What’s It All About?
As a practising artist and maker I find mindfulness and creativity knit together extremely well, each supporting the other.
Both aspects work from the premise of ‘more curiosity than fear’ (Elizabeth Gilbert). Often fear and doubt can be prevailing attitudes that keep us from following the path we would like to. If we consider fear as False Evidence Appearing Real (Neale Donald Walsch) we can acknowledge its presence as a natural survival instinct of the mind but not allow it to overwhelm us. Instead we nurture curiosity and openness to develop our playfulness.
Jon Kabat-Zinn’s foundational attitudes (or pillars) of mindfulness are a helpful guide and something we use to support our mindfulness and creativity.
Non-judging, non-striving, acceptance, patience, trust,
beginner’s mind, letting go.
Mindfulness
‘The practice of mindfulness is simply to bring awareness into each moment of our lives’
(Thich Nhat Hanh, Creating True Peace: 2003).
Mindfulness is a seed we all have, which has been neglected in the busyness of daily life. At THE Creative S P A C E mindfulness is something we cultivate and practise. Like any learned skill mindfulness becomes easier the more we practise. Mindfulness is an energy that allows us to look deeply at our internal state, and also appreciate more fully the world around us. It is also called Heartfulness, an approach that allows us to follow our intuition (or gut response) rather than our head.
Creativity
Creativity is ‘the relationship between a human being and the mysteries of inspiration ... Do you have the courage to bring forth the treasures that are hidden within you? Creative living is any life that is driven more strongly by curiosity than fear’
(Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear: 2016)
Mindful creativity is any activity that helps us relax and rest our usual ‘doing’ mode and engage a ‘being’ mode.
‘We do not become artists. We are artists. We are.
Some of us are still catching up to what we are.
We do not become writers. dancers. musicians. helpers. peacemakers. We came as such. We are.
Some of us are still catching up to what we are’(Clarissa Pinkola Estes).
‘Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up’
(Picasso).
