> [!INFO] Book Application > [[The Creative Act Application]] ## Highlights Through the ordinary state of being, we’re already creators in the most profound way, creating our experience of reality and composing the world we perceive. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h84x5wqwq2jvt5rtajgjmma4)) ^h17ubb by the mere fact of being alive, we are active participants in the ongoing process of creation ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hk5j0yh37jg1mjrz99rdpdc8)) ### Tuning In ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hk5j1yrnm0n8nq8pcvwd4bsx)) If you have an idea you’re excited about and you don’t bring it to life, it’s not uncommon for the idea to find its voice through another maker. This isn’t because the other artist stole your idea, but because the idea’s time has come. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hk5j5hky9g82771mfnq5gzhy)) ^rfs4wi - 💭 its a collective effort, you just werent fit to actualize it We are all translators for messages the universe is broadcasting. The best artists tend to be the ones with the most sensitive antennae to draw in the energy resonating at a particular moment. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hk5j7qjph9jmhxvx0fq2q4rg)) ^hb4atk - 💭 just listening to the world How do we pick up on a signal that can neither be heard nor be defined? The answer is not to look for it. Nor do we attempt to predict or analyze our way into it. Instead, we create an open space that allows it. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hk5j93qtfwm2p5x4z0dtjfgs)) ^4oljl4 - 💭 creativity is unpredictable, but we can be consistent in how often we create Artists who are able to continually create great works throughout their lives often manage to preserve these childlike qualities. Practicing a way of being that allows you to see the world through uncorrupted, innocent eyes can free you to act in concert with the universe’s timetable. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hk5jbe2nqsrakbv88kw83gxh)) ^4mi3lm ### The Source of Creativity ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hk5jbqd3187paq41m3124945)) Art is a circulation of energetic ideas. What makes them appear new is that they’re combining differently each time they come back. No two clouds are the same. This is why, when we are struck by a new piece of art, it can resonate on a deeper level. Perhaps this is the familiar, coming back to us in an unfamiliar form. Or maybe it _is_ something unknown that we didn’t realize we were looking for. A missing piece in a puzzle that has no end. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hk5jenxsypqbjwgftdjkf529)) ^zppezp ### Awareness ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hk5jf4vb0awckq0w88vk9tnx)) Analysis is a secondary function. The awareness happens first as a pure connection with the object of your attention. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hk5jm8br3e4yv23fcx6f7y4p)) ### The Vessel and the Filter ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hk5jn9kr0fdy9z6bjz49avtf)) One can think of the creative act as taking the sum of our vessel’s contents as potential material, selecting for elements that seem useful or significant in the moment, and re-presenting them. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hk5jr9bevfjd5nm968ccyyhj)) ^wf13gl - 💭 synthesizer model work is a by-product of a greater desire. We aren’t creating to produce or sell material products. The act of creation is an attempt to enter a mysterious realm. A longing to transcend. What we create allows us to share glimpses of an inner landscape, one that is beyond our understanding. Art is our portal to the unseen world. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hk5jzpr8bk718e773xx2212n)) ^f0okls ### Look for Clues ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hk5k2x07m8pt1bzncq1yg792)) Sometimes it helps to have a strong intention to find a specific answer, or to confirm a particular path. Other times, letting go of that intention altogether can help you find your way. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hk5k62q4whcxf7qan6tn665d)) - 💭 focused and diffused ### Practice ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hk5k9ezffp2whg08wf1b6kqz)) To deepen this practice is to embark on a more profound relationship with Source. As we reduce the interference of our filter, we become better able to recognize the rhythms and movements around ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hk5kas0ap9fb617n6n3e8yzz)) ^jcvrr3 - 💭 correlation between being an artist and being an hsp? ### Submerge(The Great Works) ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hk88bz8feb3g3tpgxa55fpxy)) The objective is not to learn to mimic greatness, but to calibrate our internal meter for greatness. So we can better make the thousands of choices that might ultimately lead to our own great work. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hk88c601e4bge884mbbfj41b)) ^k4hdz1 Nature as Teacher ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hk88c86btyqkmwcgpfjyc6mn)) when we create, we are not just expressing our unique individuality, but our seamless connection to an infinite oneness. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hk88ebjq07hs0gpjsw4a6eh3)) ^rta2i3 - 💭 expanding the collective of human knowledge ### Look Inward ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hk88j65c6b1jq88kpjbdcts3)) ### It’s Always There ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hk88q1heq5z144fggyr3jed7)) In the same way, regardless of how much we’re paying attention, the information we seek is out there. If we’re aware, we get to tune in to more of it. If we’re less aware, we miss it. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hk88qgchwkqrhvdkt2wd9jm2)) ^xbf9au If instead you want to tune in to the collective consciousness, you might sit in a busy spot with people coming and going and experience Source as filtered through humanity ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hk88t5qmpk9qqvv3nrsnrb7r)) Andy Warhol was said to create with a television, radio, and record player all on simultaneously. For Eminem, the noise of a single TV set is his preferred backdrop for writing. Marcel Proust lined his walls with sound-absorbing cork, closed the drapes, and wore earplugs. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hk88tz8qvab40sv1tw5ptdc2)) ^fmv3yd - 💭 all personal preference Still, many continue to share their work and risk criticism in spite of this. It’s as if they have no other choice. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hk88y8btkppfr4an3gv0p58h)) ^599p7t Oscar Wilde said that some things are too important to be taken seriously. Art is one of those things. Setting the bar low, especially to get started, frees you to play, explore, and test without attachment to results. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hkdbj37jkbtp3515jg4maadn)) ^p1c1t9 An automatic, repeated phrase leaves little room in the mind for thoughts that pull us out of the moment. The mantra, then, is a distraction. And while certain distractions can take you out of the present moment, others can keep the conscious part of yourself busy so that the unconscious is freed up to work for you. Worry beads, rosaries, and malas work in the same way. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hkdc766pg7b84vcb7ez05abz)) - 💭 for unconscious to work during chores Rarely if ever do we know the grand intention, yet if we surrender to the creative impulse, our singular piece of the puzzle takes its proper shape. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hke71x3fbeezwz28e6cawf93)) ^sz2g8q The more of the work you can see, the easier it becomes to gracefully place the final details clearly where they belong. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hmaj116d83t89wevjbnxjzs1)) Art is choosing to do something skillfully, caring about the details, bringing all of yourself to make the finest work you can. It is beyond ego, vanity, self-glorification, and need for approval. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hmaj0tcg1pd9n955qd4tcg5h)) ^wxbh5z As soon as you use a label to describe what you’re working on, there’s a temptation to conform to its rules. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hm9kgwhpqaesce6ehp418sft)) ### Patience ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hm9kxwqgevbncc2yb2wxqtt6)) There are no shortcuts. The lottery winner isn’t ultimately happy after their sudden change of fortune. The home built hastily rarely survives the first storm. The single-sentence summary of a book or news event is no substitute for the full story. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hm9kyjst9pb427vwgckembaa)) ^o4x5qr Consider how different your experience of the world might be if you engaged in every activity with the attention you might give to landing a plane. There are those who approach the opportunities of each day like crossing items off a to-do list instead of truly engaging and participating with all of themselves. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hm9kzw52fqn1t3q1yskkvf0y)) ^wmexi7 To see what no human has seen before, to know what no human has known before, to create as no human has created before, it may be necessary to see as if through eyes that have never seen, know through a mind that has never thought, create with hands that have never been trained. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hm9m5s9em1n8vk846rk4pdrz)) - 💭 power of ai being trained by itself without much human bias As artists, we aim to live in a way in which we see the extraordinary hidden in the seemingly mundane. Then challenge ourselves to share what we see in a way that allows others a glimpse of this remarkable beauty. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hm9mbv6r7zg9jmvb22c0pt31)) ^bugawm Inspiration ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hm9mc71tceagd8660heyktwy)) In terms of priority, inspiration comes first. You come next. The audience comes last. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hm9n0znycfzdrg0wr85cm9hn)) Carl Rogers said, “The personal is the universal.” The personal is what makes art matter. Our point of view, not our drawing skills or musical virtuosity or ability to tell a story. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hmq9ayg1svn7s8mjppr2byhv)) ^qn5yq3 We are drawn to the way an artist’s filter refracts ideas, not to the ideas themselves. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hmq9cxyan3htz2gm9c80a0cq)) ^n46m9w ### Breaking the Sameness ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hmq9hjwqbgjnpcqaj0kqkz5m)) If we live in a mindset of scarcity, we hoard great ideas. A comedian may be presented with a perfect opportunity to tell a favorite new joke they’ve written, but instead will hold it back waiting for a more high-profile occasion. When we use our material, new content comes through. And the more we share, the more our skills improve. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hmsz14hmrzq86me0jcg178m3)) ^5wgo01 - 💭 building in public only helps with feedback and growth Our life’s work is far greater than any individual container. The works we do are at most chapters. There will always be a new chapter, and another after that. Though some might be better than others, that is not our concern. Our objective is to be free to close one chapter and move on to the next, and to continue that process for as long as it pleases us. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hmsz3k7xsh6dj4whzgzcpvh9)) ^vuv2xm - 💭 against perfectionism By breaking the rules, you’ll come to have a greater understanding of your past choices. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hmszbtk2jk3vrwjfy3cam0mf)) ^tdc1cg - 💭 find ways to change constraints in content creation With the objective of simply doing great work, a ripple effect occurs. A bar is set for everything you do, which may not only lift your work to new heights, but raise the vibration of your entire life. It may even inspire others to do their best work. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hmszfdakyr4yjv5qet37gxvh)) ^ifk2f9 - 💭 just live with intention and effort variables are completely out of our control. The only ones we can control are doing our best work, sharing it, starting the next, and not looking back. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hmszhpzzvm172p44n68f1vc0)) Any pressure you feel around the work—from the inside or outside—is a signal for self-examination. The artist’s goal is to keep themselves pure and unattached. To avoid letting stress, responsibility, fear, and dependence on a particular outcome distract. And if it does, it’s never too late to reset. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hmvm9y76772s9mmvb009hpnt)) ^lhujye Releasing attachment to our perceived self and limitations. We are seeking not to define ourselves, but to expand ourselves, to tune in to our limitlessness nature and connection to all that is. Self-awareness is a transcendence. An abandonment of ego. A letting go. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hmvmskhcz1bmp2ytq2xj4ww7)) ^tzrnhk The artist’s only responsibility is to the work itself. There are no other requirements. You’re free to create what you will. You don’t have to stand for your work, nor does your work have to stand for anything but itself. You are not a symbol of it. Nor is it necessarily symbolic of you. It will be interpreted and reinterpreted in the eyes and ears of those who know almost nothing about you. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hmvnwytsn3441vhe7pr8vqr5)) ^uom871 - 💭 just contributing to inspirations that can come from beyond your own capabilities Learning provides more ways to reliably convey your ideas. From our enlarged menu, we can still choose the simplest, most elegant option. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hmw7cwe9e4q3w0xpkgf377t4)) - 💭 just choosing the best way to actualize our ideas The creator and the creation rely on each other to thrive. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hmzbqxsa0na030ph5ge83rte)) A work of art is not an end point in itself. It’s a station on a journey. A chapter in our lives. We acknowledge these transitions by documenting each of them. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hmzbsvbtyy7rpvkzr91vd855)) - 💭 creative artist mindset parallels one of a growth mindset? As artists, we strive to preserve this playfulness throughout the gravity of the enterprise. We embrace both the seriousness of the commitment and the playfulness of being completely free in the making. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hmzbx8ftvafts86q0ke63hzk)) ^f6i2wb We create _in service_ to art, not for what we can get from art. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hmzc13gt45byjv28whh1kbzm)) ^6pf1vu if the choice is between making great art and supporting yourself, the art comes first. Consider another way to make a living. Success is harder to come by when your life depends on it. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hmzc0wa5qp5f7sr7h77663j2)) ^o7nkj4 Creativity is contagious. When we spend time with other artistic people, we absorb and exchange a way of thinking, a way of looking at the world. This group can be called a Sangha. Each person in this relationship begins seeing with a different imaginative eye. It doesn’t matter if their art form is the same as or different from yours. It’s nourishing to be in a community of people who are enthusiastic about art, who you can have long discussions with, and with whom you can trade feedback on the work. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hmzc45hh44q6w9wxw9fb8dk8)) ^rtud0c The more we accept our prismlike nature, the more free we become to create in different colors and the more we trust the inconsistent instincts we hold while making art. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hmzqxff122ahs6qc864rgsch)) ^sb1qca The prism of self reflects an aspect of our being into our work. When more than one prism is applied, unexpected possibilities can be unlocked. Whether the perspectives contrast or complement each other, they combine to create a new vision. Let’s call this Cooperation. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hmzr2x0pb8aw2z3a4eabxgpp)) ^opgva9 We are not aiming to reduce the work to its final length. We are working to reduce it beyond its final length. Even if trimming away 5 percent will leave the work at the scale you intend for it, we may cut deeper and leave only half or a third. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hn0wr8xex26j6vw26v2ra165)) ^ic7jtz The goal is to get the work to the point that when you see it, you know it couldn’t have been arranged any other way. There’s a sense of balance. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hn0ws42bwxhftcrfh60ay3d3)) Being an artist means to be continually asking, “How can it be better?” whatever _it_ is. It may be your art, and it may be your life. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hn0wsqzzkyz08j88ad79p739)) ^n74u9o - 💭 art is non productive improvement and growth, less on outcome and more on the journey This is the call to self-express, our creative purpose. It’s not necessarily to understand ourselves or be understood. We share our filter, our way of seeing, in order to spark an echo in others. Art is a reverberation of an impermanent life. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hn0wvjnzxs999e0vxh7qjyh0)) ^cw2yz5 When we are unable to recognize the harmony in the universe around us, it’s probably because we’re not taking in enough data. If we zoom out or zoom in far enough, the integrated nature of all there is becomes clear. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hn0wzwcm16a9hkbtzrqkj8hd)) ^53ubhu