Mindful Creativity

Deb and Barbara have a 3-way with Lori Landau

Barbara: Deb and I haven’t done a three-way in a loooong time. We used to do them once a month, inviting a fellow blogger-commenter here to share some personal thoughts or concerns (if you haven’t read any and are curious, check out the sidebar from last year and look for “Deb and Barbara have a 3-way”). We absolutely loved doing it—but, like everything blog-related, it requires a certain amount of discipline, forethought, and organization. Sadly, sometimes these are in shorter supply!

Lori: creativity personified.

So I’ve been chatting a lot lately with Lori of Conscious Creativity (who comments here frequently with those doozy, pinpoint-perfect reflections). I am always drawn to the idea of the “mentor” and, while I’m sure Lori will deny any such thing on her part, as my self-appointed mentor, she has brought me an incredible treasure trove of wisdom, insight, support, love and calm over these precious months. I asked Lori if she wouldn’t mind sharing some of her goodies with you guys today, as her insight into creativity—if you’re curious about it—is some of the best I’ve ever come across. Lori, thank you for being such a wise and brilliant you, and thank you for letting me share you with our blog-peeps today!

Lori: People often ask me how my meditation practice influences my creative output, and where I find the time to make so many things in the first place (I draw and/or take photographs and write every day). But I’ll tell you a secret, something that I have discovered from years of creating, meditating, and contemplating what it’s all about: creativity isn’t a matter of doing. It’s a matter of listening. I’ve learned that to create is to be open to receiving a message that everything that exists is art, that art doesn’t just imitate life, it is an integral part of it. Art is both within us and outside of us. Everything is made of the same primordial stuff: light, energy, sounds, colors, shapes. Practicing meditation has increased my perceptual clarity and shown me that that rather than making art, I’m participating in it. Like everyone else, I’m part of what Baba Muktananda called “the play of consciousness,” and as such, I’ve learned there are an infinite number of ways to express my own individual consciousness. In other words, I’m co-creating right along with life via the choices I make. And I choose to express myself creatively on a day-to-day basis.

Original artwork by Lori Landau. Do not reproduce without permission.

What I create is the byproduct of my fascination and discomfort with the world around me. For me, the stuff of life itself is an inspiration. I make art because it is how I translate the emotional and visual content of the world to myself. My process is intricately connected to ordinary, everyday life moments. Making art becomes my way of making something extraordinary out of the mundane; something larger than myself, something that can reach beyond the borders of flesh that separates me from others. I make art to assert to myself that I’m here right now, and if my work happens to move someone, it reminds me that I’m not alone in my feelings or experiences, that we’ll all in this being human together.

I know what you’re thinking. “How nice for her.” And if you’ve also added on “but I could never do that,” then you’re the person I’m writing this for. Because you can.  You just need to change your internal dialogue and literally talk yourself into believing it.

The Buddha said: “Your thoughts create your words, your words create your deeds, your deeds become habit, and habit hardens into character.” By changing your relationship to yourself, you can think, speak and act yourself through the creative doorway.

Original artwork by Lori Landau. Do not reproduce without permission.

Being creatively productive isn't something that just magically occurs. The reality is that creative acts are made up of small, incremental steps that add up. Here is a collection of my own personal creative “tips” to tempt you into action. And let me know how they work for you. I’m listening.

1. Put yourself first: If you wait until everything else is done, you'll never get to it. Trust me. As the mother of three, I know this to be true. An added bonus of being a practicing creative within a family; your kids will learn how to access their own inner artist and allow themselves to be creative.

2. Keep company with “creatives”: Being in a creative environment or hanging out with artists, writers, musicians will inspire you and jumpstart your own creative impulses. Get together with others to write, draw or see art.

3. Develop a ritual: Creativity is a muscle. So repeating the same actions every day (like writing in your journal or taking a photo a day) prompts the mind to build the creative habit.

4. Let art imitate life: document the things that capture your fancy, as well as the things that upset you. Express your emotions by being creative, instead of dramatic. A good way to do this is by making lists of details about your day.

5. You can take it with you: carry a journal or a notebook with you and use it in small moments to capture your thoughts and impressions in words or drawings. You’ll be surprised how fast those small moments add up to a body of work.

6. Start at the beginning: All creative projects have a beginning, a middle, and an ending.
Don’t mistake the desire for a brilliant finished project for the joy of being in the process. Ground yourself in what you’re doing, and the product will take care of itself.

7. Set limits: Without allowing emptiness, you cannot have the possibility of everything at your fingertips. But if you’re overwhelmed by the blank page, set a topic or theme. Creating within confines will help fuel creative action.

8. Move your body. Moving the body helps bring new energy to our endeavors. Turning the usual way of doing things upside down helps us see things in a new light.

9. Get out of your own way: If you tell yourself that you aren’t creative, you won’t be. Use your energy to empower yourself instead. Your thoughts are powerful, practice replacing negative self-messages with positive ones.

10. Meditate. A daily meditation practice helps create inner space. Clearing your mind of clutter helps you get to your own creative center. You’ll know it as the calm eye within the storm of existence.

Becoming more creative isn’t about changing who we essentially are. It is about learning to recognize that it is already within us, if we can just get quiet enough to hear it.

Deb: I cannot even begin to express how timely this is. Lori, your words have hit me with a lovely arrow in my heart. They are the blueprint for what I try to do every day, succeeding sometimes and failing other times. But as I say when I travel, “I focus on what I see, not what I don’t see”. Same with this. I don’t beat myself up when I fail at this philosophy, instead I try to embrace the every day of it, even when I can’t.

Lori, this has resonated in the heart of me today. We lost a dear friend this weekend, killed tragically in a car accident. So I am sorry, friends. I cannot formulate thoughts as I normally would on this wonderful subject. We are deeply in mourning and will share our friend’s life with you this week. Until then, I have learned over and over and have been tragically reminded that life is indeed short. Create. Please. For you, for all of us.

Lori Landau’s work explores the link between creativity and consciousness, while striving to spark a concerned dialogue about global issues. Both artist and writer, yogi and mom, this native New Yorker has written for a variety of magazines including Adweek, AdAge, Elegant Bride, Sportswear International and others. She was a regular contributor to the Silicon Valley Mom’s blog, and now writes for Technorati. Her most recent photographic series, titled Elemental Soul, was featured at the New York Open Center. Long inspired by Buddhist philosophy, she is certified to teach yoga and meditation. Currently, she is working on a book of self-illustrated dream poems, as well as a series of portraits. She blogs about her art, photography, and yogic philosophy at www.consciousnesscreativity.com