Creativity

Creativity is our birthright. We all are hard-wired for the creative process, which is essentially identical with the initiatory process. Creativity is a rite of passage held playfully. Every child knows how much fun it is to venture into the unknown, making it up as you go along.

Creativity has a bad rap, because so many prominent artists, writers and musicians have such flamboyantly bad habits. But art doesn't make a person "crazy" or "weird." The deeper truth about this is that troubled people are drawn into the arts because they unconsciously sense the potential for healing in the creative process.

Creativity heals. But the gold in the creative process is diluted with our culture's baggage about professionalizing the creative process, making music, art, poetry and theater the province of that lucky few blessed (or cursed) with "real" talent and extraordinary skill. Making art gets derailed into "making it" as an artist.

Reframing creativity as a process of healing and growth is the antidote to this cultural poison. Any creative process has the potential to help us all grow and heal.