Mr Coehlo and I were looking at creativity from different points of view. I have a fairly spiritualistic view of creativity – which defines creativity as moments of harmony with a Universe that is at constant creative play or Leela. And Mr Coehlo probably did not see this notion of ” a creative moment that has passed before it can be expressed in a structured way” , as relavent to our discussion….
Of course in the context of the discussion he may have been right –
but my point of view is a very eastern one – where I have come to believe that a creative work is more ‘being the conduit to creative expression”.
You do not ‘do’ as much as allow it to be ‘done’ by becoming the medium through which the creative expression is expressed. Nor do you block it by your ego that demands that you take ownership of that creative expression. You don’t look to create ‘copyright’ in a creative expression that was never ‘yours’ in any case.
The creative expression came from a moment or several moments where you existed in the ‘zone’ as a lot of stand up comics call it ! Or as poets call it. Or the Eureka moment that scientists call it. The zone is when you suddenly find inyourself the ability to be the medium rather than the ‘Doer’.
At the same meeting at Davos, I remember a conversation with the comedien Chris Rock. He told me that sometimes that he woud tell the same joke, with the same pauses – and the live audiences would not respond at all. But at other times he sensed he was in the ‘Zone’ where he felt ‘in tune’ with the audiences , and they would respond to his act very enthusiastically.
What is this ‘Zone’ ? It is your ability to somehow let your ego go, and become a finely tuned instrument that becomes the medium through which the subconsious of the audience comes into harmony with a more universal creative force. I will discuss this later in detail,
shekhar
You Humans arrogate a lot to yourselves , some more than others. Your capabilities and powers are limited – from the power of locomotion to power of expression.
I dont think Coehlo or anyone else is creative at all. Personalities are just an instrument of some messages that wish to come down to Earth , through that personality .
Creativity has a life force of its own. It finds those beings which have sufficient Shakti – expressed as Passion to be able to transcend their material condition – to work to let the energy flow down – through them.
Rishis are nameless ,yea Namesless and countless are the works and benedictions and immense sacrifices of the Oceanic ones. The puny , tiny egoes will never see this. All works belong to the source of Creativity , the witness of all acts of mind , body and spirit are the elements themselves.
Dear Shekhar
All the western creative people whom I know would agree with you that the creative person is “the medium through which the creative expression is expressed.”
How do you reconcile your view that you should not take ownership of the creative expression, with the fact that your work as a film director involves leading a creative team, and leadership implies partial psychological ownership?
Is your work the process of leadership itself? Is it that you must get into a creative zone with your film team, with you as the performer and them as the audience initially, in order to induce their creative expression, so that waves of creation roll through the project? How does your sequence of visions for a flim (which I assume you have, or you wouldn’t position yourself as a leader in the first place) fit with the reality of creative expression in your work, for you, i.e., how do your visions change, how do you change, as a project moves forward in time and action?
love, Heath
cool…this is rocking dude…!!! now i got your point!!!…because at times WORDS give out all the very wrong meanings out… the meaning is lost when it is expressed through words… but we have to use words at the end of the day… we have to use mind to kill mind… so the journey will go on…
take care…tata…kedar…
Shekhar, I think the zone is not something to achieve or aspire. Actually, not being in the zone is a disassociation with creativity, which in other words is disharmony. People who look at creativity as an owned act will never understand this.
Dear Skekhar,
I think what you mean by the ‘zone’ is something similar to when we say ‘everything fell in place today or was in harmony today.’ I think it happens often with artists who give repeated performances. Ravi Shankar comes every year to the ‘Carnegie Hall’ in NY and he says that there’s something about the hall and the audience and everything that truly creates magic (as you said you become the instrument yourself and not really the copyright owner). I think he finds himself in that ‘zone’ of pure creativity where the music, audience, the ambience, and all the applause becomes one, without any ego, and everything’s in total harmony.
I’d love to know similar experiences of pure creativity that you’ve had and would also wait for your detailed explanation?
Thanks for these really interesting creativity posts.
Himanshu
heath, I see myself as a gardner tending to the plants, watering them and watching them grow under the sunshine, and maybe a little pruning here and there. I am trying very hard to live my philosophy ie to allow things to be, as often we are the block when we see ourselves as the ‘doer’ shekhar
Dear Shekhar
Thanks for your answer. Now, how did you get to be the gardener? 🙂 I understand how hands-off you try to be. I understand it’s not only your philosophy, you put it into action, too. Yet you are the gardener, after all. Even a humble gardener is a father to his plants, is their missing rain and sun, he straightens their rows at the beginning, he tries to ensure their healthy, beautiful growth and fruiting. And so, how / why did you become the modest but skilled gardener, and how does that fit with your theory of creativity?
love, Heath
I agree with you shekhar, Expressing a creative moment in a structured way is “innovating”
The real creativity lies in the moment when the ‘spark’ occurs.
hhmmm…interesting thing here is the importance of ABSENSE of ego. One way of looking at it would be….ego is necessary at all other times but u also shd be able to shrug it off when u want to be in the ‘zone’. I know u were stressing upon the need to be one with the audience. But really i dont think its the audience. I feel its the universe. Creativity or any form of genius stems from your oneness with the universe. To achieve this oneness u have to let go not only ego but all negatives. An artist, since he is performing, takes the audience to this oneness and that is where the artist feels he is one with the audience…but actually he is not going to the audience…the audience is coming to him and also to the universal creative force u mentioned. That explains why the artist got different responses.
Learning to be “hands off” is one of the hardest things to reconcile – I still struggle with it since in my field, animation – I started by doing it mostly myself – the sense of control was immense in that there were no bars to “creativity” except my own physical limits..
I think you can be creative in many fields in many ways – some peoples creativity is in , for example, finding money to make films 🙂 – whichever, it only ever becomes a chore when you stop enjoying the process.
I also think that anticipating the rewards is a natural tendency – but the work in hand necessary to achieve these has to be done first – as in a gardener anticipating a good crop of fruit.
Shekhar ,
Creativity and our delight in what it produces, is an example of the profligate overflow of divinity’s grace and goodness, given without limit or condition. In fact, an artist’s complacent confidence that his faith and good behaviour will lend him divine help in a special way is likely to be the very obstacle which gets in the way of greatness — a log in the artistic eye preventing him from seeing the “world in a grain of sand”.
Where faith does have an impact for me is in the mental health that results from its vision of ultimate reality — the broad-shouldered realisation that becoming like children, is not to make us immature, but to encourage us to see life as a playground with so many swings and roundabouts, and buttered scones at home at the end of the day. For example , If a musician walks on to the stage with concerns about wrong notes, critics, applause, fame etc she/he will not play as well as she/he can.
Even physically, we play our instruments better when limbs are free and loose, and people regularly report an increase in physical and mental energy when they start to pray or meditate. In addition, meditation can form in us an inner silence which is an essential part of concentration. To be able to hear each note, each bar, each phrase, both individually and as a related whole, requires an ability to see and to hold many parts in unity — a key to any life of contemplation.
Avoiding distractions, creating new and better material out of mistakes, balancing self-demand and self-esteem, are all qualities which unite a musical and spiritual life. The hidden, daily annoyances of cancelled flights, noisy hotels, bad food and inferior pianos, are a constant ascetical challenge and the patience required in the course of our Daily lives is also a real expression of Creativity and is a real call to Spirituality , since it includes Practicality and Creativity.
Shekhar,
What i am writing here does not relate to anything above… i just wanted to ask you something.. have you come across a situation where you feel completely helpless… where you keep fighting for your survival…
You have always lived life at your own terms and conditions that is something amazing.. but why is it so difficult for a female to do this.. why do you think men (there are exceptions…:)) have such big ego that they cant see women doing good in their lives.. can you put your views on this and start something for a debate…
Often Tina, often. I am so often surrounded by fear of not being able to survive and to fail. I just assure myself that I am not in control, and all I can do is what I can do, and that the result of what I do has it’s own individuality.
But on the difference between men and women, would u like to put your question up as a blog, as if from you ? shekhar
I would like you,Sir, to be my mentor in Film making.Has ever creating your own team like Ridley crossed your mind.More like doing some succession planning for more such conduits for creative expression.
To be truthful my ego does urge me to not write such things,as they will hardly ever get a response,and shame one’s self esteem.
But then as you well said “You do not ‘do’ as much as allow it to be ‘done’ by becoming the medium through which the creative expression is expressed. Nor do you block it by your ego that demands that you take ownership of that creative expression”.
I did not let my ego block anything so neither will take ownership of the rebuke in the form of your indifferent response in not responding.
And who knows I might just be in the “‘Zone'”