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2/10/2008 7:33:11 PM
The principle of Creativity

2/10/2008 7:33:11 PM

The principle of Creativity
Nature constantly creates. Look around. New flowers, new trees, new grass, new cloud shapes, etc . It's a constant and never ending process. Creativity is synonymous with life.

I feel, that we humans are as much a part of this creative process as everything else. No more and no less, simply a part of it. Nature doesn't think we are special, - WE think so :)
Many of us set ourselves apart from nature, and when we do, we are cutting ourselves off from it and its creative process. One way to separate ourselves from this tremendous creative force is to claim or think that WE are the ones who are doing the creating. In other words, the creative process starts with us. Curiously enough, that's when the creative flow stops. When you say: 'I'm creating' you are building a concrete dam in the middle of the river of creativity, which blocks its flow, and then you wonder why beyond the dam (you) there is no more water (creativity). The only way then to start the flow again is to punch a hole into the dam (YOU), which essentially boils down to 'removing' part of yourself, in order to let some of the creative flow make it through the dam. And here is the clincher, the more of yourself (the dam) you remove, the stronger the creative flow gets.
If you were about to play a song on your instrument and the instrument said to you:"I'm going to play a song on my own', what would you do? You would sit back in amusement and think: 'Go ahead'. And what would happen then? Nothing. That's exactly what we do when we say 'we' are going to write a song.
Once you realize that you are only a channel for the creative process and take your ego out of the equation, creativity will flow ceaselessly.
Sure, you can sit down and write a song, but if the music starts with you, my bet is that it's going to be only a song. For it to be more, to have soul, to resonate within other listeners, it has to come from a deeper source, which uses you (if you let it) to find expression, be it in music, art, dancing, acting, or whatever.
So, if you have writer's block, relax, attune yourself to nature and let it happen, - it will, not when you want it to, but when the time is right.
I welcome your comment.
Helmut

2/10/2008 8:13:41 PM

Helmut .... Very nice ... it is obvious that you were in tune with the world when you wrote this post ...
It was both a pleasure to read and a reassurance that there are others out there that believe in this philosophy ...
I am often looked at with dismay when I try to share this philosophy with others ... I not only believe this applies to creativity but everything else as well ... Man and animal and earth are one in the same IMO ... and if we could overcome our egos and see this, the world would be a much better (and a more creative) place ...

Thanks for the words...
Sam

2/10/2008 8:28:36 PM

Sam - thanks, nice to hear (read) from you:) As for your comment 'I am often looked at with dismay when I try to share this philosophy with others ...'
You will probably get the same look when you try to speak English to someone who doesn't speak English. I'm sure you know what I mean.
Stay in touch.
Helmut

2/10/2008 9:22:52 PM

I just checked out your page Helmut because I always like to hear the music of an articulate writer - I've never seen such a weird and wonderful collection but I loved the story about the daily song you played on your answerphone. I used to do that, not a whole song just an original clip but I don't think it did much for me promotionally - I just got a reputation as a bit of a nutcase and embarrassed my family - haha!

2/10/2008 9:30:49 PM

BTW ... you had to REALLY be in tune with the world to write "Coat Hangers do it too" ... Fabulous ! ... Now the forces are calling me to your page to check out the rest of your goodies ...

2/11/2008 3:28:04 AM

As Sam has already said - Great words from you, Helmut.

I'm 'lucky' in that the instrument I play - The Native American Flute - encourages going with the creative flow by listening to its sound while playing. It leads me but also pulls my spirit/soul from me inside personally and mixes the two together.

I never ever set out to write any song - I simply respond to the gift of music which comes naturally when I play the first notes and wing it spontaneously.

Traditionally, the Native flute originates from the tree and is taken with ceremony. The traditional flutemaker sees his task as merely a contribution and responsibility to make that tree sing! The traditional player sees himself/herself as merely a further conduit. Although this is serious, it doesn't mean you can't simply have fun playing.

RR

2/11/2008 5:34:08 AM

RR - You have hit the nail on the head. I don't think it can be said any better. Thank you for your comment. There is great wisdom in your words

2/11/2008 5:40:00 AM

Jenny - thanks for your comments.
Who and what is normal? When we say normal, we label and make reference to a certain 'standard' that someone set up. Just as every snow flake is different and every thumb print, so is every person.
Dr. Cracker once said so wisely: "There is a fine line between a genius and a nut case".
Look at Tchaikovsky, he even wrote a Nut Cracker Suite :)
Have a great day!
Helmut

2/11/2008 5:56:52 AM

Yes!

So much of my music is completely gifted to me by the spirits of nature in the world around me! Lovely to read your words...

2/11/2008 6:09:56 AM

Great Piece? You must be talking about my Flu song :)
Thanks!

2/11/2008 6:10:55 AM

Nice to read yours too Susan.
Have a great day!

2/11/2008 12:10:56 PM

Yeah

this piece has made a good start to my day here in New Zealand---it is particularly relevant in our country at the moment as multi national dairying companies are taking over here---- polluting the countyside as they battle nature, to make more money out of less land ----polluting our rivers and streams as we are going into a drought---because someone cut down all the trees-----!!!

This was paradise!

2/11/2008 12:52:28 PM

I dig your philosophy and your music. Go Helmut (or, ahem, nature) go!

Elizabeth of Slow Commotion radio.

2/12/2008 10:09:59 AM

Hey Helmut,
I agree with your comments. Here is my problem. You said the "flow does not come when you want it to". Often I wake up at 3 in the morning a song raging through my mind. I can not just run and write it down. In the morning it’s gone. When I am driving in the car and everything is quiet I will start to hear a song in my head. But again I am not in a place I can write it down.
It seems like the songs want to come only in the time I can't do anything about it.
This is very irritating and I lost many songs because I was not in a place I could get it down.
What can I do to bring the flow to be more constructive?
TSC
Ken

2/12/2008 10:50:07 AM

I get this problem occasionally, Ken. But fortunately the songs (varying in quality though!) seem to come whenever I start playing (as I posted earlier).

My answer to it has been to set up my living room for recording into Logic on my Mac so that all I have to do is flick on a few switches. Methinks it's a very good thing that I'm no longer married!! :)

2/12/2008 11:37:02 AM

Ken, let me take this one at a time:
1. "Often I wake up at 3 in the morning a song raging through my mind. I can not just run and write it down."
What do you think is waking you up? It's the creative impulse! It is not interested in YOU, no more than the water is interested in the faucet. It merely seeks to find expression, and you are the lucky one who is in tune with it and has thereby been given the opportunity to be its channel.
Why can't you write it down? It only takes a minute or two, and, take my word for it, after you write it down, you will sleep so much deeper and better. When songs came to me while driving in the car, I used to call my answering machine at home and sing it. When I got home I would write it down.
Then I switched my land line to my cell, and now I can't do that. So I keep a book of staff paper in my car, pull over to the side of the road and write it down.
2. "It seems like the songs want to come only in the time I can't do anything about it."
That's not why the songs come to you then. They come to you during those times, because that's when you are involved in a routine activity which does not require a lot of 'conscious' thinking. When you play music, you are not consciously thinking about it. You've done it so much that it's more of an unconscious process. Let's face it, if I were to try to consciously control every one of my ten fingers individually, I would not be able to play the piano. However, I can play a song and as I do it, I can carry on a simple conversation with someone saying hi to me. The conversation is done consciously, the playing is done subconsciously, like my heart beat, my breathing, my digestion, etc.
3. "This is very irritating and I lost many songs because I was not in a place I could get it down."
You got irritated because you were judging a process that is beyond judgment. It simply is. It's like getting irritated because it's raining NOW during my vacation. The rain IS, it's my attitude, my judgment of the situation, that causes the anger.
4. "What can I do to bring the flow to be more constructive?"
The flow is now and always and never ending. It is impersonal. There are billions more songs there for you to pick up or get in tune with. Not to worry. One thing you could try is to notice what state of mind you are in when the songs come to you and then try to facilitate the process by reproducing that state of mind.
Have a great day!
Helmut

2/12/2008 11:46:01 AM

You are multitasking Helmut!!!

I can only do one thing at the time....I definitely can't play the piano while I am talking...come to think of it I really can't play the piano when I am not talking either!!

You are spot on about creativity, sorry I just caught this thread. I often feel that the songs are writing themselves, we just have to be quick enough to capture them as they fly by...

Vincenzo

2/12/2008 11:59:23 AM

Right on Vincenzo!
I have to compare the creative impulse (or whatever you want to call it) to the white light. It passes through a prism or raindrop and gets separated into the colors of the rainbow. The colors of the rainbow would be the different talents such as, music, dancing, painting, writing, carpentering, cooking, etc. When it gets refracted into a musician, it becomes a song, or symphony, depending on the skill level or musical inclination of the musician. When it gets refracted into a carpenter, it becomes a beautiful piece of wood work. A writer may turn it into a novel.
Have a great day!
Helmut

2/12/2008 12:48:29 PM

Oh this is great---Vinceno you crack me up---

you can keep a pad and pen by the bed--next to the teeth?

seriously, I do this and often it works, but occasionally I'll look at the lyrics I have captured during the night----and cringe!

2/12/2008 12:56:45 PM

Great idea! Right next to the teeth. That's how you write lyrics with a bite.
Helmut
Talking about teeth. I've got a song about a dentist. Let me see if I can find it :)

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