A Releasing Your Unlimited Creativity discussion topic

Copyright 2008 by K. Ferlic,   All Rights Reserved

In a relatively short time after starting the journey of exploration of creativity in the workplace, the author come to understand the existence of what can best be described as a creative spirit existing within each individual. It was an unexpected discovery and took a while to fully understand the implications of living true to our creative spirit.

As a manager exploring creativity in the workplace, the author come to understand many of the technical issues that surfaced had nothing to do with the technology. Rather they ultimately arose form this creative spirit and how it was, or was not, being protected. Because of the experiences we have early in life, we develop response patterns which we use to protect our creative spirit with the mind of a child. Many of the patters we develop to protect ourselves are based on our early life experience either before we become consciously aware of what is happening or we create a response based on a child’s understanding. This is itself is not bad. It is just that the patterns we develop are not the most effective at protecting our creative spirit and allowing it for its free unfoldment. In essence, rather than protecting our creative spirit we put it into a cage of our own making.

It was observed that many of the issues that arose in the workplace ultimately stemmed from the individuals acting to protect the creative spirit. But, many of these response patters were based on those developed early in life. What was being done did not lead to either an internal or external safety for there was a lack of understanding as to what was really motivating the individuals actions. Exactly how one’s nonconscious actions to protect this playful creative spirit gets translated into unsafe workplace practices that can threaten the public and environment is explainable and many of the discussion topics in Organizational Creativity addresses this topics. What is provided here is the essential understanding and an approach that can use to learn how to protect the creative spirit in a way that is "safe" for us and others. Additionally, in doing so, we access the creativity we need to create whatever we desire.

In looking deeply at what was motivating the individual it was observed that most often what this creative spirit wanted to create was so different than what the individual’s life was giving them that it can be said we face a completely different entity. In essence there were two parts to the individual - a view from what the mind wants and a view from what this creative spirit wants and symbolized in what the heart wants. These two perspective are discussed as the two views of creation - the view of the heart and the view of the mind - and there is the need to learn to discern both views.

In understanding these two views there was a clarity from where many of the problems encounter in the work place arose. The desires of this creative spirit within each individual had it own agenda for the individual’s life that is called the intention for our life in the Releasing Your Unlimited Creativity and Organizational Creativity material. It was observed this creative spirit has a passion to create and to express itself and we can feel its passion. If it is not allowed to create consciously it will do so nonconsciously. It will find a way to challenge its own creativity to create if is not begin challenged to create by our current mind. In essences it looks for a way to challenge itself and if not done consciously it will do so nonconsciously. In this regard, many problems in the workplace are not the result of the workplace but the individuals’ creative spirit challenging the individual to live a more creative life.

In this awareness it became clear the wrong direction was being taken to solve many health and safety issues. The health and safety issue were not necessarily a result of the technology. One could logically, and in often a very straight forward manner, do what needed to be done to address the technology. The issue was the creative spirit within key individuals was not being consciously expressed. So the creative spirit was finding a way nonconsciously to express itself to challenge the individual. In doing so, it was creating hazards for others. Rather than encouraging the individual to look within to explore the creative spirit and management looking to see how they were effectively using the creative spirit, new requirements, rules and regulations would be imposed from the outside which further stifled the creative spirit. Stifling the creative spirit sets one up for a different problem to surface. The answer was not to impose new requirements but to create awareness.

The need to create awareness within the workplace forced a change in the author’s understanding as to how the world worked. That is, rather than impose requirements from the outside, one could achieve a more effect approach by creating an awareness within. It looking at developing an awareness within to address the health and safety issues without, it became clear we have to face an aspect within our being that we don’t even recognize as existing let alone know how to properly use. We had to came to understand there was what only could be called a child that needed to be protected. That is our creative spirit is vulnerable. As a child it was thwarted and we developed response patterns to protect it. But these very response patterns keep it captive and bound in a child like understanding about our external world. So, rather than developing a keen awareness about our external world, our creative spirit never "grew up." and we still fight many of our early life issue throughout life in the workplace. Some call them ego issues but their lie deeper than the ego.

Part of the solution to his issue was to move away from imposing new required and move toward shifting the culture of the workplace to one of a new awareness about quality, health and safety and which empowered the individual worker. The empowerment helped the creative spirit to "grow up.’ relative to the workplace.

In looking at awareness, something else arose. When an individual learned to become aware of hazards in the work place and how to protect the creative spirit as opposed to simply complying with imposed requirements they would make the workplace and their work practices safer for they learn to foresee problems. But more importantly, there is an awareness that arises within about what gives life and makes it safe for this creative spirit to unfold that transcends any one environment. With this awareness about what gives live the individuals would begin to see hazards as they related to this creative spirit in other places in their lives such as at home and in their recreational activities. Their whole life would become safer. They would begin to transform their life simply by looking to protect their creative spirit in a way that served that spirit. In time, they could begin to see any other individual had a similar desire and creative spirit within their being and it too needed to be protected, supported and nurtured. They would being to act in a way that made it safe for both their own creative spirit and the creative spirit of the other to unfold. In doing so, they made their world and the world of others safer. That is where the real safety lies. It is when an environment is created where it was safe for the creative spirit within oneself and the other to both freely unfold true to its nature.

Related topics
Three principles for safety, quality and satisfaction in life

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