HI There everyone. I hope this week has been going well for you all and that you are beginning to take steps towards a more creative life. Today I would like to add another element to the quest towards creative living. There has been a lot of talk lately about the imagination, what it is and how to use it. Perhaps you have read a quote from someone you admire mentioning it or you have come across one of the movies or e-books online about manifestation and they all emphasize the importance of using the imagination to create what you want.
Although I agree with all of these perspectives about the importance of using the imagination I think what is lacking is a clear way of explaining to people what exactly it is since I feel that so many people actually have forgotten what it is and it's basic usage.
Imagination is the ability to consciously dream. This is quite different from the dreaming that we do at night because unless we are lucid dreaming(A discussion for another time) then your night dreaming is a go along for the ride kind of experience. To imagine is to consciously direct what it is you do, where you go and what you see and feel from within your mind. Imagination is the root of all creation because the order of operations are as follows: Imagination leads to intent which creates opportunity which leads to action which leads to manifestation. This is the creative process simplified and it can apply to all activities.
So seeing that imagination is the foundation of all creation we better build a pretty good foundation. So how do we do that? Yes, that is a good question because I think many people find imagining anything to be rather difficult and let me add that a wandering mind is not imagination remember that I stated that imagination is a conscious process but I digress but for good reason :o) So yes, many people find imagining anything to be hard because it is not an accepted part of our western culture and way of operating, in fact it is looked down upon and stamped out of most people when they are young. But all is not lost as your imagination and the use of it can never be taken away from you we just need to remember how to use it.
Exercise: Simple Visualization
Basic visualization is where we will begin towards getting our imagination back. Visualization is the root of imagination. The ability to sense things within our mind. We start with the sense of vision. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. I want for you to try and see a rose within your mind and hold that rose there for a long as you can. You will know when you have fallen off when some other passing thought takes over and you are no longer looking at your rose. This is ok as this is normal in the beginning. Just try again. Close your eyes and take another breath and then see the rose in your mind.
If you take a few minutes everyday to work on this you will advance and you will already begin to experience results such as a quieter mind over time.
That's it. Try this and we will go further into this next time. Be well and be creative.
Peace,
Andrew
Freedom Through Detachment: An Exercise in Creativity
Good day.. I hope that this week finds everyone feeling positive. Today I would like to expand more on the subject of creativity and how it relates to growth and self awareness. At last we spoke of the matter, I laid out the premise that we are creative beings and that everything we do is a an act of creativity and the desired outcome, at this level was to become more conscious of the process of being creative.
Becoming a more conscious creative being requires that we practice the act of detachment. Why? Because we need the space to be more aware. This is where the the virtue of detachment comes in.
What is detachment as it pertains to being and living more creatively? Detachment is the practice of not allowing what you know or think you know to interfere with the act of being.
Here is an exercise to help experience what I am talking about. Take a piece of paper and a pencil and take seat at a table. Take a few deep breaths and then just let your hand with the pencil just write all over the paper be it words, scribbles it doesn't matter. What does matter is that you do not think about what you are doing just let it happen.
Difficult isn't it? For most people in the beginning it is. If you are a musician try this:
Go to your instrument I'll say piano for now since that what I use for this exercise. Sit at the piano and raise your arms in the air. Count to 3 and then let you hands just fall on the piano. Most likely one of two things happened, either you freaked on the way down and forced your hands to land on some sort of chord you already know or you allowed yourself to do it and you landed on some combination of notes that sounds really strange to your ears at least for now.
Once your hands have landed allow your fingers to just play. Forget that you know any chords,scales, songs.. Just let your fingers move around the piano without allowing the intellectual mind and it's memory to interfere.
This is a beautiful exercise because what you will experience with practice is that the inner you will begin to guide you towards new sounds and organizations that you never knew existed in your instrument. Also what will happen is you will become your own best teacher because through this exercise your physical and intellectual limitations will naturally make themselves visible but this time without the judgment that we normally bring to the table.
The ultimate goal shall be that through learning how to detach from the mind, eventually this detachment along with your intellectual knowledge of whatever it is you do will gradually become balanced and begin to work together and it is from this space that your truest work will come from and you will begin to know what creative freedom really is.
Be Well,
Andrew Apollos
Becoming a more conscious creative being requires that we practice the act of detachment. Why? Because we need the space to be more aware. This is where the the virtue of detachment comes in.
What is detachment as it pertains to being and living more creatively? Detachment is the practice of not allowing what you know or think you know to interfere with the act of being.
Here is an exercise to help experience what I am talking about. Take a piece of paper and a pencil and take seat at a table. Take a few deep breaths and then just let your hand with the pencil just write all over the paper be it words, scribbles it doesn't matter. What does matter is that you do not think about what you are doing just let it happen.
Difficult isn't it? For most people in the beginning it is. If you are a musician try this:
Go to your instrument I'll say piano for now since that what I use for this exercise. Sit at the piano and raise your arms in the air. Count to 3 and then let you hands just fall on the piano. Most likely one of two things happened, either you freaked on the way down and forced your hands to land on some sort of chord you already know or you allowed yourself to do it and you landed on some combination of notes that sounds really strange to your ears at least for now.
Once your hands have landed allow your fingers to just play. Forget that you know any chords,scales, songs.. Just let your fingers move around the piano without allowing the intellectual mind and it's memory to interfere.
This is a beautiful exercise because what you will experience with practice is that the inner you will begin to guide you towards new sounds and organizations that you never knew existed in your instrument. Also what will happen is you will become your own best teacher because through this exercise your physical and intellectual limitations will naturally make themselves visible but this time without the judgment that we normally bring to the table.
The ultimate goal shall be that through learning how to detach from the mind, eventually this detachment along with your intellectual knowledge of whatever it is you do will gradually become balanced and begin to work together and it is from this space that your truest work will come from and you will begin to know what creative freedom really is.
Be Well,
Andrew Apollos
Songs IN Prep 1.1
Hey Everyone I hope you are well! OK I am about to do something really different and a bit crazy and I would like all of you to be a part of it..
I was listening to Songs IN Prep the other night and I got to thinking, How come when a company or software programmer makes a piece of software they get to keep updating that software until it functions exactly as they want it to be? Yet it is assumed that when an artist makes a recording or painting etc.. then that's it? I thought to myself are there things that I could do with the elements of this recording that would from my perspective make it more efficient in having the effect that I would like? Hmm.. interesting.....
Well I have decided to just that... Songs IN Preparation For The Shift vol. 1.1 The Update
Furthermore, I want all of you to take part so here is what I am doing. If look in the tracks tab above you will find the entire Songs IN Preparation For The Shift Vol. 1 record for you to listen to. Listen to it a lot. Read my past blog entries to to catch up on the ideas behind this work and then let me know what things you think should be "updated" in the current version..
I will read all of the comments and take all them into consideration to create the Songs IN Prep vol. 1.1 update
This is plum lunancy I know but that's the fun of it!!! Art born of Destructed Art....
So listen to the record and and remember to suggest this page to all of your facebook friends...
as all will be rewarded :0)
Thanks for reading and I look forward to creating the Songs IN prep 1.1 update...
Peace,
Andrew
I was listening to Songs IN Prep the other night and I got to thinking, How come when a company or software programmer makes a piece of software they get to keep updating that software until it functions exactly as they want it to be? Yet it is assumed that when an artist makes a recording or painting etc.. then that's it? I thought to myself are there things that I could do with the elements of this recording that would from my perspective make it more efficient in having the effect that I would like? Hmm.. interesting.....
Well I have decided to just that... Songs IN Preparation For The Shift vol. 1.1 The Update
Furthermore, I want all of you to take part so here is what I am doing. If look in the tracks tab above you will find the entire Songs IN Preparation For The Shift Vol. 1 record for you to listen to. Listen to it a lot. Read my past blog entries to to catch up on the ideas behind this work and then let me know what things you think should be "updated" in the current version..
I will read all of the comments and take all them into consideration to create the Songs IN Prep vol. 1.1 update
This is plum lunancy I know but that's the fun of it!!! Art born of Destructed Art....
So listen to the record and and remember to suggest this page to all of your facebook friends...
as all will be rewarded :0)
Thanks for reading and I look forward to creating the Songs IN prep 1.1 update...
Peace,
Andrew
Self-Knowledge Through Creativity
Hey Everyone it has indeed been a while. In all honestly I grossly underestimated the time it would take to become adjusted to changes that come with parenthood in addition to my own creative endeavors. Yet as it is I am back and feeling quite good about what's going on.
I want to talk today about another perspective on the purpose of creativity. I feel that creativity is perhaps one of the most misunderstood human activities there is. Mainly because most people do not understand that being creative is about all we humans actually do. Yet if you ask most people if they consider themselves creative they will tell you No on the grounds that " i don't play an instrument" or " I have no artistic ability at all!" Woah! There lies the problem in thinking right there. Being creative and being artistic are NOT the same things. They are closely related but it takes one to lead to the other in a specific order. Creativity leads to Art if the creatively aware so desires it.
Let me explain further.. Every step we take, every word we utter, every single action we take is a creative one. This is so because every action we make leads to the manifestation of something weather we are aware of it or not. The manifestation may be the satisfying of a simple need or want but whatever it may be all of our actions lead to the manifestation of something here on Earth. We are, as humans, nothing but creative beings hence everything you see around you is a creative manifestation of your own and the collective energy of all of us around throughout all of time.
That sounds heavy and to some degree it is but it is also rather simple once we grasp that this is all we are doing. Now comes the shift... Once we are aware that everything we do is a creative act wouldn't we want to begin to create more consciously? Think about that.. Wouldn't we want to try to create more of what we want now that we know that we are indeed quite powerful, that all of our actions matter. Perhaps you don't have grand ideas of changing the world. Maybe you just want to change your immediate environment, That's cool because you know what? Even by creating a better environment for yourself and those close around you, you are helping to create a better environment for all. This may sound at first glance a bit idealistic or simplistic but I encourage you to take the time to think about that even from an purely intellectual perspective.
What we want to do now is begin to exercise this new creative consciousness we have. Here lies where the Art begins to come in. Since every action we take is a creative one this means that in everything we do we have an opportunity to create Art. Really, you say? Yes, really...
Art is an expression of self through linear means, that reflects it self back on to it's creator to deepen their experience to themselves and the art they create...
When art is created from a place of pure integrity then it has the energy to influence those who partake in it. Yet my point is not that we all have to be composers,painters,acrobats etc... Applying this understanding to anything we do works.. You can cook dinner for your loved ones from this perspective. You can drive from this perspective. You can clean your house from this perspective. It does not matter..
I encourage you to try this and see how it affects your mood and energy and those around you as well as how you see your world around you...
What I see will begin to happen is that by deepening this experience you will begin to gather more self knowledge about yourself thus giving you more energy to further your self knowledge by consciously creating even more....
That's beautiful........
Thanks for reading and I will try to come around more often now that I am getting accustomed to my new perspective :o)
Peace,
Andrew
I want to talk today about another perspective on the purpose of creativity. I feel that creativity is perhaps one of the most misunderstood human activities there is. Mainly because most people do not understand that being creative is about all we humans actually do. Yet if you ask most people if they consider themselves creative they will tell you No on the grounds that " i don't play an instrument" or " I have no artistic ability at all!" Woah! There lies the problem in thinking right there. Being creative and being artistic are NOT the same things. They are closely related but it takes one to lead to the other in a specific order. Creativity leads to Art if the creatively aware so desires it.
Let me explain further.. Every step we take, every word we utter, every single action we take is a creative one. This is so because every action we make leads to the manifestation of something weather we are aware of it or not. The manifestation may be the satisfying of a simple need or want but whatever it may be all of our actions lead to the manifestation of something here on Earth. We are, as humans, nothing but creative beings hence everything you see around you is a creative manifestation of your own and the collective energy of all of us around throughout all of time.
That sounds heavy and to some degree it is but it is also rather simple once we grasp that this is all we are doing. Now comes the shift... Once we are aware that everything we do is a creative act wouldn't we want to begin to create more consciously? Think about that.. Wouldn't we want to try to create more of what we want now that we know that we are indeed quite powerful, that all of our actions matter. Perhaps you don't have grand ideas of changing the world. Maybe you just want to change your immediate environment, That's cool because you know what? Even by creating a better environment for yourself and those close around you, you are helping to create a better environment for all. This may sound at first glance a bit idealistic or simplistic but I encourage you to take the time to think about that even from an purely intellectual perspective.
What we want to do now is begin to exercise this new creative consciousness we have. Here lies where the Art begins to come in. Since every action we take is a creative one this means that in everything we do we have an opportunity to create Art. Really, you say? Yes, really...
Art is an expression of self through linear means, that reflects it self back on to it's creator to deepen their experience to themselves and the art they create...
When art is created from a place of pure integrity then it has the energy to influence those who partake in it. Yet my point is not that we all have to be composers,painters,acrobats etc... Applying this understanding to anything we do works.. You can cook dinner for your loved ones from this perspective. You can drive from this perspective. You can clean your house from this perspective. It does not matter..
I encourage you to try this and see how it affects your mood and energy and those around you as well as how you see your world around you...
What I see will begin to happen is that by deepening this experience you will begin to gather more self knowledge about yourself thus giving you more energy to further your self knowledge by consciously creating even more....
That's beautiful........
Thanks for reading and I will try to come around more often now that I am getting accustomed to my new perspective :o)
Peace,
Andrew
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