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6.
SoulWithin the coils of the bowel
Truth entangles itself
In flesh that eats
But is not eaten.
The Bible speaks
The same truth
In a flame.
Such that we know of life
Living within the
Eternal consumption.
An equation tells
The same tale
Of non-destruction,
An energy so vital
Scortching into time
Its emblem.
Harvey Mathason
Nurturing the Flower of Creativity
Harvey Mathason
If you found a diamond on the ground, would you add facets to it, make it sparkle and dazzle your vision with rainbows? Creativity is like a raw diamond - dull until it's shaped and brought to view. Most of what makes us human comes from the wellspring of our creativity. Beginning with cave paintings and advancing in time with such inventions as the printing press, light bulb, phonograph, movie camera, airplane, radio, television and computer, we glimpse the development of cultural evolution.
My desire is to be a part of the Creative Revolution. I wish to be a student and "condenser" of what has and will be discovered about the creative process. I am presently teaching creativity in companies, organizations and schools. I've noticed it is so easy to attribute creativity to a mystique that we can never understand, to muses, to "aha's" and "eurekas", or to exceptionally imaginative people. However, our own human curiosity is leading us to study the very nature of creativity. Since I have found no name for this study, I have coined the word "Chryseology" to mean "the study of creativity." For words are important to guide us to our intentions and clarify what we are doing. "Chryseology" is derived from the pupa, which develops into the butterfly. And so we become students of creativity.
I became interested in learning about the creative process and in teaching creativity when I was invited to join the All Thinks Considered, ATC group at Rohm and Haas. The mission of ATC was to study creativity and teach what we learned to others. This was an exciting experience for me. I became involved in inviting outside guest speakers to speak on creativity and served as an internal creativity consultant in the company.
Creativity occurs initially in the subconscious mind, which is a vast ocean compared to the small island of the conscious mind. Up front we may have to admit that we may never fully comprehend how creativity occurs. However, understanding exactly how it occurs is not our challenge. Our challenge is to figure out how we can affect or enhance creativity. This is something we can do a great deal about. The study of how creativity can be enhanced is relatively new in the evolution of human culture. This study began with the development of brainstorming by Alex Osborne in the early 1950s.
To show how incubation is a useful tool within the subconscious mind I would like to describe a personal problem and how I creatively solved it. Water started coming in through the window wells of my basement. During one rain storm I measured sixty gallons. The basement became damp and smelled of mildew. A mushroom actually grew on the rug in the basement. I began to think about the problem over a two-week period. Suddenly, the image of a fish tank came into my mind. A fish tank keeps water in. I wanted to keep water out. Actually, this presents two ways of looking at the same thing. The fish tank is sealed and that’s what I had to do to the windows in the window wells. I removed the windows, replaced them with Plexiglas™ which I sealed inside and out with silicone. I have not had water in the basement for eight years.
My wish is to activate, and awaken creativity in people - to remind them that creativity is a human gift that can be unwrapped any time. In fact, the future of our destiny depends on our ability to be creative. Although we can not develop an equation such as x+y+z = creativity, we can discover qualitative parameters such as values and beliefs, curiosity, continuous learning, diversity, risks, knowledge of creativity techniques, and action that can enhance creativity. We can further glean understanding from studying the characteristics of creative people.
Creativity is a process, an art, and a practice. Because it is a process, we need to attach it to something in order for it to make sense. We can attach it to a hobby, our work, or our life. Many people think of creativity as good for art, music, problem solving, and inventions. However, the force of creativity goes even further, infusing renewal into those who embrace it.
For me being creative is a way of showing who I am. It’s a way of bringing fresh new ideas to life and knowing that these ideas would not exist if it were not for me. It's an inner feeling that I'm going to come up with something unique, something great. All the while it's the journey that counts. If I don't come up with some thing great, so be it. If we look at the United States and ask "Why do we have more Noble Prize winners than any other country?" We can suppose that the vital factors are freedom, diversity, education, and genes inherited from valiant explorers as well as the willingness to take risks. Each of us can ride on this wave of creative energy.
Besides teaching creativity, I want to be creative and live creatively. Living creatively is a dance between knowing and doing. To know is to constantly learn from books, people and experience. Then what we learn has to be applied to doing and the doing has to be balanced by not doing. To learn how to be creative, we must create. Besides creating my life, I enjoy being creative in photography, writing poetry, and in my business which involves training people in creativity as well as in regulatory requirements for companies to register products.
When you do create something, something happens inside of you that someone outside the realm of creativity can never understand. Still you have to focus on something or you will accomplish nothing. "You need learn to suck the nectar out of the flower."
I have served as a creativity champion in industry and am a member of the American Creativity Association. I network, read, and present in creativity. My passion is driven by believing and knowing what creativity can do for people, companies, our school system and our country. I am committed to sending out the message about the value of creativity and "I bite into my commitment like a piranha." I am especially committed to promoting creativity in schools since our children are our future. Creativity is also vital to leadership and the schools are the best place to start teaching leadership
Samuel Taylor Coleridge said:
What if you slept? And what if, in your sleep you dreamed? And what if, in your dream, you went to heaven and there plucked a strange and beautiful flower? And what if, when you awoke, you had the flower in your hand?
The "flower" that Colerage talks about is a metaphor for creativity. The "flower" is as real as anything that can be manifested from a dream. Swirls within our imagination there is the potential for anything to happen. Our future culture resides in our yet undreamed imagination. The beauty is that it is not all chance and happenstance. We have voice in what will happen and we can deliberately create our future. We can caress and nourish the "flower" or we can let it wither and die. My desire is to nurture the "flower" and bring forth blooms in our common dreams. What is impossible is like the shifting mosaic in a kaleidoscope – the elements are all the same yet they have been shifted to the possible. All of evolution does not compare to what culture has accomplished. What we most deeply desire simply brings forth the "flower." We need to love the "flower," inhale its fragrance, believe in the "flower" and nurture it. Then, magically the flower becomes whatever we want it to be.
Harvey Mathason
President TBD Enterprises, "Training by Design," Provides custom training in
creativity, leadership, and conflict management to companies and organizations.
Our special focus if activating, awakening and encouraging creativity in people.
3219 Leeland Drive
Bensalem, PA 19020
215-752-5309 or 215-752-5117
E-mail Harvey: HMathason@aol.com
visit:trainingbydesign4u.com
