Seeking Creation: RH'L5 in Practice

Up-Side

The happiness associated with a continuous engagement with creation-RH'L5 varies according to the state that is preferred:

• At one extreme, you are possessed mildly while the creative work flows smoothly i.e. you are in flow. This is a form of release from the mundane pressures of the everyday world while simultaneously being seen to be productive.
• At the other extreme, the possession is disturbing. The pressures and the obstacles are daunting, continuous, and seemingly unrelenting. Your intense determination and inner conviction lead to an absorption, even frenzy, that disregards immediate feedback and conventional everyday concerns.

Creation requires that you determine what is to be created, and then develop the expertise, technical virtuosity, and deep experience to carry it off. However, such features seem to play a secondary role to the intrinsic challenge, which is to produce a result that has the quality of «rightness». The created product must «work» in the sense that it communicates the intent and spirit within the creator. It must also have broader value, although this may be only latent if wider society is ignorant or uninterested.

The essential means in creation, in all cases, involves being taken over and becoming a vehicle for transcendental forces that do not feel part of your everyday personality (or self).

The social effect of the intense engagement means a tendency to withdrawal, even isolation, by the creator. This minimizes interruptions and distractions. It may also allow for unusual psychological tricks or methods to get the creative process flowing. Nevertheless, others play a role. We each fall along a continuum from being drawn in and fascinated by the new, to being distanced from it or even feeling shocked and repelled.

Who Is & Who Is Not «A Creative Type»

The notion of «being creative» is often assigned to artists, authors or composers, and people in advertising or design. This is a historical aberration. We are all creative when working properly. But who is on a Creation Quest? Probably not too many people in advertising! The Quest is another matter entirely, and many on the Quest might not even be fully aware of it. Nevertheless, they will know that they are happiest when working on a challenge and being original.

Down-Side

As explained above, the up-side with its persistence and its pressure to tackle every obstacle, often seems much like a down-side. As well as being a necessity, the absorptive state is experienced as gratifying. This leads to the temptation to avoid other responsibilities. Perhaps it is the basis for some cases of «workaholism». Certainly, at the extreme, there are creative geniuses who neglect their families and suffer from self-neglect.

So inherent problems are about being responsible more broadly, and addressing the mundane issues that sustain everyday living. It is also necessary to overcome desires for admiration or social approval that can only mar or limit creative achievements.

Few creators enjoy a continuously positive existence. Intrinsic to creation is the value of what is created: but society commonly struggles to recognize the value of something new and different. The rejection may be violent or perverse, and the resulting distress can be intense.

Creators may themselves turn away from their own creations. There are negative states, often for long periods and associated with an inner sense of block, emptiness or self-doubt. You feel dispirited, dejected and distracted. Egotistical demands for recognition and appreciation can add to the stress. Suicide or simply dying may result.

Example: Georges Bizet

Georges Bizet wrote one of the greatest and most popular operas of all time: Carmen. The librettists sought to alter the story. The orchestra declared the score unplayable. The show was panned by the critics. Although Bizet received the Legion d'Honneur on the day of the first performance, he died soon after.

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• Next: practical aspects of the Primal Quest for Obedience.

Originally posted: 29-Jun-2012