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Understanding play and its
relation to creativity
What Is play from a creativity perspective?
Creative play
Play in creativity and creative play
Play of the mind
Play of what is symbolized in the heart
Play of mind and the play of what is symbolized in the heart
Our creative passion and play of what is symbolized in the heart
The most creative state of play and the play of what is symbolized
in the heart
Returning to childhood wonderment - “A place of wonderment and Ah”
Play can be a very powerful
creative tool. Our greatest
creative power and creative ability is accessed in play. Play
can allows us to
step out of mind
to access information that is otherwise not readily
obtainable.
Play as viewed from a
creativity perspective and used here, although
encompassed by the way
mind normally thinks of play, play use
creatively is not the what mind normally thinks is play. Play as
normally seen or defined in today’s world has a variety of meanings.
The following are some of those meaning. Play is: to engage in sport
or diversion, to amuse oneself, frolic or gambol; To take part in a
game of skill or change or gamble. To act in a way that is not to be
taken seriously. To act or behave in a specific manner; To deal
carelessly or to behave lightly or insincerely; To make love sportively; To move quickly or irregularly as if frolicking; To
discharge or be discharged freely or continuously; To perform on a
musical instrument; To give forth musical sounds; To perform or
produce as a piece of music, a play, etc; To be performed or
exhibited; To act on or as on a stage or perform; To act the part of
or assume the character of; To pretend to be someone or something as
to imitate in play; To perform sportively or wantonly; To oppose in
a game or contest; To move or employ a piece or card in a game; To
employ (a player) someone in a game; To cause or to bring about; To
cause to move quickly or irregularly; To put into or maintain in
action.; In angling, to let a hooked fish tire itself by maintaining
pressure on the line; and finally, to bet or bet on.
Although all of these forms of play could be used in creativity in
some way, most of these definitions do not emphasize the aspects of
play most in line with the type and kind of play most essential form
a
creativity perspective. Relative to creativity, plays is not
competitive, there is no winning or losing and there is no “goal” as
such. The attributes of play for creative endeavors can be
characterized as: amusing oneself; to act in a way that is not to be
taken seriously; to be spontaneous, free, lighthearted, and
continuous in one’s movement and free flowing..
What has been observed is that when we enter an unknown areas or a
new aspect of life with the desire to explore the new aspect for
understanding and/or gather a full range of experience, and we are
free to go where you are drawn without the help of any guide or any
outside influences, the focus of
mind will seem to be scatter and
move all over the place. It is much like that
seen in a very young
child The scattered chaotic pattern is part of the exploration.
When we are in play, our focus is free to be to wander to the most
interesting thing or the next thing we need to experience. Our
attention is drawn to the energy that is calling for attention at
the moment. We are drawn to the next area as it catches our interest
and, most importantly, we are free to go there.
What Is play from a creativity perspective?
(Top)
Play as used in creativity, is about those activities and ways of
being that allows us to be
out of mind. That is we are out of the
control of
mind and in the spontaneity of the moment. We are free to
able to step outside the judgments, opinions and biases of the mind
to be free to explore the possibilities that are available us. The
goal of play in creativity is to
lose ourselves in play. In regards
to being out of mind and losing ourselves in play, there are an
infinite number of ways to be out of the control of mind. However
being out of the control of mind really doesn’t tell one what play
really is.
Some way to use play in our creative endeavors is discussed in the
topic “Ways to use play in our creative endeavors.” The topic
“Losing ourselves in play” discusses that losing ourselves in play
really means.
From a
creativity perspective, there are really only two ways to
play. In many ways they are similar but yet vastly different. One is
play as defined by the
mind and the second is the play of what is
symbolized in the heart. But before moving to discussed play of the
mind and play of what is symbolized in the heart, it is appropriate
to discuss
creative play.
Creative play
(Top)
The
creative state of play is a very powerful
state of being.
Creative play is related but somewhat different than what is
described above as play used in creativity. The state of play which
contains the
characteristics of the Source of Creation and the
most
creative state of being, to one degree or another, can be called
creative play. It is the
state of being from which we are born and
carry into the world. In fact, it is our natural state of being. It
goes beyond being free and spontaneous. Yet although it is our
natural state of being. for many it is frightening because of how we
lose the ability to be in this state of play. Rather,
mind will mask
what is found in the heart before it
allows itself to feel what is
symbolized in the heart and enter
creative play. Creative play is any play which move us toward the
most creative state of being and moving in an innocence and
spontaneity.
The issue and need for
creative play is about the fact that the
mind
which created the problem we face will not be the
mind that can
solve our problem. The issue is how to ultimately get oneself and/or
another to freely play with the situation we face to find those
creative solutions that go to the depth of the situation and address
the root of the issue we face. If we do not get to the root, we will
lack the
creative power and creative ability to solve the problem we
face. If unaddressed at the root, the issue will only return in a
different way, if not the same way. The need for creative play is
that no matter how creative and/or intelligent we claim to be,
unless the issue we face lies in our particular area of expertise
and the experiences we had, we will find ourselves usually looking
to someone else to solve our problem. We tend to be creatively
blocked outside our direct area of experience and expertise. But
this only makes sense. What we desire to create lies outside what we
have experienced. Our mind cannot takes us into the unknown and what
we have not yet experienced. Mind only knows the past.
Creative play is to experience
true freedom. It is to be able
to say
yes or no without influence and
threat of consequences. There are consequences to all our actions.
Some are more enjoyable than others. However, the fear of
consequences from external influences or internal past programming
does not give freedom. True freedom is being free to accept the
consequences whether or not we ultimately judge them good or bad.
This includes the freedom of fear of potential
pain In many ways
innocence and naiveness are the only ways to guarantee true freedom.
Hence the state of spontaneous and innocent state of childlike play
as being the
most
creative state you can enter. Spontaneous and
innocent play allows one to explore the options without taking any
one of then seriously.
Creative play move us toward the
play similar to that of a very
young child. Creative play is about returning to a childlike play
where the play is lead by the what is
symbolized in the heart
and
out of mind. It move us toward the spontaneous and innocent
childlike exploration and discovery of ourselves and our world
before
mind steps in with its judgements and beliefs. Child like
play is lead by the
body wisdom--those images, thoughts and/or
feelings that arise from the
nonconscious in response to the energy
you experience without mind interjecting itself. Creative play is to
move to a way of being that is fully aligned with our
intuitive guidance allowing the heart to intend the direction which we travel
and the mind attending to the details to make it happen.
Competitive play of any type will not do it. However, competitive
play is a state of
mind. We can play at something that could be
competitive like a ball game, but only if we allow yourselves to
step outside of our competitive mind and any desire to win.
In regards to creating
creative play as with play described above,
we need to look and observe our life to see what exactly is our
natural way of playing that allows us to be spontaneous and
innocent. It is to be able to be in spontaneous and innocent play
that is natural to our being as much as possible. To get there we
need to give ourselves permission to play and look to bring a
spontaneous and innocent play into our life.
From a
creativity perspective,
creative play is about having the
freedom of movement to explore in
whatever way as appropriate and necessary the issues/situation at
hand to discover the way or ways you could proceed to create what we
seek. It is about following the
intuitive guidance we get and being
free to explore the limits and barriers imposed by
mind in the way
it characterizes our intuitive guidance. Because creation is a
journey into the unknown, mind will be of limited help in telling us
how to face them. We will have to consult our intuitive guidance as
to the best way to get past the obstacle we face which arise in any
creative journey. It is here the concept of
complex integration and
the use of
metatheater and
rituals can often be of assistant. They
allows us to address issues in our
creative imagination and find
solutions that otherwise we could not address. Here our ability to
enter creative play especially in our creative imagination becomes
very important.
In this state of
creative play, our
intuitive guidance and
honoring your intuitive guidance will keep ourselves aligned with the flow of
energy. Only when we deny our intuitive guidance or refuse to honor
it will you move away from the flow of energy. But we cannot take
our intuitive guidance seriously and as a final answer or word on a
subject. It only provides the direction you need to go. In this
regard, because the attributes of play are more important than what
is done, we need to understand and become aware of what activities
in our life really allow what they do to be experienced in alignment
with the
key attributes of creative play. These activities will open
the door for us to enter
creative play and will help there to learn
how apply creative play to whatever creative endeavor we choose to
undertake. In moving into these activities we will be able to create
a life that is continually creatively playful. In doing so, one will
access heaven on earth in the here and now.
In regards to any discussion on creativity play we can look at the
following phrases and terms as synonymous.
Creative play =
freedom of movement without any impositions of
mind = freedom to honor one’s
intuitive guidance = freedom to surrender to the flow of energy
within one’s being that is manifesting the experience one is having.
Why would we want to relearn
creative play? To answer this question,
we only need to remember we create our experiences through the
intention we set and hold. We only need to set the intention to
create the experience to surface what we desire from the past. By
setting the intention to become who we are and returning to a state
of creative play, we can access who we are and why we have
incarnated. By returning to a childlike play, we remember why we
have come to play. In doing so we will see that we are
consciousness/Consciousness at play. But this is something you will
have to experience for yourself. (More on ..... accessing creative play)
When we look play to explore the unknown in pursuit of a creative
endeavor, there are some
“criteria” that are characteristic of creative play. If these criteria are met without them being
controlled or forced by mind, we will enter a
state of creative play. If we can enter a
state of being in which these “criteria” can
be met, our creativity will be enhanced and move us toward the
most
creative state of being. In looking for such a state, there is one
state that we all have experienced in our lives that meet these
criteria and that is the
state of play of a young child of about one
or two years old. These criteria are discussed in the topic
“Creative play - the key characteristic of the Source of Creation.”
Using the creative pay is discussed in the topic, “Using creative play”
The “goal” of
creative play, although
creative play has no goal for
goals are controlled by
mind, is: (1) to get out of the controlling
mind; (2) to be totally in the spontaneity of the moment to go where
the flow of energy that is manifesting the experience you are having
is leading as presented to us by our
intuitive guidance; (3) to
freely explore and discover where the energy is leading us; and (4)
be free to explore the source of the flow of energy we are
experiencing.
Play in creativity and creative play
(Top)
Relative to play in creativity and creating
creative play, there are
really only two types of play. Each can be seen lying on the ends of
a spectrum. One is play of the
mind and the other is play of what is
symbolized in the heart. Play in creativity being at the one extreme
with play of the mind and moves along the spectrum and evolves into
creative play. At the other end of the spectrum is play of what is
symbolized in the heart and the doorway to the
most
creative state
of being. The most creative state of being lies just beyond a full
embracement of the play of what is symbolized in the heart.
Play of the
mind is in essence any thing less than play of the heart
and lies on a spectrum from the mind exerting no control or
extremely little control to totally controlling on what happens such
that there is, no
freedom of movement, no spontaneity, no innocence.
The important point here is which we direct our play. If we move
toward spontaneity, freedom, innocence and the like, we move in
creative play toward play of the heart. If we do not allow freedom
of movement, spontaneity and/or innocence, we move more and more
into play of the mind and play used creatively.
Play of the mind
(Top): Play of the
mind is play which only occurs when it
is within the boundaries of the mind. That is, the play in which we
engage never allows us to leave what mind thinks and believes. It is
creative only in the sense it allows us to use what mind already
knows and rearranges it in new and different ways.
Play as used in creativity is directed toward a type and kind of
play can allow one to step out of the controlling
mind into a space
considered by mind to safe and secure to explore new options and
ways of being where it doesn’t leave its control. Although it is not
as powerful as state as play of the heart, it nevertheless can be
extremely useful.
The issue with creativity,
mind and play used in creativity is that
as we grow into life we each learn what is acceptable and not
acceptable to our care givers and those with whom we interact. In
time, each of us develop what is an acceptable form of play. As
such, we each have our own understanding and definition of play.
However, not all our definition of play encompasses the attributes
needed to become creative. As noted above, we should evolve our
definition and understanding to encompass those attributes of not
taking what we do seriously, becoming spontaneous, lighthearted, and
free in our movement to flow with the energy which arises in the
play.
In particular, the definitions of play that involves competition
and/or “winning” are not play that allows one to leave the control
of the
mind. In such cases the opposite is true and mind is often
more controlling than usually in such play competition. Achieving
were success and/or completion is more important than the journey is
not the kind of play to which we refer. Because so many of us have
learned to call play activities where
mind never loses control, we
will have to relearn to play and give ourselves permission to play
in the way described above.
The biggest hurdle we will have to break through is the limits and
barriers imposed by our
mind. We will have to step past our
judgments, opinions, biases and the like. One of the quickest ways
to do this is some type and kind of
“not doing” practice. On this
point, a not doing practice is greatly enhance if one can do it
without taking it seriously in a lighthearted fashion.
Play of what is symbolized in the heart
(Top): Play of the heart points to
the direction to the
origin of all play and to the source/Source of
creation/Creation. It takes us totally out of the control of our
conscious
mind where we flows in total alignment with our
creative life energy. Play of the heart totally honors our
creative living process and we are free to unfold within the environment in which we
find ourselves. Play of the heart is the
most
creative state that
one can possible enter without doing any work to reenter the most
creative state of being. Any play that moves us toward play of the
heart is
creative play. Why we would desire to enter play of what is
symbolized in the heart is discussed in the topic “Reason for living from what is symbolized in the heart.”
Play of the heart takes us totally out of the control of the
conscious
mind. It is a type of play which has
characteristics of the
Source of Creation and is the first step and becoming
consciousness/Consciousness at play with itself/Itself. It is the
state of being within which we are
born and is inherent to our
being. We all have experience it and it is still within us. We have
only forgotten how to access and embrace it. (More on ..... loss of creative play and the
Understanding the impacts of the loss of creative play)
Play of the heart is the spontaneous and innocent childlike play of
discovery and exploration at every level of one’s being without
regard for the judgement of
mind. It is a state of wonderment and Ah
at the workings of Creation. It is directed totally by our
body wisdom, what we feel and what gives rise to our
intuitive guidance.
When entered in consciousness it is the most mystical state of
existence we can experience in Physical Creation. However this
spontaneous form of play is lost as we grow into physical life and
over time. Rather, we each evolve a concept of play that resided in
the mind and replaces play of the heart.
The spontaneous and innocent childlike play of discovery and
exploration in wonderment and Ah cannot be adequately described for
it was experienced before our conscious
mind fully developed. In
many ways you can say the development of our conscious mind is what
takes us out of play of the heart. Although it appears that way, it
is not really true.
Play of the heart is a play rarely obtained by adults and even less
seen in an another. It is a form of play that celebrates what is
possible in ANY situation. It is simplistic, yet we can be engaged
in the most complicated aspects of Creation. It never loses the
childlike sense of optimism and doesn’t give in to cynicism and
discouragement. It is certain of what is found in our internal truth
and knowledge and that our internal truth and knowledge is more real
than the knowledge of the mind. One reason for this of course is the
our internal truth and knowledge is timeless where as the knowledge
of the mind is only for a given time and place and be even then it
is often outdated.
In this
state of being, we being we being conscious contact what the
Source for it is the state out of which Creation manifests. It is
here one has access to the wisdom of the ages past, present and
future. One such phenomenon regarding the future that as been
observed in entering the play of what is
symbolized in the heart
available to all of us is discussed in the topic “A View from the
Mountain.”
What needs to be noted is the play of what is
symbolized in the heart expressed as a child within a child’s body and with a child’s
mind and its set of limited experiences and education will look
quite different than that same heart expressed as an adult with an
adult body and the adult mind and its corresponding experiences and
knowledge. Our perspective has and will change over time. The “I” is
not frozen. In the past we may have entered innocent child like play
and suffered the displeasure of our early care givers. In this
regard, we need to allow our existing images of the past to dissolve
and realize all those who created the limits and barriers that exist
in our mind are no longer present. We are free to live the way we
choose to live and express ourselves. We only need to create a
safe and secure space where we can fully express exactly who you already
are.
It needs to be emphasized and understood, that any child, especially
a very young child, has very limited ways of expressing what it is
they feel and wish to do. They have not yet learned the variety of
ways of the world or ways in which the world can be experienced. We,
as an adult, have a much greater set of experiences and knowledge to
draw upon. The way an adult’s
mind is capable of framing the energy
it experiences is much deeper and broader because of their knowledge
and life experiences than a child’s. In this regard, as an adult, we
can have a much richer, fuller and more diverse way of experiencing
the energy that is sustaining our being.
However, an adult and an adult body is not a child and it functions
somewhat differently that a child. We only need to realize that our
play will feel and be quite different than that as a child. But,
similar to a child in the innocence of play, we need to allow
ourselves to be free to explore the full range and depth of both our
consciousness and our body for the two are integrally connected. If
we deny one in any way, we deny the other. The limits we impose on
one, we impose on the other. In the same way the subconscious
mind
and conscious
mind are interconnected in the patterns they utilize
so too is our consciousness and our body. To know who we really are
and the depth and breadth of our creative abilities, we will have to
explore in the innocence and freedom of child like play, the full
range of our consciousness, its conscious and subconscious
mind, and
our body and the myriad ways it interacts with the external world.
It is realized we can’t leave the world in which we currently find
ourselves and we can’t live in and explore this same world like a
innocent child. So what is one to do? The answer is to first realize
that we are split between these two worlds- the world of the way we
need to be to live and survive, yet simultaneously we need to be
like that innocent child exploring both our internal and external
world in intimate detail. How we actually do this is unique to our
being and our needs. Each of us will do it quite differently. What
we need to do is to spend some time exploring this world of the
heart and following the
creative life energy that is sustaining our
being. Once we get a feel for what this world of the heart looks
like and how our creative life energy communicates, we will see how
this world of the heart is different from the view of the
mind. We,
in our own way will learn to walk in balance in a way that both
meets our needs and what we wish to create
Play of mind and the play of what is symbolized in the heart
(Top)
The major difference between play of the
mind and play of the heart
is that play of the mind only occurs when it is within the
boundaries of the mind. Play of the heart begin when we
step out of mind
it is fully obtained when we are totally out of mind at each
level of our being.
In play of the heart there is a natural alignment with the source of
our
creative life energy. Play of the heart opens the door for a
conscious experience of the source/Source of creation/Creation. The
reason for this is quite simply. When we fully embrace play of the
heart at each and every level of our being we are at the source of
our being. But our creative life energy flows directly from the
Source of Creation. It is only a matter of which we look whether we
experience the source or the Source. It is the
bridge point where
our inner world and
inner creative power
come together with our
outer world and our
outer creative power.
The main difference between play of the heart and play of the
mind
is that in play of the heart we align totally with the flow of our
creative life energy and live
our creative passion doing whatever we
are lead to do by our
body wisdom, our
intuitive guidance and the
flow of energy. In this way of being, our mind’s function is to
create the space for play and figures out how to safely achieve what
the spontaneity of the moment and flow of energy calls us to do.
Mind does nothing other than work to make happen whatever our
intuitive guidance and body wisdom directs. In play of the heart, we
lives our truth and we don’t deny the truth of our being in any way.
Play of the
mind is different in that mind is always standing guard.
It allows us to play in a space large enough that it doesn’t have to
step in because it is afraid and/or doesn’t like something. In play
of the mind we are not free to transcend what mind thinks.
Nevertheless, although any concept of play we have that is based on
what mind thinks is a very poor substitute for play of the heart,
any play as defined by mind can be used very powerfully in our
creative endeavors. The only requirement is that whatever play we
employ, we need to allow ourselves to begin to
step out of mind
by
becoming lost in play to at least have the freedom to become
spontaneous.
Our creative passion and play of what is symbolized in the heart
(Top)
When, and if, we are capable of fully embracing
our creative passion
and allow it to freely flow into the world, we will be in the play
of what is
symbolized in the heart. In some ways it can be said our
creative passion forces us to fully embrace what is symbolized in
our heart. Or, alternatively, it can be said what is symbolized in
our heart is our creative passion and it has a way of expressing
itself in the world that is experienced as a
creative play which has
the
characteristics of the play of the Source of Creation. For all
practical purposes, we can use the free expression of our creative
passion, the free expression of our creative spirit and play of what
is symbolized in our heart interchangeably.
The most creative state of play and the play of what is symbolized
in the heart (Top)
Although the description of the
most
creative state of play and the
descriptions of the play of what is
symbolized in the heart look
identical, there is one significant different. Play of what is
symbolized in the heart is to be totally our of our conscious
controlling
mind. It contains the freedom to move past any of the
limits and barriers imposed by the mind and totally surrender to the
flow of our
creative life energy as we experience it in the moment.
The
most
creative state of being includes the play of what is
symbolized in the heart but it is also about having aligned our
subconscious programming and any necessary changes in our
unconscious programming to be able to move past any limits and
barriers of the conscious and
nonconscious mind. Or alternatively
said, to be able to move past any of the limits and barriers imposed
by the
enculturated mind and/or the
transcendental mind. It is to be
free to spontaneously and innocently discover and explore at each
and every level of our being. It is to become
consciousness/Consciousness at play with itself/Itself.
Hence the importance of the play in creativity,
creative play and
the play of what is
symbolized in the heart. They create a path to
the Source of Creation. Play in creativity leads to creative play
which leads to play of what is symbolized in the heart. Play of what
is symbolized in the heart then lead to the
most
creative state of
play which is the play characteristic of the Source of Creation.
That then opens the door for a direct experience of the Source of
Creation which, in turn, is simply
consciousness/Consciousness at play with itself/Itself in one of the many
dances of
creation/Creation.
Returning to childhood wonderment - “A place of wonderment and Ah”
(Top)
The
most
powerful creative state is a conscious
clear intention held
in our
mind coupled with that way of being as characterized as a
place of
wonderment and “ah.” It is to be an innocent child
experiences at the discovery of the universe. To live in wonderment
is to live in “ah” at the universe. To fully experience our
unlimited creativity we needs to return to a
child like state of
play where there is a wonderment and “ah” at experiencing and
discovering the workings and manifestation of creation.
Being in a place of
wonderment and “ah” is not about sitting and
meditating to the sound of “ah.” In some ways we can do that and
begin to embody “ah” and that can help us to manifest what we
desire. It can help us for we focus our attention and awareness on
the wonderment of creation. However, mind is still involved. The
creative play is to be so enamored and fascinated with the world as
we see it, all that you are capable of uttering is “ah.”
Mind is so
overwhelmed and out of the picture that words cannot be formulated.
Consciously meditation to “ah” is quite different that being in
wonderment such that “ah” is the only sound we can make. Our
recommendation is not to meditate to “ah” but to become so enamored
with creation such that “ah” is the only sound we can utter.
The next step
Creative play - The key characteristic of the Source of Creation
Related topics
Losing ourselves in play
Ways to use play in our creative endeavors
Using creative play - Using play other than the most creative state
Loss of creative play
Understanding the impacts of loss of creative play
How mind masks the heart
The reason for living from what is symbolized in the heart
Accessing our creative play
Ultimate goal of our journey into play
The need to play - a playful creative spirit
Obtaining the freedom to play and the awareness of the body
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