Stage 5, the sought-after state of the creative process. This is the time when experiences of epiphany and insight are most likely to proliferate.
The esteemed editor returned my MS with erudite comments which means I'm ravenous to read what she offered and make corrections and additions. Much to my dismay the first few lines of my introduction disappointed me - they no longer felt accurate. This, I mused, is when I need an epiphany!
When one didn't materialize, I thought about practicing negative capability: I might be able to continue reading if I just kept in mind that I didn't have to know right now how to fix the introduction. My desire was to keep reading but my stubborn self kept resisting, insisting we rewrite the introduction right now. My negative capability was weak.
I had to know how I was going to work the problem out. I couldn't stay with not knowing and continue reading. I stayed up way too late and hammered out replacement words. It's too early to tell if they will stay for the long haul.
What's the lesson? I'm not entirely certain. Maybe the epiphany was disguised and I didn't recognize it. At any rate, I do have a start. How do you recognize epiphanies? What qualifies as one in your mind? How are they different from Insights? This creative process is full of mysteries!
Thanks for exploring the mystery - Nicky Mendenhall
CLUE for Better Living*: Be alert for curious and unexpected smells. See if you can identify four different smells in the course of one hour. We need to use all of our senses.
*Adapted from an article in The Art of Noticing by Rob Walker
Image could have been the result of an epiphany that I missed.
Have you heard the term "negative capability"?
I believe these two words are a different way to think about the way Ulrich describes the tasks in Stage 4 of the creative process. He writes we need to retreat, review, research, and seek refinement
I've been reading that if you have negative capability, you are able to handle not knowing. There is a certain amount of not knowing in retreating, reviewing, researching and seeking refinement don't you think? "Knowing" would block all those r's.
Have you ever considered the ability to be with not knowing as a positive? It's been hard for me to embrace the ability of negative capability because of my need to know. I like certainty. I detest uncertainty. But I'm finding as I move forward in the creative process (writing memoir and establishing an author website), that I must develop the skill to not know so I can sleep at night. Right now, I don't even know for certain which of my chapters will turn out to be Chapter #1!
What are you glad you don't know? Is it difficult for you to be in uncertainty? Please let me know how you are doing these days before the holiday onslaught.
Thanks for exploring the mystery - Nicky Mendenhall
CLUE: This week, try to actively notice new things. This will put you in the present. Do this because it's engaging, and it turns out it's literally, not just figuratively, enlivening.*
*Ellen J. Langer in The Art of Noticing by Rob Walker.
IMAGE:
The Guardian is happy to be in the sun again.
"I've reached the limits of my current skill."
These heartfelt, somewhat desperate words are Ulrich's* words to describe Stage 3 of the creative process.
They are also my words one bitterly cold November day when I snap the above image during a break from a frustrating morning working on a memoir of my intermittently aggravating experience in psychoanalysis.
My usually obedient printer, apparently auditioning for a vacancy in a real estate office, spit out a copy of Chapter 1 with font so minuscule it took a magnifying lens to read.
Struggling with no success to enlarge the print size I curse.
Abandoning my audition for poster child of Ulrich's title for stage three, "Crisis and Creative Frustration," I ask for help.
After one and a half hours, problems solved. This stage apparently is a requisite part of the creative process. Do you remember this stage? Are you in this stage now? Or are you auditioning for a role new to you? Misery loves company so be sure and send me a message. I'd love to know how you prepare yourself and how you make it through this stage!
CLUE*: We spend so much time looking down (think about it - what direction are you looking right now?). Today and tomorrow, look up. See the ceiling and the tops of buildings. See the sky. Stretch your neck! Let me know what you discover!
Image: This is the Guardian covered with snow - in November! A new record.
*Zen Camera by David Ulrich
**Idea courtesy of Rob Walker's new book, The Art of Noticing.
Poor little mouse was just trying to get out of the cold. This new attitude is a big stretch for me. My little brother (he always calls me his big sister) just confessed that he made scratching noises to scare me (and my sisters). I'll keep you posted on further developments (of which I hope there are none) but now more about the creative process.
Ulrich says that in stage two of experiential stages of the creative process you can expect to be energized. For me this stage started sixteen months ago when I began working with a book coach.
I remember this glorious stage with fondness. The more I wrote, the more I wanted to write. If someone asked me why I was writing again, I felt puzzled. What else would I do? I wanted to write because the more I wrote, the better I felt. It was difficult to imagine doing anything else.
Descriptive words for Stage 2: Passion and Commitment. Do you remember having feelings like this about a project? Can you guess what comes next?
Thanks for exploring the mystery - Nicky Mendenhall
CLUE: Clean out your closet. Do a Kondo test - hold each piece and ask if it brings you joy. If it doesn't, give it to someone who may feel joy. Let me know how it goes. I just sent four + bags of non-joy-to-me items off to Good Will. I hope someone feels joy!
Image: A photo from my files from previous years. I love how one branch has multiple colors.
I thought you'd be interested in the characteristics of Experiential Stages of the Creative Process, part 2, so this week I designed a post I was ready to polish for publication this morning but....................................
........... this very morning, I've emitted lusty loud emanations three times and I can't concentrate on the creative process stage 2. My screams were passionate. The type of screams my parents said would raise (or was it wake?) the dead.
And these early morning screams were for the very same reason I used to scream. I SAW A MOUSE! The same mouse three times! The first time I thought it was a big bug darting by. The second time, a really big bug. The third time, there was no question what it was.
After being in psychoanalysis for over a decade, you would think I would have uncovered the root cause of my terror of mice. But it is obvious this morning that I have not. This may need to be a new chapter in my memoir! I am embarrassed that I have such fear of these tiny little creatures. But I do!
As they say, misery loves company so I ask you - are you afraid of something that you know realistically is not a threat? How do you manage it? Do you feel lingering shivers when you think of what ever it is?
I'm signed up for a Zen half day retreat this weekend: Do dogs have Buddha nature? Now I'm wondering, do mice have Buddha nature? Any insights on this koan welcome!
Next week - the real post for the question in the title!
Thanks for exploring the mystery - Nicky Mendenhall
CLUE: If you like raspberries, pick some up at the store. The have been really good! If you don't, buy blueberries. They are good too!
Image: Taken first morning there was a dusting of snow. Have you noticed how dark it is at 7 AM? Will this change next week? I can never figure out when the time changes where we get extra light! Can you?
