Creativity and Our Dreams – By Autumn Boyet-Stinton
There are some things that we as humans need physically to
survive and to be healthy. Air, water,
sustenance, sun and sleep top the list.
Additionally, there are things that balance out our emotional well
being. Love, laughter, companionship,
and a means to express ourselves help make us balanced individuals. Of course, these two avenues coincide and
enter-twine themselves creating balance in our lives. For the creative being in all of us, of great
importance is the connection between our dreams and our creativity.
Mysterious in nature, our dreams and our creativity are linked
and reliant on each other. In a recent
Harvard study, Dr. Jeffrey Ellenbogen, a neurologist, found sleep makes people
33% more likely to make new connections between previously unconnected ideas.
Because most of us live and embrace the chaos that is our
lives, we need to give our minds that opportunity to process, sort, rearrange,
organize and de-fragment all that we absorb.
Sleep provides a recharge and replenishing that allows our minds the
room to make new connections. Since
creativity is all about new and interesting ideas and thoughts, it only makes
sense that sleep is going to affect our creativity. We’ve all heard of the stage of sleep called
REM, (Rapid Eye Movement). This stage of
sleep is all about making new connections and enhancing our creative problem
solving. In other words, REM sleep
fosters creative connections that weren't there before we drifted to sleep, and
that Dear Reader, can mean a creative windfall for you!
But what about our dreams?
We've all heard famously creative individuals credit some of their most
well known creations to their dreams. Singer,
song writer Paul McCartney claimed the melody for ‘Yesterday’ came to him in a
dream. Golfer Jack Nicklaus dreamt up a
new grip that upon waking and trying, brought him out of a slump. And let’s not forget the literary classics
‘Frankenstein,’ by Mary Shelley and ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis
Stevensen that were both were inspired by dreams.
I don’t know about you, but many of my dreams seem absurd,
vague, or confusing, and at times, I am unable to recall them at all. Therefore, the key it would seem, is mining
out and polishing the creative diamonds that exist in the mounds of raw data
that come to us in our dreams. While our
specific dreams may not themselves be the creative treasure that we anticipate,
they may be a means to propel you into a wealth of creative emotion and
inspiration. With just a little
attention and practice, each of us can pursue the hidden and subconscious
creative genius of our dreams. So, find
a comfy spot, close your eyes and get started today!
A CREATIVE DREAMING PRACTICE – by Autumn Boyet-Stinton
Step 1 - PRACTICE - To assist in getting into your groove,
try a 7 day practice run. Daily, choose
a time when you are relaxed to practice. (Early morning just after rising, or
just before bed at night work well.)
Allow 5 minutes of quiet while in a reclined or relaxed position to
close your eyes and see what comes to you.
When the time has passed, write down quick notes of all thoughts,
colors, sounds, ideas, etc. that come to you.
This exercise will help reacquaint you with yourself and your
thoughts. (NOTE:
Keep these notes as the “preface” to your dream journal that
will be discussed in Step 4.)
Step 2 – SLEEP - Sleep improves our ability to generate
“aha!” moments and helps stimulate our ability to create and connect to novel,
unique ideas and thoughts.
Step 3 - WRITE IT DOWN - Dreams, like falling stars fade as
quickly as they appear. So, keep a
notebook or recorder by your bed so that you can make quick notes about the
things that come to you, because, by morning, most likely all you will be able
to articulate is that you wish you could remember.
Step 4 - START A JOURNAL - In addition to the quick notebook
at your bedside, start a more formal journal that you use to record
details. Leave space before after each dated
entry for later thought development. Try
not to evaluate as you write – there will be time for that later. Simply record what you recall.
Step 5 – EVALUATE – To begin with, revisit your journal
after two weeks. First, quickly refresh
yourself with the previous two weeks worth of entries as a whole. Secondly, read each entry and jot any
feelings, ideas or thoughts that come to mind in the space you reserved. (NOTE:
As you progress, expand your time frame to monthly evaluations)
Step 6 – REFINE –
Review your assessments and refine them to a simple string of 3 to 5
words. Jot these words at the top of
each day’s entry in bold or color so they stand out. Look for similar words, emotions, colors,
etc. throughout.
Step 7 – DREAM BOARDING – Choose a specific time frame. In the beginning stick to two weeks and then
expand to monthly as your practice progresses.
On a poster board apply the words that you have noted for each day of
your time frame in any fashion that you wish.
Place this collection of words in a location that you will see multiple
times a day, (i.e. next to the bathroom mirror, by the garage door, or on the
fridge.)
Step 8 – LET IT SIMMER – Let go and let you subconscious
take over. As you proceed throughout the
next couple of days, see what images and ideas these words bring to mind, and
add them to the board. If you see
something that resonates, snap a picture or pick it up and add it to your dream
board.
Step 9 – LET IT FLOW – Don’t judge, but accept what comes.
Step 10 – CREATE – After a week, return to your dream board
and see what inspiration for creation you may find there. Even if you don’t think you have found
inspiration, step back and take a look at your board. You may find that your dreams have become
creative reality right before your eyes!
In the words of Patti Smith who said, “In art and dream may
you proceed with abandon,” I wish you SWEET DREAMS!
No comments:
Post a Comment