On Creativity - March & April 2023
create - bring into existence; originate; give rise to
creativity - the use of imagination or original ideas to create something; inventiveness
As I was contemplating creativity - what it means to nourish our creative spirit and what it means when we neglect it too - particularly for the ‘theme of the month’, other images came up over these days, of how creativity is connected to wounding as well as to love - perhaps love of self more so in this case, because creativity is not necessarily shared, but as long as it is expressed and is allowed to leave us, then at least it exists somewhere outside of us, for however fleeting a moment
I find the wound and wounding to be such a fascinating and important symbol - so much here on an individual and collective level. To go back to our wounds and not re-wound ourselves is to be able to see with perspective, to be able to allow for that distance to appreciate too. So many wounds I can now appreciate as teacher, so many wounds have made me who I am today, and it is usually the wound that informs our creative endeavours. Of course I think about Rumi’s ‘the wound is the place where the light enters you’ - how beautiful, how true! To know that our brightest of moments and creative expressions can come from our darkest is just something else. Have you found this to be true for yourself?
There is also Hélène Cixous who comes up quite vividly when i think about the wound - the wound in French is ‘blessure’, which looks, feels and sounds like the word ‘blessing’ — the wound as blessing! The wound as blessing. . .the wound which can transform into a scar - to act as a reminder, always - and the wound which can turn into a stigmata (the image of St. Francis and Padre Pio popping up) - that which carves out a piece of you, which leaves space for a form of renewal, a form of rebirth after a death of its own. Seen in this light I feel that wounding is quite close to the notion of belonging (as mentioned when linked to love and loss in the previous blog), and Toni Morrison’s ‘Beloved’ in which at times it is quite hard to see the light, to see the wound as blessing - perhaps because the past is still very much alive in the present here, but interesting to think about nonetheless. Such simple words, in a way, but so complex in many others. There is so much more to be explored in these images. . .
the wound is the key - the wound is the space - the wound is potential and abundance
Yet how do we go from wound - scar - stigma to creative expression? I feel that sometimes it is the creative expression which heals the wound - scar - stigma, and other times it is thanks to the wound that we are moved to create. . .perhaps they always work hand in hand. This month in the women’s circle dedicated to ‘On Creativity’ we explore stories which reveal what happens when we do not nourish our creative spirit, the signs and patterns to look out for and the steps to take to journey back to ourselves - our creative selves
and love; well love always comes into this. . .
“Creativity is a shape changer. . .Creativity is not a solitary movement - that is its power.
Whatever is touched by it, whoever hears it, sees it, senses it, knows it, is fed by it.
Everything cane be done creatively, everything.
And as we create, our creativity creates us in return, filling us with love.”
(Clarissa Pinkola Estés)
Books on Creativity. . .I love & Return to
Creativity can be found in anything, in any well written book, poem and creative element. The key is the ability to see it. I definitely recommend looking into the biographies or works on the creative process of artists who inspire you - for me it’s Blake, Monet, Turner, Mucha. . .so many others but you get the gist :) There are so many individual works of fiction that could be mentioned here but I have to say picking up ‘the lost spells’ or ‘the lost words’ (Robert Macfarlane & Jackie Morris) gives a little something extra to my day, that moment, with just a few lines. Look around, you’ll find creativity all around you. . .
The Artist’s Way - Julia Cameron
a beautiful way to re-engage with your creative spirit, she puts you on a path which allows you to explore what creativity means to you by using rigid and fluid modalities, and sometimes the creative flow does need structure. A workbook I really appreciate and easily go back to again and again
The Hero’s Journey; The Heroine’s Journey - Joseph Campbell; Maureen Murdock
such amazing reads, both of them. I guess it depends which you can relate to most, my bias is still towards Campbell I have to be honest, but it was reading him that changed so many things for me, so his works remain a favourite. The journey is key, the key is the journey - and this also goes for the myths we choose - to me anything which reveals a complete cycle, a complete journey is very important to work as a kind of model for us (the myth of Psyche and Eros is quite interesting for this exercise)
Lord of the Rings & The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
these are the collections I go back to in my mind when it comes to creating new worlds so thoroughly and completely - the different cultures, languages, images and symbols that make up the meaning in these series is so fascinating
The Yoga of Sound - Russill Paul
this gave me a new perspective to sound, and how it can be used along with breath in yoga - but more importantly I think it was about broadening my knowledge and appreciation for breath, sound and rhythm, song and chanting. Beautiful and truly inspiring
Poetry
As always this list is not a list, I mention two poets out of so many whose verses are steeped in creativity
The Complete Poems - William Blake
anything of Blake’s I usually like accompanied by the theoretical framework too but to enjoy them solely for the beauty that they are is perhaps just enough
The Collected Poems of W.B. Yeats - W.B. Yeats
I find I’m most attracted to The Rose, and The Wind among the Reeds sections or periods - there’s just something about Yeats