greatercreativeyou-blog

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Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. —Matthew 5:3

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And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. —Colossians 3:23-24

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Margaret J. Wheatley – Determination, energy, and courage appear… https://ift.tt/31qyeAX ✪ Get More FANTASTIC Quotes—the Image Will Take You There! 😉

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Västernorrland, Sweden [3024x4032] [OC]

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A God Idea

2. Don’t be Afraid of the Dark (extended)

2/19/2017

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and

void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. Gen. 1:1 KJV

Ask yourself this; Do you ever have an idea that you couldn’t quite pinpoint? It was there, but you couldn’t get a foothold. There is a great idea inside of you waiting to be birthed into the universe. It’s a God idea. It’s an idea that will revolutionize the way the world conducts business. One that will cure a disease, or one that will give joy to millions. You and only you can turn this idea into reality because the Lord chose you specifically to do so. The challenge: you can’t quite see your way through. You are at a time of not knowing how and when it will all work out. You’re in the dark and that’s exactly where you’re supposed to be. Many people stop here, but don’t you dare stop.

Keep going and eventually this time will pass. It won’t be easy, but it’ll be worth it. While this

time of uncertainty is the first part of the creative process, it’s just one part. It doesn’t last

forever. You can do it. Put on your spiritual eyes and see your way out of the dark into the

marvelous light that is your creative destiny.

The Lord said, “Let there be light.” Before that, “darkness was upon the face of the deep.” The Lord didn’t curse the darkness because without it there is nothing from the light to emerge. Just like we are birthed from our mother’s dark womb into the light of the world, your creative breakthrough begins in a dark place. Maybe, you can’t see clearly yet, but if you let the process takes its course, you surely will.

In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present. Believe it or not the creative process actually starts in the dark.Creativity tends to thrive in darker environments. Psychologists Anna Steidel and Lioba Werth report in the Journal of Environmental Psychology that the darker the room, the more creative we are. The researchers assert that dim lighting creates a visual message that nudges our minds into an exploratory mode. Steidel and Werth suggest dark environments free our minds to be uninhibited thereby sparking creativity. In their 2013 study, participants were placed in rooms with varying degrees of light. Participants worked on four insight problems that require creativity to solve. The “candle problem,” requires people to put a candle on a wall using just a box of tacks; the creative solution is tacking the box to the wall. People at the dim workspaces solved significantly more problems than those at the bright cubicles.

Most of us have experienced the phenomena of struggling with an issue all day and going

to sleep with that issue unsolved. There is a reason we naturally want to “sleep on it” when

we have a problem. Sara Mednick, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry at UC San Diego

conducted a study that revealed sleep directly enhances creative processing.

So, don’t be afraid of the dark. In it your bestseller emerges, your successful business is

starting, that innovative widget is created, the notes dancing around in your head becomes a song and your creative genius is birthed.

Weekly Prayer

Lord, I thank you for the darkness. I know from it my greatest work will emerge. I thank you

for perseverance to wait on you in my darkest hours. Thank you for my creative gifting. I will not

let the unknown or confusion or fear stop me from realizing my creative destiny in You.

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Illuminating your Creativity

In 2016, I was in a creative rut.  I was dull. I had lost my creative edge, which had always been one of my superpowers as a writer and entrepreneur-a.  To overcome this rut, I had to find out what was robbing me of my creativity. Then I had to crush it. The process was not easy because I had to do that hard thing, which is self-reflection.

Within a year, I was the co-founder and president of a new business, and I breathed new life into a film festival I had run for a number of years. Like a Greek tragic hero, my fall into a creative abyss had little to do with external forces. The only way out was to look deep within.  That’s what I did and so can you. The next time you’re in a creative rut, you might need to rid yourself of an often overlooked creativity killer that robs victims of inspiration and innovation.

Nyctophobia

Don’t be afraid of the dark  

Nyctophobia is an extreme fear of darkness. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being in the dark. Just don’t stay there. That time of uncertainty--where you can’t see your way through--is the first phase of the creative process, but it’s just one phase. It won’t last forever.  I’ve never liked being in the dark.  But, I had to learn to bear it because creating actually starts in the dark. We birth things: businesses, babies, ideas and designs all from the shadows of uncertainty. Even the universe was a big, dark mess before it became magnificent. What I failed to fully grasp is that while I was in the dark, that’s exactly where I was supposed to be.  

The reason I felt so uncomfortable was that I hadn’t thought of creating as a process. I wanted to immediately know how, if and when it would all work out. I was trying to circumvent the universal creative process, and when I couldn’t, I got

so frustrated I couldn’t create anything.  There is no getting around it. Just like we are birthed from our mother’s dark womb into the light of the world, our creative breakthrough begins in a dark place and will be birthed into illumination. Maybe, you can’t see clearly yet. It took me years, but if you let the process takes its course, you surely will.

Psychologists Anna Steidel and Lioba Werth report in the Journal of Environmental Psychology that the darker a room, the more creative we are.  The researchers assert that dim lighting creates a visual message that nudges our minds into a more exploratory mode.  We want to “sleep on it” for a reason. Sara Mednick, a sleep researcher, conducted a study that reveals deep sleep directly enhances creative processing.

Trust the darkness

Have faith in the darkness. It won’t let you down. The darkness is actually there for you to grow. Picture a seed that gets planted into the dark Earth. It stays underground for a while until it breaks through the ground. But it has to be in the ground, under cover of darkness, to begin the maturation process.

Perhaps the seed struggles to germinate, or is harassed by underground critters or is in danger of drowning by a recent flood. Whatever the case, the seed has to endure while it is formed into its purpose. Similarly, for your ideas to grow into creations, first they need a covering under which to become.  During this time, you’ll be attacked by self-doubt, anxiousness, and even other people who don’t understand your developing vision but forge ahead. Your business, your family, your ministry or your organization is worth it.  

Darkness is not your enemy

You’ve got to think of this dark time as the friend who you call when you get that bright idea

that’s going to change the world. You call this person first because you trust him or her with your vision. Trust your new shadowy pal too because without her there is nothing from your vision to emerge. See the dark as your best friend who pops up at your house and says, “let’s go,” without telling you where you’re going. If you trust your friend, you hop into the car without hesitation and expect an exciting road trip. You might not know where you’re going or how you’ll get there, but you know in the end, you’re going to have a great story to tell.  If you can get through the dark phase and let the creative process take its course, it too will take you on a fantastic adventure with a jaw-dropping  end.  

Don’t dwell on the past

I’m naturally introspective. When I was in my self-imposed creative doghouse, I contemplated past failures so much that I needed an introspection intervention. I kept remembering all of the

times I came up just short in my creative endeavors.  I suffered from creative paralysis bought on by my constant thoughts of past failures. We are most susceptible to this kind of unhealthy brooding during the dark phase of the creative process because our ideas are germinating and we are in a very contemplative state. We must be in order for our ideas to formulate. Be careful during this time to use your mental energy to construct your future, to focus on what will be and not what was. I am not suggesting that you don’t take inventory of your mistakes, but don’t let your past failures have power over you in the present. Just because you’re in the dark doesn’t mean that you have to be dismal. It’s important to train yourself to be especially positive in the dark because this builds the character it takes to sustain your vision once it’s been propelled into the light.

So, don’t be afraid of the dark. It is within blinding shadow that your bestseller emerges, your successful business is founded, your designs are generated, that innovative widget is created, the notes dancing around in your head become a song and your creative genius is birthed.

LaVonne McIver James is the host of Two Minutes to a Greater Creative You podcast which helps you live up to your creative potential and say "yes" to a future of imagination, inspiration, and innovation. This podcast compels you to overcome the creativity killers in your life so that you can become the innovator you were divinely born to be.