Creativity works in the silence of the dark; it’s where your creative light shines brightest.

You cannot talk your way into creativity; you need authentic silence to enter. No forgeries will be accepted.

Creativity is something we all have personal experience with. We may not be at Picasso’s level but he couldn’t create what we do either. We enter the creative zone every day. For example, it happens when we unknowingly and mentally escape the routine of rote (like when driving) and gain access to the land of creative silence.

We cross the border hundreds of times a day, sometimes for only seconds at a time, but each visit is accompanied by the silencing of our internal squawk box.

The aim is to have longer, scheduled visits.

The formal steps to the creativity that silence affords you are threefold.

1.       Notice that it’s noisy inside your mind.

2.       Set an intention.

3.       Engage in an activity that requires your continuous, conscious participation.

When you catch yourself inside your head talking to yourself, you are at the threshold of silence. Just noticing the noisiness inside your mind is enough to jumpstart the quiet of creativity.

Once you notice, set an intention. That means to bring to mind the goal you would like a creative solution for.

Then enter an activity that takes an abundance of your conscious attention. It could be as demanding as rock climbing or as soothing as monitoring your breathing.

The interesting thing is we do not know the exact moment we enter creativity, we only know the result of being there - a flow of ideas that heretofore was blocked out by the noise.

A day without silence is a day without creativity. We get caught up in the same old noise.

Internal silence is the only passport that will get you across the border into the quiet zone of creativity. Cultivate silence. When it grows, your creativity glows.

There are so many things that we make time for each day that don’t add to our enjoyment of life, yet we rarely make time for silence which does. It’s the silence that creates new routines and new ideas that nourish our aliveness.

To get away from the noise in your mind, you need to go away to the land of creativity. Remember to bring your passport!

 

All the best,

John