What is creativity and where does it come from?

a small section of a mural I painted on a wall in Alaska cropped into four panels, just for the fun of it ~ taken with a camera with the flash on that my seriously lacking photoshop skills are too limited to fix ~ click for larger image

"When we open ourselves to exploring our creativity, we open ourselves to God: good orderly direction."
~ Julia Cameron: The Artist's Way

A million years ago when I was 23 years old, I met a rock-star hair stylist who came crashing into my life one fateful evening. He was tall and lanky with long black hair and a goatee that gave him a very sinister, Prince Vlad clad in leather, appearance, which very much spoke to my wild side at that tender age. He drove a Harley Davidson down Sunset Blvd. at night and styled the tresses of Beverly Hills blonde's during the day ~ a strange juxtaposition that worked for him.

The other twist was in addition to his appearance he was also a theology major who had many opinions on the topic of God.

I remember one evening being at his apartment alone and drawing in my sketch book. He was working at his salon and because this was during the LA riots I didn't leave his place for a few days and spent this particular day watching the news and being inspired to draw at the same time. I filled about 6 pages in my book, then fell asleep. I remember him coming home, waking me up and asking me if I had copied these drawings from something. "No, I created them," I replied.

Rather than commenting about what I had created, he launched into this whole diatribe about defining the word "creativity" for me since my obviously simple mind was not aware of what that word actually meant. He stated that people don't create, only God creates. He went on to say that people can be artistic, just not creative. There is a difference don't you know? Much like the difference between capsicum and peppers. Or Shiraz and Syrah wine grapes. But I digress...

Anyway, he believed that God created the trees and the flowers and the earth and while humans can use these creations of God to make art, they are in no way creating art. In his mind, people saying they created something was his biggest pet peeve because stating that fact was a disservice to God. Hmmmm...

We shared some really fun times but needless to say, we weren't exactly what you would call "meant for each other". Nevertheless, he was a good lesson for me which I am thankful for and shortly after we parted ways I packed my car and headed north, first to Seattle, then eventually to Alaska to hopefully explore and define creativity for myself. 

I can now clearly see why I was so upset at what he was saying all those years ago because at that stage in my life I hadn't defined God for myself. I hadn't asked myself the questions I needed answered for me and as a result also struggled with the concept of what creativity is for years after the fact.

It's only been since being in my thirties have I been able to further define what my definition of God even is. I mean no disrespect to those who may be reading this who are devout to their specific religion, but for me, being raised Catholic, I struggled with organized religion throughout my younger years and even went through a period not so long ago of not believing in God at all.

Even to this day, I don't buy into the concept the song implies that "God is watching us from a distance". That whole idea is ludicrous to me because that implies that God is separated from us, his role being more akin to that of Big Brother, and not that of supreme deity. Slowly over time my catholic guilt has even begun to agree with me on the idea that God is inside of us rather than watching over us, allowing the last of the"but what if" voices lingering in my head drift far and away to neverland.

In college I took a class on world religions which I found to be fascinating, interesting and eye-opening. I like to learn about other cultures and their ways of life, including religion which is a huge part of most cultures. I don't go to church on a regular basis, nor do I believe in organized religion, but I desire to educate myself as much as I can and understand that basic need to connect and belong to a community which is larger than ourselves which is why I believe that people do go to church, join gangs, seek tribes, etc. We are all searching for answers.

I became intrigued reading books by Edgar Cayce, Mary Pat Fisher and The Dali Lama as well as books like The Dead Sea Scrolls, The Prophet and Siddhartha as I searched to find my own answers about God and what it means to be a creative, spiritual, living being.

But strangely enough my personal definition of God and creativity came to me by reading the words of Julia Cameron in both The Artist's Way and The Vein of Gold. The latter of which was the equivalent to years of successful therapy for me. Julia doesn't write about the topic of religion necessarily but the word God is weaved throughout her books. At the start of The Artist's Way, she explains the importance of God in the creative process and finding spirituality within, and she gently asks each reader to define God in the way that is most comfortable for them. She uses an example in her book as using the word God as an acronym for Good Orderly Direction which, when I first had it presented to me in this way several years ago, instantly resonated.

It suddenly seemed so simple, plain as day, smacking me in the face. Of course! God is within us. God is an energy, not a man with a white beard hanging out in the clouds behind a pair of pearly gates allowing us to enter into heaven if we are judged as having been good or sending us to hell if we have sinned in the eyes of the Lord. Good Orderly Direction flows through us allowing us to be creatives. And the best part? God (Good Orderly Direction) needs us as much as we need God. God (Good Orderly Direction) may be the creator but the human mind, soul and body is the vessel in which creative energy flows, a sweet relationship indeed.

Our creativity is how we give back to God and Mother Earth. It's how we touch people's lives. It's what makes us spiritual beings and allows us to evolve and cultivate personal growth. It's how we raise our children and nurture our relationships. It's why we can capture moments and light and still lifes and smiles and sunsets with paint on canvases and with our eyes through the camera lens. It's why we can write words that communicate stories and ideas, break language barriers through music, pen songs about love, compose poems about colors. It's why we can cook, love, knit, garden, think, paint, design, dream and dance.   

Therefore, I believe that God, or Good Orderly Direction is what keeps us on our own path of using our gifts, our creativity, to manifest the things we want in our lives. I believe we as humans do, in fact, create because we all have the energy flow of God, or good orderly direction inside of us should we choose to use it.

Energy is in our thoughts, in our words, in our actions whether they be positive or negative. The gifts we manifest in our lives are the result of this positive energy, this creativity that we ALL possess, this Good Orderly Direction.

It took me quite a few years, but I no longer question whether or not I am, in fact,  a creative being, because I know I am.

Comments

[daisies]

okay, you know how you said that sometimes you clap your hands when you read my poetry ... i so just did that reading this (errr and i jumped up and did a little dance because you infused me with energy much to the laughter of my boys).

this so resonates with me on so many levels. i wasn't raised with a religion and so of course i set out to find one and took many world religion course and sunk myself deep into philosophy before, during and after university ~ searching for my own answers, searching for god and i found god deep inside of me and everything you wrote about creativity ~ yes yes yes!! that is about as articulate as i need to be on the matter because you said everything that i believe deep inside and you said it so wonderfully.

you are so a beautiful creative being and seeing the beauty you painted on an alaskan wall and reading your beautiful words makes me wish i could reach out and give you such a big hug as i jump up and down in happiness. lots of love you beautiful creative being, xoxox

[Tina]

Okay, you so need to come down and do a mural on one of my walls somewhere! I do so love your work!!!

I'm glad that you don't question your creative being anymore.

[ceanandjen]

What a gorgeous way to start my day beautiful you. (literally, I just poured my first cup of coffee and yours is the first blog I sit down to read)

I too was brought up Catholic (including MANY years of Catholic school), and my opinions of organized religion are much like yours. I spent quite a few years researching around and getting a feel for "spirituality" as that is what I call personal religion. It is not religion at all, but rather spirituality, and the greater entity (I believe) is indeed each one of us and all around us. It is interesting that many of us somehow do end up with that conclusion.

I adore your decsription of how creativity is fueled, for this is perfect. You infuse everything that is good into this description and you give creativity the meaning it deserves.

And this: "Energy is in our thoughts, in our words, in our actions whether they be positive or negative. The gifts we manifest in our lives are the result of this positive energy, this creativity that we ALL possess, this Good Orderly Direction."

That paragraph just sums it up.

You sound so alive honey. Go forth and create!!!!

Love to you..have a wonderful weekend. xoxoxo

[me-nikk]

You know, if I knew you other than through your words on here... I would SOOOOO have to have you over for a nice cup of tea and a loooooooot of goood talk. We could create something together too... It'd be fun. :)

You've inspired me to pull out the Cameron books again. I think it's time I fill up.

[amanda]

i am soooo in love with this post. it really warms my heart.
you are so creative. i can't believe how beautiful that mural is. i can't wait to see more of your creations.
i am inspired.
love love love

[Sue]

WOW.....excellent piece of writing again!! :) And, the mural is fantastic! I remember you working on this for an eternity, it seemed, but I never got to see the end result. I am very impressed, however, that is not shocking. Your creativity has always runneth over!!

I had no idea just HOW full of himself Mr. Hollywood Hairstylist actually was, but this sure sums it all up!!! I guess having met him a few times never really did him justice. HA!! It's quite amusing now, but I suspect at the time, a good smack in the face would have done him well! HA HA! Let's go find him and smack him around a bit, what do you say???? (JK)
XOXO