Are You Creative? - A Creative Program

Have you ever asked yourself if you have what it takes to be creative?

Does being creative mean for you that you have to be an artist, an author, a designer or in some other related artistic line of work?

The answer is NO. Creativity actually has nothing to do with a single activity. Doing something does not have to be creative or uncreative. You can be a painter although you may not be creative, as well as you can sing even if you are not creative. In the same way you can clean the floor in countless creative ways and you can be a creative cook. Creativity is a quality, which has nothing whatever to do with an activity. It's more an inner stance, an attitude with which you chose to do something.

We are all creative beings. Creation is effortless. Take a look at nature - the power of creation unfolds so effortlessly. Flowers blossom miraculously, grass grows without it being pulled out of the ground. It's true, creativity is our very own nature also!

We were made to be creative. It is a gift from our very own creator and as such it is a spiritual issue. It's like oxygen for our souls. The use of our creativity is our gift back to creation itself. If you can accept this bargain, it is the beginning of true acceptance. If someone is really creative, no matter what he or she does, it will be done as an act of creation.

We are individuals, each and every one of us completely different. I think we could agree on that. The energy of creativity flows through us, shaped by us, like light flowing through different crystal prisms. To learn to be creative, you don't need to go to a school. All you need is to connect deep inside with yourself and be present.

As children, we were artists, totally creative. So how can we get back to our natural creative state as an adult? We can reawaken to the sense of wonder in us - something so often lost in adulthood. A child's excitement and reaction to a first time adventure is magical. Watch the broad smile of a toddler patting his first puppy. Drink in the joy of a child dipping its toe in the ocean for the first time. Who better to learn from than a child? They are great teachers.
Children are innocent.
Children are non-judgemental.
Children are resilient to change.
Children are trusting.
Children love unconditionally.

As a child I loved to go within myself. I would paint and cut things out of paper or magazines. My mother's friends would comment on how well I did this. But somehow it wasn't thought of as being a worthwhile past-time. Daydreaming wasn't accepted as "doing" something. At school I would have loved to have taken art as a subject in the higher classes, yet I chose mathematics and computer science, as I thought that I could better make a living when I left school. I denied my urge to be creative, envying those who continued with art.

After leaving school, I started work in an insurance company but it made me unhappy. I had met the love of my life and decided to leave the country I had been born in and where I had grown up to be with him. He recognized my creative spirit and urged me to apply for art school. To my sheer delight I was successful, and I found myself studying communications design. From that time on I've been clearing my artistic path from the childhood blocks I've been holding onto. It's a continuing journey, which I'm going to tell you about in this course. I have realized over the years that the very creative process I have come to know so well as a designer can be applied to all areas of life. That's what this program is about.

Creation is only the projection into form of that which already exists. Imagine the universe as vast, pure, unboundless creative energy, in which you are immersed in. This energy has formed you and all of nature. Opening to your creativity makes you into a fully functioning, conscious, cooperative part of existence. You dip into this source and you can give it permission to flow through you, just as the most creative people of our time were able to do. You invoke the Great Creator when you invoke your own creativity.

The force of creativity has the power to change lives, to answer your dreams and to fulfill destinies. It is an almost mysterious, paradoxical state of consciousness and being. Creativity is doing by not doing. It means that something is allowed to happen through you. It's not doing, it's allowing it to happen. You become a channel through which creative energy flows through you, you allow yourself to be used as an instrument.

Nature gives everyone energy for creativity. When you try to stop its natural flow it can cause unease and unhappiness. Relaxing, playing, meditating and not trying are the best receptors for creativity. Einstein said: "Imagination is more important than knowledge". It is said that he received his theory of relativity whilst not trying at all, but during his sleep, when the creative energy was able to effortlessly flow through him.

Here again are the basic principles of creativity, quoted from the book "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron:
"1. Creativity is the natural order of life. Life is energy; pure creative energy.
2. There is an underlying, in-dwelling creative force infusing all of life - including ourselves.
3. When we open ourselves to our creativity, we open ourselves to the creator's creativity within us and our lives.
4. We are, ourselves, creations. And we, in turn, are meant to continue creativity by being creative ourselves.
5. Creativity is God's gift to us. Using our creativity is our gift back to God.
6. The refusal to be creative is self-will and is counter to our true nature.
7. When we open ourselves to exploring our creativity, we open ourselves to God: good orderly direction.
8. As we open our creative channel to the creator, many gentle but powerful changes are to be expected.
9. It is safe to open ourselves up to greater creativity.
10. Our creative dreams and yearnings come from a divine source. As we move toward our dreams, we move toward our divinity."

So trust the still, small voice inside you trying to find a way to release itself!