Spontaneous Creativity and Hard Work

[luke wilson]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86x-u-tz0MA#t=465

People associate creative works with mental health issues and a fear that their work won’t be good enough, or not as good as their past work. Indeed a lot of writers in the 20th century have committed suicide or suffered depression. After the massive success of her book “Eat, Pray, Love” Elizabeth believes that her greatest work is now behind her, which is a scary thought. She looked at how to construct barriers between her work and this anxiety about how it will be received.

The ancient Greeks and Romans believed that an artist had a spirit that helped their work – called a daemon or a ‘genius’. This idea insulated the artist from criticism and narcissism – the work was not theirs and they could not take all the credit or blame. In the Renaissance the language shifted slightly so that instead of possessing a genius the artist was a genius – this makes the artist responsible to their critics. It distorts egos, creates unmanageable expectations, and has been killing artists for 500 years.

Why can’t we go back to the classical period? Does their understanding of creativity make any less sense than our own? Elizabeth describes an explanation of a poem coming to a poet like an approaching train, and having to sprint to a pencil to write it down before it passed never to be seen again. This look at creativity (that ideas just come to you) is common, and it does make it sound as if the artist isn’t fully in control of their works.

A musician (Tom Waits) took a different approach when he was driving down the road and a song just came to him. He couldn’t write it down and didn’t have a tape recorder to sing to, so instead of panicking that he would lose it, he started talking to his daemon. “Can you not see I’m driving”… “If you really want to exist come back at a more opportune moment”… “Otherwise go bother someone else today. Go Bother Leonard Cohen”. Elizabeth tried a similar approach while feeling anxious – telling her daemon she’s doing everything she can, and if the daemon wants a better book he should turn up to work to do his bit.

Elizabeth uses this concept of an external daemon to keep working through the anxiety, or the fear that her next book won’t be as successful as her last. She has to keep showing up to work, and if the daemon on loan to her doesn’t, than so be it.

 

[Woodsman]

If an author or film-maker is just acting as a sort of antenna, and didn't create the thoughts which go out into the world, then who did and what sort of energies are they?

I wonder what "mission control" looks like on the other side; is it a glowing space of thought forms generated by smiling Buddha types, or is it a room full of frustrated geeks working at computer terminals in an underground city with regular staff meetings and imperial storm troopers standing guard outside the doors? (And to what do they owe their inspiration?)

Both of those scenarios, or combinations of the two, are quite possible, I think. -Richard Sauder once described having a conversation about the subject of his research, (underground tunnels) with a voice in his head which sounded not like a deity or mysterious force, but rather like some black-ops tech support guy using advanced machinery to communicate directly with his brain.

Whatever the case, I don't care HOW great or exciting an idea might be, it has to pass muster. That is, an author needs to be convinced that birthing an idea will help the world rather than harm it. S/he's the one with the keyboard whose name appears on the end product, so whatever meager human responsibility can be laid claim to, there is an obligation to make every effort to not just be some dark side remote-controlled art monkey.

As well... Projecting thoughts directly into a person's mind? That is about influence, and doing such a thing without permission on some level is a violation. If STO forces are involved, then I understand that they have to be asked, often repeatedly.

There's a lot which can be said about this.

 

[MusicMan]

Considering that our brains are electrical units and are in constant operation, the admittedly tiny alpha, beta, gamma, and theta etc. waves being emitted by everybody must influence others in some way.
There is no permission involved.
Just like an electrical current in a wire will influence a magnetized compass needle.
Some people will react to it, others will not.
Some are classed as psychic, others are not.
It may be a skill that you can develop, with practice.
Perhaps it is a skill that humans have lost, but that animals still possess.

 

[Miss.K]

"Go Bother Leonard Cohen”.

I don't know what the inspiration thing is, but for me it feels the same, that when I create something good, then it wasn't me who did it, but more that something worked through me.

I don't feel it is a violation of will from some entity, but more like a water spring that one can tap into when in the right state of mind (the right state of mind can be tricky to achieve)