<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" > <channel> <title>Creativity – Debra Emerson</title> <atom:link href="https://debraemerson.com/category/creativity/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /> <link>https://debraemerson.com</link> <description>Acorn Awakenings</description> <lastBuildDate>Wed, 29 Jan 2025 22:23:18 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en-US</language> <sy:updatePeriod> hourly </sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency> 1 </sy:updateFrequency> <image> <url>https://debraemerson.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/download-1-150x106.jpg</url> <title>Creativity – Debra Emerson</title> <link>https://debraemerson.com</link> <width>32</width> <height>32</height> </image> <item> <title>Cultivating Creativity</title> <link>https://debraemerson.com/cultivating-creativity/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Matt Gottlieb]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 29 Jan 2025 22:22:16 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Creativity]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Inspiration]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Joy]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Writing]]></category> <category><![CDATA[#joy]]></category> <category><![CDATA[creativity]]></category> <category><![CDATA[writing]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://debraemerson.com/?p=3386</guid> <description><![CDATA[5 Practices to Foster the Creative Spirit Creativity touches all aspects of our lives: writing or woodworking or drawing, cooking in the kitchen, decorating our homes, planting a garden, nurturing relationships, thinking outside the box to solve a problem, and on it goes. While I did have writers in mind when drafting this article, I […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<h2><b>5 Practices to Foster the Creative Spirit </b></h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Creativity touches all aspects of our lives: writing or woodworking or drawing, cooking in the kitchen, decorating our homes, planting a garden, nurturing relationships, thinking outside the box to solve a problem, and on it goes. While I did have writers in mind when drafting this article, I realize these practices can nurture our artistry in all areas.</span></p> <p><b>Walk in Nature</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Disconnecting from the </span><a href="https://www.niehs.nih.gov/sites/default/files/health/materials/electric_and_magnetic_fields_associated_with_the_use_of_electric_power_questions_and_answers_english_508.pdf"><span style="font-weight: 400;">electrical grid</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> which oscillates at a much higher frequency than our earth bodies is well-known to be good for our health. This may also include </span><a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/grounding"><span style="font-weight: 400;">grounding</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> or </span><a href="https://health.clevelandclinic.org/earthing"><span style="font-weight: 400;">earthing</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. For creative purposes, taking a nature walk or even a swim can simply ease tension which is a block to creativity. We are naturally creative creatures so merely removing blocks can allow creativity to arise. Add on the health benefits and it’s a win-win situation.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For times when weather or locale preclude spending time outside, a visit to a flower shop or plant store or humane society does the trick for me.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">~~~~~~~</span></p> <p><b>Make Things and Sing</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">What do you enjoy? What brings you a smile? Play a little every day. Some days play a lot. We might also add a little Mary Poppins-esque fun to ordinary everyday jobs:</span></p> <p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">“In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun, and – SNAP – the job’s a game!”</span></i></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">American author on human development </span><a href="https://josephchiltonpearce.org"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Joseph Chilton Pearce</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> who wrote </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Magical Child</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">, among other works, extols the power of play. I had met him years ago at one of his lectures during which he shared a conversation he had with a child. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“What do you love to do?” Pearce asked.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Make things and sing,” the child answered. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Then that’s what you should do!” he exclaimed. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">According to Pearce:</span></p> <p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Play is the only way the highest intelligence of humankind can unfold.”</span></i></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The next practice emerged from just such a space.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">~~~~~~~</span></p> <p><b>The Non-Dominant Hand </b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For creativity to flow, we need to get out of our own way so what if we used our </span><a href="https://partsandself.org/non-dominant-handwriting-as-a-way-to-access-parts/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">non-dominant hand</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, the one least connected with our thinking processes? My first book </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sea-Slug-Debra-Emerson/dp/142579789X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3AIO2JXF190KT&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Rz0vK5T2RymNqlWHSQ7jBO8RZEZ23Wb5o4_xNc_Z0r_rLbmQRCmOOr5eNwyg1XPeB6JXrRCY_aVnJEgqcQmnMBh1obg7oXKG5P7b3gW1tsJvvN4bCWNCM7EsiMpr4uAHoRdmx7e7q1r0bklRYM33pw.sVzgj-o4BxQbRRcOTcFpXTmkH8eZ8PmMHO9JfKJd3ww&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+sea+slug+emerson&qid=1736716680&sprefix=the+sea+slug+emerson%2Caps%2C61&sr=8-1"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Sea Slug</span></i></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> was surprisingly created in just this way. Additionally, the Slug’s timeless theme of being true to oneself echoes the creative thumbprint that is unique for us all.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It was a bright sunny day quite a few moons ago, I joyfully set up my dining room table with watercolor paints contained in one of those inexpensive plastic palettes. I added a paintbrush, two plastic cups of water, some paper towels for drying, and a pad of paper. I was going to </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">make things and sing</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Since I am right-handed, I used my left hand and did not look directly at what I was doing. I wet the brush, dipped into a color, and blindly put strokes on the paper. After rinsing the brush, I went for another color, all the while not looking directly at the paper, and so on. I was literally playing, not thinking nor having a plan but just being in the energy of fun. I was truly enjoying my watercolors!</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Eventually I felt </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">done</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and stopped to survey my creation. I saw what looked like seaweed and a small creature emerging. “You look like you have a story to tell,” I stated. So I picked up a pen and the creature </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">spoke</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to me as a sort of automatic writing. The story did not feel complete so I packed it away with my artwork once dry and did not think of it again until months later.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I was in the middle of writing a very different piece when words started reciting in my head. “You sound like the sea slug,” I remarked to no one in particular but myself. I found the folder with my artwork and the unfinished story and it finished itself quickly. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I love this slug, how he was created and how he told his story in verse and the story itself. I love how I was open to play and what emerged from that frequency once I stepped aside and a higher intelligence unfolded. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Of course, watercolor painting is not the only way to open the space for creations to emerge. Play with whatever medium calls to you. Additionally, </span><a href="https://onehe.org/eu-activity/creativity-booster-an-ode-to-the-other-hand/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">writing with the nondominant hand</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> can open creative doors as well.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">~~~~~~~</span></p> <p><b>The Back Burner</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Similar to </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Sea Slug</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that sat on </span><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/backburner-where-ideas-gain-strength-charlie-wetzel"><span style="font-weight: 400;">the back burner</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> until it was ready for the final ingredients to be added, stepping back from a piece that you have created and revisiting it at a later date can also bring a fresh perspective. Currently I am editing a teaching memoir I drafted last year and the distance of time has shown me where I need to clarify things more fully for the readers. None of this was apparent without the time and space to allow what has bubbled up and come to the surface.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As a writing teacher, I would break tasks down in parts for my students and encourage them to take time away for simmering. Often I would collect drafts and hold them for a day or up to a week when we would get back to what I called </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">cooking with words. </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">I’d wear an apron with pockets and pull out empty spice jars for </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">spicing up</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> their drafts. I loved playing at teaching too!</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">~~~~~~~</span></p> <p><b>Just Write</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Long before computers and cell phones, I relied on my journals. Often when I wasn’t thinking directly about anything, an idea or a well-turned phrase would come to me. I’d grab the nearest scrap of paper and write it down. My journals are stuffed with such scraps of paper.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Welcome now to the digital age and all sorts of other tools have been invented. While I still put ideas that arise on bits of paper, I often use my notes or audio recordings on my cell phone to jot down ideas, especially when paper is not at the ready. An awareness of various ways to record creative notions can act as an invitation for those innovative visitors to appear.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Having a habit that sets time aside such as </span><a href="https://littlecoffeefox.com/morning-pages-changed-life/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">morning pages</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> as described by American teacher and writer Julia Cameron in </span><a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/05/1193447515/the-artists-way"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Artist’s Way </span></i></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">is invaluable too. A couple of Cameron quotes follow. </span></p> <p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">“For most people, creativity is a serious business. They forget the telling phrase ‘the play of ideas’ and think that they need to knuckle down and work more. Often, the reverse is true. They need to play.”</span></i></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For some of us morning pages may show up as afternoon or evening or Saturday pages but carving out that space sets the creative stage, whether you are a writer or dabble in some other art form.</span></p> <p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Writing [or your own creative art] is a spiritual practice in that people that have no spiritual path can undertake it and, as they write, they begin to wake up to a larger connection. After a while, people tend to find that there is some muse that they are connecting to.”</span></i></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I have found that muse to be the greater ME that is part of the ALL and this brings me much JOY. I simply love getting lost in the timelessness of creating, just like a child at play. You know you’ve found </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">your</span></i> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">jam</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> when time flies and you’re having fun and still you’re getting something done. </span></p> <p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Wishing you wonderful jam sessions!</span></i></p> <p>Read also, and with more photos, on <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://medium.com/inspired-writer/cultivating-creativity-3d5ac6fd24ac">Medium</a>.</span></p> <p>Image by <a class="af gd" href="https://pixabay.com/users/nowaja-9363663/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=7179046" target="_blank" rel="noopener ugc nofollow">Nowaja</a> from <a class="af gd" href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=7179046" target="_blank" rel="noopener ugc nofollow">Pixabay</a></p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> </channel> </rss>