On Creativity and the Spirit – with @AlexisDaria

Tags

creativity, spiritchat, spirituality

As I weave and wend my way back home through airports, a regular in the #spiritchat community, @alexisdaria will lead the weekly community discussion on Sunday, October 20th at 9am ET. The very first word in Alexis’ twitter bio says – creativity. If you visit her website you will see creativity in full flow. So, I believe that it is fitting that she host the discussion on creativity, with a focus on how it connects with spirituality.

In order to help us frame our thoughts, I share with you some quotes on creativity from some of my favorite sources. I hope these quotes energize your heart and spirit, and motivate you to engage in creative endeavors which elevate your spirit. Namaste.

On the need to preserve creativity…

“It is, in fact, nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry; for this delicate little plant, aside from stimulation, stands mainly in need of freedom. Without this it goes to wrack and ruin without fail.”
― Albert Einstein

On creativity and creating…

“But unless we are creators we are not fully alive. What do I mean by creators? Not only artists, whose acts of creation are the obvious ones of working with paint of clay or words. Creativity is a way of living life, no matter our vocation or how we earn our living. Creativity is not limited to the arts, or having some kind of important career.”
― Madeleine L’Engle, Walking on Water

On fields of creativity…

“Our species is the only creative species, and it has only one creative instrument, the individual mind and spirit of man. Nothing was ever created by two men. There are no good collaborations, whether in music, in art, in poetry, in mathematics, in philosophy. Once the miracle of creation has taken place, the group can build and extend it, but the group never invents anything. The preciousness lies in the lonely mind of a man.”
― John Steinbeck, East of Eden

On creativity and solitude…

“When I am ….. completely myself, entirely alone… or during the night when I cannot sleep, it is on such occasions that my ideas flow best and most abundantly. Whence and how these ideas come I know not nor can I force them.”
― Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

On creativity, creation, divinity and work…

“You become more divine as you become more creative. All the religions of the world have said God is the creator. I don’t know whether he is the creator or not, but one thing I know: the more creative you become, the more godly you become. When your creativity comes to a climax, when your whole life becomes creative, you live in God. So he must be the creator because people who have been creative have been closest to him. Love what you do. Be meditative while you are doing it – whatsoever it is”
― Osho

On the creative spirit, art and artists…

“Whoever uses the spirit that is
in him creatively is an artist. To
make living itself an art, that is
the goal.”
― Henry Miller

On creativity and the (spiritual) life…

“To be creative means to be in love with life. You can be creative only if you love life enough that you want to enhance its beauty, you want to bring a little more music to it, a little more poetry to it, a little more dance to it.”
― Osho

So, what is the connection between creativity and compassion? Creativity and criticism? How do we balance our spiritual upbringing with our need to be spiritually creative? I hope you will join my friend Alexis Daria on Sunday, October 20th at 9am ET for this special discussion. Thank you, and if you have a minute, please connect with @alexisdaria on twitter and her website.

Be creative, and, Be well.

Kumud

Update: Here are the questions asked by @alexisdaria during the chat. Enjoy, and feel free to answer in the comments… The full transcript and statistics are available at http://bit.ly/sc-tr-1020

Q1: What does creativity mean to you? #SpiritChat

Q2: What is the connection between creativity and spirituality? #SpiritChat

Q3: Everyone is creative – agree or disagree? #SpiritChat

Q4: How can we nurture the creative spirit? #SpiritChat

Q5: What impedes/blocks creativity, and are creative blocks real? #SpiritChat

Q6: How do we keep our creative spirit strong in the face of criticism? #SpiritChat

Q7: Is inspiration necessary for creativity? Why or why not? #SpiritChat

Q8: How can we more fully live in the spirit of creativity? #SpiritChat

Creating and Holding Space by @CandaceG222 for #SpiritChat

Tags

creativity, space, spiritchat

We continue our “Summer Series” for our weekly Sunday morning #SpiritChat conversations with Candace G.. Candace’s basic philosophy in life is to live from a positive standpoint, even during tough times. Every day she finds a reason to smile, and she truly believes that we can learn something from everyone we meet, whether it’s in person, or in the virtual world!! Please enjoy this post from Candace.

Regardless of what our life purpose is, I think that a large portion of it is creating and holding space for others. Sometimes this is as simple as being an active listener, but no matter how we offer this gift, it’s always something unique and special for each of us.

In some situations, holding space for a person is akin to anchoring the thin rope they are clinging to, preventing them from an otherwise inevitable crash. We can hold space for others in a myriad of ways, it’s just a matter of opening our hearts to the possibilities!

Just as we can’t love someone if we don’t love ourselves, we can’t create this sacred space for someone else if we don’t already do it for ourselves. The question is what do we fill the space in our lives with? What do we need to make more space for?

And how does this connect with creativity? I see us as beings that channel creative energy, but sometimes we fill those channels with junk. How does self-awareness come into play with all of this?

We need to consciously create room in our lives to optimize the flow of this creative energy, and on many levels…mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual. Although this sounds wonderful, it usually involves changes that are difficult, and this sometimes feels negative.

How can we serve others along this same line, whether it’s at work, home, or with strangers who cross our path?

As we prepare for our chat on Sunday, I thought the following quote would be a great way to get us thinking about creating and holding space:

“Some changes look negative on the surface but you will soon realize that space is being created in your life for something new to emerge.“ ~ Eckhart Tolle

I’m looking so forward to our chat on Sunday! I hope to see you all there!

In Light and Love,

Connect with Candace on her blog
Connect with Candace on Twitter

I hope you enjoyed this post written for our weekly #SpiritChat discussion by Candace G.. I invite you to join Candace and me for a conversation on twitter in #SpiritChat – Sunday, July 21st at 9amET! Thank you – Kumud.