Creativity is Good Medicine
Creativity is healing to the body, mind and spirit. In The
Creative Connection, Dr. Natalie Rogers writes, “Creativity
is a life force energy that flows like a river through each of
us.” When we create we tap into this moving current and express
these life-giving energies in the form of songs, paintings,
essays or, perhaps, new possibilities for solving problems. We
develop innovative presentations or turn nondescript backyards
into magical gardens. We become vital and affirmative toward
life when we create for we are bringing something new into
being. In awakening to creativity, we awaken to the life within
and all around us. Poetry Therapist James Leedy says,
“Creativity builds on the innate facet of every person’s
inheritance, Eros, the will to live.”
Creativity is a way to bridge the conscious and unconscious.
Dipping into the mysterious regions of the unconscious mind, the
writer or visual artist, for example, finds symbols and
metaphors, impressions and feelings that she then brings to the
surface to express through language, shapes or colors. We become
acquainted with our ‘shadow’ selves in this way and then have
the opportunity to integrate unconscious material into conscious
awareness. The more we create, the more we learn to fluidly move
back and forth between the inner and outer worlds. Anais Nin
described this as “learning to walk between one realm and the
other without fear, interrelate them, and ultimately fuse them.”
In creating, then, we move towards wholeness.
Powerful emotions and impulses can be constructively channeled
into creative venues. “I sing my sadness,” says my client,
Johanna. Gordon expresses his pain about the death of his father
in dark and moving poems that emanate from the depths of his
soul. “I experience the loss more deeply when I write,” he said,
“but at the same time I feel better because I’m facing and
feeling the truth.” To deny our deep wounds is to carry them as
heavy burdens in our psyches. Expressing grief, anger or despair
in creative modalities is a safe and effective way to release
and transform our pain.
Spirituality and creativity are closely linked. When we engage
in creative activities we expand our consciousness. We move
beyond habitual thought and behavior patterns and open up to
possibilities not normally within our reach. In peak moments we
let go of control and surrender to the creative process. At
times we enter a flow state where the sense of a separate self
dissolves and perceptions of time and space are altered. When
fully absorbed in activities such as sailing, dancing, playing
the piano or writing, we forget ourselves and, often, our
surroundings. As the egoic self disappears, our deeper Self
appears.
Essentially, I view the creative process as a powerful agent for
transformation. When we create we expand our sense of who we are
and open up to wider possibilities. Creativity teaches patience,
courage, flexibility and presence. It ignites our passion and
provides new avenues for appreciating life. Creativity is,
indeed, very good medicine.
To
explore the potential benefits of creative expression for
yourself, TRY THIS:
