Get A Creative Life

Downtime is Essential for Creativity

Jayne here...

I’m rethinking a belief I’ve held for a long time: to produce "good work" you have to "work hard." Whether you are creating art or focusing on a project for your job, to produce takes effort. Julia Cameron puts forth a different perspective in The Artist Way.

"Art (or creativity) is not about thinking something up. It is about the opposite- getting something down. The direction is important here."

Her point is that we have all the ideas we need to available to us through a higher consciousness if we can be still enough to tap into them and get them down; like taking dictation. It seems the struggle to produce may be counterproductive.

In order to get whatever it is we are reaching for we must be listening; listening to ourselves, and listening the world around us. To listen we need to stop. Be still. Creative living requires downtime. Do you ever find yourself saying: "I’ve got too much to do! I’ll take that walk (listen to music, sing, etc) later, after I finish this work project or these emails." Of course, later never comes.

Get Rid of Emotional Static

Alyse here...

There can be an endless list of things that get you down - too many sales rejections, disappointment in your latest creative project, kids consistently nagging, or an argument with your partner. Then life delivers an unexpected low blow. How do you deal with adversity?

The other morning I was in a down mood. It did not help that it was a particular time of the month… I was driving to a meeting and had intended on listening to some CD’s on marketing. My normal habit is to learn while I drive, be it career related information, inspirational speakers or public radio. I asked myself, what could I do differently? I must have been led, as it turned out, because I just happened to throw one music CD into the car on top of the fifteen "drive and learn" CD’s. I popped in the music CD and something remarkable happened.

Commit and Do It

What I am about to discuss may seem counter intuitive to the creative process. We tend to think that being creative is in the moment and one only creates when feeling inspired. What happens when you wait and wait and don't feel inspired? Remember creepy Jack Nicholson in the movie, “The Shining”. He was meant to be writing a novel. Waiting to be inspired can drive you nuts, as we see through Jack's behavior. It gives me the chills thinking about it!

Inspiration does not always magically appear, especially if you are waiting and don't take action. I have found that creating the space and time dedicated to writing, painting or whatever is your artistic endeavor is crucial. Schedule the time and stick to it! This is the Habit of Discipline, which is part of the third strategy for creative Living. Even, if your time slot is only fifteen minutes per day. You will be amazed how much is done by the end of a month with a small investment each day.

Your Money or Your Creativity!

Jayne here...

Your money and your creativity, are they connected? You bet! This was a big “ah-ha for me this week. Chances are if you are blocked around money, you are blocked around your creativity. Free up one, you free up the other. There are many ways to have issues with money, debting, overspending, underearning- they all lead to the same place- the sense that there is not enough or that we are not enough. The underlying sense that we, and therefore our resources, are limited puts a real damper on creativity. We limit what we can do because we believe we don’t have the talent, the time or the money. We think, “Who will want to pay me for being creative?” so we settle for something less than we really want. Our “habits of thinking” create our reality. Strategy Number Three, Develop Daily Creative Habits, will help us to change our reality for the better.

Think about a creativity exercise like brainstorming. Brainstorming is an exercise in abundance-an abundance of ideas. In brainstorming, the rules are that you don’t criticize or evaluate ideas because doing so shuts down the flow. Who wants to risk “out of the box” ideas when someone says, “That’s stupid” or “that won’t work.” It’s no different for creativity or money flowing in our lives. If we judge or criticize our creative efforts- our inner artist goes on strike. If we criticize and judge our financial sources we limit ourselves there too. We will not see the ways in which we can increase our flow of ideas and money if we judge.

Morning Pages Build Awareness

Alyse here. . .
Since we believe in practicing what we teach, Jayne and I continue being part of our Artists Way group - A 13 week “course in discovering and recovering your creative self.” So many awareness's arise, as I continue my daily commitment writing 3 pages every morning, called Morning Pages in the Artist's Way.

Sometimes the process is illuminating with insights as my pen flows across the page effortlessly. Other times since the guidelines are to keep the pen moving, lines may be filled with “what to write now… what to write now…” Then another thought flows from some inner part, connecting the banal and or the creative. Keep writing!

The practice of building self-awareness is one of the 10 Strategies to Get A Creative Life. One way to increase self-awareness is to take alone time each day, and reflect. Writing when done in stream of consciousness style without editing, is in itself a form of meditation.

Action Step
Commit to writing each morning for one week. No editing, keep your pen flowing. Write about whatever thoughts and feelings surface.

Question
If you have done this process before, how has it been helpful to you in your life?