Ok, the subject sort of came up in the poems thread...
I´m forever wondering about the mystery of creativity, the only quasi-religious belief I hold: it´s very intriguing to me, this sacred ritual in which the artist is placed at the service of something that is bigger than us mere mortals. This overpowering force that takes us and won´t let go, this thing called inspiration… Where does it come from?
Here´s a track from a wonderful OST that I think tries to illustrate the point. It´s from The Girl with a Pearl Earring, a movie I loved when I saw it some years ago, about a 17th century Dutch painter called Vermeer. This track is called The Master is Painting. Enough said.
Info about the movie on the link below. If you haven´t seen it, please do! It´s about an artist who finds the one person who really understands his sensitivity, and then lets the relationship go to waste because reality, that stubborn godess, torns everything apart like a Deus ex machina):
Ooh yes a fascinating subject for me too Dame Ragnelle!
I hope you don't find me obtuse, but for me there is nothing 'religious' or quasi religious about creativity being larger than the self.... It is more spiritual....and for me there is a huge difference. The former is about external belief with a set of doctrines, the latter is the inner experience of Being something more than the small self.....exactly the definition of creativity! But rather than it being a duality of inner or outer....that creativity is about tapping into or channeling something else something bigger / external, for me it's more of a dissolving back into Oneness, into source, so there is no 'other', or boundary or separation....back into the field of pure potential, into the infinite... where everything arises..including the powerful pure flow of creativity....and it's about getting our self, our ego, will, efforting, trying out of the way...and allowing, if you like, surrendering..not to something bigger and external, but the infinite power that we truly all are. Which is why I recommend meditation for creativity ....it's just returning back to a state of being...and letting things flow!
I have noticed for myself of late, less meditation due to more busyness in life, and far less creativity flows. The moment I meditate...it's like the slate is wiped clean, and the words just arise naturally 'as if from nowhere' and begin to write themselves effortlessly!
I can´t find anyone who agrees to disagree "obtuse" my dear Lula, I can only thank them for teaching me something I didn´t know... Your thoughts are always a pleasure to read.
The difference between your opinion and mine probably lies in the fact that you are a creative person and I´m not, therefore my take on the subject is a mere hypothesis and yours stems from personal experience... Whose is more valid? It´s obvious, but just take a guess, LOL!
So you consider our inner potential is infinite and we can channel it through meditation... Beautiful poetic notion. Wish I could apply it to myself.