What Can Carl Jung Eastern Philosophy And Photography Teach Us About Creativity
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What Can Carl Jung, Eastern Philosophy, and Photography Teach Us About Creativity?
Do you believe creative writing can be taught? As someone who's only ever taken one creative writing course, my experience is limited. However, after years of writing, here’s what I’ve observed.
Teachers can help you refine your craft and provide strategies to overcome creative blocks. But can they teach you to be creative? I have my doubts.
With a dedicated teacher, I might achieve respectable piano proficiency, learn musical theory, and excel in composition. Yet, without that essential ingredient?"creativity?"I might never compose a soul-stirring sonata. Creativity, it seems, cannot be taught.
Why? Because creativity is a personal gift, unique to each individual. It must be discovered within and nurtured, or it remains elusive. Like writing or painting, only a select few will craft novels that are truly original and creative.
For those who do achieve such feats, it often follows years of solitary struggle. Creativity thrives in private, away from the classroom. Consider your best work?"isn't it often done in a quiet spot, perhaps late at night, when daily distractions have faded? Have you ever read a novel crafted by a committee?
Carl Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist and pioneer of psychoanalysis, considered creativity an instinct, like the urge for activity and reflection. If creativity is instinctual, is it accessible to everyone? Apparently not. If it were, we'd all be composing timeless sonatas and writing novels that resonate across generations.
Jung also believed that creative individuals have a unique connection to the subconscious. If so, is there a way to tap into this resource? I recently explored "The Tao of Photography," a fascinating book by Dr. Philippe Gross and Dr. S.I. Shapiro?"both psychologists and photographers. Photography, for me, enhances my awareness of my surroundings, which helps capture the mood essential for writing.
This book applies the teachings of the "Chuang-tzu," ancient writings from the fourth to second centuries B.C.E., to the art of photography. It distinguishes between Little Understanding and Great Understanding:
**Great understanding is broad and unhurried;
Little understanding is cramped and busy.**
?"Chuang-tzu
Our daily lives often reflect Little Understanding. Consider my endless list of chores and tasks, illustrating a cramped and busy existence. But what happens when we pause, observe, and look inward? Great Understanding emerges?"broad and unhurried. Imagine the insights and opportunities for creativity we might discover.
By slowing down and immersing ourselves in both external observations and internal reflections, we unlock our creative spirit. Without this, techniques alone?"though teachable?"won’t unveil our inner voice. Writers are often urged to find their own voice, but doing so requires attentiveness to both the outer world and our inner lives.
Let's assume we transcend that cramped and busy state. "The Tao of Photography" offers excellent strategies to help with this transition. What might we discover? Perhaps nothing extraordinary. But with luck, a writer might touch the essence of creativity. By stepping aside from our conscious minds and allowing images, words, music, ideas, and emotions to flow freely, we may stumble upon something valuable to refine.
This process is often reflected in writing’s first draft. It's where the initial sparks of creativity ignite. Later, the analytical mind steps in to polish what’s been crafted. Here, a teacher’s guidance on technique becomes invaluable. Perhaps a completed first draft should be a prerequisite for creative writing courses. What are your thoughts?
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