{"id":1049,"date":"2014-06-05T04:41:55","date_gmt":"2014-06-05T04:41:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/?p=1049"},"modified":"2014-06-05T04:41:55","modified_gmt":"2014-06-05T04:41:55","slug":"creativity-honor-your-inner-rhythms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/2014\/06\/05\/creativity-honor-your-inner-rhythms\/","title":{"rendered":"Creativity: Honor Your Inner Rhythms"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe Tao is the one.
\nFrom the one come yin and yang;
\nFrom these two, creative energy;
\nFrom energy ten thousand things,
\nThe forms of all creation.\u201d
\nTao Te Ching<\/em>, 42<\/p>\n

\"imagesmoon\"<\/a>The world is filled with natural rhythms\u2014yin and yang, night and day, the phases of the moon, the cycle of the seasons, action and repose, breathing in and breathing out.<\/p>\n

We all have our circadian rhythms, times of day when we\u2019re more alert. Some of us are morning people, others night people, still others in between. Psychologists tell us that we have a basic rest activity cycle (BRAC) of about 90 minutes, when we naturally alternate between periods of activity and time for renewal. This happens all day and even in alternating brain waves as we sleep.<\/p>\n

The creative process, too, has its cycle: preparation, period of active work; incubation, a period of repose; inspiration, a flash of insight; and verification, incorporating that insight into our work. The incubation period is essential to tap into our deeper knowing, the source of all creation.<\/p>\n

To live creatively we need to be mindful of nature\u2019s cycles and follow our own inner rhythms. But in our busy, post-industrial culture, an artificial tempo of work prevails. Managers micromanage, pushing people into speeded-up productivity\u2014not creativity. And the 24\/7 presence of the Internet violates the natural rhythms of night and day. How often do you deny yourself essential rest and renewal, driven by caffeine, adrenaline, and the underlying anxiety that pervades our culture?<\/p>\n

Creative people have always been subversive, for art transcends the status quo. You can live more creatively by taking time during the day to tune into your natural rhythms and discover what they tell you.<\/p>\n

To do this:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Take a few moments in a quiet place.
\n\u2022 Close your eyes
\n\u2022 Take a deep breath and release it.
\n\u2022 Ask yourself, \u201cWhat do I need right now?\u201d
\n\u2022 And listen.<\/p>\n

Write down your insight,
\nAnd follow your inner direction.<\/p>\n

Namaste,
\nDiane<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe Tao is the one. From the one come yin and yang; From these two, creative energy; From energy ten thousand things, The forms of all creation.\u201d Tao Te Ching, 42 The world is filled with natural rhythms\u2014yin and yang, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"qubely_global_settings":"","qubely_interactions":"","kk_blocks_editor_width":"","_kiokenblocks_attr":"","_kiokenblocks_dimensions":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,7,10,3,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-contemplative-leader","category-insights-from-positive-psychology","category-mindful-leader","category-spiritual-practice","category-writing"],"gutentor_comment":0,"qubely_featured_image_url":null,"qubely_author":{"display_name":"writeherewritenow","author_link":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/author\/writeherewritenow\/"},"qubely_comment":0,"qubely_category":"Contemplative Leader<\/a> Insights from Positive Psychology<\/a> Mindful Leader<\/a> Spiritual Practice<\/a> Writing<\/a>","qubely_excerpt":"\u201cThe Tao is the one. From the one come yin and yang; From these two, creative energy; From energy ten thousand things, The forms of all creation.\u201d Tao Te Ching, 42 The world is filled with natural rhythms\u2014yin and yang, … Continue reading →","post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1049"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1049\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1052,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1049\/revisions\/1052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}