Welcome to week two of Creative Intentions. With this newsletter, I hope to inspire all creative types to learn about their personal creativity and how to grow from their creative work. Each week, for twelve weeks, you can look forward to a feature article with information, tips and ideas surrounding the realm of creativity.Feature Article Topic:
Creative Blocks
Have you ever experienced a period in your life where you felt that you just couldn’t create? It is likely you were experiencing what we call a creative block. Researchers have found that some creative blocks are more difficult to overcome than others. Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés is a Jungian Analyst who describes the creative cycle and the nature of creative blocks in her audiotape The Creative Fire. She tells us that in the normal cycle of creativity, there is no such thing as a creative block; the energy may just be temporarily underground, but about to rise up again. However, trauma in one’s life my have twisted the cycle to keep things underground so that they do not emerge. Dr. Estés says, “So many people labor in their creative life in isolation or create with no results due to trauma.” According to Estés, sometimes this trauma starts in childhood when children experience negative feedback. The negativity increases in volume and becomes an attack that disheartens to the point of destroying all new potential. This destruction can also start in adulthood when those around us denigrate the creative process. What happens as a result is that we develop a negative complex in our psyche. “Though the fire has been banked in the individual, it has never gone out.” Estés goes on to encourage that the creative function is the center of the soul and the psyche; it never goes away. It can be hidden from us, but it is always there.
So what then should we do if we indeed are experiencing a serious creative block due to trauma? According to Estes, we should do the following:
1) Find the form that is best for you to thrive in.
2) No longer destroy yourself through denigration.
3) Do not isolate yourself.
4) Learn the integral cycles of creativity.
5) Seek laughter, as laughter loosens depressive feelings.
6) Follow your night dreams to understand your complexes; the dream ego will give you pictures of what the matter is in the psyche.
You must be a person of courage and knowledge to overcome your creative block. “The door can be blown open, and the wound can be healed.”
Suggestion:
This month, try paying attention to your night dreams. Is your dream ego giving you any pictures of what the matter is in the psyche? Also, familiarize yourself with the creative cycle. Seek the company of others who create in a similar way as you. Perhaps you could take a class or look online for a supportive creative community. Finally, allow yourself the pleasure of laughter.
Announcements:
June 28 Issue No. 3 will feature an article on
Flow and Creativity.
If you’d like to find out more about having a creativity coach, send an email to Briana bmriskin@earthlink.net
To find out more about The Creative Fire with Clarissa Pinkola Estes, PhD, visit Sounds True at: http://shop.soundstrue.com/shop.soundstrue.com/SelectProd.do?prodId=374&manufacturer=Sounds%20True&category=Inspiration&name=The%20Creative%20Fire
Happy Monday to All!
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Briana: Artist, Writer, Teacher, and Creativity Coach
Contact at bmriskin@earthlink.net
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