8 Ways to Channel Creativity from Source

8 ways to Channel Creativity from Source

“When I am ..... completely myself, entirely alone... or during the night when I cannot sleep, it is on such occasions that my ideas flow best and most abundantly. Whence and how these ideas come I know not nor can I force them.” 
― Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

 I started composing music when I was 12 years old.  I used to create new tunes on the piano.  I would literally spend hours just experimenting with chords, patterns of notes until something slotted in. 

 When I was 14, I attended a funeral of the father of one of my school friends.  Everyone in the church was in a state of shock because this man was so young and left 3 children and there was no warning.  One minute, there; the next, gone. 

 The experience profoundly touched me and I went home after the funeral and composed in a single sitting a piece called Autumn Reverie.  It was the weirdest experience. 

 I just absorbed the sadness and then just channelled this emotion into my fingers and out came this 12 minute piece.  There was no working of this piece; it just came out note perfect.  And here I am some 41 years later playing this piece and that piece still hasn’t changed. 

 So what was going on? How did this happen?  I can only say that it felt like something took me over and controlled my fingers on the keyboard.  I was a mere instrument for a higher power.  I was the conduit for pure inspiration.  I have composed music and painted paintings many times using the technique below and they have always been my best work.

 So how can you tap into this creative resource as a creator whether it be music, art or writing or any act or creation which I believe is available to all of us?

 1.     Place yourself into a pre-meditative state.

Set the scene as if you were going to meditate.  Dim the lights, light incense, take deep breaths and ensure you are not going to be interrupted.  Make sure you are warm and clear your mind of distractions.  Switch off and place mobile phones etc out of sight, sound and reach.  

 2.    Half shut your eyes and just put yourself in the position to receive the flow of inspiration

 You are consciously pushing up your energy to connect with the highest and purest inspiration and you put your mind to one side and imagine you are a mere channel or conduit and the inspiration will flow through you using you as its instrument. To disengage the thinking mind is quite a difficult task and not a natural state initially

 3.     Be guided as to what how the flow is going to be transmitted.

 If you are a musician just wait as if waiting for the conductor to lead you, poised ready alert and fully engaged and present. If you are an artist, allow the guidance to extend to the mixing of the paints and the selection of the brush or artistic medium.  If you are a writer have your hands poised over the keyboard ready to start typing or if you are writing long-hand with the pen or pencil in place with a full pad of paper ready to receive.            Don’t analyse or allow your logical mind to engage.  Some of the ideas might be wild or crazy but suspend your judgement and just see what happens.

 4.    Trust in the process without analysis or judgment.

 The techniques that flow from this can be quite outstanding. When channelling writing this is called automatic writing and the speed in which the words flow through can be quite breath-taking.   When painting, it often feels like the shapes are purely abstract but it is important to not try to “assist” the process by interpreting or jumping to conclusions.  I painted this shape and only much much later it became clear to me that it was a woman dancing and this clearly resonated with people as it quickly sold when I was selling my paintings at a Mind Body Spirit event.

 5.    Make sure if you are composing you have a way of accurately recording or capturing the process.

 With technology today, music sequencing software is cheap and even free and freely available on the internet.  So make sure that when the creative flow starts coming forth that you are in record mode and are capturing it.  Sometimes you may wish to edit later but for the time being do not engage the editing part of the brain.  We are running on pure creative flow at this stage. 

 6.      Allow any sleep-like or trance-like waves to envelope you.

 When I compose music, it sometimes feels like I am in a very heavy sleep and it is only when I play back the music later that I realise I had so disengaged that I was not actually taking in the music being created. 

 7.    Be aware when you hit the sweet spot.

 Often when composing music, I would build to a crescendo and the emotional waves at this point told you that you had hit a “sweet spot”.  At this point, I would experience shudders of pure bliss running down my spine and it felt truly mystical and awe-inspiring.   Afterwards, there was a sense that something very special had occurred. This is what all artists, writers and composers strive for.  It is very special.

 8.   When the creative flow ends, give gratitude for being part of this process.

 I truly believe it is important to be grateful to whomever or whatever allowed this extraordinary experience to occur and I think we should give gratitude for allowing ourselves to be that instrument.  It is deeply humbling experience and so to ensure it occurs again, I do believe gratitude needs to be shown. 

So how easy is to summon up this creative channelled flow?  Well, I manage to stumble upon this say 5 times a year and I compose new compositions every week of my life and paint at least 20 paintings a year.  So, it is not always there.  If you are earning your living as a creative, this would not be nearly frequent enough to put bread on the table.  However, you may find otherwise and be able to summon this wonderful resource up at will.  Picasso once said that while he worked he left his body outside the door the way Moslems leave their shoes before entering the mosque.  This was the discipline you need to cultivate. Leave the chattering analytical monkey mind behind at the studio door and allow the soul to enter alone to allow the pure creative flow to have free rein and for the true beauty of creation to be impeded in its great work.

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