How to Touch Your Creative Soul: A Zen View
By Mary Jaksch
The soul of creativity arises from an undivided mind. ~ Stephen Nachmanovitch
At times each one of us suffers from creative fatigue. Writing can become a joyless activity – if we forget to touch our creative soul. More about that in a moment, but first let’s take a look at what obscures creativity. Nothing can actually block creativity. It’s like a wellspring that never ceases to gush. But any wellspring can become obscured by debris, and we may need to dig down to find the pure water of inspiration. Here is a list of laudable writing skills – each of which obscures creativity.
What obscures creativity
- Utilitarian writing When the focus is completely on the usefulness of what we write, we become like a tailor who churns out suit after suit, similar in cut but different in texture. Usefulness is great, but too much of it can obscure creativity.
- Strategic writing In order to churn out piece after piece, we learn to use shortcuts and strategies for fast completion. Like mapping out the main section heads and then filling in the detail. Or adding an intro and extro just before hitting the ‘publish’ button. Strategic skills are great, but they can obscure creativity.
- Expert writing Those of us who are non-fiction writers aspire to be experts in our field. In order to cultivate our expert status, we try to write what we know about. Knowledge is great, but it can obscure creativity.
- Safe writing Most of us play it safe when writing. We don’t want to shock or upset our readers or cause a mass exodus from our website. Safety is a great thing and will help your blog grow, but it can obscure creativity.
- Predictable writing Most of our writing is predictable and, well, maybe boring. Writers and readers like to remain in their comfort zone, but predictability can obscure creativity.
Is your brand a prison?
As bloggers we are encouraged to play it safe, and not rock the blog, or bust our brand. I think we have to take care not to become a victim of success. Because once we actually have established a successful brand, we tend to foster and maintain it – at the expense of adventure and risk. And at the expense of creativity.
How to touch the soul of creativity
Right. Here now is the nub of this post. The place where I tell you exactly how to grab hold of creativity – and put it to good use. There’s just one small problem: creativity isn’t like that. At all. We can’t grab hold of creativity. It’s not an accessory, or something we can possess or horde. It doesn’t belong to anyone. It doesn’t belong – full stop.
TS Eliot says,
If the word ‘inspiration’ is to have any meaning, it must mean … that the speaker … is uttering something that he does not wholly understand.
In other words, when we are in the grip of inspiration we are somehow unintelligible and unrecognizable to ourselves. Not only do we not know ourselves. Knowing itself stops.
The more we grasp for it, the more creativity seems to evaporate. The more tricks we use to get our creativity under control, the more it seems to vanish – and we are left with a dreary laundry list of laudable writing skills. That’s because creativity isn’t something that can be manipulated or coerced. Creativity only comes into play when we forget about ‘getting’ or ‘having’ it.
We all want to be inspired. More precisely, we want to have inspiration. We want to be the master of inspiration and control it. But, do we really want to give ourselves over to inspiration and let it have us?
Quite simply…
The soul of creativity arises from an undivided mind.
Sounds good, doesn’t it – but what does it actually mean? If you look through the list of five laudable writing skills, they all force us to write with a divided mind. When we use such a mindset, part of our attention is on writing, and – at the same time – part of our attention is on how the reader might react, how we can shape the post to perform well in social media, and so on.
Our mind is cut into two.
The poet Peter Levitt had something to say about this in the following poem:
Already at birth
I was parted,
not just from my mother -
but body from mind,
mind from its source -
that’s why I take up
this soft blade
of breathe
to cut me back into one
How to cut yourself back into one
‘The soft blade of breath’ helps us to become whole, and touch the source of creativity. Mindful breathing is a great way to return to yourself. To reconnect with the moment as it is. But this is not yet the doorway to creativity. It’s just the preparation.
The doorway to creativity
To enter creativity is uncomfortable. Because the doorway to creativity is dark. The doorway leads to nothing, nada, nichts. What I mean is this: creativity happens when we embrace darkness and give up knowing. Not knowing means that we need to feel our way in the darkness. Sensing outlines and shapes, but seeing only dimly.
It’s uncomfortable, because when we don’t know, there is nothing to hold on to. There is no knowledge to support us, and no known outcome of our work. It’s like a mute having a dream – but not able to express it. Isadora Duncan said, “If I could say it I wouldn’t have to dance it.” It’s uncomfortable. But it’s also pure adventure. It’s a path into the Unknown. As medieval mapmakers said about terra incognita, unexplored areas: ‘There be dragons here’.
How to open the door
Here are seven tips that will help you open the door of creativity:
- Write about a question that is too big and far beyond you.
- Embrace not-knowing.
- Allow time to muse and let thoughts and words take shape in the darkness.
- Write down any stray bits that come to you.
- Allow the final shape to emerge at its own pace.
- Let your writing invade your dreams.
- Let yourself be derailed.
That last point is the most important one. Because we tend to ride on the rail of who we think we are, and who we want to appear as. If we want to touch and reveal our creative soul, we need to allow creativity to derail us. Yes, we’ll be faced with something of a crash site with passengers wandering around aimlessly wondering who the hell they are and how they got there. But touching the soul of creativity is worth the chaos and the pain.
If you walk through this dark doorway, you’ll renew your love affair with writing. You’ll find that you never lost your creativity – it’s right there, just waiting for you to let go of knowing, productivity, and usefulness.
Ok, so it’s not the kind of writing that productivity gurus talk about. If you’re a blogger who has to produce stuff regularly, it may not be a technique for everyday writing, but you may want to use it at least once a month to keep on developing as a writer. It’s slow, laborious, heart-rending, and exhilarating – and will remind you why you wanted to become a writer in the first place.
The truth does not ride on a clever response, but on something immediate, irrational, torn directly from the soul. ~ Stephen Nachmanovitch
Mary Jaksch is a Zen Master and the Chief Editor of Write to Done. Read more on her blog Goodlife Zen and secure a place on her upcoming FREE Virtual Zen Retreat The Miracle of Kindness
29 Responses to “How to Touch Your Creative Soul: A Zen View”
Comments
Read below or add a comment...
Mary,
I have found that the things you mention DO block creativity. If we feel pressure to write, it is an almost sure thing that creativity will be blocked. With the new year upon us, I have decided to rededicate myself to my creative soul and start writing more. I think the best thing for me to open up the door to my creative soul is to keep a handy journal to write down thoughts! The best cure for writer’s block is to just write! :)
In fact,I find that creativity is strengthened with more writing.In another word,the more I write,the more creativity I’ll have.I believe that writing more is the biggest secret to increase writing creativity.
I have to say that strategic writing is the most poisonous to me. For ex, I’d rather write a creative headline than a functional one.
I love the how to open the door tips. Why can’t we admit we don’t know everything?
Great points, Mary — and a useful reminder! It’s easy to get caught up in writing for all sorts of reasons that aren’t necessarily good ones (especially when focusing on a piece of writing as “content” for the web).
I think giving yourself permission to play, explore and write something in a joyful spirit is essential. It helps me to remember that I don’t ever have to show anyone my first draft!
I feel as if this post was written about me. I’ve been writing about writing every day for almost five years and there are times I feel as if I might be getting a little stale. Lately I started adding humor to my writing and it’s been a refreshing change of pace, and the humor is always well-received. I’ll work on putting your tips into action.
I love this post Mary, thanks very much. Creativity always seems to get lost behind practical things like usefulness and predictability.
I especially love the tips on how to open the door to creativity. Particularly #7 – Let yourself be derailed. I always find that I am constricted by my own limits of self-control that I place unwittingly upon myself. Hopefully I can learn to let go of control, embrace not-knowing, and unleash my creative self a lot more.
Thanks again for a great article!
Great post, Mary!
Your tip # 6, “Let your writing invade your dreams”, is especially helpful for letting your creativity flow. Too many times we write in a formulaic way, making sure that we are dotting our i’s and crossing our t’s, forgetting that our writing could be magical and dream-like.
Thanks for so many good ideas!
Nice piece Mary. Derailed. Busted. Oh yes. I think the secret is play, play as small children. When your dragon wants to come out and play, join in. But most importantly — be yourself.
When I started my blog, I did so as a writer. I added more and more graphics to my posts, especially my own photographs and before I knew it, I was derailed as a writer and my love of photography was reborn.
Now, I revel in both. The synergy of photography and writing has energized me like nothing ever has. Life is a creative journey. The destination isn’t important but the journey sure is fun.
Very inspiring, indeed.
The creativity is out there in the dark, or perhaps in there, in the darkest parts of our brains. Wherever it is, we can reach it if we close our eyes.
One of the best posts on writing I’ve read in a while; it really made me stop and think, instead of telling me something I already know.
I do have one slight disagreement: while I see how safe or predictable writing can get in the way of creativity, I don’t think that utilitarian or expert writing is necessarily un-creative. The best expert writing, for example, approaches a common topic in an unorthodox or particularly provocative way – creativity at its finest.
The danger with expert or utilitarian writing is that we fall into predictable patterns, communicating the same old ideas in the same old way time after time. If we’re careful to examine each piece of writing as an individual unit and strive to make each piece speak in its own voice, however, creativity will appear.
Great ideas on how to break out of the mundane world. I especially like the idea of tackling a subject greater and bigger than yourself. It’ll force us to expand our horizons and maybe be a little more adventurous with the writing too.
Excellent post! It reminds me of a good book I read some years ago on writing–”So You Want to Write”. I forget the author’s name. Anyway, I have found that poetry has helped me to let my writing invade my dreams and to also become unconventional and especially creative.
This is just what I needed today. Thanks for the inspiration.
“On, Writing…On, Typing…On, Thinking and Doing!”
It was a writers’ workshop at a Big Ten university. A three day affair in which we scribbled, griped, laughed, scribbled some more, analyzed, critiqued, wrote and scribbled…and generally had one grand time. When it was done we came to realize what we really accomplished.
We encouraged – selves and each other.
That was it! We didn’t go home with new secrets; we didn’t turn ourselves into Pulitzer material in two and a half days. We simply encouraged each other, knowing the other person was facing the same speed bumps we faced.
At times we sat around and discussed our various ways of “doing it.” Interestingly, not one person in the group could recommend what might be called a “religious” mode as a means of preparation. With varying degrees of input we concluded the “spiritual” and “deep breathing” preparations were simply means of delaying the inevitable, namely hitting the keys!
One guest writer said of all the techniques, including the Zen-style as mentioned here, “Forget all that stuff. Begin with this statement: ‘I wish to write!’ Then…write!” We agreed – everyone of us – the “so-called “spiritual preparation,” or the “warming exercises” are nothing more than delaying techniques. We also agreed the so-called “techniques” tend to be an exercise in self-inflation – pretending that writing is something “beyond” our daily and hourly existence.
“Forget all that silliness, and be yourself; be what you are the rest of the day, week and month. Otherwise you’re writing will be as phony as your so-called “writers persona.”
For support we ran down a list of writers we could all agree were successful; therr “stories” from biographical material told us the same thing: “Just write – forget the gimmicks!”
Zen, or related exercises? The workshop concluded: “Forget them; they are nothing more than delaying tactics. If you are a writer, then dammit, write! If you need some “special” stimulus, if you need to seek a “higher level” do yourself a big favor and find something else to do with your time! Take up cards tricks!
So, write, all ready…write! Forget the “special stuff” that is not normally part of your daily living.
“To be anything less or other than being your daily, hourly self is to be a false writer!”
So, while some folks are in the Zen den, I’ll be sitting here growling at my bad typing, poor sentence construction and vapid prose. But, I’ll be doing something vital to my writing…I’ll be writing!
Robert S. Hale
P.S. : So sorry to run upstream of the current (ahem) thinking here, but I just had to add my eight and a half cents worth..and I did it without consulting a “high power.” My only “oms” are “ums”.
I was just commenting on a site yesterday about how we likely will never arrive at a place spiritually or creatively that makes sense. You have just confirmed my “off-balance” statement. I’m going to consider “derailing” more often.
I love this! It echoes a theme I have just blogged about, writing as discovery. And I can see pieces of it going into my next post! Thanks so much.
Hi everyone – thanks for giving my post a warm welcome.
Writing it definitely derailed me.
I was a bit nervous about publishing it, because when I finally read my post back, it sounded a bit zenish…
Right now I’m writing a Zen talk for a retreat that’s also derailing me. I seem to be heading somewhere, but I need to get out of the way of the process. One thing I’m finding useful is to muse… just to let my inspiration drift about. Which means having only the foggiest notion about where my inspiration is heading.
It takes courage to stay in that place and be patient.
Loved the post!
In essence, isn’t it all about taking risks?
Risk that your creativity will be accepted by others?
Risk that people won’t like it?
Risk that it will be seen as stupid?
Risk that it will not be read?
I find I get blocked when I’m serving thes insecurity masters and not my own muse.
TS
http://www.tomschreck.com
Wed Writing Tip Blog
I’m so used to writing things that are functional because I teach people how to snowboard. I’m finding it extremely difficult to fuse creativity and snowboarding.
I read posts on copyblogger all the time and they always have an interesting spin on a particular topic.
I’m definitely guilty of not allowing myself to be creative. Safe writing is my biggest sin.
Hi Mary,
You’re so right, that creativity is blocked by the divided mind. What helps me is to rest in effortless awareness. Then, there aren’t any particular formulas.
Thanks, k
Hi!
Just wanted to say that I was surprised to find this in my email at a time when I was struggling with my creativity. I find myself at a weird point in that I want to write more and be more creative in general but every single time I sit down in front of my laptop I get paralyzed.
Thank you for writing this post. It gave me a light to see by in the tunnel!
Great! yur so tru in yur wrds! but another thing wich is essential for good and creative works is — peace! damn, i cant rite widout peace and quiet and solitude. wat abt u?
The picture above strikes you right away and touches your innermost soul so a good picture grips at the reader…impressed..like something I would have painted for my book.
Just to say that I received ‘ZEN TO DONE’ and am pleased I have began on the right track but need to stop multi-tasking and prioritise…This book folows me around the house all the time at weekends as I need to spend my valued time ‘alone’ in order to ‘complete’,sorry if I am not meant to mention it here but still looking for Leo Babauta’s blog to thank him personally..am off now as eyes are not good although I am not that old!!Am reading your help day by day when I can and see I have come one third of the way but without your help I would have taken longer and of course Derek Sivers before you was my ‘virtual’ crutch as he has been to many..saw Leo’s link on his Blog but am off the Blogs due to chronic eye disease and conserving them for painting the artwork for the eBook book and writing the book and the usual but I shall look in on you from time to time…thanks..your writing makes one want to read on…you’re only of G-d’s chosen when you can do this no matter where you live I say..Right I am off to say farewell to a neighbour moving to England tomorrow then priotise.
Take Care..all the best..Anna Cortez
wow,lovely post,
safe writing and not wanting to shock people is to me….boring….and is still something i have been trying to infuse in my writing.
thanks for reminding me again.
i will work till it works out
Thank you for a fresh perspective just when I really needed it!
Have flu today..earache bad.. but got up to have look at your Blog..dreams play a great part in what I am writing about but you are so right let the work flow and don’t try to think too much about what to write..just let it come..I have made this mistake a long time ago but now my artwork is ‘painting itself’ with help from the higher realms I used to see Derek Sivers writing about(he is very like me in his thinking)..couldn’t believe it..(G-d within I believe anyway).directs the thoughts, then the hands..the correct way..only experience told me this and I like to pass it on and like your ‘thoughts’ too here… Anna here says..’let the ‘unknown’ take over your artwork, writing etc. and it will come out just fine in the end ..’Zen to Done’ book also helping me immensely right now and I write things down when they ‘come to me’ even in a friends’s house(though not been visiting much recently due to more important issues of getting my project finished..taking the book to bed as my eyes not bad tonight and see what I have done right so far and what I am still doing wrong..I better stop or I will go on forever..see you when I see you.., Songwriter, Auric/ Voice/ Distant Musical /CatHealer, X
You are so right about feeling your split ’soul’ heal into one again when creating ..by ‘accident’ I began to ‘recreate from scratch’ a very highly sensitive subject and now realsie that Zen To Done had that answer we all need…You are not ‘complete’ until you finish what you commence…gradually day by day I became so ‘happy’ ‘within’ and realised this not long after I had began this project(book of Prophecy/Visions, Symbols, Dreams) about someone well known who is no longer here)..Obviously Zen To Done has been written from experience and each day I allocate a certain amount of pages to read and move it around the home…even when my decorator was here for 3 hours today I just let him get on with it and took Zen to Done into my bedroom and for once marked what I had read …there is a distinct improvement in the speed of my main project since I began making this my 1st main task each day(apart from one day at Tescos where I Socialise also and meet people I can help like they helped me and go out for lunch Sundays instead of weekdays…..I then get into the Main Task as soon as I come home… looking forward to rewarding myself by allowing a long term friend and her husband take me for afternoon lunch/meal to the Popinjay Hotel, Crossford, Lanark tomorrow…I explained my routine and as they know me accepted this and now a Sunday is my main day for my few friends to take me where they wish..occasionally a Saturday…remainder of week is for Zen To Done…trying for task No.2 but will have to study to find it..no problem as it’s a great book to follow..can be picked up whever you left off but you MUST make it real..the title is simple ‘ZEN TO DONE’ , caught my eye and inner thoughts immediately .. ’something’ said to me…this is for you..get it now..never looked back..will complete this before I get Leo’s next book. One thing at a time for me now..
One long-term friend has now come round to my way of life and visits me for an hour weekly rather me having to go there as I don’t drive so perseverence showed me who my true friends are and the rest are simply not worth it as I always accomodated them and worked round them..Of course that Derek Sivers’s put an end to my stupidity on one of his Blogs Hell Yeah, and Hell No..I am still operating this way of thought and he is right but I am not harsh in any way with this..just being more careful who I spend time with and if it’s a waste of time and a one-way thing..for instance…Hi, Anna you must come for tea and tell me all about my aura and dreams etc. I say to them..really, then why do you think I should do that when I have so much more interesting things to do and as a matter of fact you woul be much quicker getting someone else as I do need a ‘life’ of my own so I know you’ll understand..have a nice day… It has worked and no-one hates me as I though they would plus I am no longer ‘Naive’. I also get into the routine Zen To Done book offers..checking emails every day…I never used to d this..taking en Zen To Done to bed tonight to go over what I read today as I need to..May try a Blog at a later stage but my grammar is not so good since Thyroid removal but with the Lord above’s help and more of Leo’s most easy to follow books I may get better..get confused sometimes but just go into Chabad.og and listen to the Rebbe or meditate in there every day at no particular time..just when the Spirit moves me..as my mind is clear today thought I would advertise this book again…ha.ha. just about to mention it on my daily chat on MySpace..just my profile page as I am still learning..can ‘connect’ with all your notes above..and of course read your notes too..being careful with eyes ..some people from MySpace have written quotes of mine and you too..thanks….was surprised as I am nobody and like it that way..Ha.ha. Okay I am ofski to check MySpacewatch a DVD about people straned on an Island(not thriller for a change)a and fix cats out…love and peace and good health to all here and your selves..
Anna..got ‘derailed’ due to flooding etc.in my own home plus a thousand other distractions which seemed to come every single day wasting my precious time, but upon reflection ZEN TO DONE made me think..welll I have to get up ‘earlier’ and do the MIT instead of making excuses..I do feel like you say Creativity is a well which will never run dry..habit changes are good..it’s just making these changes can be difficult sometimes when hurdles just appear..like Derek Sivers Blog Hell Yeah, Hell No says, you do have to say Hell No to a lot of people who waste your time/other hurdles and claim that precious time as yours to ‘create’….all my inspiratons have come from deep within my soul and sometimes they get ‘lost’ along the way but always find their way back to me for completion..thank G-d..I remember quite well reading Derek Sivers article he wrote for everyone on CDBaby about How To Call Attention To Your Music..he mentioned not to be afraid to be weird or do whatevr scared or excited you(creativity-wise I mean here)…secretly I knew he was right yet I did not one thing to show people what inspired my music/witing etc. or mention my ‘niche’ for safety’s sake..wrong decision Anna..thanks Derek//thanks Leo for the simple words of ‘get up earlier’..what a difference..only way to progress..
I played it safe and put up a CD on CDBaby in 2007 without the mention of JDM..big mistake which I have now rectified thanks to Mr. Sivers comments back then..I try to pass this on and also mention this Blog on MySpace too for any Creative People who are writing their story/other.
My paintings for my project are being painted by something inside of my ’soul’ as I could never do the effects I see once the brush has completed each mystical rendition of famous faces..so I believe that what you say at the top of this page is right…don’t be safe or predictable…you are so similar to these notes of Derek’s it’s good to know you all.. Love and Light to All Here….. Love is Light!