Like in many other fields, Creativity has been the pulse of our profession globally. We are on this diurnal conquest of aspiring to be more creative. creativity is the most elusive butterfly all artists hanker behind, architects being no different! Our professional life is a daily tryst to find this beauty. the fact that we have science behind art, intrigues me completely. I wonder about the possibility of the existence an equation for being more creative. I question myself very often “what are the mechanics of being creative?”
Anatomically we humans are similar and yet unique. What makes us so unique? The answer to this is very simple, it is our thoughts indeed! These thoughts that subsequently result in action which makes us the individual we are. The same situation would lead to several interpretations. These eventually result into actions or reactions which would be radically different from each other.
Why is it that some one gets a violent thought while another gets a creative one? How can some one be genius and some one else not? What does this depend on? Is it the genetic framework, the upbringing, the exposure or the inner urge that is the driving or the stopping force?
Great writers, thinkers, visionaries and many architects have experienced a creative block at some point within their career spans. You sit with a paper and pen in a beautiful place, waiting for that eureka moment and very often…. It doesn’t click!!
What is the source of creativity?
It is said that, Thought is nothing but an impulse of energy and intelligence. For this impulse of energy and intelligence to arise, and for a thought spring, the impulses are required to meet at a point in the cerebral cortex at a super fast speed!!! Within this short interval of time, when all the 16 impulses in the cerebral cortex meet, we have, what we call, a “correct thought”.
So what do we do about it?
It’s again training our mind which is mostly not in our control.
Its funny that, right now as I speak, you have a dialogue in your own mind, saying “yes I agree!” or “no! That’s rubbish”. We all have a filter in our minds and we just listen through this filter, accepting only that which we already know! We conveniently filter away everything that is not a part of our belief system.
This tendency in the mind to take things which it already knows and reject that which it doesn’t, is one of the main blocks to creativity.
The second aspect of creativity is imagination. every creative person is imaginative. While being in this surreal imaginative state, we lose the ability to distinguish the real from the unreal. More often than not, imagination and inspiration derived from the sub-conscious, unreal state brings creativity!!!
If we are restricted to ground realities in our though patterns, no creativity will dawn. However, the other extreme of being in a very dreamy and imaginative state will not yield innovative solutions. Therefore, achieving a balance is pivotal. Life apes this paradigm – a balance between our intellect and our heart, feelings and institution. Listening to our gut feelings and developing the intuitive ability within us enhances creativity.
The third and the gravest problem that stops us from being creative is “stress”. How would I define stress? In simple words when the demand is more and energy supply is comparatively less we develop stress. In a day we spend a lot of time being angry, hurt, getting frustrated, regretting, feeling of guilt, blaming our self and sometimes others.
Inhibition is a big problem amongst youth. We waste a lot of precious time in worrying about what the other person is going to think of us. The problem with our mind is we cling more to the negative events in our life as compared to the positive ones. This generates more stress within us and within the society. The past is filled with regret, guilt and anger. When we dwell in the past we go through these emotions. Thinking about the future brings anxiety and feverishness. The mind is oscillating between the past and the future and it’s never in the present. We all know what the power of now can create. Being in the present moment makes us more productive, creative, original, young, energetic, enthusiastic and happy. So how can one dwell in the present moment would be our ensuing question. The answer to this is spirituality. We all have our notions on spirituality. It most definitely has nothing to do with religion. If science is the study of “what is this?”, then spirituality is the study of “who am I?” Spirituality is something that encompasses all the avenues: human values, compassion and caring. It is a value system, a way of life. All spiritual practices and celebrations lead one to a more fulfilled and joyful life- more love and care, which is what we youths require. Delving into our lives, we need to see it from a bigger perspective and not just look into immediate short term benefits. Using this as a platform, we need to bring a conscious shift from “what can I have?” to “what can I give” – a relocation in our thoughts from competition to contribution. This can happen when we nourish ourselves from our sources of energy- food, rest, breath and a few minutes for a calm collected and meditative mind.
It’s unfortunate that we have a very dogmatist approach to spirituality. Caring for life, recognizing life, and uplifting life- is the essence of spirituality. By keeping it in its true spirit of celebration, joy and sincere love, youth like us will come around it.
Suicides are happening all over the world. Newspapers and television are brimming with such revelations. I feel suicides are more among the capable people. Why could be the reason? May be stress a feeling of dryness from within or lack of support. Support needs to come from within. Food and water are not sufficient for our existence. Spirituality has the unseen strength to uplift us. It has the ability to fill the vacuum in our life. The other reasons for high suicidal rates and depression is our incompetence to take criticism in the right spirit.
The value of doing selfless service must be addressed. Service is the instant solution to bring a pleasant feeling from with. The satisfaction that comes from helping others and contributing towards society cannot be found elsewhere.
Success in life can be attributed to domain skills and soft skills. A research has shown that all successful people have one thing is common. It is a steady equilibrium in the ratio of these two skills. 87% of soft skills and only 13% of domain skills that we call as education. We spend more than fifteen years to acquire the domain skills but no where in our education system are we taught to harness our soft skills. Spirituality helps to develop these skills.
India is the youngest country. More than 60% of the population comprises of young blood. We as the youth of the nation need to take the responsibility for ourselves and ensure that our mind is clear and not clogged. We need to know that our life is more than our activity. Life is not only about achieving- it is about contributing.
“What have we contributed to the world or to the people around us? This question brings meaning to our life and working on this path will make us more creative, content, serene and happier.
Ulimately, happiness is what we all long for?
So try to love yourself a little bit more every day. Be more grateful for what you have and less critical of what you lack.
Smile. It is the best gift you can give yourself and to the world.
ps: its a column for my coll mag.
-Bodhayan
loved it.. :)
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