Deep silence is the mother of creativity

Let us see if there are any processes to make people creative. What makes someone a genius and someone not? What makes someone creative and someone not? Does this depend on the food we eat, is it exercise, or does it depend on any other avenues or arenas? Why does someone get a violent thought and why does someone get a creative thought?

To understand this, it is very important for us to probe into the source of thought. What is a thought? Where does it originate? Thought is nothing but an impulse of energy and intelligence. That impulse of energy and intelligence to arise and a correct thought to come, you need 16 impulses to meet at a point in the cerebral cortex at the speed of 10 to the power of minus 30 cycles per second. In that short interval of time, when all the 16 impulses in the cerebral cortex meet, is what we call a correct thought.

We all have a filter in our mind, and we read or listen through this filter. We accept only what we know. Something which doesn't fall within our belief system, we automatically filter it out. This tendency in the mind to take things which it already knows and reject what it doesn't know is one of the main blocks to creativity.

So, when we encounter such blocks, the question arises how to eliminate them. This is where a little knowledge about our self, about our mind, our consciousness, and the root of distortion will help.

So what is the source of creativity? Deep silence is the mother of creativity. No creativity can come out of one who is too busy, worried, over-ambitious or lethargic. Balanced activity, rest and yoga can kindle skills and creativity in you. It springs from a void, and the fastest way to reach that void is through renunciation.

For instance, the purpose of sound is to lead you back to that silence within. Music is nothing but sculpting the silence. Renunciation puts you in touch with that space of silence within you and becomes an unending well-spring of creativity. Retirement and renunciation always rejuvenate the spirit and creation is an inherent quality of the spirit. Anyone who works without retirement can never be creative.

The second aspect for creativity is imagination. Imagination brings creativity and makes even the unreal appear real. Listening to our gut feeling, developing that intuitive ability within us is another aspect of creativity.

We also need to be conscious of our seven layers of existence which all contribute to creativity. The first layer is our physical body. Creativity can seldom flow from a body that is tired. You can act when you are tense, but to be creative you need to be relaxed. To prepare our body for creativity, balanced food, yoga play a vital role.

The second layer of our existence is our breath, which has great secrets to offer. Every rhythm in the mind, there is a corresponding rhythm in the breath, for every rhythm in the breath there is a corresponding emotion. So, when you cannot handle your mind or emotions directly, through breath you can handle them. Next comes the mind.

A calm mind, devoid of agitation, the intellect devoid of arguments and a memory devoid of unpleasant events is fundamental for creativity. Then comes the ego — the more we study, the more learned we become; we become so stiff. We lose our smile, we lose our innocence and we lose our friendliness. This ego of ''I know better'' takes away certain beautiful things from our life.

The seventh layer is the self. When we get in touch with the depth of our self – the source of creativity, our consciousness expands and we feel connected with everybody, with everything in the world. Self is that something that is the reference point of all changes in life. We notice that everything is changing in our life — our body, our mind, our thought, our environment, and our behavior. If everything is changing then how do we know the change? Because there is something that doesn't change, we are able to notice the change. And this non-changing something is what I would call the Self or the being.

Just a little bit of knowledge about these seven layers of existence makes a big difference in our lives. It brings cheer, freshness, and we become so alive and childlike. If you are cheerful, you will be creative. Otherwise you are so dull. Also I would suggest you take one week off every year for yourself, like you take your car for servicing.

During that time, align yourself with nature, wake up with the sunrise, do some exercise, eat proper food, just as much food as necessary, some exercises, yoga, and some breathing exercises, a few minutes of singing, and keeping silence, enjoying the creation. Aligning ourself with nature, our whole system gets recharged, makes the whole year, we feel so vibrant, enthusiastic.

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