“The creative function is the centre of the soul and the psyche it can never be destroyed”

~ Clarissa Pinkola Estés

I have been listening to Clarissa Pinkola Estés audio book The Creative fire lately and this quote struck me so deeply I wanted to share it.   It is at the centre of my philosophy: that our creativity is not only essential to our whole being but also that it is such an intricate part of us that even when we think that it has left us it has not.  It may be dormant, but not gone.  The reasons for it to be dormant are many: fear, lies we’ve listened to about creativity in general and the inner critic which we’ve given too much attention to, stifling our creativity.

In the Creative Fire she talks about how all too often creativity is squashed by outer expectations we’ve adopted to fit within a certain box. That is the person is to fit a genera or preconceived notion of creativity rather than the creativity be shaped by the individual. We see this when teachers expect children to perform or make art in a standard way without room for individuality.

I remember when my eldest son was in second grade. His art mark was low (even though it was the one subject he truly enjoyed and let his personality out) and at the parent teacher meeting the teacher said to me with pity in her voice that she was sure that it must be hard for me and a surprise that his art mark was low since I was an art therapist (though I doubt very much she knew what an art therapist did).

When I read her comment on his report card it basically said that he did not meet curriculum standards of representing the true colours of subjects.  She gave an example of a painting he did of the sky and landscape where the colours were not realistic. Essentially what was “wrong” was that he used his imagination and chose unusual or unexpected colours for his picture!

How did this happen? Have I been too lax about how to do “real art”? Should I have put more limits on his imagination? (Please note the previous two sentences are to be read with a tone of sarcasm).  The truth is what she was really saying was that there was an artistic expectation for students to comply with and he did not comply.

This is a more insidious problem than most might expect. In my practice and at my workshops I have met many who have been given this message only to have it squash their creative confidence, including well into their adult years. Perhaps it would not be such a big deal if our creativity were only a meager part of what makes us human, however it is not. Our Creativity is an essential part of what makes us whole. It is a major factor in living fully, authentically and happily.  

How can we guard against these undermining messages?  We have to give ourselves mantras. Over 15 years ago I was riding my bike on the street as I normally did and was doored.  A few stitches later I was all patched up and went about riding as usual- or so I thought – but my perspective changed – I was more cautious – but I was also more fearful and was thinking negatively like something bad would happen again.  This was very distracting and it was not serving me.

Now 15 years later I am sometimes still haunted by these dark thoughts but usually when I am feeling vulnerable in another part of my life. So what do I do?  I give myself a new mantra assuring myself of my abilities to keep myself safe.  I also repeat a mantra in my mind anytime I experience someone else’s lack of consideration as when they cut me off, speed by or generally ignore the rules of the road.  At these times when I feel I am being pulled into a negative space and perhaps someone else’s anger I repeat a phase a yoga teacher once taught me: “Peace to all beings, bliss to all beings, joy to all beings”.

Whenever you feel those negative messages about your creativity seeping in, whether from an outside source or recordings of past messages that are played over in your head, you can replace it with your own mantra.  Here is one you can try “I am a creative being”.  Remember, being creative is about living your life artfully.  It can be in the way you decorate your home, garden, write letters or e-mails, sing in the shower, doodle, paint or dance through life. Choose to let your creativity out and feel the difference that it makes in your life.