Being
What is creativity and why do we create? When people learn to meditate, meditation itself is not the end goal. We meditate to access a peace and stillness within ourselves or acquire spiritual wisdom. Similarly, our stories and pictures are not the end-all, be-all in our creative endeavors. Life itself is our ultimate creative act.
When we consciously create our existence, we are in a state of true Being. Being, as opposed to doing, involves accepting who we are, what we are made of, and the habits, beliefs, desires, and gifts that shape us. In this chapter, you will live into your Being-ness by exploring what it means to be you and experimenting with your potential to create a joyful, authentic life.
Transcendent Humanity
There comes a time when we have gained enough insight into ourselves that we are fully ready to claim our truth and live in the world we wish to create. As discussed previously, many animals are able to plan and make choices. They form families and communities (or I could say pods, gaggles, herds, schools, murders, prides, etc.), they war amongst factions, and they have death rituals. Do they hope and pray? Maybe. Do they meditate and explore transcendent realms? Do they contemplate meaning and purpose? I am not certain. I know that humans do, though.
We have arrived at a phase in our human evolution where our Being-ness can move beyond the neomammalian perspective and enjoy an entirely new phase of consciousness. What was reserved throughout our history for sages, physicists, ministers, and mystics is accessible to all of us. Much of the world’s esoteric wisdom, previously reserved for students who earned access over years of humble study, is public knowledge. Granted, it is being taught by flawed humans or disseminated out of context; however, your own direct experience with spiritual practice provides you with insights about the deeper meaning, beyond the words of the teachings.
The secret wisdom of the ages has been unleashed upon the public alongside the public’s readiness to do personal reflection and daily practice in order to access the meaning and purpose behind the words. The following exercise supports you in cultivating your own path to a direct experience of divine wisdom.
“Daily practice,” what the yogis call sadhana, is a well-studied phenomenon. Whether you are an athlete, musician, spiritualist, writer, painter, mathematician, or engineer, daily practice is key to refining and developing your skills. If we miss even one day, our prowess begins to slip. For those of us on a path of personal evolution, which requires great commitment due to mainstream society’s predispositions (discussed later this chapter), daily practice is a key component of our evolution. The following system will support you in connecting with personal victories and insights.
Step 1: Select a personally meaningful intention or goal. This can be to increase the speed and accuracy of your musical scales, establish a clearer relationship with heavenly energies, or free yourself from loneliness. Any intention that is important to you is perfect—no need to judge or overthink. The only thing to be cautious of is ensuring that it is your intention and does not rely on anyone else.
Step 2: Identify one specific action you can take each day to move in the direction of your intention. Following the examples above, we might say “Run each scale once per day” or “Practice the most difficult scale three times in a row, perfectly, four times per week.” “Meditate for twelve minutes every day” or “Identify a divine presence in an everyday moment, every single day.” “Three times per week, visit one of my friends/family members and listen without interrupting, then share something personal about myself in return” or “Notice a moment of genuine connection every single day.” Note that you may refine this action over time to find what works best for you. As you move in the direction of your intention, the required action may naturally shift.
Step 3: Record the progress of this intention. Be clear about the experiences you have. Note the insights that arise. Remain inspired!
Step 4: The time will come when you feel a sense of mastery over or completion of this goal/intention. Then it is time to move on to another. You may retain the behaviors that led to your uplifted, victorious awareness because they are habits now.
You may continue moving in the direction of your evolution by cultivating a healthy daily practice, one after another. Once an intention becomes established behavior, develop another. Continually following a daily practice inevitably supports us in realizing the true inner creator. In this way, life itself is an act of creation.
YOU’RE the Creator!
Self-mastery is evident when we create the life of our dreams. You came to this world with all you already need to be the perfect version of yourself, living exactly as you wish to. Our skills, aptitudes, and interests are all clues about the person we are meant to be. You possess a unique combination of gifts that only you can offer to the world. When each of us lives in full alignment with those gifts, the world will be a transformed home for us all.
Creativity, for some, is about artistic expression. That has been the focus of most of this book. However, our inventiveness and collective idea-making are other forms of creation. Whatever global/political/personal issue keeps you up at night already has a solution. For it to be brought into being, however, we cannot be trapped in the corporate machine. It takes courage to step out of societal norms and spend more time freeing our minds and our inner joy. However, that is exactly what needs to happen if the world is going to change. This simple shift in consciousness—each of us connecting to and expressing from our creative soul—is the path to freedom for all humans.
How is very simple. The main point was taught to most of us as children: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” or “Love one another.” Where the simple message gets lost is in our own egos. We must remember that we are from divine Creation, therefore divine creators. Creative intelligence holds solutions to any problem we experience or can think up. It may not be drawn into reality yet; however, by connecting to your own creative essence you become part of the solution and a creative inspiration for those around you. Explore this in the next exercise.
Get in touch with what makes you special and how you can harness your aptitudes to create the life of your dreams, including a more peaceful, connected world.
Step 1: List the things you or others appreciate about you. Consider talents, personality traits, offerings, etc. This step is easier if you take the question to five people you trust, as well. “I’m reading this book and it wants me to ask you what you appreciate about me … ”
Step 2: In what ways do you contribute to making the world better in action? Consider within your household (recycling, buying items used rather than new, teaching your children the value of “service,” etc.), community (picking up litter, making food for an ailing neighbor, supporting local farmers, etc.), and globally (petitioning against and refusing to purchase products from multinational corporations, sponsoring a child in an underprivileged nation, volunteering time to missions, etc.).
Step 3: In what ways do you make the world better from your own upliftedness? Consider the impact your peace of mind has within your household/job, community, and even globally. If we are in some way a unified consciousness, as yoga teachings and other great thinkers/scientists suggest, then your upliftedness is valuable to all.
When we acknowledge the connectedness between all humans and live as if our actions are of value, not only to ourselves but others, we create a more conscientious and uplifted world. You create not only on the smaller scale of self-expression, but on the grand human scale as well through your everyday thoughts and actions.
From the perspective of unified consciousness, you may consider that each thought you have is like a ripple in the collective thought-field, or a prayer for the outcome associated with the thought. For the last ten years or so, much has been said about the idea that our thoughts create our reality. Consider that every thought you think, whether conscious or automatic, is a prayer. Our random thoughts may be requests for the divine. We create with each belief, image, and speculation. As a creative person, you can harness this power and apply the power of your mind to the good of all humanity. The next exercise takes that idea one step further.
Exercise: Thoughts Create Reality
In your personal growth journey, you have likely encountered the idea that our thoughts create our reality. This often speaks to our ongoing perceptions and the way we filter and give meaning to events. There is also the idea that our thoughts are magnetic, drawing our expectations, fears, and hopes into being. What reality do you wish to create?
Step 1: Take fifteen seconds and list some of the problems you see in the world. Do not spend more than fifteen seconds—there are many and you might fall into despair before you even make it to step 2. Trust that the first few that come out of you are the ones that relate best to your individual gifts, aptitudes, and passions.
Step 2: You made it here! Now, become aware of your thoughts as they pass through your mind on an average day. There are lots of them; it’s okay if you forget to witness sometimes. Simply notice, whenever you think of it (or set a timer), “What am I thinking right now?”
Step 3: Follow that awareness up with some intentionality: “If these thoughts were true, what kind of world would that be? Is that the world I wish to create?” If yes, excellent. If no, continue to the next step.
Step 4: Now that you are conscious of your thoughts and your power as a creator, imagine something wonderful for the world. Relate this conscious creative thought to an item on your list from step 1. If you think this thought and combine it with feelings of thankfulness, joy, and hope, you are engaged in a very powerful practice.
Step 5 (optional): What happens for some people in this exercise is that they begin to dream of or have spontaneous ideas about concrete actions that they could take to align with the thoughts of step 4. Remember, every thought we have is a prayer for its material existence. If we are contemplating the end of some kind of strife, we will inevitably receive ideas about how we can end it. This is a process of divine cocreation.
Inspiration engages us in creating a new reality, the same way it impels us to create art. This is not about cultivating a “God Complex”; rather, growing a faithful relationship with ourselves as creative beings. We are of Creation; therefore, we are creative. Divine creative forces wish to support our creative powers in small and large ways. When we feel hopeless or concerned about the state of the world, it is simply a cue to direct our creative resources.
If we are the creators of our own lives then there must be some kind of signpost or way of marking the path so that we know we are heading in the right direction. Since we are cocreating with life (or God, divine forces, quanta, our future Selves, or however you conceptualize it), we can keep an eye out for feedback as we choose our thoughts and live into being the creator.
Exercise: Accessing Divine Guidance
Since you are cocreating with divine Creation, you may trust that force to offer you continual guidance. Here are steps to take in order to prove this to yourself. Stay open to how messages and hints appear, and, of course, be creative and inspired in how you interpret them.
Step 1: As with previous exercises, be intentional about your thoughts, words, and actions as you move toward the life of your dreams. Request guidance or feedback about these intentions and actions.
Step 2: Assume that the answer to your request is forthcoming. Keep all five senses open and engaged. Note coincidences, including what song comes on the radio, words that jump out at you, wafts of inexplicable aromas, or overheard snippets of conversation.
Step 3: Sometimes these signposts will suggest the cultivation of a virtue. They may also give clues to your next step. Sometimes they request a minor adjustment or recalibration.
Step 4: Be thankful for whatever messages you receive, no matter how subtly or strangely they come. Believe in this kind of subtle support and follow the “recommendations” that seem to be coming through.
Connecting to the creative soul and fashioning the life you ideally wish to live is a joint process. None of us does this alone. You are a cocreator with your creative soul, and with the divine essence of life. Connecting to other humans who are living into their own Being-ness is another way of cultivating creative connection.
Creative Community
As discussed in previous chapters, we are healthier when surrounded by like-minded others who see and respect us. As creative beings, it is beneficial to create life with others who share our vision and missions. This can mean joining groups who are acting on behalf of causes we believe in or becoming a member of a knitting, singing, or painting group. What is important is the supportive, collaborative energy.
Share your work with others. Let them know the thoughts you are consciously cultivating and show them your personal creative endeavors. You can develop your craft by requesting pieces of feedback, be it complimentary or constructive. (I recommend the former when you are getting started and the latter before you go public.) Speaking of going public, show your work. Do readings, hang your efforts in local cafes, perform in recitals. The more we put ourselves out there as creative beings, the more we inspire others to pursue their own creative gifts. The world is ready for this level of healing. If you are afraid or insecure, try the next exercise.
Exercise: Put It Out There: Showing Your Stuff/Self
Many of us are comfortable creating in private. Through exercises like those in this book, we may even move beyond self-judgment and fear of what comes out of us. Showing it to someone else is another scary step to take. Showing it to the world … that might be too far. But it isn’t!
Step 1: Select ten pieces that mean something to you. These will likely be associated with deep emotional release or externalizing something you held in for a long, long time. They probably reflect something profoundly true for you … and you may not know exactly what that is.
Step 2: Of those ten pieces, select five that you think might be “good” by conventional (and I use that word loosely) standards. What is unique? What truly speaks to you? Which has received praise from others?
Step 3: Show your stuff. You can be creative with this as well. If your pieces are dances, go to a park or dance club and move through them. If it is written work, speak them publicly at an open mic night, poetry slam, or “speakers’ corner.” If it is visual art, find somewhere to show it or hang copies on bulletin boards. It may seem strange to share in informal or subversive ways; however, these are steps in revealing yourself.
Throughout the course of this book you have learned to connect to and create with your creative essence. Now share your gifts, insights, and inspiration!