Below is an excerpt from the book Parallel Mind:
“Are You Up To Your Destiny?” — Hamlet
Preface
Are you ready to live the life you were meant to live? Life should be lived passionately, joyously, fearlessly, and creatively.
This book is about how to live a creative life: not how to paint or draw, but how to think like an artist, and how to find a joyous, complete life as a result. The power of creative thought can impel you to excel in any medium, in any field, or any subject.
Many people are creative in their daily lives, others would like to be more creative, still others would like to experience the magic that they have seen only from the outside until now.
This book answers some essential questions, the most important being: what is creativity, and how can it bring me more freedom and happiness?
However, the real value of this book is not in the questions that it attempts to answer, but in the questions that it poses. These questions are traditionally asked under the cover of art, but I ask these questions here so that you may ask them of yourself.
I started out as a fine artist, and entered the fields of illustration, graphic design, video art, and interactive design. As I developed my commercial skills and artistic craft, I learned that there is a difference between pure creativity and applied creativity. Pure creativity is an activity that has no predefined destination or purpose, while applied creativity is an activity that always has a goal or application in mind. Pure creativity can be seen as a kind of play, while applied creativity is usually seen as work.
Examples of pure creativity include (but are not limited to): a painter who paints from his heart, a musician who creates a symphony while toying at the piano, a writer who bases a screenplay on the people he knows at work, a scientist who discovers a new law of the universe by playing with raw materials and outlandish ideas.
Examples of applied creativity include (but are not limited to): design, architecture, scientific inquiry, technological innovations, copywriting, and business development.
One form of creativity is not superior to the other. It is just easier (and more fun!) to learn pure creativity before attempting to apply that creativity to a purpose. Applied creativity can be fun and playful too. However this book focuses on the importance of play to our development as a complete, creative individual, and so it is about pure creativity.
Parallel Mind reveals how a creative individual can mold their lives with the power of their thoughts; how your thoughts can be used to create whatever you want in life.
~~~
Chapter One, Creativity, defines and outlines creativity: what is it, how can we use it, where does it reside?
Chapter Two, Double Vision, is about the source of creativity — our inner child — and how we, as adults, encase this pure self in a cage of fear and limitation.
Chapter Three, Body & Soul discusses the relationship of the body to the mind; how to use your mind creatively to create the body you want.
Chapter Four, Shaking the Tree explores more deeply into the mind, how to change limiting beliefs, how to overcome fear, and encourage original thought.
Chapter Five, Navigating a Sea of Emotions is about emotions: why do we have them, how to choose your emotions, and how to use them effectively.
Chapter Six, The Secret of Sex reveals how to marshal the twin forces of passion and desire to supercharge and sustain your creative vision.
Chapter Seven, The Conscious Creative shows how the practice of art brings the artist increased awareness and personal power.
Chapter Eight, The Infinite Self brings together the concepts introduced in the former chapters, and shows how they can lead the artist to creative freedom.
Included in every chapter are quick in-text exercises intended to help you activate the principles you have just read. The exercises provide a break in reading, and allow you to move from passive to active participation.
1 Record Your Internal Dialog — What did you say?
2 Internal Wisdom — Access your subconscious
3 Bottoms Up — Change your point of view
4 Recall Your Child Genius — Your thoughts as a child
5 Remember Your Dreams — Keep a dream diary
6 Rise and Shine — Visualize health
7 Change the Subject — Make a lens
8 The Medium is the Message — Change mediums
9 Chain Reaction— Tracking thoughts and emotions
10 Touchbase — Allowing yourself to feel
11 Objective Observation — Pure observation
12 Play With Syntax— Syntax and context
13 Happy Accident — Plan an accident for inspiration
14 Gather and Float — The art of doing nothing
15 Practice Naivete — Dare to ask a naive question
16 Simpify & Reduce — Simplify, simplify, simplify
17 Shift Focus — Change focus
18 Notice Negative Space — Understand negative space
19 Form Groups & Families — Group for understanding
20 Direct Attention — Use accents and structure
21 Arrange a Marriage — Force a new relationship
22 Go Gestalt — The psychology of perception
~~~
Whatever you can dream is available to you, but first you must know how to use your creative potential. An artist is not defined by his work, but by the power of his creative thought. This book gives you the tools to achieve those dreams, whether you are a creative professional, a student of art, or someone interested in personal development.
Becoming an artist does not require a mastery of technique, great skills or advanced degrees, it only requires that you take the time to be an artist. Art is about change, exploration, and about the courage to know yourself.
Often we don’t accept a challenge because we fear change. Often we don’t accept a challenge because we fear change and commitment. Perhaps we are afraid, because we know deep down that a life like this takes unconditional passion, courage, and dedication. To live a consciously creative life, you have to show the forces that be that you deserve the life you want by consistently displaying these qualities. This is what Joseph Campbell calls the Hero’s Path. Make no mistake, if you follow a path of conscious change you are walking in the very footsteps of giants.
So I ask you: when will you allow yourself the life you deserve? A voice is whispering in your ear: today is the day.
Like this:
Like Loading...
On behalf of the newly formed Arts/Media Node of The Millennium Project, we
)
For those of us who are dreamers, there is an abundance of wisdom in the art that surrounds us. If you are like me you find inspiration in the lyrics of certain songs.
