Category: Creative Process

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Leading Through Resonance–Creative Leadership

leadership, creative process, awakeningWe humans continually explore the concept of leadership–how to lead effectively, how to lead creatively, how to lead…period.  Parents call it parenting.  Managers call it managing.  Politicians call it governing.  Call it what you will, leadership runs through our culture and society like a necessary part of the infra-structure we call Life.

In our exploration of the leadership dynamic, we can look to nature as well.  The organization of ants and bees have clearly defined roles…who defines those roles?  That entity would, by definition, be the leader, right?  Dogs establish hierarchies determined by who is the alpha in the pack, and that clarity is demonstrated by behaviors that mark the alpha dog as “preferred” in all circumstance–a role many leaders in the human world also claim.  The interactions among horses is often about who is the leader right now…they jockey with body language for the coveted position of controlling the herd with a flick of their ears or a strategic placement of body.  With horses, the leader is the one who moves everyone else without moving themselves.  They lead from behind.

Whether we are leaders who forge ahead blazing a trail that others follow (because it’s easier than clearing a new trail, oftentimes) or whether we lead by strength of will and an inclination toward strong opinion, in every interaction there is a component of leading–or being led–in the relationship dynamic, I think.  All of us have our own leading–and being led–style, and the operative question is: how well is it working in creating the satisfaction and fulfillment we desire? Continue reading “Leading Through Resonance–Creative Leadership”

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Shamanism – Another Word for Creative Process?

shaman, awakening, shamanism, creativityShamans intrigue me.  Even as a child, if a book’s description mentioned a shaman or shamanism, that was enough to get me to read it.  The words used to describe the practice of shamanism include mystical and magical and wisdom and invocation.  All words to which I gravitate.  As I grew older – and my studies and research into shamanism more developed – I studied the philosophies of different cultures that venerate shamans and, whenever I could, found current-age shamans with whom to study and practice.  I engaged the shamanic principles and learned the art of traveling between the seen and unseen worlds – a fundamental in the art of shamanism.  I explored the experience of communicating in unseen worlds and transforming my consciousness through it.  And still, I wonder:  Is Shamanism a mystical, mysterious allegory or a technique for accessing the Creative process of the Divine? Continue reading “Shamanism – Another Word for Creative Process?”

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Creative Time Management

time management, creative process, intuitionSome might say time management, a distinctly left-brained activity, bears no resemblance to the creative process – well known for its decidedly right-brained absence of logic.  Some might say, in fact, that all one requires to effectively manage time are three simple rules:

  • Break large projects into smaller increments.  Make those increments small enough that each one can be completed in a block of time perceived as “manageable.”
  • Build a daily schedule that accounts for the completion of the smaller increments.  Identify through an understanding of personal rhythm which parts of the day are best for mental focus and which for physical activity.  Fill blocks of time accordingly.
  • Once the schedule is made – stay on it.  Procrastination is the destroyer of time management.

Simple logic that – when applied – results in productivity, right? Continue reading “Creative Time Management”

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When Creative Process Becomes Habit Magic Happens

creativity, creative process, spiritual awakeningMany of us think of creativity as that inspired moment when the idea is born…or the shift in understanding that opens a whole new paradigm of thought.  We tend to describe the creative process as a process that bursts into intriguing possibilities, over and over again.  Many of us who value creativity reach continually for that excited buzz that comes with the feeling of touching an expanded viewpoint.

For me, the inspired concepts and exciting new configurations do happen…but they are part of the creative process – not the entirety of it.  In truth, if the new idea was the only goal of the creative process, nothing would be brought to fruition.  This is where our creative habits come into play.  The behaviors we take on as a result of following through on inspired ideas become the invocations, if you will, that define the characters we play in the movie called “Life” (see: Stars In Our Own Movie.) Continue reading “When Creative Process Becomes Habit Magic Happens”

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Creative Process – Recipes for Life

creative process, creativity, recipesForest Gump said, “Life is like a box of chocolates.”  He meant, I think, you can never know what you’ll get until you take a bite of it.  For me, Life is more like a cookbook.  And the key is to find the recipe that uses the ingredients we have to create the result we desire to eat.

Some people treat recipes like chemistry projects.  They measure carefully and follow procedures methodically, looking for a precision that can be reproduced reliably.  Some people read cookbooks for ideas and then create spontaneously from the the inspiration they got.  Some are interested in food creation only to the extent that they can open a can or a box and add water.  All of us have our own unique relationship with cookbooks and the recipes within.  For me, recipes are a side-bar, a reference point, to ground my creative exploration.  Because – as with life – I only believe what I experience first hand.

Such is the power of the creative process – it is always a first hand experience. Continue reading “Creative Process – Recipes for Life”

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Creative Process and Perfection?

creative process, creativityIn the creative process, I think, there is no such thing as perfection.  There are only perfect bridges.

Think about it.  Have you ever had an idea – something that excited your interest and passion – only to discover that, when it came to execute, you couldn’t quite get a handle on how to do it?  And the uncertainty resulted in non-action as well as a small sense of failure before you got well into it?

It’s happened to me plenty of times – that’s why I can describe it so easily.  At a certain point, I began to ask myself, “Why?  What was the internal pattern within myself that continually halted my creative process in its early stages?”  And this I discovered: Continue reading “Creative Process and Perfection?”