|
In any creative endeavor, we are
faced with the
anxiety of creation.
Mind will do many things to avoid this anxiety. In particular it
will find some way to numb what it feels or somehow suppress it or
overly it with something that feels good. Yet when we don’t face the
anxiety and/or any associated
pain, we risk developing an addiction. Now, even if we can learn
to be present to the moment and sit in the anxiety of the unknown,
there is another trick mind will play to regain control. Mind allows
us to think that we sit in the anxiety of the unknown yet it has
never given up complete control.
It is probably clear how we are capable of falling into protective
response patterns and habits created by our
mind
and kept from consciously embracing the
creative/creation process. However, many don’t see how our
addictive habits allow us to “think” we are very creative when we
are not. In the end we only experience a limited portion of the true
depth and breadth of our creativity. This issue is best explained in
an analogy.
What happens is that we have allow ourselves to enter what could be
called a “valley of contentment.” It is as though we start on a
wagon train for Oregon from Missouri. But after struggling through
the anxiety of the mountains of Wyoming, we find a nice valley in
Utah. We decide to stop there rather than continue on and achieve
what we originally intended to do. That is, continue onto Oregon. We
have become satisfied with the pleasures of a current situation that
seem so much better from where we started and the difficulties of
the journey. Rather than continuing the journey into the unknown to
manifest our stated intention, we “claim victory” and stop. We
rationalize that we no long want our original intention but really
wanted to be in this valley of contentment and the satisfaction this
valley provides. In doing so, we seem content. But then over time,
we are puzzled as to why we never create the reality of our choice
and sometimes even feel we are powerless to create anything in our
reality.
Rather than creating our reality of choice and facing what we need
to face, we become content with following the natural course of the
environment around us. We follow its lead and flow rather than
following through on the flow within our own being based on the
intention we had set. Rather than following the current and flow of
the energy that will manifest our intention, we follow the current
of our family, society or culture or something else that seems to
satisfy our deep needs as long as this external flow of energy
allows us to feel
warm and fuzzy, safe and secure to one degree or another. It
doesn’t matter whether we become addicted to a substance such a
alcohol, food, a person, or some habit of the
mind,
or way of being in the world. The question is, can we face the
anxiety of the creation and the unknown through the duration of our
entire creative effort. If we cannot sit in the
anxiety of creation and the unknwon for as long as it takes, we
will be caught in a habit that needs to be broken if we want to
regain the depth and breadth of our creative power.
Related topics
Chaos of creation
Anxiety of creation/anxiety of the unknown
Fear and the unknown
“Curing” the anxiety of the unknown
Topics on addiction
The
Password
Protected Area provides access to all
currently posted
(click for current loading) Releasing Your Unlimited Creativity
related discussion files and applications.
Top |
