Addressing Creative Step/Guideline #02

A Releasing Your Unlimited Creativity discussion topic

Copyright 2006 by K. Ferlic,   All Rights Reserved

 
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Clarity of Intention 

Implementing Creative Step/Guideline #2

Creative Step/Guideline #2

Background

Clarity of intention

Iterate your intention

Identify the desired feeling

Create a single point focus

Look to see if your creative spirit is being served

Creative Step/Guideline 2 (Top): Obtain clarity of Intention. Become as clear as possible on what you desired to create knowing you can change or iterate your intention as your perspective changes as a result of these steps. Since often what we think we want is environmentally dependent, identify the type and kind of feeling that accompanies what you desired to create so that you do not lose focus in your creative effort as the environment changes. Hold your intention and, in particularly, the feeling you desire to create as a single point focus for your life. On this point, look at the origins of your intention and look to see who or what is calling forth your creative ability. Look to see how your creative spirit is, or is not, being served by what is being called forth.

Background (Top)

Any creation occurs as a result of a flow of energy. Without a flow of energy there is no movement. There is no animation. To create anything you need to cause a flow of energy or movement of some type to change what exists into what you desire. In holding an intention, you are focusing your attention and awareness to direct a specific type and kind of energy flow. That is, the flow of energy caused by the intention you set.

The creative life energy that sustains your being flows where you place and hold the focus of your awareness and attention. At one level, the focus of your attention and awareness simply redirects a portion of the flow of your creative life energy form what it is currently directed to create to what you desire to create. That is the way most people create something in their life. If they rob too much of this energy, they may in fact create conditions of accident, illness or disease that forces one to withdraw from life and how they are directing their creative spirit. This way of creating often results in addictive behavior patterns to numb the pain that results when diverts too much energy away from what their creative spirit desires to create.

The other way to create is to focus your attention and awareness to increase the flow of energy available to you. Now there are two ways to access more energy. One way is to take it from another. That is, you get them to direct their creative life energy and creative spirit into what you desire to create. This is the most common way people increase the creative energy available to them. The second way is to get more energy to flow within your being. This done through what we commonly call awareness. It is done through an awareness of ourselves and the world around us. The energy is gained through expanding awareness.

Most of our creative endeavors can be obtained by manipulating the flow of our creative life energy that sustains us and getting others to support our efforts. Awareness is about understanding several things. One is that energy follows the path of least resistance for the environment in which it flows A second is to understand the interconnectedness that is giving rise to the energy in the form that it takes. Understanding the interconnectedness is about understanding the lay of the land and the terrain thought which the energy flows. In understanding the interconnectedness, you can rearrange the connections to change the flow of energy and what manifests. It is a different way to create than most have been accustomed to doing and have learned.

Awareness acts at a much more subtle level and can be very freeing or extremely manipulative and enslaving. In any creative endeavor, it is recommended one look to allow the free flow and unfoldment of their creative spirit and any other individual’s creative spirit that participates in your endeavor. In doing so, you will create what ultimately serves you and the other.

The experience you desire is determined by the flow of energy you create as it unfolds in the environment in which you find yourself. Since energy follows the path of least resistance, by aligning with the flow of energy caused by your intention through feeling, you can manifest what you desire in a faster and easier way along the path of least resistance. In this awareness, you can check to see if what you intend is what you really desire to feel. Often what mind thinks it wants is not what the experience you ultimately want to feel. Mind only thinks it does. If you don’t use feelings to guide you, you won’t know the error made by mind till you have already created what you desired. If however, you follow the feeling you seek, you will see much earlier and easier if what you mind presents or wants is in error. You will see if what you think you desire is only the best mind can characterize what it desires at that time.

In aligning with the feeling you are carried to the experiences you need to have to manifest what you desire. As you follow the flow you gain that minimum set of requisite experience that will allow you to properly characterize the energy that gives rise to the desire you have in the quickest way possible. As you gain clarity, you can better understand the path that you need to take to create it.

To maintain the focus to create what you desire, you will need to become mindful and aware of the thoughts you have so that you do not become distracted and your focus broken. Meditation is one tool that you can use to become mindful and aware, but it is only a tool. On this point, it needs to be emphasized that meditation is a tool and should not become an end unto itself. If it does, it can become an escape, if not an addiction, as powerful as any substance or activity that you can use to escape what you feel and addressing the root cause of the feelings you have.

In addition to not becoming distracted, you will need to be mindful and aware so as to capture and act on those thoughts that support your creative effort. If you learn to watch your thoughts, you can begin to see they come with a “tag” or label that tells you something about their origin and whether or not they apply to any particular desire. In time you can begin to recognize whether the energy that is giving rise to your thoughts or feelings are from within your being or from outside you. You can also perceive as to whether or not you invited that energy into your being or it has some how “invaded” you. However, you need to hold a clear intention for what you wish to create in our life and have explored and “pulled the string”as to the “why” behind that intention if you wish to develop such thought and energy discerning ability. Developing your internal compass and becoming aware of what you feel will help you to do this

Clarity of intention (Top)

Obtain clarity of Intention

Clarity of intention is a two fold process. One part is to get clarity at what you desire to create. The second part is to look for competing conscious and subconscious intentions you may have. Clear intention also includes the clarity within oneself such that you are not distracted by competing intention that are left or carried over from the past.

Obtaining clarity of intention to know what you what is usually an iterative process. Unless you explore your intention, you will not know if it is really what you want till you have created it and experienced it. Even then sometimes the real need which gives rise to the desire and is translated into an intention is masked and not satisfied. In this case you become puzzled because you got what you desired but a part of you is still unsatisfied. To get true clarity, you need to explore the why behind the intention you hold. You need to “pull the string” so to speak to unravel the real desire that lies behind the intention. That is, to explore “Why do I intend this particular intention in the way I intend - why do I not intend what I intend in a different way? Or why do I have the particular intention at all?” When you explore the why behind the intent you have, you can explore then explore the why behind any answer that you get. You can continue the process, “pull the string,” until you get to the deepest desire behind the intention.

As an example, look at the intent to get something to eat. You could say, “I intend to go eat a pizza.” If you ask why you want to go eat a pizza, the most obvious and probably the first response is that, “I am hungry and I need to it.” Now that may be the case. But you can still look deeper in two ways. One is why pizza as opposed to something else. The other way is why are you hungry. Are you really hungry? - that is, do you physically lack fuel. You may discover that something else is motivating you. You may discover that you are really nervous and you want to eat to calm the anxiety you feel. That of course leads to the question, “Why are you anxious?”

So in the end, after exploring your intention, you may find your original intention only masks over several layers of feeling. You may find the real reason why you intend something is not what you think it is. As above, the real intention is not to eat because you are hungry but to eat to calm the anxiety you feel. In reality your intention to eat is trying to address what is making your anxious. Hence, rather than dealing directly with the cause of the anxiety, the mind masks what you feel in a very plausible and seemingly logical way and mask what your needs really are. Mind either does not understand that it is nervous and anxious or there is a fear or pain such that mind prefers not to conscious face so it masks the true desire.

Clarity of intent is to get at this deeper reason why we intend what we do. It is only there will you access your true creative ability and understand what beliefs are controlling your life.

This process of exploring the “why” behind your intentions opens the door to realize you carry more than one intention and many of them may be subconscious. In the example above, “getting something to eat” is the conscious intention and “quelling an anxiety” is the subconscious intention. In this case, the conscious intention does somewhat align with the subconscious intention for the food can calm the anxiety. Yet the conscious intention does not really address the cause of the subconscious intention and why you have the anxiety in the first place. As such the anxiety will only arise in a different way at some future time when environmental conditions are similar. However, in any case, in your exploration of the why behind many of the intentions you hold, you will come to find what you intend is based on what you have been programmed to do because of the experiences you have had in life as opposed to what you really want to do or need to do. Often you will discover mind, for one reason or another, does not even consciously understand what it is you really need to do.

In this regard, obtaining clarity of intention can be like explore underground caves and/or mining for minerals you wish to bring to the surface. You will need to sufficiently make the subconscious conscious relative to what you desire to create to bring to the surface so that your past does not interfere with your current efforts. In this subconscious exploration, you may find feelings are essential for often we do not quickly or ever fully remember what may be interfering with our creative efforts. Your feelings can and will direct you in the way you need to go to uncover any competing conscious or subconscious intentions or obstacles within your being relative to what you desire to create.

Iterate your intention (Top)

Become as clear as possible on what you desired to create knowing you can change or iterate your intention as your perspective changes as a result of these steps.

Since it may take time to get true clarity of intention, you will usually find it necessary to act on what you know and not wait to get as clear as possible. You may have to move with the information you have. Here again, remember, there are no mistakes in creativity. You need not penalize yourself or feel guilty in any way that you don’t get what you seek correct the first time. Or, you find yourself changing what you intend can be expected as you gain experiences. You only need to take what you have learned and move forward. Any judgement you have about no “getting it right” is only of the mind and based on your past. You only need to look to see what worked and didn’t work and what is effective in assisting you to create what you desire.

Identify the desired feeling (Top)

Since often what we think we want is environmentally dependent, identify the type and kind of feeling that accompanies what you desired to create so that you do not lose focus in your creative effort as the environment changes.

This is an extremely important concept and lies at the root of many of our problems. Feeling is what makes us feel alive and gives us life. Unless we have a feel and/or passion for something, we will not access the energy to act in what we do. Without passion or a feel for what we do, we will be lifeless and we will function much like a zombie or a sleepwalker. There will be no passion and life in what we do no matter how successful we think we become. You will simply function. There is not necessarily anything wrong in simply functioning with no life in what we do. However, it does not make like as an enjoyable experience it can be as when we have passion for what we do.

Often we think what is external to us is what gives rise to what we feel inside and that may be true. But it is not the only external circumstance that will give rise to a similar if not an identical internal feeling. There are a variety of external circumstances that can give rise to the feelings we desire, or for that matter, we don’t desire. Some feelings are more acceptable than others. Other feelings we don’t allow ourselves to feel. For example, you can feel the thrill of your team willing. But there are a variety of different teams you could support as “my” team and each can give a very similar feeling in their winning. Similarly, your political candidate could win an important election and give you the same feeling of your team winning a sports competition. So it is not necessarily the external circumstances that give rise to what we feel.

So, when we intend something, it is important to ask what feeling do we desire to experience that accompanies what we intend. Often, we end up intending what mind thinks will give us what we desire when in reality we desire a particular feeling. In this awareness one can create a ritual, meta-theatrical performance, or a guided meditation that represents what you desire to create to get a feeling of what you desire. Then use your internal compass to lock onto that feeling to guide you in your creative efforts. The feeling for what you desire to create will need to become a single point focus or meditation for your life.

Create a single point focus (Top)

Hold your intention and, in particularly, the feeling you desire to create as a single point focus for your life.

Holding a single point focus with your life is much like celestial navigation on the ocean. It is not the same as the focus you hold in meditation. They are closely related but different. Yet, some see mediation as creating a single point focus for their life. Many meditation traditions talk to these points but don’t really show people how to go and do it. Individuals learn to hold focus in the way one uses a mantra, idol or whatever it is one uses to focus their attention and awareness and think this is a single point focus for their life. However, sitting and holding an mental image, thoughts, sound or idea in meditation is different that a single point focus for one’s life. A single point focus guides all of your actions in life, even your meditation. It is not the other way around. A single point focus is about keeping the end in mind for every action you take for what you experience here and now in the moment.

Traditional meditation whether as meditation or yogic practice, is to sit and/or move in a precise way and either call what you desire into your life through the focus of your attention and awareness and/or create what you desire out of the “no-thing-ness” of Creation. Normally meditation or yoga is done to obtain a spiritual state or some mystical experience. That can be done and but one needs to sacrifice a great deal of time and effort to create it. There is an easier way and it is a single point focus for one’s life. You need to become aware of the feel for as many thoughts, actions, deeds and memories you have as you move through life. The choose those as often as you can that moves you toward or into alignment with the feeling of your creation.

A single point focus for one’s life is much more like navigating and a ship crossing the ocean. As the ship crosses the ocean, you have a navigation star, a point of reference that does not move, that you continually check to ensure you do not get off course. Where as meditation is to sit and yoga is to hold a given set of postures, a single point focus is about getting up, walking (or running, hopping, skipping or jumping) and freely moving into any aspect of life and yet remaining on course for what you desire to create. Here, every decision you make and action you take as you walk into life is toward what you desire to create as much as possible based on your internal compass. Although meditation is a very helpful and useful tool in any creative effort, especially to create mindfulness and awareness, it is only a tool that you use and it cannot become a end unto itself.

Suggested type of action: Write, draw, dance, get a picture or make a model, using whatever medium you choose that appeals to you, of what you intend to create. Create a surrogate or real physical experience, a suorephex, for what you wish to create in your life to get a feel for the feeling that accompanies what you desire. Then use the words, object and feeling to focus your attention and awareness. They can be used as a daily reminder. The words will be your mantra or prayer and the object will become the image of your focus. The feeling will be used as the reference point on your internal compass. Claim the presence of the writing, drawing, picture or model and feeling in your life as the evidence that your life flows to unfold the manifestation of the intention you hold. Know that as you move into and through life, facing the obstacles as they are presented to you by consulting your intuitive guidance you will create what you desire.

Consider writing your eulogy and what you want said about you and your life when all is said and done. Use your eulogy to guide you in your life and in every moment. If you become it every moment, no matter when you die, you will be successful in life. Read your eulogy to another and begin to live it to make it a reality.

Paralleling your eulogy, what do you wish to create with, in or during your life. What you desire to create with your life may or may not reflect what you want said about your life. For example, you can be remembered as a warm loving person in a variety of things you do. So become aware of exactly what you would like to create in and with your life. Declare your intention to another and ask your intuitive guidance what you need to do create it.

Look to see if your creative spirit is being served (Top)

On this point, look at the origins of your intention and look to see who or what is calling forth your creative ability. Look to see how your creative spirit is, or is not, being served by what is being called forth.

This goes back to the “why” behind the intent we have. Every intention we hold, consciously or subconsciously, is calling forth our creative spirit and our creative ability. Yet, all that we intend does not necessarily serve us as to who and what we are. One may be a brilliant teacher who has a innate and phenomenal ability to create an environment that allows children to learn. Yet, they are told to only teach a prescribed curriculum, in a prescribed way in a prescribed environment. So their intention is to comply with the requirements to get their pay check. Their creative spirit is called forth to create an energy to give them the ability to teach but yet the flow of energy is stifled by the prescriptions imposed by the system in which one finds themselves. The creative spirit is not allowed to teach true to its ability. In essence the creative spirit is not served. In any case, after a sufficient time the muscles and/or abilities atrophy or develop slightly different to meet the prescriptions for what is needed and the habits of the routine become so strong one literally loses the ability it once had such that the ability dies and needs to be resurrected. What is occurring is much like taking a race horse in its prime and rather than developing its muscles to run free with its spirit, one harnesses it to a team of horses to pull a wagon. The horse can pull but its spirit is not allowed to come out true to itself. Rather it is crushed, stifled, and bound and its true ability is never developed. Our creative spirit is much like this. It starts out in freedom seeking an environment which allows it to freely create only to find it is thwarted in its efforts, controlled and put into a box not of its choosing that keeps it bound throughout life.

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