The Creativity Room

After leaving my part time job at the library, I’ve been feeling like my discipline and commitment are at an all-time low. I was in the habit of bringing lots and lots of beautiful and interesting books home and flicking through them. Some I didn’t even open after I got home. Hardly any got read right through.

Not finishing books, not wanting to go to classes every week, loosing enthusiasm for projects, I’ve been labeling myself a dilettante.

So I was very pleased last night to finish reading a book. And not only that, it was in a genre I have never read before – a graphic novel. Wow. I’d seen so many graphic novels that teenagers read (and tried to read them a few times) and some amazing ones in the adult non fiction too. I think I was very lucky that I ended up reading this particular one, even though it is number 5 in a series.

It is David Mack’s “Kabuki: Metamorphosis,” a richly layered, beautifully made graphic novel with a wonderful combination of comic-book action and philosophical (think quantum physics, spirituality, stephen hawking and taoism) musing.

In terms of creativity and expression of ideas, this book (or probably any in the series) is well worth a look. I was impressed how Mack expresses character, plot and concept within an aesthetically diverse and beautiful form.

A new paradigm is occurring in global consciousness. The reality of environmental threat, economic instability, peak oil and unfair international trade and labour conditions is creating a movement of communities towards self-sufficiency. Transition towns, permaculture, community gardens, timebanks and other initiatives are replacing (or existing alongside) the top-down structure of society that most of us grew up with.

At the same time, it is being largely recognised that the legacy of the industrial revolution – a world full of good workers, highly skilled at following orders – is no longer serving the needs of contemporary society, let alone the needs of the individual and the family. Creativity, intuitive and individuality are valued more and more highly in an increasingly wide variety of contexts, both corporate and social, and are vital areas of skill and awareness for the survival of humans and the environment they live in.

The star system is no longer a useful model for social awareness, political change and ‘relevant’ theatre and arts. No matter what content an artwork contains, the static audience viewing the “master’s” work are not being given the opportunity to experience their own power to enact change, to create and communicate.

We live in a millennial age – everywhere we turn we are provided with images of a future in which the weather has gone awry, resources are scarce, animals and plants are struggling to survive in dehabitated environments and the human population has outgrown its own ability to feed, clothe and nurture itself.

This is not a time for adding further images and stories to this glut of pessimistic information. This is a time to speak of what is possible and moreover to create experiences for people of what is possible for them.

While gardeners, builders, economists and all manner of people turn their crafts towards creative problem solving and community building, the arts have an important part to play. Just as the arts have always served to support both social cohesion and the direction of social growth/change, now the arts begin to find a way to support this time of transition towards self-sufficiency and community strength. A large part of this is re-educating people in the processes of creativity and group interaction.

Creative Transformation Process chooses not to create performances in which some actors demonstrate to some passive spectators the situation as it is now, or as it was in the past. Instead, CTP gives all players the opportunity to be the artist of their own story and their own life. In play together, we come together as a group, a community, in whatever shape we find together. We find out what we have to offer and how we can accept and receive from others. We learn to trust ourselves and others, to know our limits, when and how to ask for help, and also how to grow past those limits at the pace that is comfortable for us.

CTP offers both relief from the seriousness of life and an empowering experience of your own creativity. Creativity is an aspect of yourself that is engaged in such a variety of everyday activities, underpinning so much of what you do. CTP invites you to develop your creativity, creative ways of communicating and interacting with others, and the ability to play like a child. From this follows the joy and freedom of a playful and spontaneous approach to life, vibrant interactions with other people and the transcendence of fear of failure, boredom and despondency, guilt for ‘wasting time’ and so on.

CTP may engage with other bodies of work that have similar goals – The Theatre of the Oppressed work of Augusto Boal and Playback Theatre are two examples. CTP will also develop its own form of happenings, free play. These follow guided exercises that encourage participants to trust their own creativity, to give over individual responsibility and become part of the whole/group, and come into the present, experiencing their body, voice and imagination more strongly than their analytical mind.

I’ve had a friend from Melbourne staying, a friend I stayed with back in October last year when I went over for the Arts Festival. We’ve been continuing a conversation we started back then about developing a playful creative process which fosters liberation, self-awareness and joy in all aspects of life.

We call it the Creative Transformation Process. Here’s what I’ve written about it so far, with a weekly group session in mind:

The essence of CTP is liberation and presence. This is achieved through creative play. Our focus is on the gradual transcendence of fear, inhibition, judgment and self-criticism. Lucette facilitates a guided process including exercises that nurture trust, presence and playfulness.

CTP engages the writer, the singer, the actor, the painter, the dancer and the playful child in us all. It is not a method of accumulating skills, knowledge or ability in these artistic fields. Rather it is a way of nurturing and cultivating your sense of your own freedom, your unique creativity and your engagement with your role as the artist and creator of your own life.

Despite all the fun, relaxation and celebration, I often find this time of year a bit difficult. All the possibilities of my life push themselves to the surface of my consciousness to be reassessed. Is what I’m doing the best use of my time, experience and interests? Am I contributing to the world in meaningful and satisfying ways? Am I a good friend, lover, sister, parent? I often come back from time away with a big graph in my journal, a timeline or chart of some sort, trying to sort through all the things I want to do, be and have, and figure out what to spend my resources (time, energy, money) on.

Then so often life just reasserts itself and my natural interests and habits fall back into place.

Here is an exercise I’ve used a few times with surprising results. It is a kind of map:

- allow yourself plenty of time and space. be conscious in your decision about where to do this and be sure you won’t be interrupted or feel rushed

- take a piece of paper, pens/pencils/crayons/paints or whatever medium you feel excited by at the time

- you are going to draw two maps. they could be totally broad (covering all aspects of your life and yourself) or on a specific topic (friendship, creative work, career, values etc)

- sit quietly in front of your paper and pens etc. take a few deep breaths and consider the topic you have chosen. consider everything that has happened up to this point, the major events and experiences you have had, your successes and failures, your learning, your process.

- you can start to draw and write whenever something becomes clear. your map can follow any kind of spatial plan – it might turn out to be a pie graph, a picture of a tree, a winding path or a timeline. illustrate and colour it, place emphasis and emotional content within the informative parts. create a page that gives you a holistic view of your process up to this point, how it has been for you in body, mind, soul and interaction with others.

- now repeat the same process for the future. how do you imagine this area of your life to proceed from here? what can you do? what do you need from others? how far are you willing to go? is there an end point? how will you know when you get there? what are the excitements in store for you and where are the parts that seem like hard work?  what resources (inner and outer) will you need to take this journey?

Take a look at these maps after a few days. And again in six months, a year, two years etc. The ones I have created have been remarkably informative and really allowed me to see, at a glance, how far I’ve come and what changes I’ve made in my life. More than a journal or a photograph, they have captured an aspect of me in a particular time and reflected that back to me. This distance means I can have perspective on what is important and where I have been and am going and what it all means.

And when I talk about what is important, I don’t just mean how to be amazing and get heaps of cool stuff done in the next year. Probably the most important thing for me this year is to keep learning how to let the river flow, how to slow down and see everything in its completeness. Be alert for the truth of your needs and purpose and what will serve you most in achieving your purpose.