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There is a short story behind how
and why the Twelve Steps of became the starting point for the
Fifteen Creative Steps/Guidelines. The story span a period of about
four years and centers on three events. The occasion to create the
Fifteen Creative Steps/Guidelines and two event that provided the
origins.
The original incentive to explore the nature of creativity arose
because individuals within the work place did not seem to be free to
explore the depth and breadth of the problem they face to find a
solution that effectively addressed the root of their problem. That
exploration,
discussed elsewhere, (hyperlink journey) lead to the realization
of the existence of a
creative spirit within each of us. In writing about the creative
spirit and trying to find a way to explain its relevance and the
importance of (1) a
creativity perspective and (2) an
intimate relationship with our creative spirit to access our
creative power and ability, a friend made the comment, “Don’t try
and explain it, just tell them what to do - people don’t need or
want explanations - they just want to know how to do it.” To be
honest, the autor initially did not believe them. However, he was at
a lost as to how to “just tell people what to do.” It was not
something he thought he could put into a simple set of steps - so he
thought. Yet, he was sitting on the key an didn’t know it.
As the author worked with people and saw what they needed to learn
and understand if they really wanted to understand the creative
process, he began to change his thinking and his writing. What the
author observed was that to understand that one could be a conscious
creator of their experiences and the reality of those experiences
was
too much to be believed for most individuals. The complexities
of the concepts in
creation process could be as conceptually demanding and
challenging as understanding the
concepts of physics and quantum mechanics without the
mathematics. Both of where were something that has little interest
to most. The mystical aspects of the creative process appear to be
to fanciful and only applicable to the “spiritual” and nonphysical.
At first they did not the physical world of mass and energy. I the
end, the author began to look for a way that could make the creative
process relative easy for people to use. He began to realize
individuals did not need to understand. All they needed was a way to
do it - but how?
The seeds for the solution were found in discussing addictive
behavior and creativity with another friend who was in a
Twelve Step Programs.
In exploring creativity, one of the discussions he had several years
earlier was with an individual who had spent many successful years
in a Twelve Step program recreating part of their life to maintain
sobriety from their addiction. The traditional Twelves Step Program
uses the Twelve Step from Alcoholics Anonymous for other addictive
programs such as Over Eaters Anonymous, Gamblers Anonymous and the
like.
Since this individual seemed to be doing so well at managing their
addition through a Twelve Step program, the author asked the
individual, “When are you cured and no longer need the Twelve
Steps?” Having worked with several physicians to create mind-body
health programs, the author was interested in how people arrived at
being cured within the Twelve Step Program. The author, for whatever
reason, was viewing the Twelve Step Program as a type of
“medication” or “therapy” such that when the condition was
corrected, the “medication” or “therapy” was no longer needed.
The individual to whom the author was talking seemed puzzled by the
question and said, “You are never cured, you are always recovering.”
They then went on to talk from the perspective that addictions are
an illness. The are something that must be continually managed. The
Twelve Step program helps them to manage their addiction.
That reply puzzled the author. However it peaked his interest. He
was curious as to what the mind body connection could be for an
illness in the form of an addiction that did not allow for a cure.
If there is a mind body connection, he wondered what aspect of mind
would give rise to such a condition in the body. Was the cause
something like a biological or physiological inherent defect such
that there was need to have an outside substance to supplement
something the body could not produce itself or was the cause
something else? He was stuck by the comment that an addict is always
recovering and never were healed or cured. Whether this conclusion
is correct or not, that was the view, as he understood it, contained
within the Twelve Step approach. Yet, the Twelve Step programs were
extremely successful. So, from a creativity perspective, he began to
wonder why one could not find a solution to their addictive behavior
in or through the Twelve Steps such that they were always recovering
and never healed or cured.
At this time, the author’s initial inquiry into this question was to
critique the Twelve Step program from a creativity perspective based
on what he had come to learn about creativity up to that point in
time and the mind body connection. Although he understood the Twelve
Steps and their application in Twelve Step programs, he did not see
any particular reason why the addiction was not something that could
have a cure through the mind body connection. The literature which
presents the Twelve Steps even suggests the addiction is only a
vehicle for a deeper issue. To address the deeper issue part of the
sobriety requires one to turn oneself over to a higher power. The
surrender to a higher power appeared key to the program and was an
essential realization in the life of the Founder of the Twelve
Steps. The Twelve Steps embraced the understanding there was
something greater than, or beyond, one’s thinking which was at work.
The question was, “What is it?”Although the Twelves Steps were very
successful, it seemed as thought there was a piece, or pieces, still
missing. But the author could not see where the cure would lie. It
remained a mystery - for a while.
Then, four years later, and shortly after the recommendation was
made to “just tell them what to do,” the author had the opportunity
to read about the life of the Founder of Alcoholics Anonymous and
the Twelve Steps. In learning about the life of the Founder of the
Twelve Step program and what he experienced, the author began to see
what the Twelve Steps did, and did not, address from the perspective
of holding the creative spirit sacred. Given the powerful intention
found within the Twelve Steps to recreate one’s life from addictive
behavior to one to sobriety from that addiction the author saw a
structure that, with modification, could be used in any creative
endeavor.
In looking at the life experiences of the Founder of the Twelve
Steps, the author realized there were many types of experiences he
had in common with the Founder of the Twelve Steps. Of course, there
were significant differences between their lives and a great
difference in time and place. But the common experiences allowed the
author to realize something. He look at why he was drawn to the
experience that they had in common. he looked at his motivation and
what was pulling him. The author realized there was probably
something similar at work within the Founder of the Twelve Steps.
What pulled the author to the similar life experience was honoring
his creative spirit. It was very clear the creative spirit within
the author had things it wanted to experience regardless of what the
world wanted the author to do and become. Then all of a sudden it
made sense. The Founder of the Twelve Steps could only give what he
knew. Brilliant as the Twelve Step are, the Founder had not found a
way to give the necessary freedom to his creative spirit.
Consequently, the steps reflect as far as the Founder was able to go
in giving freedom to his creative spirit.
The author went back to the review of the Twelve Steps he had done
four years earlier. He looked at them not only with a creativity
perspective but now he looked to see how effective they were in
holding the individual’s creativity sacred. This latter point
was the missing link and what the author had missed when he first
look at the Twelve Steps. The Twelve Steps themselves only hold the
individual’s creativity sacred up to a point. What he perceived was
how the Founder was unable to find a way to live his life that
effectively served his creative spirit and the desire his creative
spirit had to express itself. The author realized the founder of the
Twelve Step program was unable to find a way to hold his creativity
sacred and yet fit in with the world. The author suspect addictive
responses became the way the Founder suppressed the pain his
creative spirit was feeling. The author had experienced many similar
things in his own life so he recognize them when he saw them
described in the Founder’s life. In essence, when the Twelve Steps
were created, they reflected the Founder’s understanding up to that
point in time.
This aspect, that the Founder could only give the understanding up
to that point in time, addresses a very important facet of the
creative process. We cannot give what we do not have. The Founder
could only give what he knew. Brilliant as the Twelve Steps are, the
Founder had not found a way to give the necessary freedom to his
creative spirit. So, the Steps reflect as far as he had gone in
giving his creative spirit freedom. When the author realized how the
Founder was unable to find a way to effectively hold his creative
and creative spirit sacred and give it the freedom it desires, the
author then realized three things.
One was that the author did not initially recognize the Twelve Steps
for what they really are. Although they are about finding sobriety
from an addiction, they were about helping the creative spirit
within the individual find its freedom. They are a brilliant vehicle
to recreate one’s life. Application of the Twelve Step approach is
actually a very powerful creative act of recreating one’s life.
Although not packaged as a creative process to be readily recognized
as such, the Twelve Steps reflect many of the things one needs to do
for any creative process. From a creativity perspective, the Twelve
Steps are not presented to fully capitalize on the creativity
inherent within the Steps.
The second thing the author realized was, although the Twelve Steps
were actually a powerful way for one to recreate their life, the
Steps did not go far enough to honor the creative spirit that was
giving rise to the illness. The reason for this is that creative
spirit was not sufficient space to be free to express itself true to
its nature. That is, the steps did not provide all that what the
creative spirit was asking.
In essence what was happening is that the individual’s creative
spirit was being held between two worlds. In one world the creative
spirit was not free to express itself. An addictive pattern was
developed to suppress the pain which arose because the creative
spirit and the life it desired to express was being denied.. In the
world of the Twelve Steps, the creative spirit was given the space
to express itself and come out to one degree or another. However,
the individual was unable to leave the world that gave rise to the
addiction and they were unable to step totally into a world where
their creative spirit was free to express itself. Hence it was held
captive between two worlds and the individual was always recovering.
The third and most profound thing addressed how and why the Twelve
Steps participants talk about always recovering rather than being
cured. It is the difference between seeing oneself as always
recovering and bound to the past versus always creating based on the
past. In always recovering, the focus is actually on the past and
thinking the past is fixed as it was perceived. In this case the
focus is not on the future and what is possible. If one cannot see
themselves as always creating and free to create whatever they
choose even if they are often overwhelmed by habits of the past,
they will held victim by the past they have experienced.
The author realized the modifications could even address items about
the creative process that could lead to the opportunity and
possibility of recovery and cure for individuals within a Twelve
Step program. He realized the possibility that modifications could
lead the individual to creating a way of being that freed them from
the need to always be recovering to one where they created a life
that recovery was no longer needed. Obviously a very big challenge.
But yet the seed for such possibilities seemed to exist
From a
creativity perspective, it all really depends on what the
individual really desires to create and why. When the realization of
this possibility exits, the attempt can made for it to become a
reality. One can free themselves to look at the reasons they give
themselves for taking the action they do in their life. Within that
awareness they can change what they do. To help achieve this, the
Fifteen Creative Steps/Guidelines were intentionally structured
analogously to the traditional Twelves Steps. Although they are
focused differently, the commonality does allow for a bridge over
between creating a life of sobriety to recreating their life without
an addiction.
The question became, “how does one address these three issues and
can the Twelve Steps be repackaged and/or supplemented in a way that
allows one for these issues to be addressed. Or, alternatively said,
“Can the Twelve Steps be ‘retooled’ or evolved into a creative tool
that can allow one to recreate one or more aspects of their life, no
matter what those aspects may be, if not their whole life.” In the
end, the author was able to find a way to repackage or evolve the
Twelve Steps and find a way to “Just tell people what to do.” He was
also able to address where he perceived changes could be made based
on the
creativity perspective and
holding one’s creativity sacred.
There is no doubt the Twelve Step approach is very powerful and
helpful to many. Whether or not you feel the Fifteen Creative
Steps/Guidelines can take the individual to step beyond the Twelve
Step is something you will have to determine. No claims are made
here about the Fifteen Creative Steps/Guidelines helping you or
anyone manage an addiction or find a cure for their issue. The
Fifteen Creative Steps/Guidelines are a creative tool. They are a
tool that you or another can use to become a conscious creator that
builds on what the founder of the Twelves Steps discovered about
recreating an aspect of one’s life. They are something that you can
use without explanation as to how and why they work.
Related topics
Understanding from where a creation ultimately comes
Pieces of the puzzle
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