By: Mae Lewis
In today’s culture, creativity is highly prized. Many people think, “Well, I’m just not that creative. Some people are born more creative than others.” The truth is that all of us are wired for creativity. Creativity is like a muscle — the more you exercise it, the stronger it gets.
Creativity is the ability to allow your mind to go to new places and then see those things into existence. All of us are made to create. Remember the story of how God created man? God CREATED man. And He made man in “his own image.” We were created to create.
People often tell me, “You are so creative! I could never think that way.” Everyone has the ability to be more creative. Creativity is the ability to allow your mind to go new places — to create something beautiful, to solve a problem, to begin a new venture. Creativity creates something new that hasn’t been seen before.
Creativity doesn’t mean just letting your mind wander willy-nilly (although that can sometimes play a part!). Creativity often happens when there are parameters. The tighter the parameters, the more creativity is required.
Know the rules. Creativity itself doesn’t have rules, but to BE creative, you have to know the rules for your given situation.
Music is a great example. Music operates according to certain mathematical rules. Jazz music is a highly creative musical style, and it relies completely on breaking the rules. The thing is that you can’t break the rules unless you know what the rules are.
The helicopter is another example. The helicopter defies the laws of physics. But the machines and engines needed to operate the helicopter have to first abide by the rules of physics, so that they can break them. Make sense?
Expand your imagination. Albert Einstein famously said: “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination encircles the world.”
Expand your imagination by letting your brain work in new ways. Try new things. Try new food. Try new tastes. Be curious. Be questioning. Make your brain do things it hasn’t done before.
Leonardo Da Vinci was always trying to get his brain to do new things. One of the things he did was to write backwards. Try this: pick up a pencil and write your name backwards. Hold it up to a mirror to see how you did. Keep practicing this.
By allowing your brain/body connection to do this exercise, you are firing neurons in your brain that haven’t been fired before! Think of it! Something new is happening in your brain. This is the first step towards increasing your creativity.
Maybe you listen to music. You don’t have to like the music. Just listen to it. Listen to a classical piece. Listen to some rap. Listen to something you don’t usually listen to. This is going to create new pathways in your brain, and begin to expand your consciousness.
Open the doors. Each of us has a river of creativity running through us, by our very nature. The human soul is fluid. Think of your brain like a hallway with many doors. Each of those doors leads into more hallways — eventually creating a vast maze. This is your brain…a virtual maze. But unless those doors are open, the water will only flow where you let it. The task of being more creative is to get those doors open so that the water can flow to those new areas.
Creativity is like water. It is a literal spring that comes from inside of you. It is connected to your heart, and spirit, and body. It is a God-given gift to each of us, but it is often walled up with shame, pain, legalism. If you find that you are being hindered in your creativity, seek healing.
Creativity has to be given expression. So many of us have walled off our creativity and allowed the creativity to sit still within us. We believe that we are not creative, and that the work should be left to others.
This is not true. What IS true is that not everyone is gifted in the area of technical expertise. Not everyone can know what it takes to write a piece of music from your head to the paper…but that doesn’t mean you can’t write a song…and sing it for someone who can. Not everyone can sculpt a statue…but that doesn’t mean that you should avoid playing with clay.
Your creative spirit is the greatest gift you have. Don’t keep it hidden.
By: Mae Lewis
April 6, 2024
