"The Creativity Book" update... or how to actually get moving on a project.

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CREATIVITY - The ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc. [Creativity week begins here. Click for this week's Bliss Initiatives.]

I crack myself up.  Yesterday I wrote:

Next Post: An update from my work with "The Creativity Book: A Year's Worth of Inspiration and Guidance" by Eric Maisel which I started last creativity week.

The part that is making me laugh is "update from my work" which sounds like I have been working away on the Creativity Book. When I picked it up 13 weeks ago and made it the reference book for my last creativity week I was inspired by the 365 day approach and really felt it would be something I would be able to integrate into my daily life. Well, not so much, as the saying goes. I did complete the first assignment to write my autobiography but that was it, until today!

Assignment 1a was the Autobiography. 1b is to distinguish the 5 things that get in the way of my being creative.  So let me give it a go now...

• No Time is the gimme answer. And I suppose that it must be true since I haven't made/taken time to get further along in the book. (I do have another idea, more about that later.)
• Needing it to be PERFECT - I think that is my biggest block. I am regularly disappointed that the creation in my head rarely comes close in reality.
• Because I can't draw realistically my creative stuff doesn't count. Hopefully I can learn something from Tim Burton (see yesterday's post) here.
• Creativity is "fun stuff" and I have more serious things to worry about. 
• Afraid no one will like what I produce. I'm vain, I want you to like it too!

So there they are the 5 things that stand in the way of my creativity.  Eric didn't do anything further, as far as I have read, with these five things so you too have a chance to work on your list before I am likely to discuss them again. Heck you probably have 13 weeks on my current schedule! If your creative intentions are more burning then this snails pace, I would recommend that you pick up a copy of the book and begin at your own speed!

Image found at Epic Self

Ahhhh, doesn't that photo ooze peacefulness. I found it on the Epic Self website which is recommending daily meditation. It is a symbol for the kind of calm I envision when I FINALLY start my own meditation practice. We have talked about this before, and now The Creativity Book is back to it : Excercise 2 - craft one ceremony. I read the words again. It sounds so simple. A little tea, three or four minutes... he is not asking me to jump into a 30 minute per day practice but still I resist.

My reluctance to follow this simple advice is a convenient block to my getting through the rest of the book. I set out to do all the excercises as laid out and I keep getting stuck here.  When I look at my life I can see a window of opportunity in the morning for this ritual weekday mornings and if I take the time to enroll Rob in the idea I really should be able to carve out 5 minutes before bedtime.

OK damn it. This is the last time I am going to lament not having done this. I'm off to make some tea.

Next Post: Creative Prompt Day!

My 13 bliss virtues: joy, order, creativity, passion, whimsy, serenity, inquiry, community, romance, gratitude, moxie, humility, surprise