This version comes in FOUR parts - plain text. This part is c
René Duba

---
Donald Whitton:

These are some of the tell tale signs that I have come across, My
experience
is from 27 yrs of high school teaching and Professional Development of my
peers.
Where the atmosphere is one of fear brought on by overt or
implied itimidation.
Where any coersion exists. I would often tell my students
that if they invited me to be me by their behavior I could promise them a
fun, original, creative experience. If I have to spend most of my time
enforcing the rules, then they will just see another frustrated teacher.
In
the same way. when I invited them to solve problems using their intuition
and original approaches, marvelous things happened in the class room. So
the
atmosphere had to be one of freedom, responsibility and encouragement.
The school system in which I worked encouraged control at
all costs, doing the same thing that failed over and over again hoping
that
it would somehow work as long as you didn't challenge the status quo.
There
was a lot of token efforts to change but it only went as far as the new
logo
on the coffee mugs or shopping bags we recieved on returning to school in
September. We even hired change agents to guide us in our quest but the
result was always the same. Change is fine as long as it doesn't affect
me
and my controlling games that help me to feel secure in my classroom.
Everyone supected, even after hours and hours of meetings and
facilitation,
that the adminisration and a good number of the staff were of this line
of
thinking. And this was in a school that was regarded as bold and daring
when
it came to new approaches in education. So I guess the conclusion that I
came to is that unless the motivation comes from within each person and
that
motivation is honored and encouraged by everyone nothing substantial will
change.
What is conducive to creativity. Freedom of ideas, encouragement
to express these ideas, an honest attempt at consensus, a serious look at
everyones needs and pictures of what they consider valuable, a sense of
humor and an honest and loving atmosohere. All basic stuff. Sorry if I
went
on too long, once a teacher always a teacher.

---

apicelli:

A creative environment would be absent of fear. A place where mistakes
are
not only excepted but encouraged as part of process. If you are not
making
mistakes you're not playing a big enough game.


---

Elaine Topodas:

Words from the "book lady" -- Conceptual Blockbusting by James L. Adams
addresses you question very thoroughly. He breaks down the blocks to
creativity into categories such as: Perceptual Blocks, Emotional Blocks,
Cultural and Environmental Blocks, Intellectual and Expressive Blocks. He
then goes on to offer solutions in his chapters: "Alternate Thinking
Languages" and "All Kinds of Blockbusters."
Michael summed it up very well in saying that it is more often than not a
attitude that either enhances or limits creativity. Habit, sameness, and
rigid rules are just some of the sources for attitudes that block
creativity. There are also blocks that come from the physical
environment. He cites a study that showed that certain African tribes
were not fooled by some very standard optical illusions. The reason so
many Westerners are susceptible to them is that we live in a very
rectilinear environment. These tribespeople live in nature and their
dwellings are round, hence they are free from perceiving their world
within a rectilinear framework.

To all -- I have just encountered a very soulful and helpful book on
creativity. So far I have been only able to find it in an audiobook
version. The book is: Thomas Moore On Creativity by Thomas Moore who also
wrote Care of the Soul. He offers several ways of perceiving or
conceiving the creative spirit and the creative process.
It is a direct and very eloquent and compassionate work. I highly
recommend it.

question:
Thank you Elaine! >>Habit, sameness, and rigid rules are just some of the
sources for attitudes that block creativity. << A few questions: I have
heard people say that 'habit' helped their creativity in the sense that
it allowed for a 'flow-experience' - of course that's something different
than rigid thinking patterns. What do you think? Could there be 'helpful
habit'? What do you mean by 'sameness'? Same as what? No variety in the
surroundings for instance? Something boring?

answer:
Habit and sameness are similar. Habit, particularly with regards to
thought patterns and problem solving, tends to inhibit creativity because
it leaves little or no room for new ideas to enter -- if you always do
things certain ways you are unlikely to find new ways of doing things
also your mind tends to shut down because biologically we are designed to
respond to change. By sameness I refer to surroundings, people, food,
reading etc. If you are always around the same or same kind of people,
always eating the same foods at the same time, always reading the same
kind of books, or watching the same kind of movies, always shopping at
the same store, always following the same route to your destination, then
you are less likely to discover new things.

The only way I can explain why anyone would say that habit enhances their
creativity would be, if by doing several different things by habit, they
then found that more of their brain was freed for dreaming and more of
their consciousness was freed to notice the new and unusual.

reaction from Valerie Collins:
I think what was meant by habit, and I think Michael
mentioned this, is that you need to develop the habit of
sitting down every day to do the hard work of shaping your
ideas into something tangible: at least we writers do.
There's a mistaken, kind of a mythological idea, that
creative endeavours are the fruit of inspiration and that
inspiration strikes and that - that's it! If only it were
so! Shaping the seeds of creative ideas is bloody hard work
and you just have to sit down at your computer or in your
studio or whatever first thing every morning and just do it.
I'm getting ideas and making links all the time and I
scribble them all down on bits of paper all over the place:
but if I didn't sit down every morning at 8.30 at my
computer to put them together I'd never ever shape them into
articles or stories or chapters of my novel. And while
you're sitting doing this, it all starts flowing and you get
more ideas.

I find this sort of habit or routine is essential. If I have
to go on an errand or do something else first thing in the
morning instead of writing, I kind of lose it for the rest
of the day. I thought it was just me being undisciplined,
but a friend who designs web pages reports exactly the same
experience.

But this working time has to be 100% uninterrupted. So, with
reference to conditions conducive to creativity, it has to
be understood by others that the person engaged in creative
activity must NOT be interrupted. Again, if you're among
people, if you have a routine, you can say, for example:
between 8 and 12 do not interrupt me and I will disconnect
the phone so don't bother to call.

Michael:

Yes, I do so agree with you Valerie. I certainly need some sort of
creative
routine, but also think (though don't always follow through with it) that
it's important to do other, fun things, to add some spontaneity to my
life.
Is this what you mean by avoiding habit Elaine? Or do you avoid routine
of
any sort completely?

an additional note on the brain from Elaine:
Did you note what I said earlier about our biology -- we are designed to
notice change. When you encountered the new experience of being on the
internet, different parts of your brain were stimulated (i.e. other parts
than those you use everyday). Increased activity in one part of your
brain will stimulate increased sensitivity and activity in neighboring
areas of your cerebral cortex (the part you think and ideate with). So by
starting to surf the net you have 2 things happening -- you have exposure
to new thoughts, ideas and information and you increased stimulation
which leads to further ideas and thoughts.

---

Michael Nobbs:

I'm sure there are plenty of things that organisations (or individuals)
can
do to help create a creative environment but I think top of my list isn't
something physical at all it's something you can't actually see - it's
attitude. I think if an organisation, whether it be a school, office or
even simply a family home, is shot through with an allowing attitude that
encourages people to try out ideas in the safe knowledge that it's okay
to
get things wrong then I believe creativity will blossom.

---

Valerie Collins:

I agree with what Michael and Elaine say. And surely
another major block to creativity is the dualistic mindset
which underpins most of our thinking in the West. You know:
either/or, good/bad, right/wrong... science/religion...
right/left... for/against...

I think it was Wayne Dyer who said that one of our worst
addictions is the *addiction to being right*. He
mentions, for example, a study which counted 150 (or was it
250 - memory fails) different ways of washing dishes.

So, creativity is stifled when people -parents, teachers,
managers etc. - are addicted to being right.
And you block your own creativity if you're addicted to
being right.

Value judgements in the initial stages of the creative
process are also extremely damaging.


question:
René: > What might get them off their addiction? Any ideas?

answer:
I wish I knew!It's sometimes so difficult to admit you've made a mistake.
Well, as with any addiction, first you have to acknowledge you're
addicted:
the most difficult step.
Then you have to see its futility and really want to change.
You have to be prepared to look inside yourself and find out what you
gain
from the addiction: what it's doing for you. What is to be gained from
feeling right? Or rather, what is to be gained from making everyone else
wrong? I think this comes from a deep lack of security, deep feelings of
inferiority, lack of self-esteem.
The best thing to do is to practice non-judgement, which is of course is
one
of the cornerstones of the spiritual practice of any religion or school.

"Judgement is the constant evaluation of things as right or wrong, good
or
bad. When you are constantly evaluating, classifying, labelling,
analyzing,
you create a lot of turbulence in your internal dialogue. This turbulence
constricts the flow of energy between you and the field of pure
potentiality."

The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success p 17 - Deepak Chopra

question:
René:
> Apart from non-judgement, what else might happen or might a person do
to
> interrupt the 'addiction to being right'? For instance, if I'm 'being
> right' and someone doesn't oppose and asks a question, that'll get me
> into exploring the question (leaving 'being right' just for what it
is).
>
> I wonder what other ways there could be... Any ideas?

answer:
You mean by what they call a pattern interrupt? ie, by not opposing and
defending the opposite point of view, we interrupt the expected pattern.
This reminds me of some fantastic stuff by Anthony Robbins (he has his
own
brand of neuro-linguistic programming). About changing your language to
change the way the look at things. It's great - not just for interrupting
the being-right pattern but for all sorts of other ones. For example, if
you're overwhelmed, you can say to yourself: hey! am I underwhelmed!


question:
Berend Schuitema:
> My question is this - what are IDEOLOGICAL ADDICTIONS ?
> What makes political people tick - what goes on in the heart of a human
to
> want power, maintain and control power, with power over other human
beings ?

answer:
First of all, surely this is not exclusive to political people. Or, to
put it
another way, the personal is the political. In every family, in every
workplace, in every relationship, there are issues of control and power
struggles. Why?

I'll quote again from Deepak Chopra, because he expresses it so lucidly
and I
happen to be re-reading him right now.

"The experience of the Self, or "self-referral" means that our internal
reference point is our own spirit, and not the objects of our experience.
The
opposite of self-referral is object referral. In object referral, we are
always
influenced by objects outside the Self (...) We are constantly seeking
the
approval of others. Our thinking and our behaviour are always in
anticipation of
a response. It is therefore fear-based. We also feel an intense need to
control
things (...) and for external power. The need for approval, the need to
control
things and the need for external power are needs that are based on fear.
This
kind of power is not the power of pure potentiality, or the power of the
Self,
or *real* power. When we experience the power of the Self, there is an
absence
of fear, there is no compulsion to control, and no struggle for approval
or
external power." (pp10-11)

I think our basic fear is that we are alone and helpless in a cruel
hostile or
at best indifferent or whimsical universe. The more frightened we are,
the more
we try to control the circumstances outside us. The more we try to
control
everything, the more things can go wrong, so it escalates.

comment from Elaine:
Really great points! The "Judge" has a role in the creative process, but
only after the "Explorer" and the "Artist" have been on stage for a
while.
answer from Valerie:
They have to be in balance right until the finished product. The
explorer/artist
comes up with the raw material, the judge/editor helps to shape it. In
writing,
bringing forth the raw material (words) and editing it are two different
phases
of the process. What's your field? (I write).

Have you read George Gamez's Creativity: How to Catch Lightning in a
Bottle?
---
read on in part d




%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%