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To understand how fear blocks
creativity, take a moment to imagine yourself telling a story. First,
imagine telling the story to someone you love and who loves you. You
probably feel warmth and energy as you fill in the details of your tale
to your friend’s delight. Now, imagine telling the same story to someone
who, for whatever reason, makes you uncomfortable. The wonderful twists
and turns, the fine points and colorful images that unfolded in your mind
for your friend probably won’t present themselves. Instead of warmth,
energy, and creativity, you will probably feel opposite sensations and a
desire to close down. When we feel unsafe, whether we fear being judged,
disliked, or misunderstood, our creative flow stops. Alternately, when we
feel safe, our creativity unfolds like a beautiful flower, without
conscious effort.
Knowing this, we can maximize our
creative potential by creating the conditions that inspire our
creativity. In order to really be in the flow, we need to feel safe and
unrestricted. However, achieving this is not as simple as avoiding people
who make us feel uncomfortable. Sometimes we can be alone in a room and
still feel totally blocked. When this happens, we know we have come up
against elements in our own psyches that are making us feel fearful.
Perhaps we are afraid that in expressing ourselves we will discover
something we don’t want to know, or unleash emotions or ideas that we
don’t want to be responsible for. Or maybe we’re afraid we’ll fail to
produce something worthy.
When you’re up against fear, internal
or external, a ritual can be a powerful — and creative — antidote. Before
you sit down to be creative, try casting a circle of protection around
yourself. Visualize yourself inside a ring of light, protective fire, or
angels. Imagine that this protective energy emanates unconditional love
for you and wants to hear, see, and feel everything you have to express.
Take a moment to bathe in the warmth of this feeling, and then fearlessly
surrender yourself to the power that flows through you.
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