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Are aspects of spirituality and our creative potential inter-related?

Spirituality manifests itself through many variations of life. Spirituality is an understanding that life expands from a certain level of going inward, that one knows there exists something from which we came and will one day return to. This understanding brings with it a sense of calm but also a level of excitement. It brings a wonder and a mystery at the same time. It is far move evolved than the limitations of our five physical senses. Spirituality is a personal relationship with one’s self in relationship to something far greater, and uplifting. It offers us guidance and a foundation from where we can re-connect with our specialness, our inner light and our deep knowing. Spirituality is an ongoing journey and learning experience from the inside out. It can bring deep joy and happiness in the present moment, and help us let go of the energetic pull of the past and future.

What is the connection to Creativity?

Creativity is the action and ability to give tangible form to an idea, impulse or intuition. It can be a brand new idea, or it can be an extension of something that already exists. Creativity can change the context of something in a new and innovating way. It begins within us, in a place of expression. We need to find the spark within before we can express externally. It starts out as all things do, as an energy, a thought, it starts out as a non physical thing. This non physical energy is spiritual. It comes to us from the infinite source of supply. Some call this Source, Atman, Universal Energy, God, some call it the divine.

Creativity’s desire is your desire and need of physical expression, and energetic expansion. It is limitless and can be seen all many forms of expression.

What is our Creative Human Potential?

It is the certainty and capacity for one’s creative and imaginative intentions coming into physical being. When connected to the Source, our inner Spirituality, our Creative Human Potential is limitless. As soon as we tap into our direct and free flowing connection to Source, to work in harmony with the Universal Energy then our Creative Flow is limitless. We create with abundance. But when we are not inharmonious expression, when we are in discord, then the opposite happens. When we are working against our natural potential and create resistance, then we meet resistance. What we express internally, then so shall we experience externally. We mirror our existence. Negative will attract negative, and a fixed, closed mindset will create a static fixed existence and expression.

These concepts play a role in the shaping of our reality as we know it. Our thoughts affect our bodies just as they affect our physical world. Through creativity we find happiness, joy and laughter. When I paint I am completely in the present moment. Finding my expression by really connection to within. I am not distracted by thoughts and restrictive beliefs. I am simply being me in my full expression. That is the joy of creativity and that is the joy of connecting to the person who observes the thoughts, and finds the space and silence between them.

There is little in life that does not require at least some measure of creativity.

Whether you are trying to compose music, write an essay, find a job, cook a meal, or express an opinion, you cannot achieve your goal if you are not creative. But the outcome of your efforts, in good part, result in how you define creativity.

According to the) teachings of Vajrayana Buddhism, true creativity has to do with more than just ability or skill, or even actions or behaviors. While those play an important role, creativity ultimately has to do with our state of being.

When you know how to tap fully into this open, creative flow, its beneficial qualities can extend to any area of your life.

Creativity can be seen as a state of natural flow, one that spontaneously and effortlessly gives birth not only to manifest form, but to all experiences of body, energy, and mind. This state of flow, which has its roots in openness, occurs only in the absence of hope and fear. It is at once naturally joyful, peaceful, compassionate, expansive, and powerful.

When you know how to tap fully into this open, creative flow, its beneficial qualities can extend to any area of your life. Your art becomes more masterful. Your music can have more depth of connection. Your writing can be more genuine and moving. You will be able to solve problems at work, resolve conflicts with loved ones, or even shift your thought patterns with more natural spontaneity.

Most people, however, seek solutions from a place where the creative flow is blocked and, as a result, their words and actions are contrived and effortful.

Adjusting Your Focus

Particularly in stressful situations, people tend to focus too much effort on creating results and too little on taking steps that will allow the intended results to spontaneously arise.

If you play piano fretting about what the audience thinks of the music, your notes may come out as stilted. If you paint a watercolor worried about messing up a brushstroke, the finished artwork may lack soul. If you give a gift worrying about how its value will be perceived, the recipient may dismiss it as not coming from the heart. To keep from getting caught up in these hopes and fears, you must first stop focusing so much on the goal. It is the same in a yoga practice, if you always focus on achieving the perfect posture, you miss out on the wonderful feeling of your body gently and fully unfolding and letting go of the deep tension.

As a yogini following a path of yoga, we learn very early on that accepting that everything changes helps us from getting stuck energetically and also helps us accept the inevitable periods of suffering in life. As an artist this concept rings true as well. I believe that our emotional resilience is directly related to how well we will do in our creative ventures.

Creativity is not just about talent. In fact the concept that artists are just born talented is a great dis service of hours of training and practice that they/we go through and commit to. It is also not just about learning techniques to improve our craft.

Wishing for more talent, chasing technique like a magpie, or working all the hours and never having downtime is not what will make a successful artistic entrepreneur (or in my view, successful at anything) .

What Irish Artist Roisin O’Farrell taught me is that growing and succeeding as an artist, is that it’s more about

• Understanding ourselves better and what we want,
• Developing an internal creative life as well as the skills to bring that out into the world
• Developing our emotional resilience, which is our ability to adapt to stressful situations and change

And boy, do we have some change going on right now!

I am so grateful that the last two months have allowed me time to really reflect on all these points and find a deep clarity in where exactly I want to be and how I want to spend my time as an creative being.

. The silver lining of the lockdown is that it has given me the time to do it the justice that it deserved.

But really the timing couldn’t be better.

Whether serendipity or not. I am excited to have the privilege to work as an artist, and I have come to know myself that level deeper.

Being a professional artist has huge benefits but also it can be a tough job, keeping yourself motivated and on track. There are many things we can do as artists and creative beings, to safeguard mental health and strengthen the mind. One thing is to keep your energy moving. It’s incredibly important to channel your energy into positive activities and keep it flowing.
Energy is like water. When it’s not moving, it gets stagnant. The longer it stays stagnant, the more it becomes mucky and gross. When you start moving that energy, it improves your state of mind. It’s like when you go to a yoga class, or outside in nature form a invigorating hike. Think about how you feel before you go and then afterward. Before, your energy is sluggish. During yoga or hiking, you’re stretching out your entire nervous system, allowing the energy to flow smoothly through the body. As a result, you feel energetic and uplifted.

As artists we spend a lot of time alone in our studios, and it is vital that we keep our energy
energy moving. When my energy is moving, it’s easier to channel it to positive areas of my mind., and that is when I can really connect to my creativity. Like a giant round boulder, when it’s just sitting there, it’s hard to move it. But once it starts moving, it’s easier to direct and channel it.

There are many ways to focus on easy wins to keep your energy moving. Clean or organize different areas of your studio, or find creative inspiration from Nature, to get that stagnant energy flowing. Once energy is flowing, channel it into making a plan—whether it’s a financial plan for your business or a mental health plan to keep you motivated on your creative goals.

77% of adults think they’ve lost their creativity. They accept that they were once creative…but now have lost it. That is a staggering and sad statistic, isn’t it?

As young people we were more fearless, excited and so open to the possibilities of imagination and make believe. One of my early memories was around 5 years old, searching the garden for birds, then going home and finding them in my bird book, then having great joy drawing and painting these birds. I never once thought that they did not ‘look’ like the birds….to me they were perfect.

With my friends we would create make believe games , describe our wildest dreams in detail, dress up as characters, play out scenarios; we tried and tested and experimented and just did everything we could under the sun. So what happened to change us between that time and adulthood?

When we reach a certain age, we start to hear things like “you’ve either got it or you don’t” when it comes to creativity. You either are the artsy friend, or you aren’t. You either can draw a picture or you can’t. These polarizing ideas of what it means to be creative are stifling and limiting. The truth is, we are all born creative. We are all born with wild imaginations and an insatiable desire to try. No one is born without that creative spark because that piece of ourselves is our innate curiosity. And for that, we are all creative.

How can we re-ignite the childhood wonder.

So why are most adults afraid that they’ve lost their creativity? Well, in some environments, the practice of creativity is deeply discouraged. Our immediate situations growing up can have a huge impact on how we foster our inspirational habits. Negative settings or comments, reprimands about exploratory behavior, and judgments on unfinished or imperfect work can have a life altering effect on how we view ourselves as artists. Those things stay with us.

We are all artists from the moment we use those pencils and paints to replicate the birds in the garden, or the sky, flower, animals, not matter how long legged and disproportionate as they were drawn. We disregarded the rules of making pretty pictures and coloring inside the lines because we made our own rules.

If we were all born with the potential to create beautiful, meaningful, truth telling things, we must abandon the jaded adult lenses in which we see the world. We must return to our childlike wonder. And slow down, feel, listen, touch. We must put faith in ourselves again, be willing to risk despite the fear of failure, we must be open to change. Because when we do our black and white thinking, and way of seeing the world because a kaleidoscope of colour with limitless potential.