Think It Through
The next path is for those who prefer to study it. Jnana (pronounced with a hard “g,” GHEE-ahn-ah) means wisdom or knowledge and is a path for the thinker. Scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and folks who tend to be logical may prefer the Jnana Path. What may be called “left-brained” types can also bring a great deal of power to what is typically thought of as the “right-brained” realm of creativity. On the Jnana Path, people are thinking about enlightenment—or in this case creativity—and educating themselves about it, following recommendations and ideas that arise from their studies.
By approaching a creative project with the curiosity of a scientist, many ideas, theories, and techniques can inspire beautiful works of art and opportunities for personal expression. Through studying personal interests and taking an objective, scientific approach to creativity, you can follow your intellectual curiosity and access your creative Self.
Pursuing Interests
As we have already discussed, what we create need not be a traditional artistic piece, such as a novel or painting, but may also be an invention, theorem, or alternative application. Any time we develop an idea, we are creating. Ingenuity can arise from pursuing or investigating others’ ideas and approaches.
It is possible to gain creative inspiration from any field of study that interests you, be it quantum physics, history, or mechanical engineering. The great artist Leonardo DaVinci is a great example of a creator on the path of jnana. He studied and acquired wisdom regarding the relationship between the human form—and indeed many aspects of nature—and geometry. His enquiry into flight was a precursor to modern flying machines. His investigations into the science of the natural world may be some of what continues to make his paintings so touching to this day. Observe yourself and notice what academic topics get you excited. This enthusiasm is a key gateway to your creative soul.
Another way to access inspiration on the Jnana Path is by studying other creators in your field. If you are an inventor, you may be interested in how Isaac Newton, Thomas Edison, or Alexander Graham Bell lived. As a portraitist, you may study the beliefs and efforts of Mendelson Joe or Arcimboldo. Actors would do well to watch some James Lipton episodes and review acclaimed performances. Be inquisitive about how they created, what and why, together with the nature of their cadence, brushstrokes, or gestures and how they related colors, emphasis, or themes.
An intellectual or academic awareness of others’ processes and styles supports your own development. Through the acquisition of knowledge, you also gain wisdom about yourself and your craft. Our creative studies teach us about who we are and steer us away from who we are not. Investigation refines our efforts and processes.
This exercise directs you in a method of applying knowledge to your own creative process. While some folks may feel that an intellectual approach is antithetical to a creative work, one on the Jnana Path feels free to create once the research is complete. This studious structure offers inspiration by way of your own wisdom and intellectual preparedness.
Step 1: Take one or two minutes to brainstorm on a piece of paper as many art forms you can think of that pique your curiosity.
Step 2: Circle the three modalities that interest you most at this time. For each of these, brainstorm a few ways you could learn more about each one. For example, you could learn about film by studying various directors, writers, or actors or by reviewing the career of a single director, writer, or actor. You could learn more about tattoos by visiting local shops to view their portfolios or interview the artists. You could research techniques and theories, peruse magazines, take a class, or watch a documentary.
Step 3: Pick the one modality and research method that is most appealing to you right now. If you wish, you can tuck away this list and revisit it anytime your creative well is running dry.
Step 4: After completing some research—an hour is sufficient—set a timer for twenty minutes and apply what you have learned. Create something using the information you just gathered, an idea that occurred to you during your studies, or by practicing a technique you discovered. (The timer helps limit any overthinking or judgment that may occur, which are a couple of challenges the intellectual may face.)
Challenges on the Jnana Path
Jnanis are thinkers. This chapter applies your intellectual prowess to your creative life and helps you use it as motivation. The flip side of a thinking creator is “overthinking.” One of the easiest ways any of us limits our inventiveness is by getting in our own way, and the thought-processes of judgment and analysis can be paralyzing. It is important, especially for one on the Jnana Path, to take time to plan and strategize; however, too much thinking, or thinking that interrupts action, is counterproductive.
The suggestion is for you to notice the content of your thoughts. The following exercise gives you a concrete tool to transcend your thinking mind. From that place of discernment, you can filter through your thoughts and use your intellectual prowess to better yourself and your creative outcomes.
Exercise: Steering the Mind: Practicing Discernment through Mindfulness & Movement
Ancient yoga theory in the Upanishads teaches us that there are layers of thinking that happen within us. There is the mind, which we might consider the busy passing thoughts, everyday ramblings, and emotional turns within us. Then there is the intellect, which we can think of as longer-held, more entrenched beliefs and steadfast thought patterns. When used effectively, the intellect also offers discernment, steering the mind in the direction we wish to follow.
Step 1: Sit or, if you don’t have balance issues, stand comfortably in a symmetrical posture. Close your eyes. Notice the contents of your mind. What thoughts are there? What emotions do you notice? Your thoughts might seem to speed up when you try this, and your feelings could press in a little too close. It’s okay; that’s how the mind unwinds sometimes.
Step 2: Remain aware of your thoughts and feelings, but put more focus to your breath. Notice what parts of your abdomen, chest, sides, and back are moving as you inhale and exhale.
Step 3: Open your eyes, breathe in, and stretch your arms overhead. If you were sitting, stand up now. Lean yourself a little to one side and then the other as you breathe deeply, in your own form of gentle side bends. Straighten up, then lift your chest and chin into a slight back bend, creating space through the front of the body as you lengthen your abdomen, chest, and throat slightly forward and upward. Next, roll forward, letting your head and arms hang in a forward fold, then firm your belly and roll back up to standing. Twist your upper body from side to side, rotating at the waistline, ribs, chest, shoulders, and head. Enjoy great big, deep breaths all the while.
Step 4: Return to your original position and repeat step 1. Did you notice a difference this time? Were your thoughts slower and more recognizable after the movements? We would anticipate this, as gentle movements help process emotional refuse via the autonomic nervous system and set us back into a parasympathetic, or more relaxed, physiological state. It can take some practice for the body to offer up that response, however. Study yourself and notice what kinds of movements help you feel more relaxed.
Step 5: Continue watching your thoughts and feelings … then picture a bird. Picture a tree. Imagine a little tune. How did you do that? Is there a part of you that can actually tell your mind what to think?!
Step 6: Consider a motto, prayer, or credo that is important to you at this time. Whenever you notice yourself becoming too judgmental, direct your thoughts back to this deeper intention and let it direct your activities. Remember that you are the master of your mind and have the power to choose your thoughts and mental experiences.
Whenever we find ourselves stuck in thinking rather than action, it helps to just acknowledge that it has happened. Being mindful of and redirecting our thoughts are the best ways to get out of our heads and back into action. The rest of this chapter offers a scientific model, via the metaphor of the butterfly, to support you in continuing your creative efforts, especially when you get bogged down in judgment or lose faith in how the project will turn out.
Think of a Butterfly
It is beneficial to apply intellectual understanding to our inventive efforts. Considering the life cycle of a butterfly helps inform the creative process itself. Just as a butterfly moves through distinct phases on its journey to perfection, so your creation—and indeed your inner world—passes through phases on the journey of expression. The Jnana Path supports you in understanding how and why to stick with a project, even when it gets tough. Another piece of wisdom on this path may inform when it is time to let something go or label it complete. Another advantage is to begin knowing that the end already exists; it is just a matter of passing through the phases to see it realized. Note how alike the process of creation and the process of life are in the following sections.
Exercise: Yoga Posture Practice: Expressing the Creative Process through the Body
This yoga pose practice takes you through the butterfly process. Imagine yourself embodying each stage and notice the differences in energy, motivation, safety, and inspiration.
Step 1: Use your body to create the shape of an egg. You may choose a Child’s Pose (Balasana), curled up on the floor with your seat toward your heels and your forehead on the ground or stacked fists, or you may curl up in a ball on your back, with your knees toward your chest (Apanasana). Imagine yourself protected in the dark, quiet space of creation. Feel the smallness of your physical self and the vastness of your potential. Rest as long as you need to in the shelter of the egg.
Step 2: When you are ready to emerge, express an unfolding. Stay connected to your body as you expand and sprout outward. Bring yourself onto your abdomen and reach your arms overhead. Very gently, begin to curve your entire spine so that your arms and legs lift off the ground. Direct your eyes to the floor and feel the strength in your back. This is a version of Locust Pose (Shalabhasana).
Step 3: Continue growing, letting yourself rise up to seated or standing, perhaps walking around the room. Explore your environment as if it were all brand new, as if you were a new life form on this planet. You may think of this as the larva stage.
Step 4: Use circles to express movement. You may walk in circles or spin yourself like a slow top carefully around the room. Every so often pause and create a standing twisted posture (Kati Chakrasana) by holding the hips and legs still while revolving the upper body around in a simple standing twist. You can also try keeping the upper body still and rotating the feet to face ninety degrees from your torso, so that the twisting action seems to come from the lower body. Experiment with various arm positions, such as reaching out to the sides, overhead, or hugging yourself. Remember to even out the twist on both sides so that you twist to the right and left. Imagine that the spiraling action is like a caterpillar spinning a cocoon.
Step 5: Reach your arms overhead and grow to your full height, just as a caterpillar realizes its own potential during its time in the cocoon. When you are ready, stretch wide in all directions to burst out of the chrysalis.
Step 6: Move in new ways. You may walk sideways instead of forward, using your peripheral vision to guide the action (be safe and aware of your environment all the while). Pause, bring your legs hip-width apart, and raise your arms overhead, hands in line with shoulders. Keep your hips stable and strong as you bend sideways to the left, then to the right, one side then the other, in a version of Half Moon Pose (Ardha Chandrasana). Imagine you are a butterfly growing accustomed to your new body. Repeat the lateral walking and the lateral bend a few times.
Step 7: Move however and wherever you wish. Just as the butterfly is free to soar where it wishes, you are free: a light, colorful creature of earth and sky.
Now that you have played with growing the way a butterfly grows, we will look at how your creative process moves through phases like a butterfly. This supports your scientific view of your inventive life.
The Egg
As in creating life, so in creating art: life starts with a seed or an egg, creations start with ideas. Within the seed lies the potential. Every mighty oak with all its beautiful colored leaves started off the little nut of an acorn. Our ideas are these seeds within us, or the egg that is coded with all the potential it needs to realize its eventual perfection. An acorn does not look like an oak; an egg does not look like a butterfly; a pile of metal does not look like a shiny, rebuilt engine. However, within the beginning lies the end. Everything needed to complete a venture—be it life or a single expressive piece—is already within the idea. When you look at an acorn you see a mere seed not a great tree; an insect egg is not a beautiful butterfly; a blank page is not a play. Even though you can’t yet see it, when you have an idea, everything you need to express that touching truth is encoded within it.
The Larva
From the egg comes the larva: the wee crawling caterpillar that shuffles from plant to plant. It finds a choice leaf and stays there for a couple of days, munching away. The caterpillar doesn’t know its own potential yet. This may be like you when you are outlining your essay, practicing scales, or sketching your painting. There is not the sense of what your efforts could really turn into. Remember, the end was already encoded in the idea. Believe that you are on the cusp of brilliance at all times, you just cannot see it from the proximal perspective of the caterpillar.
The caterpillar’s complete view of the world is hunkered down, right up close to things. It is unable to rise above its own scrutiny and see the big picture. When we think about the locomotive pattern of the caterpillar, we understand that it cannot go just anywhere; its sticky feet and short, shuffling legs can only carry it so far. The caterpillar is able to investigate the world at close range while its main mission is nourishment. Although it may not understand what is to come, the impulse to fatten up and get ready is a strong one.
That is like us beginning to grind out a project. Once you hatch the idea you have to get started. You gather the materials that you need, organize the ideas, and dive in. This is an indulgent phase. It feels so good to get going on a new idea! The creation comes easily; we are full of new life and vigor. Just as the caterpillar sheds its skin many times, so you may go through many forms of your idea as you shape it. There is a great deal of energy at the beginning of the creative process. Surf this wave as long as you can, my friend, because you are going to need all the nourishment you can get in the phase that comes next.
Exercise: How to Nourish Your Creative Self
There are many ways to nourish ourselves. Proper nutrition, be it physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual, makes us resilient enough to go through the more challenging aspects of creation. Use this practice to bolster yourself and stay strong.
Step 1: List the healthy things you do to take care of yourself when you are working on a big project. Do you take deep breaths and stretching breaks, call your friends, go for a walk, keep music playing … ?
Step 2: List the not-so-healthy things you do to cope with the stress when you are in the middle of a project. Do you drink, smoke, pick fights, procrastinate … ?
Step 3: Look at both lists. Draw happy shapes around the habits that you welcome in your life or feel proud that you engage in. Draw boxes around the habits that make you feel uncomfortable, remorseful, or ashamed.
Step 4: On a new sheet of paper, draw two columns and list the pleasing strategies in one and the displeasing ones in the other. Be the sleuth and investigate what is similar and different about the items in both columns. In other words, how is picking fights similar to calling your friends? How is smoking like deep breathing? How is going for a walk like drinking alcohol? How are they different?
Step 5: Scientists include a “therefore” in their study write-ups. What conclusion can you draw about what you need to nourish yourself while working on a project?
- Often, our unhealthy habits give clues to what is missing in our lives. Once we are aware of those missing pieces, we can find healthy ways to give them to ourselves.
- We can build on healthy habits, letting the feel-good nature of self-care blossom in our everyday lives. For most of us, what truly helps us cope are often small things like looking out the window or at a pleasing image in our workspace.
Step 6: Considering the similar threads that ran through your coping strategies, take one small action right now to incorporate more of that nourishment into your everyday life. This may be adding time for a walk, bath, nap, or phone call into your schedule, putting your favorite fruit on the grocery list, or creating a motivational playlist.
The Cocoon
Once the caterpillar has obtained enough mass, it sheds a final layer of skin and reveals its chrysalis. It is time to weave the pupa and enter the cocoon, where metamorphosis takes place. Your creative work also goes through a painful transformation and remembering the life of the butterfly can help keep you motivated during those tougher times in the process.
When I was in graduate school studying expressive arts and counseling, my mentor asked me to consider how a caterpillar feels within the cocoon. She was teaching me about the process of personal growth and highlighting the point that therapy is not good times. Breaking through often means breaking down. She spelled it out for me: “It’s dark, cramped, wet … ” I had never thought of it before—the cocoon might not be such a nice place. “You are becoming a new kind of creature,” she continued. “There is no one in the cocoon with you.”
It is true! The caterpillar doesn’t know it is turning into a beautiful butterfly; it is simply trapped alone in the ache of metamorphosis. It must be uncomfortable! A caterpillar loses half of its mass in the cocoon. It has to be painful sprouting wings. Growth is painful. If you have been in therapy or taken a personal transformation course, you know it can be awful at times. That may be what it is like in the chrysalis. Likewise, that can be what it’s like when we create: dark, lonely, unknown, and uncomfortable.
The difference between a metamorphosing bug and a human creator is choice. While we can empathize with the creature in the pupa, unlike them we have the option to walk away from the transformation. If a caterpillar could make that choice, it would mean death. On the other hand, if you decide to drop a project the worst thing that might happen is you miss a chance to know yourself, express something, or enjoy completion. You will survive that (in fact, some projects are best discarded); however, abandonment is not a worthwhile pattern to get into. It is often best to push all the way through a creative quest.
The 80 Percent Rule & Getting It Done
Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto postulated that 80 percent of Italy’s wealth was in the hands of 20 percent of the population. As study of the Pareto Principle continued, this 80/20 distribution showed up continually: we hang out with 20 percent of our social circle 80 percent of the time, we wear 20 percent of our clothes 80 percent of the time, we eat 20 percent of our meal repertoire 80 percent of the time. In my world, the same rule applies to tasks. I will readily complete 80 percent of the required work, then feel like I have had enough. I would rather light the whole thing on fire than finish it. I first noticed this 80 percent phenomenon doing dishes: all the plates and the glasses are done; I’ve wiped down some of the counters. I could change out the dishwater and scrub these three pots or I could just soak them. I’m 80 percent done.
Something happens around 80 percent completion of anything where we just want to quit. We’re done. “I’m almost done, so I am done.” A contributing factor is that the last 20 percent of the project is typically the worst part: editing the screenplay, color correcting the photograph, applying the third coat of varnish to the desk. We can harness that feeling of being “done with” the work and use it to impel completion. What does the butterfly have to do? It does not have the luxury of saying, “Meh, I turned into a butterfly. That was the important part. Now I’m just going to stay here in the cocoon.”
Well, that won’t do! At that terminal point of the creative project, we almost inevitably consider abandoning it. Maybe the dialogue doesn’t work or the lighting in the pictures is not what you want. You could just pack it in but no, help your creation fight out of the cocoon. This last 20 percent is the worst of it and requires a push.
Exercise: Press for Completion
It takes fortitude to push through the last bit of a creative endeavor. This exercise gives you a chance to get stronger and learn more about your barriers as you finish up what for many people is the hardest part.
Step 1: Select a project that is almost finished. This can be something urgent/important or an old work that has been kicking around for awhile. Regard that project as it is: almost but not quite done. Notice all the thoughts, feelings, and analyses that arise. You may jot down or doodle them.
Step 2: Transfer those feelings so that you no longer have a sense of “I am so done with the project” but rather “I am so done in this cocoon. I’m finished with being stuck in here by myself. It hurts!” This cognitive shift displaces the negativity from your wonderful (or even not-so-wonderful) work. It’s okay to be irked. Be irked with the cocoon, not your creation.
Step 3: Channel your frustration into completion and allow the full expression of the project you began to see the light of day.
Finish the last 20 percent of your creative projects. Even if you are not thrilled with the end product, the act of 100 percent completion, rather than 80 percent striving, is fulfilling and worthy.
Have you ever watched a butterfly bust out of a cocoon? Is it an easy process? No. It is a grind. The poor butterfly; it is not bad enough it has to reshape its entire body, now it has to crack its way out of this would-be coffin. It’s all covered in goo; it is a different shape, a seemingly different creature (even though its DNA is exactly the same as a caterpillar) and it doesn’t even know it yet. It must fight its way out of the cocoon and if it can’t then that’s it, no butterfly. Likewise, when we do not press for completion, we do not know the soaring freedom of a butterfly. We miss out on the new perspectives our finished project may give us.
Exercise: Busting Out of the Cocoon
This exercise empowers you to gain perspective on your work and honor all the efforts that brought you to completion.
Step 1: Identify the difficult endeavor, be it a school/work project, home renovation/cleaning task, or something you loved when it started and now just wish it were done. Go to the workspace where you would complete this task (your desk, where the renovation/cleaning needs to happen, your studio, etc.). Bring some raucous music with you.
Step 2: Play your up-tempo song and move to the music. Be sure to incorporate various levels (high, mid-range, low) with your limbs, torso, and head. Experiment with different facial movements as well. As you move and express, keep the thought of the project with you. Dance out your frustrations, doubts, and resistances. Feel free! Be light! “I can do it! I believe in myself!”
Step 3: Sit down with your project in front of you and close your eyes. Let your spine be long and your torso be erect and strong yet relaxed. Soften your brow, eyes, and jaw. Turn up the corners of your mouth slightly. Witness the flow of your breath and feel your heart slowing.
Step 4: Call to mind an image of yourself working on the project. Maintain the upward curl of the lips and steady, even breathing. Watch yourself performing the required tasks as you would watch your favorite character in a movie montage, hauling materials and mortaring bricks or counting push-ups and running stairs. See yourself moving through all the little jobs you need to do in order to complete the larger project. Your imagination can fill in the victorious theme music.
Step 5: At the end of your montage, see yourself reflecting upon the completed endeavor. Pay close attention to the expression on your face, the gleam in your eyes, the open, confident posture. You did it! As you hold this image, bask in its visceral sense. Allow your entire body-mind complex to light up with the goodness of a job well done.
Step 6: Play your song again or something reminiscent of the theme song you heard during your visualization. Move to the music.
Step 7: This is the fun one: be the montage. Get goin’. You can do it!
Step 8: As you move toward completion, notice when you are losing steam, becoming critical, or focusing more on the end goal than the task at hand. Play your song again. You may continue working, as your cells have imprinted the movement and motivation from your recent encounters with this song, or get up and repeat steps 2 through 7.
Step 9: When you have completed the challenging project—made it to your 100 percent point—take time to revel in the victory. When we acknowledge our achievements, there is a neurological pay-off: we get a surge of dopamine (the neurotransmitter “ping” of falling in love, eating chocolate, or getting fifty Facebook “likes” in an hour). Enjoy the healthy biochemical high. Let each success, no matter how small your inner judge tries to scale it, be a triumph worth celebrating. Feel light and free like a soaring butterfly.
When it comes to finishing your creation, the scientist in you thinks, Just fight through this last bit because once the cocoon is busted I have the freedom of a butterfly. The higher perspective of a butterfly. Its beauty and sensitivity is a transcendent version of its former self. It can move in any direction now, not limited to wherever it can crawl. The butterfly sees things completely differently. That’s us in the creative process. When we are standing on the completed side of our creative endeavor, it mirrors an aspect of our soul back to us.
The finished project tells us something about ourselves that we couldn’t see before. Investigating the final work and the process that got us there, as scientists, reveals nuances about our true selves, our patterns, and what we may be going through in life: this is who I was; this is who I am; this is what that was; this is what that means; and so on. By observing processes and outcomes, we come to know our own creative soul via that scientific approach.
When the caterpillar, who is no longer a caterpillar, is done in the chrysalis, it has to fight its way out. This is a metaphor for our own creative process. The closer we are to completion, the harder it may seem to finish the job. Fight for it. Earn your way to freedom. When you are done with the task, consider it a completion of your current level of existence and celebrate the step in your own evolutionary journey.
Exercise: Using Knowledge of the Butterfly to Finish a Tough Project
It is common to get held up before finishing a creation. This might be because of self-doubt, timing, or not knowing what to do next. When nature creates, it trusts the process. Perform this exercise in a similar fashion and see that you can get that project done.
Step 1: Find an old idea that you love but have not been able to get to. Alternatively, you may dredge up a project that is important to you but has stagnated. What is the seed of this project? What is the outcome you envision?
Step 2: Gather nourishment for this idea. Doodle shapes, collect scraps of images, get paint chips for colors, create a soundtrack that goes along with it, list key phrases or snippets of dialogue. You may not actually use these things; however, they help the project grow, just as the caterpillar has long since digested the leaf when it weaves the cocoon.
Step 3: Set a timer for somewhere between twenty and ninety minutes and go at the project. Do not think about it. Do not ruminate. Do whatever you can do to prevent a pause or break in the creative process (keep the pen or brush moving, the music playing, the movement going). You can pare it down later if necessary. Trust that once it has hatched and nourished itself, this idea knows how to grow on its own. The metamorphosing insect is not in the cocoon thinking, Is this the right place to put this wing? Should I make my leg go here? Is this the right color? By its very nature, it already knows how to arrive at the perfect outcome. This is the science of creation. Don’t mess with it.
Step 4: When the timer rings, you may decide to take a little break. Review your work within a day. Appreciate the little surprises. Celebrate the progress. You deserve it! Show someone else your effort so far and ask for two pieces of supportive feedback.
Step 5: Repeat until rough effort is complete.
This process of approaching the creative task with new tools and trusting the uncontrolled outcomes is valuable. Most butterflies emerge complete and beautiful, even in their imperfections. The same can be true for your works.
Now that you understand the Jnana Path is one of inquisitiveness and structure, you can harness that intellectual approach to each of your creative endeavors. From the beginning of a task, you have a vision for the end. You may begin with research, practice, or brainstorming, then build your idea into being. You can be patient with the process, remembering how uncomfortable it must be within the cocoon, all the while understanding that the act of making something has its own determined course. The next chapter broadens your feelings and thoughts into sensory and energetic interactions with the world. You are about to gain inspiration through pleasure and connection on the Tantra Path.