iGraceDaily

One of my creative moments!

Creativity as a core spiritual practice opens us up to new ideas and new concepts about ourselves. If you want to develop creativity as a core spiritual practice, here are my top 10 creativity enhancers.

1. Practice Day Dreaming- What I used to get in trouble for in school, is now one of my greatest tools. Find a carefree place just to let your mind wander. This is a right brained activity, so don’t let the left brain get involved by critiquing what you are thinking.

2. Visualize- Creative visualization is the basic technique underlying “positive thinking” and is frequently used by athletes to enhance performance. Spend 10 minutes a day visualizing an image. It could be a new house you are going to build, or the image of a red rose during meditation or it could be how you are going to hit the golf ball on Saturday. Visualization is also a core skill in using the law of attraction.

3. Free Association- This is the practice of relating “whatever” comes into your thoughts without censoring or limiting those thoughts.  There are several new mind mapping software programs which can help in the process. Mind maps are used to generate, visualize, structure, and classify ideas, and as an aid in study, organization, problem solving, decision making, and writing. Mindmeister is free internet based mind mapping program and it was voted the easiest to use by Lifehacker users.

4. See Yourself as Creative- Think of yourself as creative. Whenever you feel you are ready to do something creative, but your mind tells you that you can’t, your not talented enough or someone else is better….write that thought down and then write out 2 or 3 reasons why you can be creative. Train your mind to see yourself as creative. I once did a ritual burning of all the negative thoughts I had about my writing. Actually seeing the negative thoughts burning in my fireplace gave my mind a visualization of destroying that negative thought. I can now evoke that image as needed.

5. Find Inspiration- Find what inspires you. Make a  “My Inspiration” list.  This list is a list of your top 15 things that have inspired you. You can list movies, books, music, people, animals or events. Surround yourself with your “My Inspiration” items. Stick pictures of what inspires you where you will see it…. hourly. I put “My Inspiration” items on my bathroom mirror, the dash of the truck, my iPod, and my office. I don’t go an hour without seeing “My Inspiration”. Update your “My Inspiration” list once a year.

6. Find a Friend Who can Co-Create- Being around someone else who is creative is key to enhancing your own creativity. If you don’t know anyone else who is really creative, check your local area for an Artist Way group. The “Artist Way: a spiritual path to higher creativity” has been a leading book on spiritual creativity for years and it’s author Julia Cameron has fostered and encouraged group meetings called “Creative Clusters” through out the world. These clusters are there to help you foster “discovering and recovering your creative self.”

7. Be More Childlike-To get your creative juices really flowing, we must stop being so grown up. Creativity is a lot more fun from a child’s perspective. There are three key reasons to become more childlike — children don’t complicate things too much, they trust more, and they’re not concerned about what someone else thinks. Creativity is simple and uncomplicated.

8. Create Space-We have been focusing on creating space in your head but creating space in your house is just as important to enhance your creativity. I have recently added a creativity studio to my home on the Little Red River and it is incredible how much that one room boosts my creativity levels. If you need some inspiration for a home creativity studio do a Goggle Image Search on “home art studios” and see how many unique spaces have been created just to foster creativity.

9. Don’t Believe the Objections- You will tell yourself all kinds of reasons why you can’t do this….don’t listen.  You will tell yourself that you are not good enough, it’s a waste of time, you don’t have the money, it’s not your image, your family will object. Just acknowledge this objections and do it anyway. As you learn to protect your inner creativity, you will be able to move beyond your objections and creative constriction.

10. Use affirmations- Julia Cameron provides the following affirmations in her book the Artist Way.

• I am a channel for God’s creativity, and my work comes to good.
• My dreams come from God and God has the power to accomplish them.
• As I create and listen, I will be led.
• Creativity is the Creator’s will for me.
• My creativity heals myself and others.
• I am allowed to nurture my artist.
• Through the use of my creativity, I serve God
• I am willing to experience my creative energy.
• My creativity always leads me to truth and love.

Just get started. Stop right now and begin. Start with you’re “My Inspiration” list and follow your inspiration toward more creativity and your divine birthright.

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