Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
By: Ivanka Mabić Gagić, Head of International Business, Bruketa&Žinić&Grey
Source: womaninadria.com
Everyone’s an artist?
We usually look for creativity from without, but it is only when we turn to ourselves, and our own, hidden, subconscious aspects, that we unexpectedly find the source of creativity that leads to a more meaningful and richer personal, organizational and social life.
The famous saying by Joseph Beuys, one of the most influential artists of the 20th century: everyone is an artist, tells us that there is a deeply embedded need for creation and creativity in the very essence of a human being. Everyone can be an artist, regardless of means of expression.
Beuys also coined the expression social sculpture, considering that art is not an institutionalized work, but is everywhere around us and can be created literally by any individual. If society is by itself a creation – meaning a work of art that we all contribute to individually with our words, actions and thoughts – then social transformation can only be achieved by focusing on the creative power of individuals.
Through creativity I become me
Apart from separating us from others, physical, and then psychological borders, allow us to develop our own individuality. Individuality implies authentic, mature individuals who have their own ideas, their own sense and clear boundaries, and occupy a space that no one else can take. Individualism, on the other hand, places the rights and interests of individuals above the rights and interests of others.
Carl Gustav Jung in his depth psychology explains individuality through the process of individuation through which an individual becomes whole only with the acceptance of all aspects of personality, both conscious and unconscious, revealing his/her own individual structure. The process of individuation shows how universal human characteristics and life abilities are combined in a specific way, and then manifest on every individual who, because of such qualities, becomes unique.
The paradox lies in the understanding that by accepting the shadows, the rejected subconscious aspects of our personality, we also accept the parts we unconsciously seek and project on others, and which contain the greatest potential of our creative growth. Descending into deeper, hidden and darker parts of our own psyche enables us to understand ourselves, our own path, our deeper values and purpose, so we can for the first time say that our life path becomes ours, and we become ourselves.
When we begin to illuminate those parts that have been in the dark so far, we actually begin to walk the path of conscious self-discovery. It is the path of true freedom, strength and belief in oneself – a path that leads out from the vicious circle of subconscious patterns. By illuminating our own darkness, we ultimately take destiny into our own hands and for the first time we truly become our own creators.
On the road to authentic and comprehensive “I”, the road to unique individual, creativity becomes one of the most important pillars as it enables expression, re-creation and better understanding of self. By expressing our ideas, thoughts and opinions, our “I” lives, and the freer we are in expression, our “I” is more creative, happier and more content.
Speaking of our own hidden creativity, poet Mary Oliver says: Instructions for living a life: Pay attention, be astonished, tell us about it. Creativity enters into the depths of our being and sets forth what we are and what we want to share with others, thus paying homage to ourselves, as the unique creation of this universe.
How to recognize your own creative path?
No wonder Beuys considered creativity as one of the most important spheres of a healthy society, and thus the individual, when the essence of our universe is the creation itself.
According to the Hindu tradition, Brahman, the creator God, created this universe, Shiva, the cosmic consciousness, the male aspect of creation created by Shakti, the female vibratory energy aspect of creation with many faces (Parvati, Durga, Kali, Sarasvati …). Shiva also represents the destruction, which is the other face of creation. As he recreates, he is often portrayed as a lingam or penis, a symbol of regeneration, and/or as Shiva Nataraja, who creates the universe through vibration of his drum and dance.
The universe therefore exists as long as he is dancing his dance of life and death. The vibration of Shiva, the male principle, creates Shakti, which is the primordial cosmic energy – the personification of the divine female creative energy that creates the universe. One aspect of Shakti, the great mother, is the goddess Kali, the female aspect of destruction that is depicted with a necklace made up of male heads, representing the death of the ego.
Creation and destruction are different names for life and death. Although death is still taboo in our culture, the dualistic universe tow which we belong cannot exist without both sides – life, and death. By accepting both these aspects, we accept our own power of creation and destruction, and hence our own sexuality, creativity, pleasure and aggression – or more simply, our life energy.
Life, or sexual energy, the libido, is the unconscious driving force that is in a state of free flow that creates life. No matter whether a person creates a physical or energy life, a new self or a new creation, the pure wild unrefined sexual/life energy – THE PURE PRIMORDIAL PASSION – always precedes the creative process. Strong sexual/life energy is the driver of passion, or creative fire in us, and represents an active, female principle of creativity.
Unlike passion, the intellectual CONSCIOUS CURIOUSITY has the male/mental quality, and arises from the need to cognize intellectually, to scientifically explain and understand a certain phenomenon that also triggers us to further research, or creativity. It also has the childlike quality of playfulness and nurtures the mind of a beginner, capable of replacing old ideas with new ones.
The third quality that reveals our deepest aspirations and desires and encourages creativity is INSPIRATION, which arises in the encounter and integration of male and female qualities. It is reflected through the inspiration we feel in contact with somebody. Since it is related to the authentic “I”, when inspired we often cry, get goosebumps, or become overwhelmed with beauty. It is the silent reminder of what we can be when we take off the masks and when we are what we are.
All three qualities, passion, inspiration and curiosity, can be transcendental, placing us in the state of flow and harmony. In such moments, the only thing that is important is our creation, or more precisely, our own expression of creativity.
The bond of passion and curiosity leads us to Einstein’s saying “I have no talents. I’m only passionately curious.” If we add inspiration, the saying might sound “I have no talents. I’m just passionately curious and inspired.” When we feel what sparks our creative fire, what inspires us and what tickles our curiosity, we can see where our creative “I” wants to go. Then, there’s nothing left but to follow our own path of creation.
What is creativity?
Creativity has many definitions, and the one that is most commonly used is tied to the practical aspect of creativity. In this context, creativity is the ability to create original and new ideas that have value. This definition reflects to a certain extent the consequence of creativity, but the question arises: what precedes the final result?
Psychologically speaking, it is a specific, more integral, state of consciousness / existence that allows us to make non-conformist, divergent, lateral and original thinking.
Such a situation is integral because it allows all aspects of our personality, including our shadow, and fully respects us. When all aspects of our personality can emerge, then we can be everything – structured and fluid, rational and emotional, fast and slow, and ultimately have the ability to create, and destroy.
Unlike the ordinary state of consciousness, limited and clouded with routine ways of thinking and functioning, which generally block certain aspects of our personality, this space hides the original, pure individual creativity.
In an interview, Prince described a 3-hour creative session like this: “I just could not stop. That’s what you want. Transcendence. When that happens … Oh, boy.” In such kind of transcendence we are not in the “past”, we are not creating from already known and established patterns, but we sail in an unknown, flowing, new environment of creativity.
The most famous artists, those who left an indelible mark on global creativity, were frequent visitors to this environment. No wonder they became famous after their deaths because their creations were incomprehensible to the current environment and thus not sufficiently recognized. Integral states of consciousness, the state of unlimited number of possibilities that enable creation that is invisible to the senses, is the trait of imagination, the male aspect of creativity.
An integral state of consciousness is reflected in everyday life through numerous practical aspects, and one of the most important is the understanding of perception. Plato’s allegory of cave explains the laws of perception, ie raises the question of objective reality and truth. There are prisoners in a cave, bound by chains, who see the shadows of animals and people on the wall, but they don’t see people and animals behind those shadows, or rather they don’t see what they perceive as reality. When one of the prisoners manages to escape the cave, for the first time he sees the sun and perceives the real nature of reality. The allegory teaches us that prisoners experienced sensory reality as the only true reality, but the only one who actually experienced it was the prisoner who escaped.
In the movie Birdman, in the main hero’s theatre room, the following sentence is written on the mirror: “A thing is a thing, not what is said of that thing”. The more capable we are to release our own experience and truth as the only objective reality and truth, the more open and creative we are. Collaboration and empathy directly lean on perception. Quickly switching from one’s own to another person’s perspective makes for a sincere connection, understanding, and compassion.
Business creativity or blue ocean companies
In the business context – the so-called VUCA climate (Volatility – the speed of changes, Uncertainty – uncertain future, Complexity – a large number of factors affecting a decision, and Ambiguity – lack of understanding of the pattern and consequences of a particular event) – creativity becomes one of the most important factors of success.
Renee Mauborgne, professor of strategy at Insead and co-author of the Blue Ocean Strategy and Blue Ocean Shift book, sees the solution in companies that, instead of competing with the same products and services, are beginning to create entirely new products and services, the so-called blue ocean companies.
If we wish to become a blue ocean company, or a person who disrupts the status quo, we cannot but become more open towards unexpected possibilities and solutions, or in one word – creative
There are many practical aspects of creativity, and what unites them is the ability to easily get out of familiar, routine and comfortable territories of thinking and functioning, whether it’s relationships, our lives, new products, and / or ideas. Their well-being is felt in all the spheres of life where creativity becomes an indispensable extension of personality, a self-sustainable organism that at the same time nourishes and regenerates others and oneself.
Sir Ken Robinson, a professor who devoted his life to discovering creative potential and the author of The Element, says “nothing is so influential as a life well lived”, thinking at that of a rich creative life.
What is certain is that creativity is a way to self-realization, to the fulfilment of the potentials we are often unaware of. Once we begin to listen to our inner fire and to uncover our own hidden aspects, we will begin to walk the path leading to the conscious creation of a surprisingly rich, creative and new “I”.