Shift and transformation

I would say that I have found the current trend in the coaching fraternity which promises transformation to be flaky. Transformation is about about as lasting as a New Year's resolution. I speculate that it works on a group level where folks join the collective unconscious and leave aside their masks of non-self  for a while, but only until the everyday kicks back in. Such collective experiences are common to most cultures we know; religious congregations, rites, football matches etc. But the creative shift is I believe somewhat different. It takes folks into the creative collective, where the masks come off again but where things are then made beyond themselves, poetry, painting, dance, music, earth sculpture. Things they take away with them and have the option to continue or not as they please and in any form they might choose. Doing by doing sort of thing. If you don't, it won't.

But to explain further.

I once lived in Africa and for some unaccountable reason at the time, I developed a fascination for the salamander. As you probably know, this little creature lives in water just as any other common newt and is seemingly happy to do so all its uneventful life.

But if there is a prolonged drought, it ups and grow lungs, leaves its dried up home, doubles in size and continues its life on land as a small dragon, apart from the occasional dip when the rains return; much more fun I would say.

Now that's what I call transformation because it can't reverse the process.

Human beings (I have found) do exactly that, they regress. They have massively powerful default mechanisms and suffer pain and guilt when lulled back to their stage one salamander state.

Now, for me, this is where our creativity awaits us; at that gap between shift and transformation.

My experience leads me to believe that the very act of creatively manifesting beyond ourselves leads to the (re)discovery of self by which I mean a reawakening to the essence of what we were born to be, i.e. creative creatures. A part of us which for most people was closeted away at childhood and hidden from our daily lives, yet haunting us like a stumbling ghost as long as we live, unless we choose to do something about it.

And no, I don't think it has anything to do with destiny or any divine calling, just our truer selves/natures which I assume we are born with. Yes yes of course we are, we accept this of our dogs, cats and horses for goodness sake. They have their individual natures, they do. Especially at breakfast time

So, in short, for me at  least, there is no struggling with saboteurs or gremlins, just a bit of help from someone, somewhere, to put us back again in the direction of our greater, creative selves.

It's New Year's Eve and I'm off to compose my resolutions for 2013.