Breaking Through Creative Blocks.

Everyone faces what is called a writers block some time or the other. And this is not restricted to people who write or are engaged in creative activities. I think everyone faces a writers block where you have no clue what the next step should be, where the story is just not flowing , simple stagnation. And like I said this is not restricted to the field of art, but living life in general. I mean after all life itself is a form of art.

I go through it every now and then.  I actually came across a talk and a little write up this week pertaining to this very idea of a creative block. So i thought I would share that with you.

I was reading a book by a monk (Swami Yatishwarananda) and in the foreword of his book he talks about how he was instructed to give talks and help people. How ever he was very apprehensive because he didn’t want the ego to take over. But his Guru asked him to start writing, because the mind cannot always be meditating. It’s important for the mind to be engaged in activities that don’t allow the mind to fall to the lower centres. And so he was asked to write an article every week. To help guide people on their spiritual journey.

Of course he wondered what should he write and where would the ideas come from. To which his Guru told him, learn to think deeply. You will never run out of ideas. His reference to thinking deeply is obviously a reference to start inculcating the habit of stepping away from the mind and going beyond it. Because the mind has restricted it can know and do things in limited ways. But for ideas to flow you need to step away from it. Swami Yathiswarananda goes on to say, how he is never run out of ideas since then.

A couple of days back I heard a talk by Eckhart Tolle. He was answering a question regarding creative thought process. And he speaks of how we should try to center ourselves, in what he calls awareness and presence. And as the thoughts slowly subside the clear space just brings forth ideas. And then he talks about bringing those ideas to the space of the mind. 

What either of those people are saying is not rocket science. The only difference between these men and us is they know how to do it consciously. Of course there is practice needed to learn how to access awareness and presence .

I think all of us have experienced it subconsciously, these moments when an idea or solution has just popped up. Maybe we were sitting quietly with a cup of tea, or in the garden and suddenly the mind had fewer thoughts than usual. And suddenly bang! Something beautiful just found its way in. I would like to add one tiny thing here. A lot of us ignore these moments. You might be looking at the mountains or the sky and you feel a deep urge to express it. And then suddenly your mind steps in and says but how, what would you write (or any other form of expression) and you immediately crush the idea that had floated in from the higher space. 

So the next time you need to write something or make something maybe it’s time not to think and instead stop thinking. And better still don’t let your mind stop you from expressing it either.