Everyone is creative and you are every day. Just by living, doing, speaking, playing, and even if you feel you are working at a dull job, you are creative because you are doing these as a unique individual. Creativity and talent are different phenomena and whether or not you are talented, you are creative.
I will be writing about many aspects of creativity, what it is, how it is a process, how it gets blocked and how it can get unblocked, calling and commitment, the conflicts that come up around creativity, and many other topics related to it. My main interest regarding creativity, though, is how it relates to what Carl Jung termed ‘individuation,’ the process of becoming your true and whole self, and what James Hillman and others (after Keats) have called ‘soul making’. Cynthia Bourgeault observes that at birth the soul is only a potential and we “make soul” though the experiences of our life. This happens unconsciously to some degree, but by intentionally partaking in creative activities, we become alchemists of the soul and support the process along.
Author Kurt Vonnegut said, “Practice any art, music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry, fiction, essays, reportage, no matter how well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to find out what’s inside you, to make your soul grow.”
Why is this important? Because our soul is what deepens us in our awareness, and it is where we experience awe, meaning, and richness. It is connected to our heart and what we love and care about, and it is inseparable from Anima Mundi, the soul of the world. As you discover “what’s inside you” you will be astonished.