conditioning , self-censuring, feelings of guilt and self-importance, being 'serious' and other life-spoiling and time-wasting behaviors take control of our lives, of course with our agreement.
although quite common, a life (and art) spending its time in the duality of fighting ,competing and achieving teaches the creator and its public that suffering is the unavoidable end to the means.
one should mention here that playing comes AFTER the (inner) fighting, actually playing is the activity of PEACE. playing is part of our inner wisdom , being a highly energetic yet non-violent outflow of talents, discoveries and growing processes. Playing is JOY.
as we evolve, we might find that the life process is a reflection of one incredible and ungraspable creative force, too vast for us to measure but nevertheless reflected in every human being. according to individual talents
this might show in completely different outlets. and there is no one without (multiple) talents which signify free 'channels' to feel what ALL of life could be. do we open up to these talents and do we give them voice, hand, thought and feeling? without questioning our restrictions, this seems hardly conceivable (with the exception of the few 'lucky' ones whose developed talents remind us permanently of what we really are: creative beings). if one starts to go after the internal blocks of mental, emotional and physical nature one becomes something one could call an 'ego-hunter', ego having the meaning of any mental concept, emotional restriction or physical hindrance that we accept as daily reality and which hampers or even stops the free flow of creative (life-) energy.
in a many ways societies of today seem to be more a gathering of conventions than a fruitful exchange of positive and creative energies.
conventions are what makes creativity disappear since they are repetitive agreements to something we don't want to make the effort of reviewing it in this particular moment. thus they also 'rob' us of any new insight and its outlet. change is perceived as threat and actually has become a (more or less hidden) symbol for the fear of dying. which is what - paradoxically - happens by following conventional 'recipes'.
does anybody really want to ignore the creative power in their life? what about the countless inventions which we are just using? although we never honor their inventors nor the (sometimes very difficult) process of bringing new things to life without any or proper support for their ideas. who wants to miss their car, tv, computer, who'd like to be without light and electricity, not to mention the countless practical tools and we use every day?
yet who ever spends just one thought about the (nameless) inventors who probably (not always though) had to struggle to find the person to finally invest into their idea to let it become a prototype, to protect the intellectual property and finally making it accessible to the public?
even more so: who would really want to live without music? somehow intuition tells me that if we would stop to create and listen to music entirely right now, people might start a war. music naturally reminds us of the flow of life, probably more than any other art. yet musicians find themselves often in a lifelong struggle to just find a place to practice since their neighbors don't approve of the 'noise' . of course, all these neighbors (and who is none?) enjoy music in whatever form it is mediated.
it also seems a funny mockgame to label the arts in general as a profession which can't provide a living and artists as people whom 'you wouldn't give your daughter (son)' . it's an odd thing that especially in the rich western countries the proverbial 'starving artist' gets less (active) compassion than any member of a disadvantaged group around the world. Somehow it's an ignored problem no one wants or is able to deal with.
so is creativity popular? and what is the perception of today's societies (especially of the western world type) about creativity and the arts?
potentially creativity could be extremely popular as it is an inherent resource of every human being. as a matter of fact though, there are tons of misconceptions connected to creativity/the arts like: one needs talent and I don't have any or 'success' and 'being rich and famous ' as being valid indicators of creative contributions. which is , of course why pop artists are so well-known today, although their artistic work is usually quite limited. what is offered by them as being 'popular' are easy accessible and fast digestible forms, often enough merely copying what seems to be the recipe for 'success' , which in term is spelled 'money' and 'being famous ' (telling the same answers in an interview 300 times?).
can an artist with high motivation but little ambition be 'successful'? in her own terms definitely yes: for her success means at first to conceive and bring to fruition the creative work, a work of art. nothing is more satisfying to her than manifesting the validity of an idea or an inner revelation. money and fame are not involved here. problems arise mostly in pure survival terms: when finally the work is done not being paid for it as a more or less consistent pattern is no fun, to say the least.
one of the problems of today's art world is that it treats everything as a symbol, leaving out the 'real thing' which is a personal experience : second hand stuff everywhere. there is no risk in identifying with a projection of somebody I never got to know in person (a star) whereas any step in one's personal development is a potential threat. that's the difference. this attitude reflects a widespread behavior in society : to play it 'safe' is the main idea today, unwillingly ridiculed by pseudo 'risk-taking' like bungy-jumping or wildwater rafting.
playing in groups as a social event finds its expression in sports and gambling.
collective consciousness is what connects all human beings , the inner knowledge about some (seemingly distant) truth. finding and actualizing this truth is fulfillment. the individual form in which it appears creates the richness of life. the collective consciousness of this fulfillment is a human challenge as much as it is purpose.
the threat of living this particularly moment and then this one and then this one means having to let go which in turn means complete openness to the gift of the incomparable moment. awareness, listening inside paradoxically provides an increasingly more sensitive perception of the outside. to
creativity and art have a healing function. besides the therapeutic effect of expressing oneself and by that accessing new resources, the constant change reflects our inherent urge to grow, though the light might be clouded from time to time.
the healing effects of music are well documented yet society and its representatives ignore or even fight them as 'unscientific', by that spoiling another opportunity for compassion. kids, older people, patients or just anybody of the public don't understand that concepts brought by through educational 'specialists' are more important then the natural interest, pleasure and joy (for discoveries) inspired by music, fine arts, movement or whatever comes to heart and mind as creative outflow.
to open ones mind to intuitive and inspired actions, questioning is an important tool. nonetheless it's dangerous: one might find an answer which 'doesn't fit' the expectations or the schedule. which again shows the mechanization of today's daily life. there doesn't seem to be time and space for developing, playing, finding new ways of living etc. (could there be specific interest of some individuals and groups in the kind of mechanized mindset which makes people so much easier prone to manipulation?).
well, the growing individual simply has to decide that they want to grow! and not waver this decision in hindsight.
artists are communicating their art in as many different ways as there are artists. some are more verbal to explain what they are doing then others. but in any case artists show again that there are many different ways of communication: sensual, verbal, cerebral, spiritual, vibrational, colorful or black and white, tonal or atonal, profound or pop-oriented, ironic or sincere, any of this or any combination or none or more! these seemingly infinite ways of communicating inspire and provoke individuals, groups and/or society at large about the many ways misunderstanding and intuitive understanding might come to life.
sadly enough these ways are - like so many artistic ideas - shamelessly exploited by , for example, the advertising industry. the moneymaking trick is: let others explore, investigate, and sweat , and then reap the fruits of the guys who actually did the work. so far nothing new. it goes without saying that second hand information is just a diluted mutilation of the original core. the message to the public is terrible because it holds the diluted version for the original. This clearly lowers the public levels of perception, curiosity, passion , and getting involved. on the other hand it opens the doors for 'Big Brother'- like tv low points.
changes can only come from 'inside' which means from the artists , the public and from business. only courageous individuals with integrity and perseverance in every group of society will have a positive effect.
still not last -and definitely not least- the amazing effect creativity and the arts have on our brains, emotions and bodies: they give us pleasure and are often the lone voice to remind us of celebrating life in its multitude of appearances. neither politicians nor churches and , of course not, business are able or willing to provide anything like joy in our lives. artists often risk everything to do just that.
creativity is the permanent action of the cosmos which never stops to change. this change seems to be the only 'stable' element for us to conceive . while the underlying vast immensity of an unlimited potential sometimes reveals itself in total stillness, creativity is the driving force of everything we call 'life'. therefore it seems appropriate to call artists - together with i.e. shamans, spiritual teachers -keepers and developers of this force at the same time. many artists (probably all of them) feel deeply connected to some spiritual or life-force which they see as the source of their inspiration.
- are protagonists (of creativity, which by itself is a service)
- make distinctions (between creativity , craft, engineering, advertising)
- are a necessity (without art, technology - like i.e. Artificial Intelligence - become 'religion', an engineer a 'highpriest')
- are human activists (constantly reminding us of a collective consciousness and its diverse appearances)
- are healers, shamans (through trances, change of perception, attitudes and actions, and also as [music-, art-] therapists)
- are clowns ('court-jesters, which have to be integrated as such into society)
