Unit 07

How do you define “spirituality”?

To me, spirituality is a unseen thing, it is something that is felt. It is sort of like a personal transformation from real life, to this unknown place of contentment and joy. Spirituality can occur over whatever a person is passionate about, there is no boxes that the definition is put in, it is a term that can be used very broadly or specifically, depending on who you are.

Does spirituality differ from religion?

Religion is based on a specific belief, such as buddhism or christianity. These are specific categories of religion, that come with specific stories and beliefs that everyone who is religious believes in (Jesus for example, or buddha are both believed as the all mighty and powerful of those specific religions). People who are religious typically attend church or other ceremonies that join like people together to celebrate in their beliefs. Spirituality is more of an independent activity in my perspective. It is a feeling, and there aren’t specific stories or leaders that are connected to your own spiritual beliefs.

How do you define “creativity”?

I think creativity is the ability to create or imagine things that are different and made by new ideas and concepts. It is difficult to define, but I also think it is a type of personal expression that describes your unique approach to something, whether it be art, music, dance, etc. It starts with a person’s imagination, and taking a new idea and turning it into reality. Creativity is such a broad topic (as are the other terms), but creativity can range from a scientist finding a new cure to cancer, to a new form of art being created, or an amazing novel that changes the way society looks at a particular idea.

What is the source of creativity?

Creativity and spirituality go hand in hand. Just as the reading says, to find your true self and be at your most creative, you need to find your spiritual connection with your artwork. I think something that makes you feel emotions deep within and look at the bigger picture is the beginning source of creativity, and can lead to great outcomes.

Deeply Seeing was the title of the text for this week’s assignment. Grey lays out the steps of the creative process below:

1) formulation

2) saturation

3) incubation

4) inspiration

5) translation

6) integration

Although these are all integral in creating artwork, inspiration is the one that is most emphasized in this week’s discussion.

Grey says, “For artists, the goal is to reach a state of mind where art flows irresistably through them” (p. 80). Spirituality is something that is unseen, and extremely difficult to describe, but it is not difficult at all to feel or experience, you know when you have reach that deeper connection. Grey specifically focuses on inspiration, as it is experienced and developed in an infinite number of ways by artists.

“Inspiration is the most mysterious step in the creative process. The artist is possessed by a creative force, overtaken by a vision and driven to create. Inspiration is beyond reason” (p. 81).

Regarding creative spirituality, Grey gives an example of how many artist must physically draw a masterpiece that has previously been created by an artist themselves, so that they can fully and completely “see” it. It is difficult to wrap my head around interpreting creative spirituality from an artists perspective, simply because I think each individual has their own version of what that looks like. The main goal I think of creating art though, is as mentioned in the text, to fulfill your inspiration. That is the true goal in what constitutes ones art as successful. Money, fame, and friends approval are all other qualifications of success, but I think the most true and one that will mean the most to the artist is fulfilling your inspiration.

“To in-spire is to be in-spirit”. Inspiration means access to spirit” (p. 82).

Bibliography:

Grey, A. (2001). Art as Spiritual Practice. The Mission of Art (1st ed., pp. 205-233). Boston & London: Shambhala.