Ironically (or is it synchronicity?), I came home from studying under Joey Klein, my spiritual teacher, this weekend to find a few pages to read for design, which happened to coincide with what I was taught. My teacher spoke about acknowledging human emotions, and we focused on substituting that emotion for a state of being during our meditation. We also used forgiveness towards others and ourselves, which is important because self worth frees the mind of fears.
Fears seem to rob people of their highest potential, like an artist thinking they will never be good enough to work for their favorite designer. I believe everyone is creative, but not everyone knows they are creative. “Knowing” you’re creative comes first, then “experiencing” creativity comes next, and then “being” creative happens. This requires an open mind. An open mind requires shaping the mind from concrete to play-dough to rid the mind of “the story”, which consists of negative thoughts about yourself and the world around you. The story also becomes a comfortable pattern for the mind, like when an artist/designer believes they are only able to come up with a creative idea at the last minute before deadline, then that’s what happens.
Transforming the mind in an expansive, positive and constructive way comes with altering the mind’s perception of the world, which creates an enlightened mind. Training the mind to be in a state of love eliminates the trap of emotions the mind tends to fall into. From experience I’ve noticed in the past that I would only work on a creative project when strong emotions were present within me, such as breaking up with a boyfriend, or receiving a gift that triggered the “happy” emotion. Now I enjoy waking up early to work on a painting, or adventure out on a photo shoot because I trained my mind to be in a state of joy, love, etc. These states of being turned on the faucet to my creativity, and I noticed many artists and designers are trapped by their emotions, which block the flow of creativity.
I say “happy” and “joy” are different because when someone chases happiness they’re connected to endless desire that can never be met. Happy is an emotion because it’s connected to the ego, which always wants something. The state of joy keeps someone content, no matter what activity or setting they are in, and joy expands the mind rather than contracting. If everyone practiced transforming their mind from emotions to states of being, then I believe they would have the potential of endless creativity.
