It currently seems to be a popular notion that no one anywhere creates an “original” anything. This covers everything from song lyrics to storylines to architecture and even art. We’ve all heard the old adage, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” Is it really? Or, is it a form of creative identity theft that has fast become socially acceptable? Have we, as a creative society, become that lazy and complacent that we are no longer capable of bringing our own individuality to the fore? Are we so shallow, lacking confidence and even fearful that if we don’t do what the “other guy” has done we are doomed to failure? … hey it worked great for him therefore it will do the same for me!
A note to all “imitators”: Don’t get blinded by the success you want to mimic.
It may be temporarily satisfying but if it isn’t in your cards, stars or the magic mirror of you, there will be some loud ‘cha-chinging’ all the way to the Bank of Karma. You are responsible for what you creatively manifest regardless of how you do it.
Some wise words can be found here:
The Laws For Creativity
by artist Robert John Bosler
http://rjbosler.com/LawsForCreativity.htm
Creativity is that which is yet to be done. It is the force which resides within you, the great universe within you, unique to you, that wants to be expressed. We take care and much joy in the knowledge that everything you do is an act of creativity, an act of creation. Each time you move your hand, or write a shopping list, or speak a word.. that is an act of creation. It is not only about great works of art. Each of those creative acts follow these laws. To know these laws, means, simply, that you will know how best to express yourself. Your life will be fulfilling and rewarding.
There are five laws for creativity. Each law has a title, but it’s not necessary to remember the law by this.
With each law is a catch-prase in "inverted commas", and it is the catchphrase which helps us to remember what the law is all about.
What follows is a very brief summation.
LAW ONE: THE CREATIVE INCEPTION
"First Desire, Then Form"
This law tells us simply that for every creation to occur, there must first be a desire for it. Desire is the birthseed of all Creation. Further study of this law opens us up to the most profound understandings of Creation. Put simply: each creation perfectly reflects the desire which brought it to be. This law gives us the key to our power source as Creators. This all boils down to these simple truths: By knowing your desires, by knowing what you want, you know then what you will create. The more deeply, accurately and honestly that you know your desires, the more you are in touch with your creative power source, and the more powerful will be your creations, and the more fulfilled you will be as a Creator, and as a person. If you don’t know what you want in life, your creations (what you do in life) will reflect your uncertainty or confusion, and this leaves us feeling unfulfilled in life. For a successful and expressive life, study this first law, and get in touch with what you really want in life. By doing this, you will get in touch with your power source and open the way for the next parts of the process.
LAW TWO: THE CREATIVITY CREED
"Step One: Know Thyself
Step Two: Focus on the Positives
Step Three: Allow it to Occur"
For the 'doers', this law is for you. This is the law which gets results. It is the most practical of all the laws. When combined with Law Five, if you want to create, this is all you need to know. This is your creed for practical and powerful creative expression. The law is remembered by a series of steps. Step One tells us to know who we are, what we want, what are our strengths, and what are our weaknesses. This is knowing thyself. This step connects us to law one, where by knowing our desires, we have taken the first step of effecting creative results. Of course, telling lies to ourselves about these things will limit greatly our ability to create, so it is the honest knowing of thyself which gets results. Therefore, this step embodies the great spiritual truth of Honesty. This learning about ourselves often comes at a considerable price. Often, knowing ourselves also means we know the negative aspects of our life, as well, and this leads us then to the next step if we want to be successful in our creative expression (and our life). Step One connects us to our power source, Step Two keeps the creativity flowing. Step Two tells us to 'focus on the positives'. In teaching the laws, we often use the illustration that for every desire we have, for everything we want to create, we are faced with twenty reasons why we should not do it, and two reasons why we should do it. Successful creators are the people who focus on the positives. Step Two therefore requires assessment and control of our thinking, and this law embodies the great spiritual truth of Discipline. By now we have connected to our power source (step one), we are eliminating the negativity from our lives and our thinking and we are focussing on the positive aspects of our life and work, so now all we need to do is to allow the creation to occur. This is Step Three. So often, after we have brought something beautiful into the world, we go ahead and ruin it. Step Three reminds us to allow the beauty of our life and work to play itself out, thereby rewarding ourselves and those we come in contact with, and not to meddle with it once its done. It takes courage and commitment and understanding to allow our creations to run their natural course, often this involves taking financial or emotional risk, and successful creators have a complete trust in this part of the process. For this reason, Step Three embodies the great spiritual truth of Faith. It takes faith to allow our creations to occur, and to provide for others its gift and return to us our reward.
LAW THREE: THE CREATIVITY PRINCIPLE
"From Ether, to Earth"
This law leads the way in the philosophical understanding of creativity. It is a fascinating law, capturing the teachings of the great spiritual practices of the world, and limited by none of them. It is best learned through the video instruction, where the forces which flow through us and the effects of them on us and on the world, and in turn the effects of others and of the world on us, can best be illustrated. However, all we need to remember is that energy manifests from an ethereal state of matter, to an earthly, or physical state of matter. In studying this law we come to see that we harness varying degrees of creative energy in each of our creations, and that our creations therefore have varying degrees of power. By 'power' we mean that our creations either affect more people, or affect people more. We do not ever align ourselves with the idea that there are better or worse forms of creation. We simply acknowledge that there are varying degrees of power in our works, and through studying this law we come to see how to contact those powers and what those powers do.
LAW FOUR: THE CREATIVITY PURPOSE
It’s all very well to know how to create powerfully, and to know how to live a life in successful creative expression, but what is it all for? This is the big question. What is it all about? What is life all about? Why create? Why does creativity exist? This law is perhaps the most beautiful of all the laws. It answers that question. Through a simple illustration in the videos, the process is unfolded for you right before your eyes. By way of simple explanation, this law simply states that by bringing creations into the world, you are allowing for yourself and others to benefit from an increase in energy, from an enhanced enlightenment, a raised consciousness – and as a result, irrevocably, assuredly and magnificently, each of us are creating the great end result which is described by this law's catchphrase, for want of a quicker term to describe it: "Heaven on Earth". That particular term is chosen because it briefly evokes an ideal, a resultant of humankind's ultimate work in creativity. This resultant is more practically explained in the videos, and, with not wanting any particular religious connotations, there is certainly a beautiful sense of spiritual grandeur about it. What is awesome about the resultant is that it is achieved from the combined effects of what everyone does, without judgment, and merely as a matter of the principle playing itself out.
LAW FIVE: THE CREATIVITY CATALYST
"work, work, work"
Unfortunately, there is no other way to describe this law. For all of the above to happen, it takes effort. Work is the catalyst that sets the whole thing off. Without effort, creation for you ceases to exist, and illness and deterioration sets in. Study the laws, and you will find the joy in work, the joy in effort, and the great rewards that await you.
