In order to attract the creative ideas that are always all around us, you have to expand your awareness. I am going to show you how I do this with practical methods and also an exercise that you can do in the morning to set yourself up to receive those ideas all throughout the day.
The reason I have implemented these methods to receive ideas is because I look at creativity as an action. You have to look at creativity as an action. If you believe creativity and ideas are things out of your power and control, that they’ll just magically stumble upon you if they want, then you’ll block yourself off from your real power.
So the ability to increase your creativity is in your hands, that’s the first thing. The second thing is the nature of ideas themselves. There are literally ideas waiting all around us all the time waiting to be seized if we only open ourselves to receive them. You have to understand that our mind’s relationship to our surroundings is what determines the connections and ideas we experience. In other words, how you relate to things is how you see those things. And how you see those things is what determines the ideas you get from them.
And most of us aren’t consciously experiencing things. We go through the motions of the day without truly being present and observing. We block ourselves off from imagination through our thought patterns, habits, and actions.
So you see this pattern? Our thoughts, our actions, our habits are all creating our experience, our ideas and so our creativity. Therefore,
we can control our creativity and ideas through controlling our thoughts, our habits, and actions.
The methods I use here are because of this concept. And to recap… First, Our creativity is in our control. And Second, Ideas are all around us all the time
So how do we apply this to our own life?
The key principle is awareness.
Like I said before, if you wanna get more ideas, you have to expand your awareness. Awareness is so important to have and grow in the creative process. This is legendary producer Rick Rubin from his chapter, Awareness, from his book, The Creative Act.
“The universe is only as large as our perception of it. When we cultivate our awareness, we are expanding the universe.”
So the more aware we become, the larger our universe becomes. This is actually what the saying “if a tree falls in a forest and there’s no one there to hear it, did it even fall?” can hint at. It’s true though. If you’re not aware of something, it’s not there. But if you are, it is.
And you can use it.
So, when you increase your awareness and your universe, you increase your ideas, you embrace your true full potential to attract creative ideas. Now you can seize what’s around you. Here Rubin goes again with,
“Material for our work surrounds us at every turn. It’s woven into conversation, nature, chance encounters, and existing works of art.”
The ideas are already in front of you. You cannot exclude something from being a potential idea. You have to remain open to the things around you, things you wouldn’t expect to be ideas. Especially, when you have an emotional reaction to something and this goes into my first method. The most important method I feel.
The first way to get ideas is this:
Journal about emotional experiences you have throughout the day
Your emotional reactions to things you come across reveal what it is that your soul resonates with. What it identifies with. And the things that your soul resonates with are the best seeds for creative work. If something is able to trigger a notable emotion out of you whether it be sadness, happiness, excitement, melancholy, or something entirely enigmatic, indescribable, it has the potential to become an idea. Because it’s something you care about on some level.
So write down when you feel passion from a song, or a deep calm from a place in nature, or intrigue from something you read in a book.
Your sensitivity is your superpower.
Monitor your radar. And this is also a great way to get into journaling if you are not already. I talk about journaling a lot. For artists, it’s super important because getting your thoughts down on paper can show you what you’re really feeling inside and how to use that information for the better (for your work).
So you write down when you have these moments and then you explore them.
- Why do you think you felt that way?
- What was it about the thing or the moment that spoke to you?
- How is it hinting at something deep within you?
You have to be intuitive here, the answers are within you, you have to bring them out. And then you have to explore how this could be turned into something you are working on. Or you leave it be and let it marinate. I believe things come into our lives on perfect divine timing. So as you notice and write down these moments, you’ll notice more alignment they have with your creative work than you may expect.
Going off this idea of emotional reactions and what they can teach us, here’s the second method. This is my favorite one and it uses the same concept as the first. Only now it’s applying to things that we’ve already experienced.
Think about why you love your favorite art.
Why do you love your favorite movie? Why do you love your favorite song? Favorite book?
Write about it.
- What about those pieces of art move you?
- And what does that reveal about who you are and what you care about?
- What does it say about the kind of the art that maybe you want to make?
- What is your artistic language?
You see the connection between this one and the first one?
This is all about trusting yourself. That you already have the answers.
That your reactions to things are valid and they are there for a reason. And they have a lot of power.
Draw connections between these answers and the creative work you are doing now. Or these answers will sprout entirely new ideas for new creative works of yours.
Now this next method is the more challenging one but it is the most rewarding one when it comes to going through discomfort for the sake of growth. It’s a way of being that calls for discomfort given our modern tendencies to be over reliant on different stimulations.
Don’t fill in the silence.
Resist the urge to have to be listening to a youtube video or a song every time you do literally anything. Fold clothes, wash dishes, take a shower.
Some of the best ideas come in the silence. And by training yourself to be okay in the silence, not only are you giving your mind more space to receive ideas but you are also practicing that key thing we talked about earlier…
Awareness
When you regularly practice awareness, you are coming closer to this present moment. This present moment right now, as I am typing this. Which is the same moment as you are reading this blog. The eternal now. Everything is happening in the now. And by opening up that channel, your relationship to the source of ideas increases.
Now you are expanding your capacity to receive ideas, not block yourself from them. You can allow your mind to wander and fish for ideas. Maybe, now that you’re not listening to a podcast, you actually notice the details of the images on your shirt as you fold your clothes. Maybe that inspires you on some visual art you’re making at the moment. This stuff may sound silly but it is the profound effect that your shift in awareness has that makes your mind a farm for ideas.
Now I’m not saying don’t watch videos, or listen to music, or listen to audio books. I do all these things plenty. But everything in balance. You will know deep down whether or not it’s healthy for you to be watching a video at a certain time. You’ll know. Next time you impulsively grab your phone to play something once there is silence, notice if it’s you consciously deciding to feed your mind in a good way, or if it’s to stimulate your mind to fill in the silence that may actually be good for you at that moment.
This brings me to my next method which is something directly related to the over stimulation of our phones. When we scroll for too long, we convince our minds into thinking we’ve experienced everything we have to, so we drain our creativity and capacity to receive ideas. And I’ve made a youtube video on this so you should go watch it if you resonate with what I’m saying.
In order to take back our power of creativity and power of getting ideas, we have to…
Do a physically stimulating activity. And do this regularly.
Engage in a healthy way with your senses. Remember, your sensitivity is your superpower, so cultivate your relationship to it.
Intentionally seek out an activity that you enjoy. Whether that’s walking, or cooking, drawing, or playing an instrument. Make this a practice so you have something to give your full attention to, something you can’t swipe past after two seconds. Follow your bliss and do something you love, again be intuitive, the best answer is within you so trust whatever idea comes up for you.
This is also going to help you with cultivating awareness as you become engaged with this activity. Really be present with it as you’re doing it. And that’s what this is all about, presence, awareness, and being open to receive.
And to end, this is an activity I recommend that you do in the morning, to set yourself up to receive ideas. It’s all about awareness. Bringing yourself to your senses and not just feeding your mind to fill in the silence.
Morning Activity
In the morning, before you start your day and your work, make it a priority to go outside and notice your surroundings.
Go somewhere nice, somewhere you can take in the environment, preferably nature.
Focus on what your senses are telling you. Be slow and patient with this process. First close your eyes and notice what you’re hearing. Just notice it, feel it, experience it. Then go onto sight, open your eyes. What are you seeing? Experience and feel it. Do the same with feeling. Feel your clothes, the ground or grass. Go to smelling and tasting.
Connect to your senses and ground yourself in the present moment to become more conscious, connected, and aware.
Remember, it’s all about awareness. Doing this in the morning will set yourself up to be aware throughout the day. Aware of your senses and what you are experiencing. Also do this whenever you have free pockets of time throughout the day. When you are at your desk, waiting in line, on the bus.
Material for our work surrounds us at every turn. Be open to receive the clues that reveal themselves.
Notice things that bring up intense emotions. What are they trying to tell you? What is it that you love in art? What does that say about you? Rest in the silence. Don’t fill it in with noise, stay open. Do an activity of healthy activity, engage your senses, your presence, and receptivity.
Be enthusiastic about this. The power you have inside is incredible. Start to seize it. And please, write down those ideas because the worst is forgetting a great one.
Go out and stay open. Be aware. Because the ideas are every-aware. Haha get it?…
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