The Power of Creating
Readers, welcome to the wondrous world of confusion and understanding, darkness and light, color and monochrome, primitive and evolved, where paradox is commonplace and the mundane becomes miraculous:
“You think you are no artist, but you have been drawing breath all your life.”
~ Poet 314
I read the above line , written in small block letters, on the back of a foil wrapper. The wrapper had originally kept cigarettes fresh inside a hard top flip-top box. Such wrappers were the only thing Poet 314 would write on. He was a man in his fifties, physically healthy but plagued with mental illness and alcohol encephalopathy, living in a nursing home. I was a twenty nine year old Expressive Therapy intern, trying to learn how to use the creative process to help people heal from mental illness. (These days the term is Behavioral Health disorder. Feh.) I didn’t have the power to heal Poet 314’s ravaged brain, but I grew to value his poems and his company. He had an impressive talent for writing short phrases packed with a variety if meanings. The quote above has always been my favorite; it speaks to a belief I have had for a long time:
Creativity is a basic human survival and life enhancement ability. It is not the exclusive property of artistic types. Some people put so much energy into appearing to be artists, that they have little left for actual creativity. Actual creativity occurs in arts such as visual, dramatic, musical and so on, but it does not stop there. It is the ability that helped humans to live through the Ice Age using fire and animal furs to keep warm. In this book we will expand the definition of creative ability beyond art and science.
If I could sell a book for every highly creative person who told me that they weren’t creative, my golden retirement would be assured. Sometimes the problem is one of definition. The Power of Creating can be so clearly miraculous that it has become mystified into a secret plane of existence where only the truly great can dwell. I believe that is both miraculous and mundane (there may be more paradoxes in this chapter than the others) that it is in the reach of geniuses, children, business people and house spouses. Creativity is to humans as song is to birds. It is so hard to put into words that before I even try, I know I can only succeed part way. This despite having written my master’s thesis on the subject : Creativity and Vibration, a Visual Model of the Psyche, Leroy W. Jones, 1981, Lesley University library. I believe I gained some insight into the mysteries of the creative process, so I will attempt a definition:
For those who believe in a deity, Divine Creativity is the ability to produce new existence out of non-existence. Human creativity is the ability to produce new being out of the breakdown and reassembly of that which previously existed, in original ways. Creative ability produces objects, relationships and interactions which take on lives of their own, as though they were beings, metaphorically speaking. It is more than building, as singing is more than speech. A new product can be everything from a short conversation, to the paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Creativity is the counterargument to the Ecclesiastic complaint that all is vanity, and there is nothing new under the sun.
A family manages to celebrate a holiday with style, on a meagre budget. A couple has a fight, then a discussion, followed by each partner understanding the other better. A teacher manages a rambunctious class while harnessing kids’ playfulness and curiosity in the learning process. Divorced parents put aside their bitterness, and work together to help their children through the upheaval. An entrepreneur creates a new business, with the foresight and fortitude to see it through. A person comes to the realization that they may play a part in their romances falling apart, and decides to risk an appointment with a therapist. A parent makes up a fairytale on the spot to help their child fall asleep. A conflict management consultant manages to promote hope and peace in a seemingly hopeless situation. These are just a few examples of the creative responses made by “ordinary” people in common life situations. It is every bit as real as that expressed through a work of art. Where does it start and how does it grow?
Getting born is one place to start. Not because sexual reproduction, the creation of a new organism from two parent organisms, is something new. Neither is the level of human creativity at an all time high. Lots of critters and plants have been reproducing through sex for eons, right along with us big-headed two legged types. The fact remains that sexual reproduction is an excellent metaphor for the overall creative process. It is an ordinary, everyday miracle that can be seen and experienced in many ways.
As a biological process, the creation of a new organism from the genetic material of two other organisms is both complicated and efficient. First specialized sex cells called gametes (in our case spermatozoa and ova)are split off the cells of testes or ovaries, each one with half the normal genetic material found in most of the other cells. Creatively or otherwise, male and female bring sperm and ova together. The cells do the rest: each gamete’s contribution of genes is united, broken down, tangled, untangled, rearranged until the RNA of each is linked spiral wise into the DNA of a combination which hasn’t existed before. This is reflected in the child, who may resemble but is not identical with mother or father. With the exception of identical twins or clones, no two sexual beings contain have identical DNA. All human beings share a resemblance, but each baby born is truly something “…new under the sun.” So much for complication. Where is the efficiency? That is spoken for by the fact we still exist.
Slicing dicing, splicing the genetic heritage allows diversity and variation within the species. Given that it is the nature of most environments to change over time, successful species in such environments need to change as well. Human beings in particular owe many successes to adaptability, and many catastrophes to failings in that flexibility of response. Complacence with the status quo does not appear to be written into the design. For human beings to adapt so well to so many different places and times, there needed to be millions and billions of babies born with different combinations of abilities and qualities. Some needed quick minds, some needed quick feet, or physical strength, emotional stamina, aggression, equanimity, resistance to cold, resistance to heat…the list of variations goes on and on. Yet it was not our genetic variations alone that allowed us to survive and thrive. Most of all, it was creativity of mind and spirit. This quality seems to be as natural to us as speed is to cheetahs. We have cheetah’d death (I know, groan) millions of times.
In terms of the survival of humanity, creative thinking and acting is the only way to go. The combination and recombination of human experiences, thoughts, feelings, failure and successes, allow for that flexibility of response we need to live. Our ability to communicate through language is an amazing phenomenon which allows people to communicate their ideas and feelings to each other. Ironically, it is our creativity which he have used to accelerate the pace of change, both social and environmental, to a rate that has cost countless lives of humans and other creatures.
We were not willing to settle for existence at the beck and call of Nature, subject to whims of illness, natural disasters, or sharp fanged predators. We invented walls, weapons, medicines and rituals to hold death at bay, to keep the food and sense of security coming. Naturally we felt more powerful, and kept pursuing more of the same. Somehow, at some point, the process of seeking security and control over our lives became distorted, creativity’s shadow. We sought the illusion of perfectly risk free lives, absolute control not only over ourselves, but the whole universe. This fear driven hubris is a recurring theme in histories of individuals and societies.
For now, let’s look some more at the similarities between genetic diversity and human creativity. For example, both egg and mind need to be stimulated, sometimes invaded, by outside reality such as spermatozoa or life challenges,
for the miracle to take place. Despite appearances, the most creative genius on the planet would be stymied without the influence of the outside world at some point in time. The time lapse between stimulation and creative production can be misleading in that regard, separating cause from effect so that the relationship is not obvious, just as the time lapse between impregnation and birth can create the false impression to children that women create babies without outside intervention. In both cases, creativity is not an abstract process separated from existence in the ordinary world.
Many theorists, in trying to understand and explain creativity, have broken the process into different steps. I’ve borrowed freely from them to come up with with my own understanding and explanation. It is just one model of how creativity unfolds. In real life there are many variations. It would be inconsistent with its own nature for creativity to always occur in predictable steps in predictable ways. Regardless, I will lay out some phases that are present in the creative process, though at times they seem to occur in different order.
First, there is routine functioning, in which the mind is at rest, or doing something so familiar as to be relatively undemanding. This may be taking a walk, reading the paper, making small talk, filing papers, etc. In such a state, one’s consciousness can float between noticing reality outside the mind, and attention to inside the mind, where memories, fantasies, concerns of past, present and future dwell. The barking of dog in the park may recall memories of a childhood pet, while memories of a past mugging may cause one to pay close attention to passers by. This wandering of focus, from inner to outer and back again, will eventually at some point shift to the beginning of the next stage, a more intense focus on an inner or outer object which somehow grabs the attention. It is the nature of inner and outer environments to change, and the stimulations of both sides to to influence objects on the other.
Think of two collections of magnets, each on either inner or outer side of a glass sphere.
Each magnet of inner and outer perception will be pushed or pulled into different positions, by magnets on either side. Inner is affected by outer, and vice versa. This constant shifting and rearranging is characteristic of our perception of our inner, mental world and the outer, “real world.” Both are real and dance with each other, so to speak. We may not be aware of this happening, but at some point we are moved to try to figure something out, resolve a pattern of attractions which seems to be missing an element. This is the creative challenge. To shift to a less cumbersome visualization, here is a change of symbols:
Magnets become pieces of a pattern, mental energy is represented by waves, and the mind is divided to inner, middle, and outer regions. Inner mind is hidden from awareness, while outer mind is easily available. The middle is in transition between the two. These regions can be referred to as unconscious, preconscious, and conscious. When the mind is trying to resolve a perceived pattern with a missing element, this is the phase of Engagement:
Just as engagment to a fiancée is a commitment to build a deep and loving relationship with a partner, engagement in the creative process is a commitment to bring into existence a union which has not existed before. With newly committed couples the focus is on each other, feelings, agreements, disagreements, resolutions and sex. (Even with abstinent couples, sometimes even more so, sexual feelings and actions are an important issue.) The challenge is considerable and often underestimated in the glow of romance. The pair-bond is at work. When difficulties arise, there can be a sense of shock. For couples inclined to work out problems, rather than sweep them under the rug or ditch the relationship, the term “engagement” takes on a whole other layer of meaning. There is a struggle between the need to be one’s own person, and be in relationship. Each partner tries to identify and understand the problem with the hope of resolving it. Eventually the creative solutions of finding a way to be in relationship and be individuals, take many strange and wondrous forms.
The struggles of a mind engaged in the creative process bears many similarities to those above. Just as a person can can feel incomplete or unresolved without their partner, the mind feels restless and unfinished if it cannot find a way to arrive at a synthesis of inner and outer realities. The mind perceives an incompleteness, puzzle, problem or apparent paradox that it just cannot leave alone. Whether it is a quest for a better mousetrap, relationship, religion, society, sense of integrity or any number of goals, the pursuit of solutions, at times, feels all consuming. Creators (or lovers) may forget to eat, sleep, meet with friends, or do other things they would normally consider high priority. The phase of engagement has to give way, however. The conscious focus on what appears to be insoluble takes a lot of energy. A frustrating awareness may build that the harder one tries, the further away completion seems to be. The giving up of the struggle may be dramatic, as in exhausted collapse. It may be more matter of fact, a decision to let the matter rest, take a walk, have a meal, return to the problem another day. To an outside observer, it looks as though the creative effort is over. What has really happened is that the process has moved into the next phase, Gestation:
Also called incubation, this is the part of the process that is the most mysterious. It happens in the dark, out of sight. As in biological gestation or incubation, the correct supportive environment needs to be maintained, and the process allowed to proceed on its own. A farmer knows better than to crack the egg to give the developing chick vitamins, and good obstetricians invade the womb reluctantly, with respect and care. This is why many authors refuse to discuss their work in progress, protecting the gestation as a brooding hen protects it’s eggs, or a pregnant woman her abdomen. Tamper with the mystery too much at the wrong time, and it may never reach completion. Praying for the well-being of the developing offspring, keeping it warm, singing to it and making sure it gets what it needs to develop…those are the chief tasks at this time.
A very significant part of the creative process, then, happens deep within the mind, outside of conscious control. This is hard for some people to take, and may account for the love/hate attitude many artists and others have with creativity. Just as children do, creative endeavors take on lives and directions of their own. With both, it is a difficult art in itself to know when to impose one’s will, and when to just let things happen. Both approaches are needed at different times.
The length of gestation for creative development is not as consistent as it is with the biological counterpart. Many times, it is more like a chemical reaction than a steady increase in cells and differentiation. It is as though the process or engagement has pumped energy into all the mental bits of the creation to be, changing their nature, as a Bunsen burner pumps heat into chemicals in a test tube. Sometimes very soon, and sometimes much later, all those bits of creation find the right pattern to fall into. When they form a new compound the result can be a dramatic output of heat and light, pushing the mind into a state of Illumination:
The references to light and vision in religion, philosophy, myths, literature, various arts and science, are countless. Our lives revolve around the rhythm of going from night, day, and back again. Our attitude toward light may be ambivalent at times. Light accompanies the overwhelming disruption of the dark warm comforts of the womb. It keeps the night fears in check as we grow, shows us truths we long for as well as those we would rather not see, and ultimately abandons us to the pitch black of the grave. Some say it welcomes us on the other side. It symbolizes divine goodness and enlightenment, yet in many mythologies gods jealously guard fire and the light it throws from mortals.
In the creative process, illumination is more than a by-product of creative fusion. It provides clarity and energy to keep on creating. It can be quite a rush, hitting at unpredictable times, during sleep, routine conversations, showers, chores, sex, and so on. This can be disruptive to say the least, yet it is often accompanied by a sense of catharsis. The exhilaration of seeing reality and possibility, wholes, parts, relationships, self and others, much more clearly than before, can be intense. The whole mind is alive and aware of its whole self. The barriers between the conscious, preconscious, and conscious may thin to the point of seeming to disappear. “Eureka! Aha! Of course! It’s so simple! How come I never saw this before!” are a few of the statements expressing such a state of excitement.
Life and creativity is not, of course, always so dramatic. Both frequently occur in a series of smaller steps, each triggering the next like brush strokes. Cruising, engagements, gestations and illumination build larger forms of creative expression. This can be very hard work. Either way, the process is not complete until Production takes place:
This is the stage where the rubber meets the road, the tough get going, communication improves, dance is danced, brush meets canvas, fingers meet keyboard, move is made, music played, minds meet, teams compete, meal is made, child is raised, loins are girded, words absurded, analogy’s pathology dissected and resurrected. In other words, this is when creative process is translated into “real world” existence. If human creativity is in part spurred by the need to resolve or express an incomplete pattern or connection with elements, inner reality or outer reality, then production is where the resolution or expression happens. This is birth. The variations are endless. An adult takes responsibility or the first time since high school, a dancer moves arm or leg the way the moment suggests, the architect sketches out the new concept, two people reach understanding when neither thought they ever could…countless such examples can be arrived at by pondering the extraordinary and ordinary ways people arrive at solutions.
It can be important to remember that a lot of creativity happens in small steps. Often small steps add up to a larger journey. Conversations can be highly creative, each sentence increasing the degree of understanding called for, each response or question continuing the process of building a bridge between the different realities of two or more people. There is a reason for the term “the art of conversation”.
Ideally The Power of Creating is where all the other powers come together, including the most important of all, the Power of Loving. Human beings fall short of perfection in this area as many others. I hate to say it, but the Power of Creating has its dark side, which must be recognized and dealt with.
The Power of Creating can be devastating when it is used in the service of evil. Call it anti-creativity if you like, or Thanatos, the drive toward death. It incorporates all of the steps of creativity, but differs in the horrible results of its production. The awful ingenuity of the Nazis’ “final solution”, or the foreshadowing of germ warfare when the United States donated smallpox contaminated blankets to the men, women and children of Indigenous villages, are two examples. The malignant manipulation of human beings involves a creative effort. Leonardo DaVinci’s beautiful artwork, and his plans for construction of weapons of war far ahead of his time, were both products of his creative genius. Creativity has been used for the purpose of mass destruction for millennia. Other species have met extinction from natural catastrophe, evolutionary dead ends, or short-sighted human ingenuity. We are threatened by extinction precisely because of our misguided creative power. Will we be destroyed by war, climate chaos, or some other self-created cause? We need to take these possible outcomes very seriously indeed.
The other option is to find the guidance to use our creativity toward life-affirming solutions, rather than fairytale security myths complete with the destruction required to carry those myths to our graves, if there is anybody left to dig them. The search for such guidance takes us to the next and greatest Power of Being.