How to Awaken Your Creative Genius

Deep inside your mind, there is a special, secret place–your subconscious storehouse–that holds within it the seeds of your creative genius. These seeds may have remained dormant for a long time. Still, I guarantee you that if you begin to nurture these seeds and allow them to grow, your creative genius will flower and develop into more than you could ever have imagined.

To nurture your creativity you must break out of patterns, take risks, suspend traditional logic and allow your intuition to break through. Intuition, which is sometimes called  "true" knowledge, lies outside the realm of ordinary logic. It only becomes available to us when we quiet, or by-pass, our logical minds and enter the mysterious and magical realm of the subconscious. Highly creative people share a number of common traits, many of which may be may be natural attributes of their personalities or products of temperament. Highly creative people are curious and adventurous. They are really interested in the world around them. Highly creative people generate a lot of ideas. Highly creative people maintain flexibility in both their ideas and their attitudes. Highly creative people have complex ideas. Highly creative people develop flexible states of consciousness. All these mental traits require that you allow yourself to go “offline” from your normal waking consciousness and into what is called an altered state.

What does this mean? And how can you achieve it? Actually, quite easily. We all do it, many times a day…whenever we are not directly involved in thinking, talking, worrying or other conscious mental processes. When we are “chilling”, relaxing,  “zoning out’ or daydreaming we are in an altered state and can access our creative centers. Below are some ways to make use of this powerful opportunity.

Cast a wide net and cross-pollinate ideas.  Think about and wonder about a wide range of topics across a number of different domains (science, philosophy, art, etc.). “Cross-pollinate” ideas from different disciplines and explore connections. Once you start to put your antennae out, you’ll find more ways to bring seemingly divergent subject areas together in unique and creative ways. (Ex: A musician friend who is also a student of mind and spirit has cross-referenced these domains to develop a creative and highly effective way of teaching new students to play the violin. She teaches them to use intuition to “feel” the music. She also teaches them to raise their level of consciousness while performing, so that they literally become “musicians of the spheres.”)

Take Control of Your Consciousness Continuum.  Develop the ability to use your full range of attention and awareness and to become flexible within that range. With practice, you can learn to “zero in” and “pan out” your focus of awareness and  attention at will (think listening intently to the person sitting in front of you at a noisy restaurant and then tuning into an interesting conversation taking place in the booth across the way).

                  Become Process vs. Product Oriented.  Focus on the process of your creative activity, not the outcome you hope to achieve. It will take a little time to train your mind to do this, but by keeping your interest and attention on the process itself, you can learn to  “watch your own wheels turn” and you will gain valuable access to your creative center as a result.

Rita Milios, The Mind Mentor, is a psychotherapist and author from Kissimmee, FL.  To learn more about Rita's "Mind Tools" techniques or to schedule a coaching session, call her at 863-496-7223 or email ritamilios@gmail.com.