Do you use intuition in your creative explorations? Or other parts of your life?
Many creative people declare intuition is a valuable, even essential, part of making choices for creative work.
“When I was writing fiction, there was at least a seventy percent chance I didn’t know where my story would end up.”
The quote above comes from a post by writer and photographer Christopher Jennings Penders, who continues:
“My characters led me on a journey; more to the point, my intuition told me where to go.
“I ALWAYS listened. I ALWAYS let my characters go. I ALWAYS let them direct me. I SINCERELY believe letting my characters tell me where to go, strengthened my intuition.”
Another quote he uses (rephrased to be ungendered):
“A good artist lets their intuition lead them wherever it wants.” – Lao-Tzu
From post: Writing and Intuition by Christopher Jennings Penders.
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But accessing and using intuition may be challenging for some people, as Linda Kreger Silverman, Ph.D. (director of the Institute for the Study of Advanced Development) notes:
“Individuals with higher intelligence are likely to be well educated. Higher education indoctrinates students to think logically and skeptically and to dismiss intuitive information.”
Also, our intuition isn’t always trustworthy.
In his article “Intuition or Intellect,” David G. Myers notes one example, “My geographical intuition tells me that Reno is east of Los Angeles and that Rome is south of New York. But I am wrong.”
Still, many people find it a useful guide in life, including actor Kim Basinger:
“I feel there are two people inside me – me and my intuition. If I go against her, she’ll screw me every time, and if I follow her, we get along quite nicely.”
From my post Wrestling with our intuition.
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A guide for personal and creative growth
Christine Kloser, a transformational book coach, spiritual guide and author, addresses the topic in a post. She writes:
“Do you sometimes hear that little voice inside your head that is trying to guide you in a direction that’s out of your comfort zone?
“Do you feel that tug from your soul every now and again that is trying to tell you something that you haven’t been able to hear, yet… perhaps because of unconscious fear or uncertainty?
“Maybe you do that nudge to do something, yet your brain is giving you a thousand reasons why you shouldn’t.
“Well, my advice to you today is to trust that nudge, that little voice in your head. That is your soul guiding you on your transformational path.”
But, she adds,
“The road may be paved with confusion and uncertainty at first, but if you hold on tight, that ride may be the best thing that ever happened to you!”
She also addresses procrastination – which can hold us back in many areas, including our creative intuition, inspiration and work.
Kloser says, “The procrastination goes away naturally the more focused you are on listening to your soul and paying attention to those nudges.
“You establish a trusting relationship with the highest part of your Self, and gain the confidence to do something you haven’t done before.
“You might not have 100 percent clarity right away on the entire path ahead, but you’ll have enough of an intuitive ‘nudge’ to move you forward.
“And when you take action, you’ll discover that it was either the exact right thing that you were meant to do, or it helped you take another step in a different direction that was really where you were meant to be – where you feel most joyful, most expressed, most peaceful.”
She adds,
“Our greatest successes usually come just outside our comfort zone.
“(Believe me, if I end up on Shark Tank it’ll be way out of my comfort zone!) It’s out there, in that unknown place called the future that your dreams live.
“I would have never experienced the business and personal successes I have in the past few years if I hadn’t listened to that nudge in February 2011 – to break away from what I ‘knew’ and follow my intuition to combine my passion for personal transformation – and book writing – to create my Transformational Author Experience.”
From post: “Trust Your Intuition” by Christine Kloser, from the blog section of her site christinekloser.com.
See her site for webinars and other resources for authors.
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Avoiding and procrastinating
In his book Mastering Creative Anxiety, creativity coach Eric Maisel, PhD asks,
“Are you creating less often than you would like?
“Are you avoiding your creative work altogether?
“Do you procrastinate? That’s anxiety.”
[Read more quotes in my post Creative Anxiety.]
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Related articles
Achievement and/or Procrastination
Why do we procrastinate in our creative life? How can we change?
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[Photo at top: Reporter Zoe Barnes (played by Kate Mara) in the Netflix series House of Cards, from my resource page Programs for Authors and Writer Entrepreneurs.]
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Douglas Eby (M.A./Psychology) is author of the The Creative Mind series of sites which provide “Information and inspiration to help creative people thrive.”
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