I’m aware that this week’s experiment is the 300th I’ve done in the years since I started posting experiments, and it got me to thinking about the flow of the creative process and how it has shaped my relationship with writing (and moving through my daily activities) over many years. 

Sometimes, when I sit down to write an experiment, I already have an idea of what I want to share.  I may have had an experience that week, or some other time, that touched me and sparked a deeper moment of living consciously, of having my awareness expanded to include something I may have overlooked before.

One of the main things I have learned over these years is that there is always the next idea, the next moment of creative “aha”, the next thing to write, say or do.  This has taught me not to struggle with finding words, or fight to keep some that may come to mind and then flit away before I can capture them.  There will always be more – and the more relaxed I am, the more likely I will be to recognize the emerging creative flow.

And so, for this week’s experiment, I invite you to explore your relationship to the creative flow that moves through your life.  For example, you may be someone who works with images, writes, or works in clay, or you may knit or sew.  Or, maybe you’re someone who cooks, gardens, plays with children, or any and all of the many ways there are to express creativity.  A creative moment may also be one in which you choose to say hello to a stranger or take a different route to work – anything that allows you to become aware of the flow of spontaneous discovery and expression that accompany any day’s experience.

Remember, creativity is part of everyday living and doesn’t have to apply to generating a work of art or anything tangible.  Living creatively means being open to and aware of the spontaneous opportunity in the present moment to engage something different – an expression, an action, a thought or response that’s new to you.

The first invitation here is to become more aware of your responses to the flow of creativity in and through you.  Do you trust that your creative juices will be available when you need them?  Do you require a certain level of perfection in order to create, or do you allow yourself to see what emerges, no matter how imperfect, and then go from there.  My own experience has been that it serves me to just start writing or imagining and see what happens next.  Then, I can either ignore what I’ve done or play with it and shape it over time, until I discover – often to my surprise – that creativity and I have generated something that feels right to me.

The second invitation is to play with the idea that creativity is moving through your process constantly and that it doesn’t matter if you don’t grab each and every idea or creative impulse that moves through you.  There will be more – always more, as the stream of consciousness that fills our mental and emotional lives never stops flowing.  The next thought, the next image, the next creative urge is on its way and you might explore how it feels to affirm and play with this fact.

And, finally, in everyday life, there are endless opportunities for creative expression - in our relationship with others, in the way we look at things as we walk down the street, in the way we talk to ourselves as we move through the day, in the comforting images and words we offer ourselves and others as we encounter challenges along the way.

As with all the experiments, please let judgment rest and allow curiosity to be your constant companion, as you enjoy dancing with the movement of creativity through your week.