Enhancing Creativity

People who are immersed in a creative process – whether it be writing poetry, painting a picture, preparing a cordon-bleu meal, composing music, creating a garden, working out mathematical formulae, planning a holiday itinerary, writing up a scientific experiment, creating a computer program or choreographing a dance – exist in their own special dimension during their period of creativity. We often hear of people isolating themselves for example in a mountain retreat or a beach shack to write a book or paint a picture.

Evoking Creativity

To evoke our creative energy it seems as though we need a span of time before us … and time, that all too absent commodity in our busy lives, is often hard to grab hold of – there are just so many daily demands and distractions. That's where Peaceful Place is an extremely useful tool.

There is usually a period of incubation where the idea of what one wants to create circulates in the mind. We think about it often and toss over various ideas in our minds. Our imagination comes to the forefront and we conjure up our power of fantasy and imagination.

The passion of commitment and joy of creation has a kind of euphoria – it can feel like being inside a cocoon from which the butterfly will emerge. Be persistent. Remember, Einstein once said that creative scientists are the ones with access to their dreams. Sometimes a dream will actually provide the solution to a problem. Also remember, Thomas Edison is reputed to have had over 11,000 experiments to invent the light bulb before coming up with his final model. He wouldn't have been the one to discover it if he had given up in defeat on his ten thousandth try.

For a really serious job of innovation, discovery, research or invention, you will need your whole mind and deep concentration. Tell yourself that you're on the way to achievement – it is perfectly true, each time you work on the challenge. Great scientific discoveries are not made by chance – but by many hours of diligent thought and research.

Practical Results

I was talking to a doctor in NZ who amazingly, in the last ten years, has taught himself to communicate with computer programs by writing "computer language" to enhance his creative projects. He is thoroughly immersed in developing aspects of healing, which will revolutionise medical treatments. He imagines success, believes in the process and is thoroughly immersed in his work. One night he dreamed the answer. He woke up and wrote down everything he was told and what he saw in his dream. The next morning he read what he had written and did not understand the technical aspects of what he had written. He sought help from PhDs and he got the answer. He has built it and tried it successfully.

No doubt we have all heard stories similar to this. The keys for fostering creativity are to meditate (incorporating visualisation which deliberately uses the right brain), immerse yourself and believe in your work (or ideas), be vigilant (you never know when the answer will come), write down any answers received (either in meditation or dreams, remembering that they both happen – the Theta brain wave state), be persistent, and always ask that you get the answer for the Highest Good of All Concerned.

Deliberate Creativity

Often people who were only mediocre students, show great originality as adults. Einstein for example was told he was hopeless at mathematics when he was 16 years old. We are all individual and can be original in thought if we want to be. Our originality may not be as recognised as that of some of the world's "greats" – but it will be distinctive and ours. In some schools, young children are given the opportunity to make discoveries for themselves. Ideas of creativity are encouraged, which help to break free from rote-learning and the set syllabus.

It is always a good idea to challenge our creativity by thinking outside the square. Have you seen the "three-line" problem where the challenge is to connect nine dots arranged in a three-by-three matrix without lifting the pencil? The creative move here is to extend the line beyond the confines of the "square".

To deliberately use your right brain to solve any issue, make sure that you are comfortable and will not be distracted by discomfort, hunger, pain or other physical needs, say for 30 minutes or so, then use Peaceful Place Tape No. 7 – Creativity. The tape helps you to relax and your thoughts to flow – they will come. When they come, you write them down. Stay focused and persist. You can continue this exercise on a bus or a train – make the time useful by allowing your mind to open to even more new ideas. Be vigilant, observant and be inspired.

Practical Results

Even though I was brought up and trained to be an analytical thinker (Military Engineer) and a "prove-it-to-me" person, I now also consider myself to be a creative person. Mostly the birth of my books, tapes and seminars involved the creativity process.

Right now I am working with more creativity. Here's what has come up for me in my meditation. I want my work to reach more people and have asked myself how to do that. I came up with ideas for three focused websites – each with a different emphasis, being Relaxation and Releasing Stress, Personal Leadership and Student Learning. Each of the areas will require development of product (videos, tapes, DVDs, CDs) most of which I have got and, within each area, participants will have the additional option of going to seminars. In two of the areas, coaches will be needed, so that means I will need to have a program to Train the Coaches. These programs need to be ongoing in such a way that they do not require my presence. Marketing can be done through newspapers and magazines and the internet. This could be expensive – I could need partners or investors. I do not have the marketing expertise and therefore I need to develop a team of advisers/investors/partners. Maybe there are marketers who pay for advertising and will recover their funds out of sales. I will probably need a business plan.

The seed is sown. I intend, somehow, to accomplish my dreams. At least I've got a lot to work with and I am open to all thoughts.

So, pursue your dreams and keep the channels of creativity flowing. Deliberate use of our subconscious mind is awesome

I urge you to read the success stories below.

Success Stories

I was introduced to Sandy's work a few years ago when a friend gave me a copy of Piece of Mind. When I read it I was naturally impressed with the ideas and techniques of being able to improve your ability to focus and deliberately control your subconscious mind. Since your subconscious mind is both the store house and controller of your personality, self esteem, self image, self confidence, habits and memory, understanding the process by which it works is very important. Not just as a method of improving your ability to act (character absorption) but also yourself as a person. I was grateful to have the opportunity to complete Sandy's Life Skills Seminar (the workshop based upon the book) and highly recommend it to anyone seriously concerned about developing effective techniques for improving their acting ability and their personal life.

Martin Henderson, NSW

Sandy's Note: You may recognize Martin from his various TV acting roles these being Shortland Street (NZ) Echo Point, Sweat and Big Sky. Martin did my course as part of a process he is taking to relearn his acting craft and is current studying in New York. I would like to wish him every success for his future and look forward to one day seeing him on the "big screen".

 

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During a recent CALM Life Skills Seminar in Melbourne (Creative Accelerated Learning Methods), conducted by Sandy MacGregor, Sandy showed us how to tap into our creative selves through a very specific meditation routine guided by him. We had already learned how to build and access our "Peaceful Place", the Peaceful Place we create in our subconscious, and from there we went deeper into the dreamlike state - the Theta state. Wow! Suddenly the room, the sounds, the people around me disappeared and I was alone, seeing only a part of a novel in progress that I was seriously having trouble with.

That part of the plot was all spread out beneath me. My hero and heroine became alive, they "told" me what they wanted to do, how they wanted their story written. I sat up and started writing, without much conscious awareness of what I was doing. My hand found my paper and pen and I mapped a mind chart of the "goings-on" of my hero and heroine. I could feel that it was right. I was writing without stress.

As I reached the end of what my subconscious was telling me, I found the seminar still going on around me, people were doing other things and I was scribbling away, with Sandy trying to attract my attention and Victor, our "music-maestro", looking at me strangely. Well, I had been somewhere, and found something. Now I know what that was. It was the power of subconscious thought and it works! Now when I sit down to write, it is a joy and so very soothing. I won't say it's easy, writing is a learned skill, but what I want to write about is in my subconscious mind, just waiting for me to find it. The world around me goes away. I don't hear anything or feel any stress. Distractions fade away and I am alone in a very private world, a world of stories and poems, sometimes some forgotten French verbs! Yes, it is all there waiting to be used. All I have to say to myself is: "Hi, let's do it!" - and we, my inner spirit and I, do it. Learning to use the subconscious mind, the inner spirit we all have, becomes easier with practise, and I can most sincerely recommend this method to all.

Jay Beckley, VIC

 

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In 1992 I attended a two-day workshop with Sandy MacGregor, seeking out an increment in my level of self-awareness. At Sandy's workshop I was encouraged to identify some goals and through Sandy established a method by which I could achieve those goals. My two goals were, one to become established in my artistic style and thereafter proceed to a one-man art exhibition; and two to construct a 25 foot steam launch. Within a matter of months my artistic style was found to be established and on approaching Sydney's leading contemporary art gallery, I had a one-man exhibition appointed for the ensuing year. I eventually proceeded to my third one-man exhibition, which was held in January 1996 at the Holdsworth Gallery in Sydney. The matter of the steam launch presented some most serious difficulties, which included finding the unique timber necessary for the hull, without demolishing a further forest to find an appropriate steam engine, boiler and thereafter ship-right. All of these demands promptly fell into place and I have the engine and boiler in hand and the boat should be completed in 12 months. Sandy did not raise one finger to assist me in any of these projects, however he certainly demonstrates how to set goals and to achieve the realisation of those goals.

Gibson Owen, NSW

 

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