Creativity, Ideas, David Lynch & Keats

David Lynch is the man! I really enjoy his talks on creativity and this little video about the origin of ideas is no exception! To add to his explanation I would argue that there is an element of discomfort associated with any creative process – which has to do with not knowing what the hell is going on. When you enter the state of not-knowing you open yourself up to the emergence of new ideas. This is a vulnerable state to be in because your ideas might turn out completely worthless in the eyes of the people around you. When you start experiencing the state of not-knowing, with the purpose of creating something, your mind will freak out – simply because it looses control with the situation, and anything can happen. This is one of the reasons why most of us like to play it safe and stick to what we know. Creativity is both exhilarating and scary as hell.

The 19th century poet, Keats called the ability to contain the anxiety of not knowing “negative capability”, because it is the ability to stay in - and hold - empty space. He phrased it like this: “Negative Capability, that is when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason” . As Lynch would agree, meditation is an exceptional tool for practicing being in this open state. My own experience is that the process of creation can trigger a lot of emotional reactions, that may call for a more dynamic interaction such as therapy or coaching.