Blank Space, Experimentation, and the Dharma of Creativity
So I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus. For several weeks I’ve been a Tumblr recluse because what I’ve really needed is a creative detox. The trick: Disengaging. So as a bit of an experiment and a necessary airing out of my psyche, blogging took the axe for the sake of the process.
What I made: Blank space. The page before you draw all over it or vent or wax philosophy. That space has value. It’s what preempts and sparks creation. What does it feel like to sit in silence for half an hour? Sometimes it’s agitation and vulnerability. There are brilliant things swirling in your cosmic whirlpool, even before your Big Bang. It’s all got to wax and wane… so I let it wane. And I’m waxing. More light.
So this is where the experiment is initiated. To give you some context… I don’t have any deep desire to resume blogging as normal. I do, however, have a deep desire to keep making things in this space. New things. The idea is to make this blog an artistic practice. I’m not sure exactly what that means for the content, but making a blind leap feels thrilling. I’m going on intuition.
A lot of change. Good change. The thing about art is that doing what makes you shake can be so right. This is the space where I could just catch the faintest whisp of Dharma showing up. An inkling. Massive and manifest. I want to feel like that when I create.
11:53 pm • 28 June 2012 • 1 note
Thoughts On Creativity: Capturing Ideas
Entertain your “muse” when she shows up.
It’s best you don’t keep her waiting. She may get restless. So leave the party for half an hour. Squat by the sinks in bathroom at the pizza joint and let your pizza get cold while you scribble away.
12:57 pm • 10 June 2012 • 1 note
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Learn to knock on the door of your own being. This is what is known as intuition, creativity, vision, and prophesy….
“If we could learn to live from the level of the soul, we would see that the best most luminous parts of ourselves is connected to all the rhythms of the universe. We would truly know ourselves as the miracle-makers we are capable of being.
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— Deepak Chopra
(Source: mysticmamma.com)
10:07 pm • 20 May 2012 • 5 notes
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Imagination is the force that pulls your physical, emotional, and mental energies into dynamic harmony, giving wings to your soul. When your imaginative life is rich and generative, you’re in vital touch with the rhythms and messages of your body, heart and mind. You’re no longer saying ‘yes,’ feeling ‘no’ and acting ‘maybe.’ You’re making art of your life, and the radiance of this creative living attracts others who want to live soulfully as well. We all have the capacity for creative integrity, whether we are shoemakers or ballerinas. You just have to determine to settle for nothing less than being fully alive—to show up, be who you are, and share your gifts…
Imagination involves giving your intuitions form. Playing out hunches. Making your visions happen. Enriching your world, putting your mark on it. The way you dress, the way you cook and eat, the way you arrange and furnish your home, the way you speak, write and think, all add up to your personal contribution. And it is your sacred task to express your true self with flare and authenticity, your gift to give the world.
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— Gabrielle Roth
12:13 am • 12 May 2012 • 5 notes
“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. … No artist is pleased. [There is] no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.”
— Martha Graham
7:43 pm • 7 October 2011 • 7 notes
