Creativity

Myth, truth and creativity at Christmas

23 December 2022 by Darren Leave a Comment

It is said to never begin with an apology. I would like to apologise for this Northern Hemisphere-centric post. Hopefully, no one noticed that.

Some have recently celebrated Yule, others are preparing for Christmas, and there may be some who have just celebrated Saturnalia. Recently there was Hanukkah, and before that Diwali. Oh well, in for a penny, I once again apologise for any other recently celebrated festivals I may have missed.

A common thread here is light. And in the next day or so, many in the UK, will be celebrating Christmas, just after the Mid-winter solstice and just before the New Year.

Watch or read on…

Myth and legend

At this time I think about what was real, what actually happened.

What are the facts? A quick look at Christmas can reveal some interesting things. No donkey is mentioned in the Biblical account of Jesus’ birth… and, I am afraid to let you know… there isn’t even a stable. And as for the date? What may or may not have happened has been… let’s be nice here, embellished.

If the facts around Christmas have been elaborated to make a nice tidy celebration, can we find more meaning in the pre-Christian traditions? Was Christmas just a synchronistic replacement of the ancient ways?

There might be some or even a lot of truth in that, but to be honest there is very little evidence as to what were the ancient ways. Most of our knowledge has been built on myth and legend by modern-day sages.

The point here is that many, or in fact, most of our traditions are built on myth and legend… but, does that make them any less relevant?

Fact and truth

Even a quick and cursory look reveals that most of our Winter Festivals are based on… well, winter. Or more precisely, mid-winter. There is continuity with the season, with beliefs and with traditions:

It gets darker
We miss the light
We call upon the light to return.
We wait for rebirth and new life.
We celebrate what has been and wait for the blessings of the new.
From the Christ child to pantheons, or to simply good intentions and peace for all.

A Creative Blessing

But what has this to do with creativity? I relate to seasonal times and changes and cycles. And have my own rituals… myths and legends attached to them. During this dormant and dark and even frozen time, how can I prepare creatively?

I can plan a way ahead.
I can clear the dead leaves.
I can celebrate what I have made.
I can call upon creative inspiration to bring light to future projects.

Whatever your beliefs and rituals, may this time bring creative peace and joy to you.

Thank you for reading this post. Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
namaste
d
xox

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Facing and dealing with Imposter Syndrome

20 November 2022 by Darren Leave a Comment

I’ve been struggling with Imposter Syndrome recently. I have a major project almost ready to go but I am dithering. You can read more below or watch the video.

Who am I? Am I a composer and writer? This week’s been one of dealing with exactly that, imposter syndrome.

Imposter syndrome is, amongst other things, the fear of being found out that we are not who we say we are. And I have been doing this quite a lot recently.

The thing is, I have to create. We could get all metaphysical with it. The muse possesses the artist and what will be will be, or it is just my way of dealing with the emotions and thoughts jumping around within. The so-called creative flow.

The point is that I create no matter what anyone else thinks or even cares. So there is no reason for this imposter syndrome to even be in the same room.

However, apart from real external and physical illnesses, imposter syndrome can be one of the worst creative maladies and can be debilitating.

It hits at a very bad time. It hits when we are being creative or even have been creative. We’ve actually done the hardest part, which is to turn up, to start and be creative. I have done the work, yet now the doubts arise.

For me, it has come at an interesting juncture. I am nearing the completion of a project that has its roots back in around 2015. It has been on and off the back burner more times than a pot roast since then. But during the past few months, I have been getting things together and the project is nearly there. I am just around the corner to finally releasing Music to journal by a collection of musical soundscapes that plot the journey from the blank page to completed art. But I find myself hiding around that corner.

I question my ability. The roots of this, like so many other creative and many anxieties, lie beyond. Things I can’t control, the thoughts of others and comparison with others. The deadly sins of worry.

Imposter syndrome has us believe that we can’t create and that what we are creating isn’t good enough. That we will be found out as a fraud and phoney. You call yourself a composer Darren? Beethoven was deaf and he wrote better music than you! Do you think you can make musical soundscapes that can move people’s feelings? You need to listen to Hans Zimmer’s work on Inception and Interstellar for how to do that! Whatever you and I create, we face the danger of being an imposter, and we sink further into that syndrome as we compare ourselves with others. There is no easy answer. All we can do is say, it doesn’t matter how good others are, how others work or what others create. This is my creation, and that is what you create.

It doesn’t matter what others think of your or my creations. As I mentioned earlier, we create, it is what we do, and what we need to be. I am not an imposter for doing what I need. I create, therefore I am. We can all improve. But improvement has nothing to do with impersonating someone else and being who we are not… unless, of course, your creativity is expressed through being an impersonator.

I create and I share what I create. If anyone likes it, and connects to it, then that is wonderful. If not, it doesn’t matter. It’s time for me to turn the final corner and share what I have been creating. Just be who you are and create.

Music to journal by will also be available shortly.

Thank you for reading this post. Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
namaste
d
xox

If you enjoyed this post please support my writing by making a donation of any amount.

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Samhain the thin place

31 October 2022 by Darren Leave a Comment

At this time of Hallowe’en, I want to share a few thoughts about Samhain, its relation to thin places, and how these thoughts may help us be better creative humans. You can read on, click the image link above and go to YouTube or scroll down and watch the video below.

I have always been interested in what lies beyond… what is unseen, unknown. What is perhaps erroneously called the supernatural. My interests are in the mystical, the magical, the theological, in gnostic thought, science fiction and science fact, and multiverses and quantum foam. That which can’t be seen. Perhaps best described as reality not yet fully understood.

I believe this is where my interest in the arts lies. The arts express feelings beyond words, beyond sound, beyond image, beyond reason. That’s why I lose myself creating music, journal pages and other arty-type stuff… or perhaps that is where I find myself?

I seek answers philosophically, scientifically and in faith. A paradox?

Some believe that certain times and certain places make seeing into the unknown easier, or even crossing from one side to the other. From beyond to here, from here to the beyond. Samhain is a thin time. The pop festival of Hallowe’en is a crass veneer to make money, belittle any spiritual dimension and promote the latest genre trend in horror.

Samhain and the later Christianised All Hallow’s Eve and All Souls’ Day are moments to think about ‘ends’ and those who have passed through the thin veil… and upon that which may be able to come the other way. It is the beginning of the dark time, and the long nights of winter lay ahead. Life becomes sparse, survival becomes scarce.

This is a time when life lets go.

Life and death inhabit different spaces, yet Samhain allows liminality.

It can be a metaphor for us. To let go, discard. Let what is no longer giving us life pass over, or let the clutter we have accumulated decompose. Yet, at the same time, that which has already passed can be used for guidance, wisdom and warning.

I’m not advocating celebrating death, demons and decay… what you do in your own creative journey is your choice. I’m just letting you know that especially at these thin times and thin places I think about those people, practices and possibilities. As I mentioned above, I am interested in that stuff.

May you let go of what is no longer needed and unburdened travel further.

Blessings

Thank you for reading this post. Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
namaste
d
xox

If you enjoyed this post please support my writing by making a donation of any amount.

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The acts of creativity thing

4 July 2022 by Darren 2 Comments

So I might be doing a thing. If it is a thing it will be all about creating. Every day I am aiming to create something. It might be art, music, or some prose. I want to discover my ‘voice’ if there is such a thing, and one way to do that is to create and see where it takes me. I have several projects in need of work but I won’t limit myself to those. I don’t want to restrict the creative flow just see where it takes me. I don’t like restrictions they… well… restrict.

Today’s creative practice, or act, was the logo above. I used Adobe Illustrator and reminded myself how to subtract a shape from another shape. As you can see these acts of creativity don’t need to be too demanding or difficult. The only rule is to do something each day, an act, a practice, a ritual of creativity.

So if this does become a thing it will be a thing with minimal rules. The act doesn’t need to be completed. It could be 50 words, 100, one or two thousand. It might be a musical theme, a song or a soundtrack. It may be a page in my art journal. But I will create something… if this is a thing.

I have been in a creative rut for too long. I have spent too much time thinking about processes and lists and projects without actually doing anything creative. This thing is a way to get me out of the rut. Each day; an act of creativity.

Thank you for reading this post. Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
namaste
d
xox

If you enjoyed this post please support my writing by making a donation of any amount.

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Using Box as a Weekly Creative Prompt

24 April 2022 by Darren Leave a Comment

It’s springtime and like many others, I have been tidying, sorting and clearing things out. As a consequence of this spring cleaning, piles of boxes have been moved, used and emptied. And, of course, that has got me thinking creatively about these containers and their metaphorical meaning.

This week’s creative prompt is box. Each week we begin with a single word and expand it to inspire writing fiction, journaling and other creative activities. These creative prompts, are to give me, and anyone else who wants to join in, some inspiration for creative work, personal development and even a little self-care.

The word box can mean and be used in many things. It is the sort of word that has literal, practical uses, but also has metaphorical and even spiritual connotations. It is a business cliche to ‘think outside the box’ and is often used by businesses in the wrong way leading to a move away from their core aim. However, for creativity, thinking outside of the box, or the rules, is what makes genius art.

Definitions include…

box — a container with a flat base and sides, typically square or rectangular and having a lid, an area on a page that is to be filled in or that contains separate printed matter, a separate section or enclosed area reserved for a group of people, a protective casing for a piece of a mechanism

— verb: put in or provide with a box

Box has an additional meaning to hit, or fight, using hands or fists. It’s not really what I had in mind for a creative prompt. However, sometimes the only way out of a situation, especially creative ruts, is to fight or let off some steam, to punch something even if that punch is metaphorical.

Box can be used as a noun and verb

Box, boxed

carton, pack, packet, package; case, crate, chest, trunk, coffer, casket, hamper, canteen; bin, drum, canister; container, receptacle, repository, holder, vessel, booth, cubicle, kiosk, cabin, hut; enclosure, compartment, carrel, cupboard, cubbyhole, alcove, bay, recess, and package, pack, parcel, wrap, bundle, bale, crate, stow, store, put away

Antonyms

unbox, open

box is summed up for me as a container, either wanted or not.

Let the prompt ‘box’ inspire you in any area of creativity that you are interested:

writing fiction
journaling
art journaling
songwriting
photography
painting
composing
blog posts
art therapy
anything that could use a little nudge to begin

Writing prompt

A Fiction Writing Prompt exploring the word box to stretch the literary muscles. No rules. No word counts. Simply write and explore. It’s time to let your creative writing skills free.

I had no idea what was inside. However, I began to remove the box’s lid.

Writing Prompt Expanded

As part of my spring clean, I have been putting things into boxes. Each box is even a nice label so I know exactly what’s in it. I have a habit of forgetting what I have and where it is, therefore boxes and labels are my friends. I know what I have stored.

Our protagonist doesn’t. A box could contain a treasure or something else. Let’s explore…

What size and shape is the box?
Why don’t they know what it contains, have they just found it?
How d they feel as they lift the lid?

Apart from a box with unknown contents, everything else is down to you, the writer. The prompt is in the first person, but you can change that if you want. The contents of the box could be anything, let your imagination run. As mentioned it could be treasure, it could be dangerous, it could be something seemingly unknowable, remember Pandora!

Enjoy and may the contents of the box lead you to write an inspiring tale. Bring the contents and your ideas outside the box.

Quick fiction writing

Set a time limit, use the following random prompts and write a short piece of fiction.

Character: child
Place: playground
Item: surrounded by a box marked in chalk

Journal prompt

I often use boxes in my journal. They are used to highlight important things. They are used to separate areas, to make them distinct. I also find myself writing the same thing. Quite often I am writing negative things over and over again. I end up putting myself in a box, defining and limiting myself. Next time I do that, I’ll contain those negative thoughts in lines. I’ll box them up and then cross them out with a big black marker. Time to get outside self-made boxes that limit us.

Three ideas for your journal

think about your articular creative pastime. How can you think outside the box and create differently. Write a list that breaks the rules
draw, paint or collage an image made entirely of box shapes (literal cubism, or boxism)
draw a box in the centre of your page, write negative thoughts, feelings or habits within. Cover it with a positive image

Theory of General Creativity

I now have ‘box’ written on the board above my computer. I am confident it will inspire me on my creative journey this week. I am involved in far too many creative projects. I find zoning them and putting them into literal boxes helps me to focus on one at a time. And I now have all my pens, paints and other creative tools in their own box or area. That should help.

capture boxes or square/rectangle shapes and lines with your camera
paint a cube with something inside
explore escaping any boxes that contain and hold you back in songwriting or poetry

Let ‘box(es)’ inspire your music, photography, and painting this week.

Finally…

As always, these creative prompts are optional and entirely open to your interpretation. Use them as a starting point for a short story, a moment in your journal, something a little more grandiose or any creative project or idea.

As mentioned before, this isn’t a ‘challenge’ but the prompts can be used that way if you want. If you do create anything using them, I would love to see or hear about it. Leave a link in the comments below or tag me #thecreativeminimalist on any social platform.

Thank you for reading this post. Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
namaste
d
xox

If you enjoyed this post please support my writing by making a donation of any amount.

Sign up for my (ir)regular newsletter to keep up to date with my creative adventures, including special offers, and join me on Instagram | YouTube | Twitter | Pinterest

Waves Weekly creative prompt

10 April 2022 by Darren Leave a Comment

I have the amazing privilege of living within walking distance of the sea. If I need to reconnect with nature I can be standing next to the untamed wilderness of the ocean in minutes. I can be face to face with its beauty and its danger.

This week’s creative prompt is waves. Each week we begin with a single word and expand it to inspire writing fiction, journaling and other creative activities. These creative prompts, are to give me, and anyone else who wants to join in, some inspiration for creative work, personal development and even a little self-care.

The word waves can mean many things. It can be the waves upon the water, a friendly gesture or a way of upsetting the status quo. All variations on frequencies and ripples in different settings and situations. And if we think in terms of frequencies, then everything we can see is down to waves.